Worthy of an Oscar

Rating: 9/10 (30 October 2009)

After watching this in the theater and then on DVD, I'm convinced Miss Fuhrman deserves a Supporting Actress nomination.
Think not? I challenge you to view this and "Atonement" at one sitting and consider which child gives a more powerful, richly nuanced and emotionally devastating performance. If Miss Ronan was nominated, surely should Miss Fuhrman.
Watch her eyes in the dinner table scene when the family discusses her classmate's tumble from the play structure. The little girl covers the soul-wrenching subtexts in all of the vivid spectrum of emotions.
And if you're not moved by the brief scene when Esther goes to her little sister and pleas for help when the evil nun comes to take her away -- again, watch her eyes -- then you have no heart.
Moreover, the girl's courage in confronting the Last Great Taboo not only of cinema but of Western civilization must assure us that she holds the key to a career that promises monumental achievement.
I know I was not alone when I left my first screening of "Interview With The Vampire" convinced I had watched Miss Dunst give the Best Supporting Actress performance. I hope this disappointment will not be repeated.