Lest We Forget

Kenneth Turan’s musings about the upcoming Oscar nominations were probably accurate (“No Playing Favorites,” Jan. 9), but I think it’s a shame that a couple of wonderful performances from earlier in the year are being ignored by the critics and, most likely, the academy.

Diane Lane gave an incredibly subtle, nuanced and layered performance in “A Walk on the Moon.” Hollywood rarely makes movies that portray women with such depth. The scene in the bathroom between Lane and Anna Paquin is so exquisitely honest that both deserve Oscar nominations simply for that. It’s unfortunate that this film from earlier in the year, which deserved more attention at the time, is once again being overlooked.

It would be nice if Turan would devote an article to neglected films and performances like these while there is still time to vote for them.

WILLIAM CAREY

Sherman Oaks

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The fact that Turan could get through an entire article about the upcoming Oscar nominations without once mentioning Mike Leigh’s “Topsy-Turvy” is astounding. Granted, it might not have the major studio push of “American Beauty” or “The Hurricane,” but the film was on numerous year-end 10 best lists.

At the very least, it should have been noted that the movie is at least a contender for best picture, best director (Mike Leigh) and best actor (Jim Broadbent). I believe that most of the people who have seen the film would agree with me.

Perhaps Turan needs to survey a different group of “prognosticators.”

BRENDON McCULLIN

Arcadia

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In his article about Oscar picks, Turan overlooked several strong possibilities, the most glaring of which was Reese Witherspoon for “Election.” (She was chosen as best actress by the National Society of Film Critics.)

Some other potential nominations not mentioned by Turan: the astonishing “Magnolia” for best picture (and best original screenplay by P.T. Anderson); John C. Reilly for best actor in “Magnolia”; Haley Joel Osment for best supporting actor in “The Sixth Sense”; and also for best picture, two of the most innovative movies of the year, “Being John Malkovich” and “Three Kings.”

DOUG BENSON

Hollywood

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It is beyond my comprehension how Turan could come up with a list of 10 possibles for the best supporting actor category and omit Haley Joel Osment, who so superbly portrays a little boy who sees dead people in “The Sixth Sense.”

Be prepared for a tie between him and Michael Clarke Duncan of “The Green Mile” on Oscar night.

CHRIS SMACK

Glendale

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It is really a sad time for those of us who still have hope that buzz, aggressive campaigns and, most depressingly, sheep-like unoriginality don’t have to reign supreme at Oscar time. But there it is, a movie like “The Talented Mr. Ripley” rocketing to the top without even deserving it. It’s not just a question of whether people like or don’t like the movie’s creepiness. It’s whether the movie has any affect on its audience at all.

I don’t see how a movie this unbelievable and repetitive could have that kind of effect. For the amount of plot development there was, it could have been five minutes long. Matt Damon may be trying for a departure, but he did not necessarily succeed. Turan hit the nail on the head when he called the movie “unexpectedly lacking in emotional impact” and “a wonderfully accomplished work that is unconvincing at its core.” But he struck out when he listed the movie and Damon on his list of Oscar hopefuls.

RACHEL USLAN

Los Angeles

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Gwyneth Paltrow for best supporting actress? Are you nuts? Her performance in “The Talented Mr. Ripley” (no box of chocolates itself) is bland and undistinguished. Isn’t it embarrassing enough that she won for best actress last year over the far more deserving Cate Blanchett and Meryl Streep?

Let’s just hope that having a show- business mommy and daddy, not to mention a powerful studio behind you, won’t be enough to garner her a nomination, much less a win, this year.

GEORGE GALLUCCI

Los Angeles