Leigh Paatsch: Who will take out Best Supporting Actress

Nicole Kidman was unlucky to miss out on a nomination, but in this less-than-tough field one performance stands out. And most Australians won’t have seen it.

Emma Stone in The Favourite. Picture: Supplied

It’s far from the strongest of fields, and Nicole Kidman was unlucky to miss out here, but this year’s best supporting actress gong is likely to go to a film you haven’t seen yet.

MORE TIPS: BEST ACTRESS

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

BEST ACTOR

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Amy Adams, Vice

Marina de Tavira, Roma

Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk

Emma Stone, The Favourite

Rachel Weisz, The Favourite

Overall calibre of nominations: Low.

Take a selfie to remember the night by: Stone and Weisz all but cancel out each other’s chances here, such was the evenly matched calibre of their respective performances in The Favourite. It could be argued their roles were just as worthy of a Best Actress nom as their fellow cast member Olivia Colman. The inclusion of de Tavira is a major shock, as no other film body has recognised her (admittedly fine) work in Roma.

Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone in The Favourite. Their dual nomination will make it hard for either to win.

Deserves To Win, But Won’t: When it comes to Oscars, Adams has always been the bridesmaid, never the bride. Six acting nominations for no wins so far says it all. If ever she is going to win a gold statuette, this is the night to do it. Adams was a crucial foil to Christian Bale’s eerily chameleonic work in Vice, and arguably benefited from a better-written role than he did. Her delivery of dialogue in Vice is laser-sharp.

Amy Adams stars as Lynne Cheney in Vice.

And the Winner Is … Regina King. A superb, if understated performance that exemplifies the true heart and soul of Beale Street (which has just opened in Australia). All that stands in the way of King is history. Though she has racked up several awards this season (including a Golden Globe), she did fail to score a Screen Actors Guild nomination (a profile which has provided 19 of the last 20 winners here).

Regina King in a scene from If Beale Street Could Talk. King is likely to take out the award this year. Picture: Tatum Mangus/Annapurna Pictures via AP

UNLUCKY NOT TO MAKE THE FIELD:

Claire Foy, First Man

Mackenzie Davis, Tully

Nicole Kidman, Boy Erased

Milly Shapiro, Hereditary

Awkwafina, Crazy Rich Asians

RECENT WINNERS:

2018: Alison Janney, I Tonya

2017: Viola Davis, Fences

2016: Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl

Originally published as Leigh Paatsch: Who will take out Best Supporting Actress