Hollywood’s favourite night of the year is once again upon us. Stars have campaigned. Odds have shortened. Dresses have been selected. Cinema trips have come thick and fast. Jared Leto’s hair has been straightened.
And, now that I’ve seen all the nominated films in all the most talked about categories, here are my final predictions for the 86th Academy Awards.
If you want to know a bit more about why I picked what/who, there are a few ponderings towards the end. For my review of each Best Picture nominee, click on the respective title.
Best Picture
– What will win: 12 Years a Slave
– What I want to win: 12 Years a Slave
– What should’ve been nominated: Blue is the Warmest Colour
Best Actor
Christian Bale
Bruce Dern
Leonardo DiCaprio
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Matthew McConaughey
– Who will win: Matthew McConaughey
– Who I want to win: Leonardo DiCaprio
– Who should’ve been nominated: Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips)
Best Actress
Amy Adams
Cate Blanchett
Sandra Bullock
Judi Dench
Meryl Streep
– Who will win: Cate Blanchett
– Who I want to win: Cate Blanchett
– Who should’ve been nominated: Adèle Exarchopoulos (Blue is the Warmest Colour)
Best Supporting Actor
Barkhad Abdi
Bradley Cooper
Michael Fassbender
Jonah Hill
Jared Leto
– Who will win: Jared Leto
– Who I want to win: Barkhad Abdi
– Who should’ve been nominated: N/A
Best Supporting Actress
Sally Hawkins
Jennifer Lawrence
Lupita Nyong’o
Julia Roberts
June Squibb
– Who will win: Jennifer Lawrence
– Who I want to win: Lupita Nyong’o
– Who should’ve been nominated: Scarlett Johansson (Her)
Best Director
David O. Russell
Alfonso Cuarón
Alexander Payne
Steve McQueen
Martin Scorsese
– Who will win: Alfonso Cuarón
– Who I want to win: Steve McQueen
– Who should’ve been nominated: Joel and Ethan Coen (Inside Llewyn Davis)
Best Original Screenplay
American Hustle
Blue Jasmine
Dallas Buyers Club
Her
Nebraska
– What will win: American Hustle
– What I want to win: American Hustle
– What should’ve been nominated: Inside Llewyn Davis
Best Adapted Screenplay
Before Midnight
Captain Phillips
Philomena
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street
– What will win: 12 Years a Slave
– What I want to win: 12 Years a Slave
– What should’ve been nominated: Blue is the Warmest Colour
Best Documentary Feature
The Act of Killing
Cutie and the Boxer
Dirty Wars
The Square
20 Feet From Stardom
– What will win: The Act of Killing
– What I want to win: The Act of Killing
– What should’ve been nominated: Blackfish
Additional Quick-hits
With the exception of a few glaring errors, The Academy has more or less come up trumps this year, at least nominations-wise. Time will tell whether the industry congregation get it right on the night, but until then, let’s take a look at some of the unfortunate snubbees (in a personal snub, I’ve opted not to include my Best Foreign Language picks above as, for whatever reason, i haven’t seen enough of the nominated films).
Inside Llewyn Davis, what is going on? Only up for Best Cinematography and Best Sound Mixing, my personal favourite film of the year has strummed a valiant strum, only to be waived by another Bud Grossman. As unlucky as Llewyn himself (irony eh?) the film should be up for a lot more.
Tom Hanks delivers the performance of a lifetime in the final moments of Captain Phillips, but his name is nowhere to be seen. I’m a fan of Christian Bale, and thought he was really good in American Hustle, but no phony wig can hide the travesty that places his performance ahead of Hanks’. Having said that, old Tom’s already won a couple, so he might not be that bothered.
Another disappointingly shunned near-masterpiece, the folks behind Blue is the Warmest Colour must feel hard done by. Adèle Exarchopoulos’ raw, enchanting portrayal is criminally ignored. The film was ineligible for a Best Foreign Language nomination, but Best Director, Best Supporting Actress and Best Film nods should’ve been calling. It’s almost as if some of those hardened Americana execs don’t fancy reading subtitles…
On to the actual bunch clambering for awards, and it seems Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor are all pretty much sown up. I’d love Leo DiCaprio to finally receive the adulation he deserves in the form of a golden statuette, but McConaughey is the favourite and a worthy winner. Barkhad Abdi surprised at the BAFTAs, but won’t here. Cate Blanchett is the definitive stick on.
Jennifer Lawrence and Lupita Nyong’o have been tussling for Best Supporting Actress throughout this awards season, the former having come out on top more often. Nyong’o delivers the more powerful and wholly better performance, thus should win the gong. Gravity is up for a lot, but outwith the technical categories, might only win Best Director for Alfonso Cuarón.
What then, of the top prize? Best Film. It appears to be a three-way jostle between the important 12 Years a Slave, the glitzy American Hustle, and the floaty Gravity. Apparently, some Academy members find 12 Years a Slave too tough a watch – which is absurd – and Gravity ain’t exactly at its best on a laptop screen (most voters see the films at home), therefore a shock could be on the cards which would see American Hustle hustle its way to the top. I don’t think so. For me, there’s no looking past Steve McQueen’s haunting 12 Years a Slave.
There we have it.
After a fairly lacklustre spring/summer, the arrival of that typical awards scent in late autumn summoned a plethora of very good to great films. From Captain Phillips to The Wolf of Wall Street, and many others in between, we’ve seen a mixture of high intensity drama, awe-inspiring visuals, harrowing story-telling and debaucherous eccentricity. All in all, I reckon it’s been a pretty good year.
Here’s to another!
Consumed By Film 