A quick look at the Oscar nominees this year, and what
I think will happen with them Oscar night…
PICTURE &
DIRECTION
Picture: American
Hustle, Captain Phillips, Dallas Buyers Club, Gravity, Her, Nebraska,
Philomena, 12 Years A Slave, The Wolf Of
Wall Street
Direction: David O Russell, American Hustle; Alfonso
Cuarón, Gravity; Alexander Payne,
Nebraska;
Steve McQueen, 12
Years A Slave; Martin Scorsese, The
Wolf of Wall Street
These last few years, it seems like there’s always a
movie that’s a technical marvel, among the Oscar nominated films. Last year, it
was Ang Lee’s Life Of Pi, the year
before that, Martin Scorsese’s Hugo,
and this year, it’s Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity.
However, while the latter two were acknowledged to quite a large extent for
their brilliance, with Ang Lee also winning Best Direction last year, this
year, I feel that Gravity is going to
get much more than that. It’s safe to say that Cuarón will walk away with an
Oscar for direction, but I also feel that Gravity
will be named Best Picture this year. The closest frontrunner, 12 Years A Slave was a really moving
film, but while it was well made and had some stellar performances, it wasn’t
something we haven’t seen before. If it does win, it’ll probably be because of the
Academy’s love for biopics and dramatic retellings of true stories. The other
frontrunner, American Hustle has lost momentum in the race for the Oscars,
since its Best Picture, Comedy at the Golden Globes in January. All said and done,
this year, the frontrunners can’t compare with last year’s films, especially Argo, Lincoln and Les Misérables,
so the result will not be as satisfactory in any case. I personally think that
the smaller films, like Dallas Buyers
Club are more deserving of the top prize, but we all know that that’s not
going to happen. I think it will be Gravity
this year.
ACTING
Leading Actor: Christian Bale, American Hustle; Bruce Dern, Nebraska;
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall
Street; Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years A
Slave; Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
Leading Actress: Amy Adams, American Hustle; Cate
Blanchett, Blue Jasmine; Sandra
Bullock, Gravity; Judi Dench, Philomena; Meryl Streep, August: Osage County
Supporting Actor: Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips; Bradley Cooper, American Hustle; Michael Fassbender, 12 Years A Slave; Jonah Hill, The
Wolf of Wall Street; Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
Supporting Actress: Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine; Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle; Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years A Slave;
Julia Roberts, August: Osage County; June
Squibb, Nebraska
Last year, the race for Leading Actress was quite uncertain,
with Jessica Chastain and Jennifer Lawrence vying for the prize as
frontrunners. This year, it seems quite obvious that it will be Cate Blanchett.
Her performance in Blue Jasmine may
have been too subtle in parts, but she nailed the messed up character in a way
that even in Jasmine’s seemingly normal moments, you still know the underlying
insecurities and anxiety that caused her nervous breakdown.
In the race for lead actor, again,
the result is quite predictable. While they’re almost all worthy performances,
especially Leonardo DiCaprio’s, the one that stands out the most is Matthew
McConaughey’s. He’s winning this one for sure. His costar would be another
extremely deserving winner. Jared Leto nailed the part of Rayon. What initially
didn’t seem like a jaw-dropping portrayal of a transvestite turned into so much
more, as the character’s layers were stripped and we saw Rayon coming to life.
Supporting Actress is the only acting
category that isn’t predictable this year. While the strongest contender is
Lupita Nyong’o—who I think will win, even if it’s just for her blood-curdling
screams in 12 Years A Slave—we could
just as well see Jennifer Lawrence taking home the gold for a second
consecutive year. Lawrence was excellent in American
Hustle, but then so was Julia Roberts, who I personally believe should be a
frontrunner. However, I really think it should and will be Nyong’o.
SCREENPLAY
Original: Before
Midnight, Captain Philips, Philomena, 12 Years A Slave, The Wolf Of
Wall Street
Adapted: American
Hustle, Blue Jasmine, Dallas Buyers Club, Her, Nebraska
At least one of the writing categories often ends up
being a consolation prize to a film that’s a frontrunner, but won’t quite make
Best Picture. This year, if Gravity does end up winning the big prize, there
will be two consolation prizes. 12 Years
A Slave will win Original Screenplay. While I think Blue Jasmine deserves the second award, it’s most likely going to
be Her winning Adapted Screenplay.
SOUND EDITING
& MIXING
If Gravity doesn’t
win Best Picture, it will at least sweep up a slew of other technical awards.
Sound Editing and Mixing just being two of them.
FILM EDITING,
CINEMATOGRAPHY, VISUAL EFFECTS
Gravity will in Cinematography, Visual Effects, and possibly even Film
Editing. However, in the latter, it could just as easily be 12 Years A Slave or even American Hustle.
PRODUCTION
DESIGN, COSTUME DESIGN, MAKE-UP/HAIRSTYLING
I would give Costume Design to The Great Gatsby, but I think American
Hustle will win. I believe Production Design should also go to The Great Gatsby, but Gravity will win. Dallas Buyers Club will win for Make-up and Hairstyling.
Who are your
picks for this year’s Oscar winners? Do you think Gravity will in fact win Best Picture, or will it
be 12 Years A Slave?
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