It's been amazing to me to read some of the posts made to my own Oscar message board, as well as some of the reviews of the telecast written by others. Some people, who hadn't even seen Monster's Ball yet, raised questions as to whether this Oscar victory was even deserved, theorizing that the Academy simply wanted to make history by giving a black actress this honor for the first time.
First of all, let me say to all of them ... watch Monster's Ball as soon as you can. Halle Berry clearly deserved this Oscar victory, it was not about some political crap to give her the award. I have been campaigning for this Oscar victory ever since December, as has film critic Roger Ebert and a few others. The performance is that good. My campaign had nothing to do with simply wanting to make a political statement, but with wanting the Academy to give the award to the most deserving winner. Halle Berry found a new depth in this performance, and it was an incredibly powerful portrait of a desperate person who has lived through hell, over and over again. It's one of the most powerful performances by an actress, period, that I have seen in quite some time.
The other criticisms have come out concerning her three minute plus acceptance speech on Oscar Night, when she gave one of the most emotional speeches ever given for an Oscar. Clearly realizing the depth of this Oscar victory, and like it or not, this was an historic moment, at the moment Russell Crowe announced her name as the winner, she broke down into tears, and almost could not get out of her seat. For a moment, I didn't think she was going to be able to find the words. But she did finally speak, saying that this moment was so much bigger than her. Was this self-importance or pomposity to say this? No, I don't think so. I am not black, but that doesn't prevent me from understanding what she must have been feeling when she made that statement. She realized the history that was represented by her win, and some people are so taken aback to realize that they are the individual responsible for this history making moment. She listed names of black actresses before her who never won an Oscar, and several black actresses who stand beside her. I thought it was an incredibly beautiful speech, and I thought her emotion was a welcome relief to see someone in Hollywood actually win an Oscar and truly let their emotions out (unlike Jennifer Connelly, who read from a piece of paper, and didn't seem to really express the emotion of a powerful moment like winning an Oscar is). Hell, Halle was making me cry for how much emotion she was expressing.
