Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda – Best Actress

This is the third in a series of Academy Award related posts in which I select an opinion on the major categories for one particular year offering my choice. As stated previously, these are all pre-2000 and do not include any of the established controversies.

Today, the Best Actress from 1985. The nominees (with an asterisk for the winner):

Anne Bancroft – Agnes of God

Whoopi Goldberg – The Color Purple

Jessica Lange – Sweet Dreams

*Geraldine Page – The Trip to Bountiful

Meryl Streep – Out of Africa

There is no doubt Geraldine Page was one of the finest actresses of her generation. Even F. Murray Abraham said so upon opening the envelope to announce her win. However, it felt like a “lifetime achievement award” after seven prior nominations. She was sweet in this character study but much less of a work than what we had seen previously.

Whoopi Goldberg stunned in her lead acting debut in a movie filled with raw emotion. Yet, she showed restraint and much of her character came out through face and eyes. Highly impressive for someone relatively new to film acting. The reunion with her sister at the end of the movie is both uplifting and heartbreaking at the same time. While Whoopi would go on to win an Oscar for “Ghost”, this debut was an impressive show of talent.

What are your choices for actresses who should have won?