The Oscars: Frozen River

I'll admit this up front: When I put Frozen River at the top of my Netflix queue, I did so reluctantly, only because I promised myself I'd see every film with a major Academy Award nomination. Melissa Leo is up against the likes of Meryl Street (Doubt), Kate Winslet (The Reader), Angelina Jolie (The Changeling) and Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married) in the lead actress category.

I had imagined this seasoned but relatively unknown character actor was as boring as, say, her counterpart in the leading man race -- you know, Richard Jenkins in The Visitor, older character actor up against powerhouse actors in major films that people actually saw and/or are talking about: Brad Pitt (Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Sean Penn (Milk), Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler), Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon). Jenkins work was solid, but it was so subtle as to be boring... kind of like Julie Christie in last year's Oscar-nominated Away From Her performance.

But Frozen River was good ... Gone Baby Gone kind of good. And Leo was phenomenal. There are no moments of typical high drama for her, no wailing and crying, no nudity, no prosthesis. Just the careful work of a craftsman who completely disappears into her work.