Best Actor and Best Actress are probably the two most notable awards given outside of Best Picture. These two categories are foregone conclusions this year, which is a shame, cause neither category is getting it right this year. This is a look at the races this year.
Best Actor in a Leading Role:
Christian Bale in American Hustle
Bruce Dern in Nebraska
Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street
Chiwetel Ejiofor in 12 Years A Slave
Matthew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club
Who Will Win:
Matthew McConaughey in his turn as an AIDS sufferer who works to advance treatment of the illness. McConaughey has taken home the Golden Globe, Critics Choice, and SAG awards for his portrayal in Dallas Buyers Club.
Who Should Win:
As much as I respect what McConaughey has done here, this should be Chiwetel Ejiofor's award. McConaughey's role has a lot of depth and he performs it outstandingly, but at the end of the day his character seems a lot like a variation of the Matthew McConaughey we already know. This role is great, but it's not a huge stretch for McConaughey. The beauty of Ejiofor's performance is that he portrays not just a character, but the whole soul of a man. Solomon Northrup is a man who suffers unbearable physical and emotional pain, and yet he fights on for survival. The ache of watching Northrup being stripped of his dignity by his captors is easily the most raw performance of the year. The story of 12 Years A Slave could easily be turned into merely a good lesson put on film, but Ejiofor's performance (and for that matter Nyong'o's) make it a portrait of a man stolen from freedom and family. Christian Bale is great in American Hustle, but it's hard to watch it and not think about how this role doesn't hold a candle to his Oscar winning turn in The Fighter. Bruce Dern is perfect as a quiet old man somewhere on the edge of lucidity in Nebraska, but the role lacks the same level of content as the other nominees in the category.
Snubs:
There were quite a few snubs among the actors this year. Perhaps most slighted this year were black actors. Chadwich Boseman gave a powerful, though critically underrated, performance as Jackie Robinson in 42. Michael B. Jordan was subtle, but impressive as a man trying to turn his life around for his family in the tragic film Fruitvale Station. While The Butler had its problems and critics, Forest Whitaker carries the film with his performance. One of the most notable snubs was Tom Hanks for Captain Phillips. His acting in the last 15 minutes of that film is enough to win most people an Oscar, let alone his impressive performance in the rest of the film.
Best Actress in a Leading Role:
Amy Adams in American Hustle
Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock in Gravity
Judi Dench in Philomena
Meryl Streep in August: Osage County
Who Will Win:
When Blue Jasmine came out last summer, every critic seemed to automatically decide that Cate Blanchett had just won her second Oscar. That was before any of the other four nominees' performances had hit theaters, I might add. Blanchett has won every major award this year, and a strong campaign has taken root to award Blanchett's overall acting career more so than just this one performance. Most of all though, women in Woody Allen films win awards. That's about as close to a sure thing as you can get with the Academy Awards.
Who Should Win:
Bullock or Adams. Let me start this by saying that I admire Cate Blanchett's career and even her performance in Blue Jasmine. That being said, of the women nominated, Blanchett's performance is fourth place at best. While Blanchett is great in this performance, she comes across as a caricature, not a real person. No matter how hard Blanchett acts, I can't imagine this woman ever existing in the real world. Part of that is that Woody Allen's scripts often have an unbelievable quality to them, and part of that is because the screen has seen this role before in the form of Blanche DuBois. There are three arguments as to why Sandra Bullock should win this award. First is Bullock's ability to bring emotion out of this role. Bullock evokes a range of emotions from the role; terror in her present situation, sorrow in her tragic past and current feelings of helplessness, the peace she finds through outer space's silence, and most of all triumphant joy in her decision to fight to reclaim her life through all of this. Second is Bullock's physical performance. I would venture to say that this is easily the most physically demanding Oscar nominated performance ever. Bullock was often working with experimental equipment and doing so gracefully. Third Bullock carries most of the film by herself. That's not an easy feat to achieve. Most of the other actresses in this category had large supporting casts to lean on in their films. I know Bullock won't win this award, but her nomination is validation of her first win, so that's enough of a win for me. My second choice for a winner would be Amy Adams. First of all, this is her FIFTH nomination without a win. People seriously underestimate how impressive her career is. Not only has she given five great award worthy performances, she also acts in a wider range of films than almost any other actor in the business. In the film, Adams' character is doing a tight rope routine between trying to hide her true self from those around her, and trying to hide her true self from herself. When Adams really shines in the film is when her character lets her guard down and shows brilliant glimpses of honesty. Amy Adams easily gives the most emotionally demanding performance of the women nominated here. Judi Dench is amazing in Philomena as a woman looking for her son who was taken from her by nuns who were selling Irish babies to Americans. Meryl Streep's nomination here is just proof that the Academy will nominate her no matter what. There are genuinely funny and heartbreaking moments from Streep in this film, but mostly her character is so over the top that it undermines any message the film is trying to get across to viewers. Any of the people in my snubs section would have been better nominees.
Snubs:
The notable snub here is Emma Thompson for Saving Mr. Banks. No matter what problems the critics seemed to have with the film (some of them are warranted, others aren't), most of them still recognized Emma Thompson's excellent acting in the film. The way that she studied PL Travers' breathing and speaking patterns from old recordings and matched those in the film is impressive. Another actress who deserved to be nominated was Brie Larson from Short Term 12. Her performance is subtle, but emotionally powerful. That's something the category could have used more of this year.
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