Charlize Theron's Absence
I missed Charlize Theron's 2003 Oscar performance in Monster partly because of the subject matter (woman serial killer), I wasn't interested in seeing it. Reese Witherspoon's acting as well as singing performance combined with the politically correct, non-controversial role of sympathetic partner, wife, supporter of Johnny Cash it seems like an unbeatable presentation on screen. Yet, for all the screen time, the focus of the movie really appeared to be Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash and June Carter almost had more of a strong supporting role rather than the major, primary performance as Charlize Theron did in her recent 2005 starring role in North Country . For a pulling out all the stops, dramatic gritty performance, Charlize seemd to really present a brilliant piece of acting, even more so than Reese Witherspoon and her acting/singing.
With Reese Witherspoon, I'm reminded more of Julia Roberts win for Erin Brockovich (2000) or perhaps Sally Field for Places in the Heart (1984). Even the sensitive and subtle performance of the Chinese actress Ziyi Zhang as a Japanese Geisha in Memoirs of a Geisha clearly was a performance feat of high value and difficulty worthy of a best actress award.