This is an unusual movie in that it's rather difficult to categorize the characters. An argument could be made that Sarah and Abigail have the leading roles, since most of the story is told from their perspectives, and that Queen Anne, though certainly very important throughout the film, is more of a supporting role. So it's fascinating to me that Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone were nominated for Best Supporting Actress (both lost to Regina King) and Olivia Colman was nominated for this category. Don't get me wrong, she does a fabulous job and I love her performance; I just don't know that I'd necessarily call hers a leading role. The story is essentially about two women competing for her affections, so it's their motives and actions that drive the plot, while she kind of just sits back and enjoys the attention.
That being said, I don't think this character could possibly have been played better than Colman played her. This may not be a leading role in the usual sense, but Queen Anne is central to the story, and could have ruined it if played unrealistically. Thankfully, the opposite happened: her performance vastly improves the movie as a whole. She's spoiled and temperamental and ridiculous and over-the-top, yet somehow still believable. She has a vulnerability that shows even (and especially) when she's at her most entitled and obnoxious, so one can't help constantly sympathizing with her. I think the way her health is shown to get progressively worse is particularly well done. No one explicitly says that she's had a stroke, but she portrays the partial paralysis so effectively that they don't need to. Several other aspects of the queen's life and health go unsaid, and she does a great job of conveying these to the audience as well, mainly through her facial expressions and movement. While I still think that technically this could have gone in the supporting category, I also think that Olivia Colman's performance was far and away the best part of this movie, so I will conclude that overall, this award was deserved (although I still haven't seen The Wife, so I can't speak to whether she deserved to beat Glenn Close).
This was Olivia Colman's first Oscar nomination. In her acceptance speech, she held up her award and said, "This won't happen again," but if this performance is any indication, I think she should win another Oscar someday. But first, I would REALLY like to see another woman of color win this award. Out of 92 winners, only one has not been white. We need to do better.
I'm still working my way through the Best Adapted Screenplay winners, so click here to check out that blog if you're interested.
