Ryan McNeil
While thinking about all this Oscar hoopla, I must admit that part of me is actually waiting for it to be all over so I can get back to writing about other things. But it’s the homestretch so I can endure a few more days.
My calls for Best Actor and Best Actress lay after the jump.
We being with actor, where I must immediately discount Brad Pitt. Much of what made his performance in BENJAMIN BUTTON so memorable was a lot of make-up and effects. Sorry Brad – you’ve played many an Oscar-worthy role in the past, but this just ain’t your year.
After Pitt, there are a pair of nominees who might have been a tad too underexposed to take the award; Richard Jenkins in THE VISITOR and Frank Langhella in FROST/NIXON. Neither film raked it in at the box office, and both nominations have taken a backseat in this category which has clerly become a two-horse race.
Mickey Rourke and Sean Penn will end this category in a photo finish. Penn just won an Oscar five years back, so rewarding him again seems a tad unlikely. Still, the guy played so very against type in this film, and did so in such a moving way that an award is quite likely. Rourke is trying to make people forget about his tabloid-esque antics, though talk of participating in Wrestlemania and dating Courtney Love won’t help his cause. There is genuine support for this to be the capper on his comeback, the only question is whether or not he has enough support.
The Hatter’s Pick… Penn by a nose.
Like the Supporting Actor category, all five performers up for Best Actress are deserving of taking the prize.
Angelina Jolie is the immediate strike. CHANGELING was better than any dramatic role she’s done in a good long while, and for that her prize is the nomination. It’s not that she’s the weakling of the category, it’s just that her odds are the longest. Only slightly ahead of her is Melissa Leo for FROZEN RIVER. Like Jolie, the nomination is her award, which is no small accomplishment for such an under-the-radar film like this.
Anne Hathaway is unlikely to take the award, though she totally deserves it. Her fragile, frustrated performance in RACHEL GETTING MARRIED was such a unique performance this year. She too will have to be “honoured just to be nominated”, and I’m hoping that she continues to find the balance of fun movies like GET SMART with weightier roles like BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN.
The spoiler in the category is Meryl Streep, who does seem to get nominated just for showing up these days. This will be here fifteenth nomination, but for those previous fourteen, she’s only won twice…and her last Best Actress trophy actually has twenty-five years worth of dust on it. She puts on a big bear of a performance in DOUBT, and might well provide an upset.
Of course all eyes in this category are on Kate Winslet. This is her sixth nomination, with no gold to show for it yet – so in many people’s opinion, she’s due. Her nomination in this category has a lot to do with an FYC campaign by The Weinstein Co, which may actually turn some voters off from giving her their support. Complicating the matter is the fact that for many, her better performance this year came in REVOLUTIONARY ROAD (for which she wasn’t nominated).
This category will be an interesting moment in the night. For some, awarding Winslet may be a chance to acknowledge her stellar work for both films. For others, awarding Winslet will be a chance to acknowledge the body of work she’s compiled so far (lest we forget, Oscar voters are notorious for doing this later on in actors’ carreers). Then again, it’s entirely possible that voters may not appreciate the studio muscle The Weinsteins put into getting this nomination, and may leave Winslet waiting by the wayside (try saying that five times fast).
The Hatter’s Pick… If Kate doesn’t take it, Meryl gets Oscar number three.