Did Kim Basinger deserve to win the Oscar for LA CONFIDENTIAL?

Submitted by Lili_Danube t3_10o4ysq in movies

It doesn't seem like she had much of a career since beating out Minnie Driver doing bugger-all in GOOD WILL HUNTING, Julianne Moore in BOOGIE NIGHTS, Gloria Stuart in Titanic and Joan Cusack in IN AND OUT.

Was Kim startling good in LA Confidential? Who should have been nominated over Minnie?

Personally, she looked nothing like Veronica Lake. Her character was supposed to be a hooker who resembled Veronica, she didn’t. They didn’t even try.

Sigourney Weaver would have won had she been nominated for THE ICE STORM. It always blew my mind that either she or even Heather Grahame for BOOGIE NIGHTS were not up for consideration.

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DickieGreenleaf84 t1_j6ckfrn wrote

I would have picked Julianne Moore, but I don't think I've ever agreed with a best actor pick in my life. All I can really say is I'm glad Bassinger got it over Cusack.

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East_Refrigerator_13 t1_j6ckryd wrote

My top picks that year: Sarah Poley in The Sweet Hereafter, Julianne Moore in Boogie Nights (should have won), Sigourney Weaver in The Ice Storm, and Anne Heche in Wag the Dog

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Lili_Danube OP t1_j6clc6f wrote

The twist involving Sarah Polley in THE SWEET HEREAFTER shocked me to death. We see her with her "boyfriend" making out, all normal, until it's revealed her "boyfriend" is her father. My jaw was on the floor.

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kleptophobiac t1_j6d7v4p wrote

The "twist" in that film was her character lying under oath in order to dismantle the whole circus of rage and heal her community.

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dexterthekilla t1_j6d31pq wrote

L.A. confidential was an excellent movie

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Lower_Cantaloupe1970 t1_j6d0qws wrote

Short answer but no. LA Confidential is one of my favourite movies but I mean her performance is basically a cameo

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Lili_Danube OP t1_j6d18xf wrote

I remember watching the movie and thinking what was so special about Kim Basinger in it. At the time, critics raved about her performance. I saw nothing that warrented that. I thought Russell Crowe was the standout in that.

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ToxicAdamm t1_j6ddbnz wrote

This is a good example of why the Oscars are a bad metric of movie history. Public perception and media narrative have such an undue influence on who wins (at the time) that it makes the award rather meaningless. All that context is lost as the decades move on and people forget.

Basinger was coming off of a few high-profile duds and was largely seen as on her way out of Hollywood. So, everyone loves a comeback story and voted for that instead of giving it to ( the relative newcomer) Moore. Plus, Moore’s nom was hampered by being in such a big cast. Not a traditional ‘leading actress’ part even though she is the emotional crux of that movie.

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Reelplayer t1_j6cn2i5 wrote

Stop caring about stupid, pointless awards shows. Like what you like. The Oscars are simply a marketing campaign. It's a fancy commercial, nothing more.

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