Oscar Highlights - Hailing Hailee

Not often a 13 year-old little girl approaches the summit of her chosen field, but it did happen. Last night Hailee Steinfeld was nominated and turned away from the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mattie Ross in the Coen Brother's, True Grit.

In a night where the Oscars were vilified for many shameful and embarrassing moments, none was more glaring than eventual winner Melissa Leo from The Fighter when she took the honor instead. Leo went on stage and embarrassed herself, the Academy and her profession with a rant that was about as unprepared and amateurish as possible. I had to be reminded which of these two was actually 13 years old.

Hailee Steinfeld's performance in True Grit I feel is the best performance by a child actor in movie history. When she was cast at 12 for this role it was her first movie ever. And then it was filmed when she was 13, a year younger than the actual character in the story, she was a complete unknown. She starred opposite two recent Oscar winners, Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon, and a recent Oscar nominee, Josh Brolin. And the amazing thing is, she absolutely looked like she belonged there. Extraordinary in this story of redemption of Mattie's fathers murder in 1870's Arkansas.

This 13 year- old kid, starred in this work of 2oth century literature by Charles Portis, with two recent Oscar winners , and other major scenes with actors 50 years her senior. With Executive Producer Steven Speilberg looking on, and the Coen Brothers screenplay and direction you've got to marvel at this kids savvy. The role of Mattie in True Grit is the whole thing. The story is all told through her eyes, as she is in virtually every scene. Yes, we all remember Rooster Cogburn as the main character, we must remember Mattie is the focus of the story. Steinfeld skillfully weaves Mattie between being the older soul, Bible-quoting know-it-all miniature bookkeeper from her family ranch, with being a little girl finding herself in the very middle of things little girls generally do not.

This is the single best performance in any movie by any one actor this year. Steinfeld's grasp of the Shakespearean like dialogue from Portis and the adaptation from the Coens is amazing. Spoken and delivered with such confidence and second nature. Plus, the physical demands of hours of horse riding, swimming raging rivers on horseback, climbing trees, being shoved around, knocked down, learning to shoot, and having snakes climb on you? You may take it all for granted when you see True Grit, but upon further review she is nothing short of amazing.

This was real acting in a real movie with real actors and a real story. Plus, real pressure turned on high when this project was announced in 2008. To remake a Hollywood classic and make it great. This was not some fluff Nicolas Sparks movie, Disney Family Channel piece, or some trendy music video to be seen on various video channels. True Grit does not work if Mattie isn't great. She is the main reason this version although different, is far superior to the 1969 original.

I have no idea where little Hailee Steinfeld is going now in her career. But I'm hoping on to big things. But for this moment in time and this performance was stellar work. If she would not have won, they should fold up the awards and forget it for next year. This is the role of a lifetime.

In the morning after the Academy is licking many of its wounds from the night before in the press, this was the biggest shame.