by Ifeanyi Dike Jr.
The Oscar nominations this year sparked controversies and interesting debates from the get-go, such as the obvious snub of directors Katharine Bigelow ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ and Ben Affleck ‘Argo’. No worries, they still have the chance to snag the statue in a production capacity but it is a rarity that films that have been nominated in the Best Picture category would not get a Best Director nod. Aren’t they after all, the foremost reason why the film is nominated in the Best Picture category in the first place?
Or why there is a severe drought African-American nominees even though there are strong performances from actors such as former Oscar winner, Jamie Foxx and Scandal actress, Keri Washington.
Or the fact that ‘Silver lining Play book’ has a rare opportunity to sweep 7 major awards tomorrow night for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Picture, Best Screenplay and Best Director.
Whatever happens this year, some or most parts of it will be a pleasant surprise (to the winners, of course) and perhaps a record set.
Here is my prediction for tomorrow night’s wins and why:
Actress in a Leading Role
Jessica Chastain – Zero Dark Thirty (Winner)
Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva – Amour
Quvenzhané Wallis – Beasts of the Southern Wild
Naomi Watts – The Impossible
Why?
The Best Actress category for example consists of five actresses whose performances literally grovel for an Oscar – and they all deserve it. Whoever takes it will be a first time winner. If Emmanuelle wins, she will be the oldest Best Actress winner of all time and if Quvenzhané Wallis wins she will be the youngest Best Actress winner of all time Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Lawrence, Emmanuelle Riva, Naomi Watts and Quvenzhané Wallis all put out phenomenal performances. In Amour and The Impossible, Emmanuelle and Naomi play roles that one can say cajoled a lot of pity from the audience without really doing much except for lying down and looking disastrous while their co-leads did most of the work. Jennifer delivers a performance that relies on the tiniest facial expressions and body language to convey a dead-pan interpretation of a girl with deep emotion problems. A role that requires depth no matter how easy it looks to pull off and she pulls it off nicely. Quvenzhané Wallis gives all that is in that 9 year old body, including a performance that is authentic and difficult to come by amongst actors her age. But our money is on Jessica Chastain whose performance is ground breaking even in simple moments where all she has to do is sit and watch hours of tapes. She does so in way that tells you she pays attention to every detail and every scene and when she finally has an outburst that has long been brewing – perfection!
Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams- The Master
Sally Field – Lincoln
Anne Hathaway – Les Misérables (Winner)
Helen Hunt – The Sessions
Jacki Weaver – Silver Linings Playbook
Why?
The Best supporting actress category is a tough one as well. First, we have Helen Hunt who goes full nude for a performance most people would have managed to go without. Sally Field who appears in the biopic, Lincoln and delivers perfect monologues upon perfect monologues, all of which take her a step closer to the Oscar. Jacki Weaver, who honestly eluded us most of the time because she didn’t speak much but when she had to support, she did brilliantly with every part of her body. Amy Adams whose 20 minutes performance leaves you wishing she was written more into the film and Anne Hathaway who is our pick to win and yes, we overlooked that she wasn’t even the best supporting actress from the film ‘Les Misérables’ for which she was nominated but she her character had tuberculosis and had to lose weight for it, chopped her locks, sang and cried miserably and this is of course enough for the Academy.
Actor in a Leading Role
Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln (Winner)
Hugh Jackman – Les Misérables
Joaquin Phoenix – The Master
Denzel Washington – Flight
Why?
The Best Actor Category is one full of surprises. First we have Bradley Cooper and Hugh Jackman who are better known for playing roles that would never take an Oscar even if it was put right under their noses, yet, here they are, nominated. Hugh almost carries the movie from beginning to end by himself. When he sings sometimes, he goes off key but it’s moments like this that let you see how authentic his performance is. Going three days without food or water just to be able to execute a role is the kind of dedication that makes for sentimental wining. Bradley doesn’t have to do anything extraordinary, yet every step of the way, he lets you feel what his character feels in a way you would not expect from the sort of actor he was previously perceived as until now. Suddenly, you see several possible Oscar nods in his future. Denzel for the first time in years takes on a role where he is both the victim and the victor and plays both sides diligently enough to get a nod. Joaquin Phoenix who plays a deeply disturbed man with deformities is probably the strongest person in this category. Having to do embarrassing and crazy things that require energy and unbelievably believable acting is not at all easy but Joaquin put’s in all of these ingredients when portraying this character and he does not a single thing wrong. The favourite to win however is Daniel Day Lewis. If he does, he will be the most decorated Oscar winner of all time for winning the Best Actor Oscar thrice. Putting that and the fact that good biopics rarely miss this award aside, Daniel delivers an Iconic character so graciously, in a manner that we cannot complain about. Here is a man, who knows what is at stake and knows what to do about. He dives into this character head first, bringing Abraham Lincoln to life just like all the books and texts describe him thus fulfilling a secret but not urgent need to see and perhaps feel what Lincoln was really like.
Actor in a Supporting Role
Alan Arkin – Argo
Robert De Niro – Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Master
Tommy Lee Jones – Lincoln
Christoph Waltz – Django Unchained (Winner)
Why?
The Best Supporting Actor categories consist of actors who have all, at some point taken home the statue. It is a category filled with actors who are brimming with experience in the art. We have Alan Arkin who was in Argo for only 10 minutes. These 10 minutes were one of the best of the movie when Alan brings to the plate a comical approach with the seriousness, skill and experience of a true professional. Just 10 minutes is enough for him to do his thing. Christoph Waltz is an actor we don’t see often in these sorts of roles, yet one cannot see him in any other kind of role with the way he takes this one. Though Christoph who is our favourite to win, played more co-lead than supporting so this may give him an edge over the others. Robert De Niro is a brilliant actor, no questions asked. He also brings a wealth of experience to his role in Silver lining play book and is able to glide between emotions effortlessly without taking too much from the main actor but putting in all there is to put. Philip Seymour Hoffman is probably the only actor able to give a performance matching that of the lead actor, Joaquin. He also comes off more as a co-lead than a supporting actor because there are parts of the movie he carries solely and even when it seems like the character is becoming a little boring, he still manages to put it together without one noticing. Tommy Lee Jones is in Lincoln for a brief period and in that time, he bestows upon us, exceptional acting that one cannot find anywhere else. In this movie, he does a stunning job effortlessly.
BEST PICTURE
Amour
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Misérables
Life of Pi
Lincoln (Winner)
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty
List
Why?
For Best Picture, films like Amour and Beasts of the Southern Wild are both good films but appear to have been strategically placed in that category to fulfil some sort of wholeness and diversity to the category. First, Amour is a low budget foreign film that tells a profound story of love in adversity and is a good choice to remind people that the Academy is still not very keen on high budget, high box office ranking films. If Amour wins, it will be the lowest box office grossing Best Picture winner of all time with $4.1 million dollars. There is Beast of the Southern Wild that somehow reminds you of Slum dog millionaire despite the two very different plots. But it also tells a story of depth and adversity that again proves a point for the Academy. It’s a well-rounded category consisting of a low budget film, two historical or political films, one black comedy, one fantasy-adventure-drama, one musical and so on and this of course is a perfect mix of nominees to battle it out tomorrow night.
My prediction for other categories:
Animated Feature Film
Brave (Winner)
Frankenweenie
ParaNorman
The Pirates! Band of Misfits
Wreck-It Ralph
COSTUME DESIGN
Anna Karenina
Les Misérables (Winner)
Lincoln
Mirror Mirror
Snow White and the Huntsman
DIRECTING
Amour
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Life of Pi
Lincoln (Winner)
Silver Linings Playbook
Foreign Language Film
France – Amour (Winner)
Austria – Kon-Tiki
Norway – No
Chile – A Royal Affair
Denmark- War Witch
MAKEUP and hairstyling
Hitchcock
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Misérables (Winner)
Music (Original Score)
Anna Karenina
Argo
Life of Pi
Lincoln (Winner)
Skyfall
Thomas Newman
Music (Original Song)
Chasing Ice
Ted
Life of Pi (Winner)
Skyfall
Les Misérables
Production Design
Anna Karenina
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Misérables
Life of Pi
Lincoln (Winner)
VISUAL EFFECTS
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Life of Pi (Winner)
Marvel’s The Avengers
Prometheus
Snow White and the Huntsman
Writing
(Adapted Screenplay)
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Life of Pi
Lincoln (Winner)
Silver Linings Playbook
Writing
(Original Screenplay)
Amour
Django Unchained
Flight
Moonrise Kingdom
Zero Dark Thirty (Winner)
Ifeanyi Dike Jr is an actor and writer. He started his career on Nigeria’s most celebrated soap opera, Tinsel. He has since appeared on Desperate Housewives Africa, Gidi Up as well as MTV’s Shuga. He debuted on film playing lead, Uzoma in the critically acclaimed ‘Green White Green’ which premiered at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival and won him a ‘Special Jury Recognition Award at the African International Film Festival (AFRIFF.)
In 2013, he graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery degree from Igbinedion University. Ifeanyi currently splits his time generously between Lagos and University of California Los Angeles where he is the first African achieving a master’s degree in acting.
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