As the 85th annual Academy Awards — also known as the Oscars — approach, predictions abound over which films will receive the top awards. Here are our choices for the top two films or performances in each top category, and our picks for who will take home those gold statuettes on Sunday night.
Best Picture:
The nominees: “Amour,” “Argo,” “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” “Django Unchained,” “Les Miserables,” “Life of Pi,” “Lincoln,” “Silver Linings Playbook,” “Zero Dark Thirty”
Amidst this strong group of contenders, it’s “Argo,” the dramatic thriller about the Iran hostage crisis, and “Lincoln,” which chronicles the 16th president’s struggle to get the 13th Amendment passed, that will ultimately face off for the top prize. After director Ben Affleck was surprisingly absent from the list of Best Director nominees, the odds that “Argo” will take home Best Picture are slim (only 3 films in the last 84 years have won Best Picture without a Best Director nomination), though its incredibly strong performances and gripping plot might give it enough of an edge to overtake “Lincoln.”
Yet, as Sunday approaches, “Lincoln” is still a strong favorite. It’s got all of the makings of a typical Best Picture, with a charismatic leading man and historical content which the academy loves. Following the vein of the last two winners, “The King’s Speech” and “The Artist,” “Lincoln” is poised to become the next historically based film to take the top prize. It brings the war-weary president (Daniel Day-Lewis) to life in an entirely unprecedented way, accurately portrays the dirty, dishonest politics that led to the 13th Amendment’s passage and includes richly detailed costumes and sets, making this film a clear front-runner.
Best Actress in a Leading Role:
The nominees: Jessica Chastain; “Zero Dark Thirty,” Jennifer Lawrence; “Silver Linings Playbook,” Emmanuelle Riva; “Amour,” Quvenzhane Wallis; “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” Naomi Watts; “The Impossible”
In this category, it will come down to Chastain, who plays Maya, the CIA tracker who hunted Osama bin Laden in “Zero Dark Thirty,” and Lawrence, the widow who befriends a bipolar Patrizio Solitano Jr. (Bradley Cooper) in “Silver Linings Playbook.” In both actresses, there’s an incredible sense of transformation; Chastain morphed from the role of vindictive Southern housewife in “The Help” to a steely CIA operative intent on catching a murderer, while Lawrence changed from a cold, determined daughter in “Winter’s Bone” to bitingly-funny widow and sex addict. Though each performance is enthralling in a unique manner, it will be Chastain who takes home the award. Her powerful embodiment of a woman whose unshakable conviction in herself led her to catch a killer, and her incredible subtlety and range of emotion in playing this role make her the clear frontrunner. Though “Zero Dark Thirty” will be passed up for Best Picture due to the controversy it has caused, the film is far too intense and enthralling to miss out on other awards, and Chastain will surely win Best Actress.
Best Actor in a Leading Role:
The nominees: Bradley Cooper; “Silver Linings Playbook,” Daniel Day-Lewis; “Lincoln,” Hugh Jackman; “Les Miserables,” Joaquin Phoenix; “The Master,” Denzel Washington; “Flight”
The clear frontrunners for this award, Daniel Day-Lewis and Denzel Washington, are both incredibly strong contenders, though Day-Lewis will be the one to take home the award. Enthralling in his ability to completely immerse himself in his character, as he did as the maniacal oil prospector in “There Will Be Blood,” for which he won this award in 2007, Day-Lewis accomplished the near-impossible task of bringing a character only seen in faded photos to life. Embodying one of the most admired figures in American history is no small feat, and Day-Lewis manages to express his emotions perfectly, giving the viewer an insight into the turmoil of the Civil War and its effects on the president. Through Day-Lewis is sure to win, Washington is still strong competition for his portrayal of a pilot at once lauded and reviled for his actions. His work in embodying the swaggering pilot Whip Whitaker, whose bravado hides the demons of his broken family and alcoholism, is gripping to behold, as his struggle to overcome his addictions is exposed in painstaking detail. This film and Washington’s performance enthralls the viewer, making the smallest of details, like the opening of a bottle of alcohol, shocking and gripping to the viewer. Yet, as the film ends, Washington’s stellar performance dissolves into a mass of trite speeches and cliched actions, missteps that will rob him of this award.
Best Actress in a Supporting Role:
The nominees: Amy Adams; “The Master,” Sally Field; “Lincoln,” Anne Hathaway; “Les Miserables,” Helen Hunt; “The Sessions,” Jacki Weaver; “Silver Linings Playbook”
This category will come down to Sally Field, for her performance as First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln, and Anne Hathaway, for her role as doomed prostitute Fantine. Both poignant, nuanced performances, each offers the viewer a window into the emotions of the character, though Hathaway’s truly heartbreaking rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream” will cinch her win. Though her character is only present for the first third of the film, the impact Hathaway makes in these scenes is incredibly powerful, and will lead her to win this award. We first meet her as a quiet working girl, fending off the lecherous advances of a sleazy foreman, who fires her when he learns she has a child. It’s at this point that Fantine’s descent into utter desperation begins, as she loses her clean clothes, long hair and eventually teeth in order to find money to care for her daughter. Her performance is most gripping when, after being reduced to utter destitution, Fantine is forced to sell what she has left, herself. Her raw, ragged and completely desperate rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream,” which she sings after her first experience as a prostitute, is chilling to watch, as her dark eyes fill with tears and her sorrow, anger and fear are all expressed through song. Shot in one take, this wrenching scene puts Hathaway at the front of the pack for this award.
Field’s portrayal of Mary Todd Lincoln, though enthralling in its own way, cannot quite measure up to Hathaway’s, as it lacks the total connection with the audience that Hathaway is able to achieve. Despite this disadvantage, Field is still highly compelling as the wife of the president, not simply following the typical assumption that Mary was insane, but instead subtly explaining the nuances of Mary’s character and her reasons for her actions. However, by the end of the show, this award will be Hathaway’s.
Best Actor in a Supporting Role:
The nominees: Alan Arkin; “Argo,” Robert De Niro; “Silver Linings Playbook,” Philip Seymour Hoffman; “The Master,” Tommy Lee Jones; “Lincoln,” Christoph Waltz; “Django Unchained”
Ultimately, Philip Seymour Hoffman, playing the charismatic cult leader Lancaster Dodd, and Christoph Waltz, portraying the German bounty hunter Dr. Schultz, will be the top two contenders for this award, with the honor going to Hoffman. An actor who can take on any role, from the quietly menacing campaign manager Paul Zara in the 2011 film “The Ides of March” to this role as a grandiose man forming his own cult, Hoffman is enthralling to watch, as he totally immerses himself in the character and explains the secretive, mysterious processes that create these occult institutions. He perfectly embodies the contradictory nature of the cult leader, a person who claims to have all of the answers but never fully reveals them, and provides incredible range, from exuding charisma to expressing great anger and intensity. Though Waltz’s performance is strong as well, he doesn’t quite measure up to his maniacal portrayal of the “Jew Hunter” Hans Landa in another Quentin Tarantino film, “Inglorious Basterds,” and this lack of brilliant insanity in this role makes it seem a little flat.
Best Director:
The nominees: Michael Haneke; “Amour,” Benh Zeitlin; “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” Ang Lee; “Life of Pi,” Steven Spielberg; “Lincoln,” David O. Russell; “Silver Linings Playbook”
Spielberg and Lee will be the top two contenders for this award, though it’s not quite clear who will emerge as the winner on Sunday night. Both directors created incredible, though entirely different works, with Spielberg telling the story of Abraham Lincoln’s last years of life, and Lee creating a film from Yann Martel’s tale of a boy stranded in the ocean, with only a tiger to keep him company. Each film has strong elements, as both have stellar, expressive casts and music that effectively complements story lines Each director was faced with a unique set of challenges, as Spielberg had to bring a beloved, revered character to life, while Lee grappled with the challenges of extensive CGI usage, as well as filming sections of the film in water. Despite these problems, each director created a masterful work, with Spielberg creating a film that embodies Lincoln as a real human being behind the myths, and Lee executing flawless CGI work to create everything from ocean waves to tigers. Due to the academy’s preference for historical movies, Spielberg may have a slight edge, though Lee’s extraordinary ability to express the journey Pi undertakes puts the two directors on approximately equal footing. This one is a toss-up, and we’ll need to wait until Sunday.
The Oscars start at 4 p.m. on Feb. 24, and will be broadcast by ABC.
by KAVYA PATHAK
