The awards season reaches its pinnacle
on Sunday, February 24 with the 85th Academy Awards, with Seth MacFarlane as
the host. There should be plenty of
surprises on the way, as some of the categories feature some of the stiffest
competition in recent memory, particularly that of Best Director. Although Argo
is the favorite to win Best Picture as of now, there are still eight other
nominees that have just as much clout, and could very well come out on top as
the envelope is opened.
Best
Supporting Actress
Nominees: Amy Adams for The Master, Sally Field for Lincoln, Anne Hathaway for Les Miserables, Helen Hunt for The Sessions, and Jacki Weaver for Silver Linings Playbook
Will Win and Should Win: Anne Hathaway
for Les Miserables – Hathaway’s
portrayal as the doomed Fantine has won her nearly every award she’s been
nominated for, and her trip to the Dolby Theatre stage is already a done deal. Her rendition of the sorrowful song “I
Dreamed a Dream” is saturated with raw emotional power as her character laments
the agonies of a hellish life she doesn’t deserve. Hathaway isn’t just a gifted actress, but a
supremely talented singer as well, her voice beginning the song in soft tones,
and then building to a crescendo as she belts out her heart shattering
despairs. Her performance can be summed up
with two words that normally wouldn’t pair up: beautiful tragedy.
Best
Supporting Actor
Nominees: Alan Arkin for Argo, Robert De Niro for Silver Linings Playbook, Philip Seymour
Hoffman for The Master, Tommy Lee
Jones for Lincoln, and Christoph
Waltz for Django Unchained
Will Win – Tommy Lee Jones for Lincoln – In what is one of the more
difficult categories to predict this year, the result can go a number of ways. The Critics Choice Award, the Golden Globe
and Screen Actors Guild Award have all gone to three different actors, with
Tommy Lee Jones winning the latter.
Seeing as he won the SAG Award, that shows a lot of support from his
fellow actors, which could boost his chances.
As abolitionist Thaddeus Stevens, Jones commands every scene he’s in
with his character’s tough political passion, making him one of the top
supporting players in the film’s huge cast.
Should Win – Robert De Niro for Silver Linings Playbook – It’s difficult
to pick out just one good performance from this film, but what caught me by
surprise the most was De Niro. Not
because he’s a bad actor, but because after doing several movies where it
clearly looked like he was just doing it for the paycheck, this film presented
a return to form for one of the greatest actors alive. As a gambling-addict father with OCD, De Niro
is endearing and loving in his part, reminding audiences that they are in the
presence of someone who is still a true master.
Best
Actress
Nominees: Jessica Chastain for Zero Dark Thirty, Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook, Emmanuelle Riva
for Amour, Quvenzhane Wallis for Beasts of the Southern Wild, and Naomi
Watts for The Impossible
Will Win and Should Win – Jennifer
Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook
– Lawrence isn’t just one of the most versatile young actresses working today,
but at 22 years old is also the youngest person to receive a Best Actress
nomination twice; the other being for Winter’s
Bone two years ago. These are two
factors the Academy can’t ignore. She plays Tiffany, a depressed widow who becomes Bradley
Cooper’s love interest. She’s a
standoffish character at first, but Lawrence plays her in such a way that
encourages the viewer to peek into her mind to see why she is the way she is. She exhibits anger, sadness, humor, happiness
and everything in between with the confidence and ability of any veteran actor
or actress.
Best
Actor
Nominees: Bradley Cooper for Silver Linings Playbook, Daniel
Day-Lewis for Lincoln, Hugh Jackman
for Les Miserables, Joaquin Phoenix
for The Master, and Denzel Washington
for Flight
Will Win and Should Win: Daniel
Day-Lewis for Lincoln – This has been
a done deal since the film was released back in November. How Day-Lewis was able to channel the
mannerisms and speech patterns of Abraham Lincoln is near indescribable. His portrayal of the 16th
president is one of those things where you feel so lucky it was captured on
film, so as to give you the opportunity to see one of the great performances of
modern cinema. Day-Lewis’ talent that
radiates from this film is something that can’t be explained, but must be seen
for oneself.
Best
Director
Nominees: Michael Haneke for Amour, Ang Lee for Life of Pi, David O. Russell for Silver Linings Playbook, Steven Spielberg for Lincoln, and Benh Zeitlin for Beasts
of the Southern Wild
Will Win – David O. Russell for Silver Linings Playbook – This is another
category that’s a challenge to predict, seeing as Ben Affleck and Kathryn Bigelow
were both snubbed, and were clear frontrunners for nominations. So, Russell is the frontrunner now. He has the exceptional ability for directing
an actor-driven film. His 2010 film The Fighter received three acting nominations. This year, Silver Linings Playbook has a nomination in each of the four acting
categories, the first time this has happened in 31 years. This is a significant feather in the cap for
Russell. He also takes the sensitive
topic of mental illness and manages to make careful and respectable shifts
between comedy and drama, making his film worthy of all recommendations.
Should Win – Ang Lee for Life of Pi – As much as I wouldn’t mind
David O. Russell winning, Lee’s work calls to be recognized. He took a novel that many thought couldn’t be
filmed, and turned it into one of the grandest 3D experiences ever. His use of the third dimension shows that just
because a movie relies heavily on visual effects, it doesn't mean that it's simply
a "special effects" movie. This
film is loaded with artistry, and a filmmaker like Lee uses 3D to help the
audience become more immersed in Pi's situation as we experience both beauty
and danger in the journey with him.
The film is gorgeous to look at, and the film’s themes of spirituality
and survival punctuate the pristine visuals surrounding the narrative. Lee’s latest accomplish is a testament to mystic
storytelling.
Best
Picture
Nominees: Amour, Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Django Unchained, Les Miserables, Life of Pi,
Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, and Zero
Dark Thirty
Will Win and Should Win: Argo – It seems like with every movie
Ben Affleck directs, each one is better than the last. Argo is
one of those films that have the power to be a top awards contender and a film
that’s highly popular among audiences. Affleck’s film about six escaped
Americans during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis has what the Academy loves,
including a hugely talented cast and a screenplay that focuses on a tumultuous
period in world history; and it has what audiences love, which are the
tension-drenched situations with funny and heroic characters, all of which can
be found in many blockbusters that a wide population of moviegoers love. It has also won Best Picture at the Critics
Choice Awards and the Golden Globes, as well as the Directors Guild of America
Award for Affleck. Although Affleck is
out of the race for Best Director, at least he’s guaranteed some gold for Best
Picture.
