Last Thursday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the official nominees for this year’s ceremonies, which will be held on Mar. 2 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
Guest contributor Will Ferrer predicts who will walk home with the world’s most expensive paperweight—statuettes cost about $400 to manufacture—and who will walk home with nothing but a crippled sense of his own self worth.
Best Picture:
Will Win: 12 Years a Slave
Steve McQueen’s moving portrait of Solomon Northup, a musician-turned-slave, is an astonishing feat of cinematic masterwork. Disturbing and engaging, the film has been almost unanimously lauded for its refusal to pander to its audience, opting instead to creating something wholly natural. Yet, at times, the film only seeks to isolate itself retreating not into the emotionally unbalanced Northup but instead into the vast landscape of beauty and horror associated with America’s antebellum south.
Should Win: Her
Her is a romance unlike any other. Her is not a love story but a story about how to love. Director Spike Jonze’s ability to capture what most cannot even begin to articulate distinguishes the film from the rest of this year’s entries. Her is uniquely beautiful—challenging, comforting, and utterly human.
Actor in a Leading Role:
Will Win: Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave)
There is no denying the power of Ejiofor’s turn as the kidnapped and dignity-stripped northerner in Steven McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave. Yet there is something about the subtlety of Ejiofor’s performance that fails to illuminate his emotional turmoil. When the credits roll, Solomon is but an acquaintance, a stranger whose story we know well.
Should Win: Leonardo DiCaprio (Wolf of Wall Street)
DiCaprio’s far more ostentatious turn as the criminally excessive Jordan Belfort lacks some of the nuance of Ejiofor’s performance. Yet DiCaprio immerses himself in the stockbroker titan, baring his soul—and body—for the camera. The result is a complex character who merits loathing yet elicits perverse compassion, who epitomizes the societal condonation of overindulgence.
Actress in a Leading Role:
Will Win: Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)
Woody Allen’s Streetcar Named Desire-inspired Blue Jasmine is some of Allen’s best work, commanding career-defining performances from both its lead (Blanchett) and the film’s supporting cast (I’m looking at you, Sally Hawkins). But… Amy Adams.
Should Win: Amy Adams (American Hustle)
The star, once defined by her role in the Disney princess-gone-AWOL Enchanted, has proved again and again her merit as one of the industry’s finest. Yet it wasn’t until her most recent (well, minus Her) performance as Sydney Prosser, a con woman who can’t figure out whom she’s conning, that Adams truly earned her stripes.
Actor in a Supporting Role:
Will Win and Should Win: Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)
The 30 Seconds to Mars frontman and on-again, off-again actor is yet another critical darling of this year’s awards season, taking home both the Golden Globe and the Screen Actor’s Guild award for best supporting actor. And at this point, the race is Leto’s to lose. Although Buyers Club is technically a star vehicle for McConaughey (Matthew, that is), it is largely Leto’s show. His turn as Rayon, the transsexual business partner of McCounaughey’s Ron Woodroof, is the impassioned core around which the film is constructed.
Actress in a Supporting Role:
Will Win and Should Win: Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave)
Don’t get me wrong, Jennifer Lawrence’s work in American Hustle as Christian Bale’s neurotic wife was go-for-broke great (the actress even threw her neck out in a Risky-Business-esque rendition of the McCartneys’ Live in Let Die). But newcomer Lupita Nyong’o was this year’s standout as heartbreakingly broken Patsey (12 Years a Slave). When the camera finally retreats from the plantation on which Patsey is held captive, the crushing weight of her veiled desperation and superficial resignation is overwhelming.
Other Nominations to Consider:
Director:
Will Win/Should Win: Alfonso Cuaron
Animated Feature:
Will Win/Should Win: Frozen
Cinematography:
Will Win/Should Win: Gravity (Emmanuel Lubezki)
Writing (Original):
Will Win/Should Win: Her (Spike Jonze)
Writing (Adapted):
Will Win/Should Win: 12 Years a Slave (John Ridley)
Musical Score:
Will Win: Gravity (Steven Price)
Should Win: Her (William Butler and Owen Pallett)