First of all for this category I will
actually be considering TV Movie because one of the nominees is the star of
one. With Remarkably Bright Creatures a near shoo-in to win in the
category Best TV Movie Sally Field will be a formidable contender as the first
actress to earn in a spot in this category in over a decade.
Second this is a formidable category
and while it has a frontrunner I believe it is far more wide-open then the
current odds allow. I've seen all four performances in the Limited Series
categories and they represent some of the most stunning work done by any
performers in the last year.
Claire Danes, The Beast in Me. For
Playing: Aggie Wiggs, an author dealing with multiple traumas trying to find
out if her new neighbor is everything the public believes he is. Pro: I've long since stopped thinking I
could be astonished by Danes' capability as a performer after her iconic work
as Carrie Matheson in Homeland But in her work in Limited Series she
continues to push the boundaries of her profession, usually great even when the
material rarely serves her (as was the case in her last Emmy nominated role in Fleishman
is in Trouble.) Now she takes on the role of Aggie Wiggs a woman whose life
has been a disaster since her son was killed in a hit and run and then has to
deal with the presence of the literal next door neighbor from hell in Nile
Jarvis. Despite her understandable repulsion to him she keeps being drawn into
his orbit, first convince he's responsible for the death of someone she hated,
then constantly being convinced against her will he's innocent. Danes work as
Aggie is a contrast to so many of her previous characters: she is frail, broken
and lets her instincts constantly lead her down the wrong path. Yet you can
never tear your eyes from her every moment she's on the screen. She was
nominated for every acting award since the end of last year and this is another
treasure in a seemingly endless list of great performances. Con: Of all
the actresses in this category Danes has by far gotten the most recognition
from the Emmys with three to this point. As good as she is, it's more certain
the Emmys will spread the wealth this year – and there are plenty of equally
deserving nominees.
Sally Field, Remarkably Bright
Creatures. For Playing: Tova Sullivan an elderly widow who learns of a
life-changing discovery while at a night shift at a local aquarium. Pro: It has been a long time since an
actress managed to get nominated for her work in a TV movie in this category;
it's something Renee Zellweger and Jessica Lange couldn't accomplish last year.
But Field's work in what has very quickly become one of the best TV movies in a
very long time as a woman who finds her path forward by looking at the path of
a giant squid is by far the most humane performance in a category filled with
deeply cynical and dark actors. Field managed to prevail in the Astras last
month over several more praised performances and it is a tribute to one of the
greatest actresses of all time that she never once flinches from the work. Con:
No actress has managed to win in this category since Julianne Moore did for
Game Change back in 2012 which was an entirely different era for TV and
TV movies alike. Overcoming this obstacle seems highly unlikely if not
impossible for Field.
Carey Mulligan, Beef (EXPERTS
PICK). For Playing: Lindsay, a woman trapped in a failing marriage after a
fight brings everything to the surface. Like Oscar Isaac Mulligan is well past deserving some
kind of big prize. She has been one of our most formidable performers since she
made her debut in An Education back in 2009. Playing girls, then women,
who appeared frail but who often had a steeliness you underestimated at your
peril she played a woman who had come from money, spent all of her time and
energy helping boost her husband and now had nothing to show for it but a
failing marriage. The collapse she went through with the loss of her dog
Burberry was the straw that broke the back of her marriage. She spent the next
several months trying to take revenge on those she thought deserved all while
ending up deeper and deeper into loss. That decision would eventually put her
into a position that seemed like it would cost her everything. When her husband
made the ultimate sacrifice it seemed a triumph – until the denouement revealed
she was as fickle as before. It is a haunting, twisted and frequently
hysterical performance that has deservedly put her at the frontrunner in this
category. Con: When Sally Field prevailed in this category at the Astras
it indicated that the support for Mulligan is much softer then some of the
other actors and talent. I'm less convinced that she will prevail here then
other winners in this category.
Sarah Pidgeon, Love Story (DARK HORSE). For Playing:
Carolyn Bessette, beginning a romance and then marrying the worlds most
eligible bachelor – and who is unprepared for what comes with it. Pro: The complete unknown in this category
Pidgeon had an even tougher job then Paul Anthony Kelly: to play the woman who
married America's most famous bachelor and who comparatively was always a
cipher. It is a credit to Pidgeon that she came out by far as the most dynamic
member of the couple: the more dominant figure in the initial courtship,
incredibly erotic in everything and able to give as well as she took. Watching
her energy in the first half of the series was incredible; watching the
paparazzi destroy her was heartbreaking, watching the penultima episode when we
saw just how much it had broken her and John devastating, and knowing how it
ended tragic. I couldn't take my eyes off Pidgeon the moment she first appeared
onscreen. This is an actress with a bright future in the industry and I'm glad
I saw her first. Con: The Emmys don't have a great history of picking
relative unknowns in the lead actor or actress in limited series: I have no
memory of it happening in my lifetime. Pidgeon might pull it off but winning
is, well, slightly easier then winning the heart of People's Sexiest Man Alive.
Sarah Snook, All Her Fault (MY
PICK) For Playing: Marissa Irvine, who after her son is abducted finds herself
at the center of a media firestorm and the lie at the center of her marriage.
Pro: Snook is one of
the few performers in this category with a trophy to her name already, having
deservingly prevailed in this category at the Critics Choice Awards last
January. It's understandable why. Her work as Marissa, a mother who when she
goes to pickup her son is launched into the worst nightmare possible, is one of
the most mesmerizing portrayals of grief, betrayal and despair as it is only
the start of learning that so much of what she believed her life to be was a
complete and utter lie. There is a humanity to Snook's work here that she never
really got to display in her Emmy winning work for Succession and as she
learned that her husband was never what she thought he was and every aspect of
her entire life had been a mythos it was terrifying her as even the recovery of
him led to darker and more frightening turns, forcing to make a decision that
was so horrific and yet completely understandable. All of the nominees gave
incredible performances but I still believe Snook's is the most deserving of a
trophy and I'd like to see her win. Con: Snook did win at the Emmys a
little less then three years ago. I'd like to see her join Danes as one of the
few actresses to win Best Lead Actress in both drama and limited series but I'm
just not convinced it'll happen.
Prediction: While Mulligan is still the heavy
favorite, don't rule out the possibility of one of the Sarah's – most likely
Pidgeon – to pull out an upset.
Tomorrow I deal with Outstanding
Supporting Actor in a Limited Series. And I'm going to give it the dignity that
the Emmys itself seems unwilling to do so.
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