Oscars 2014: Cate Blanchett, Matthew McConaughey for best actress and actor
CATE Blanchett and Matthew McConaughey are raging favourites to win Oscars. Film critic Leigh Paatsch picks his winners.
Leigh Paatsch
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CATE Blanchett and Matthew McConaughey are raging favourites in an Oscars field of quality films and actors. Leigh Paatsch picks the winners.
The 86th Academy Awards, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, will be held on March 2 at the Dolby Theatre, Hollywood.
ULTIMATE CLASH: In the battle between good and evil, it’s up to you
BEST ACTOR
Christian Bale American Hustle
Bruce Dern Nebraska
Leonardo DiCaprio The Wolf Of Wall Street
Chiwetel Ejiofor 12 Years a Slave
Matthew McConaughey Dallas Buyers Club
Rehearse that fake smile: Hard to fault any aspect of Bale’s work in American Hustle. However, equally strong work from entire ensemble cut down his individual ‘wow’ factor. One day a Best Actor Oscar will surely be his. A victory for seasoned old-timer Dern would cause the biggest upset in modern Oscars history, but would still be deserved. He owns every scene of Nebraska with deceptive authority.
Deserves to win, but won’t: Ejiofor faced the most difficult acting assignment of all nominees, and completed it to perfection. Did not hit a single cliched note with a role where any missteps might have been excused. Most other years, he would be a red-hot favourite here. DiCaprio applied a deranged force to his performance that could not be ignored. Still evolving as a talent, and still the most underrated major star in the business.
And the winner is ... Matthew McConaughey. An expected victory here will undoubtedly be the story of the night. Let us never forget that just five short years ago, McConaughey looked set to serve a life sentence in the bowels of rom-com hell. Nothing short of hard work and refined technique has triggered the turnaround, and his method-driven performance in Dallas Buyers Club is uncompromising, yet totally accessible.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Barkhad Abdi Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper American Hustle
Michael Fassbender 12 Years a Slave
Jonah Hill The Wolf Of Wall Street
Jared Leto Dallas Buyers Club
Hey, it’s a night out, isn’t it?: The nomination alone is a tremendous achievement for Somalian-born Abdi. Had never acted on film before Captain Phillips — he was working as a chauffeur when discovered by casting agents — and may never do so again. A previous nominee in this category for superior work in Moneyball, Hill is very lucky to have made the cut here.
Deserves to win, but won’t: Those in the know rank Fassbender as the only realistic chance of knocking off Leto here. What holds him back from mounting a serious challenge is the polarising nature of his performance as a villainous slave-owner. Some pundits feel his work lacked its usual subtlety. Cooper’s overwhelming popularity and proven consistency gives him a faint show of some podium action.
And the winner is ... Jared Leto. Anyone who could get themselves noticed alongside Matthew McConaughey’s virtuoso display in Dallas Buyers Club must also be at the very top of their game. Such is the case with Leto, a gifted talent who has barely worked anywhere in the past decade. Like his co-star, disappeared completely inside his character, but did not forget to take us with him.
BEST ACTRESS
Amy Adams American Hustle
Cate Blanchett Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock Gravity
Judi Dench Philomena
Meryl Streep August: Osage County
Tell the seatwarmer to go home early: Not often the incomparable Streep is right out of contention on Oscars night, but even she would admit her scenery-munching display in August: Osage County was not one of her best. Dench never lets anyone down whatever the film, and it was very much business as usual for the British vet in Philomena. The film’s limited box-office in US also counts against the beloved Dame.
Deserves to win, but won’t: Adams is a seriously underrated talent, and she was the standout in a film overloaded with great performances in American Hustle. So versatile across all genres that a win in this category just has to happen one of these years. Bullock’s sublimely soulful anchoring work in Gravity was a career best, and would have gone very close to winning if not for Blanchett hitting the ball right out of the park.
And the winner is ... Cate Blanchett. Australia’s next Oscar winner is the hottest favourite of the ceremony. Inconceivable she could lose after dominating equivalent categories all awards season. Blue Jasmine saw Blanchett hit a new career peak, crafting a detailed portrait of a character that kept falling apart and throwing new shapes throughout. Acting at its most expressive and direct. The coming triumph is all hers.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Sally Hawkins Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence American Hustle
Lupita Nyong’o 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts August: Osage County
June Squibb Nebraska
Don’t spend too much on that outfit: 84-year-old Squib was a marvel in Nebraska, delivering some drop-dead devastating lines with an earthy charisma that just won’t quit. Incredible to think she never stepped before a camera until the age of 61. Great to see her here, even if no realistic chance of winning. Like the rest of the cast in August: Osage County, Roberts did well just to survive the tsunami of Meryl Streep’s overacting.
Deserves to win, but won’t: In what the Vegas bookies have marked as the closest contest of the night, the mega-popular Lawrence has a clear shot at victory here. Last year’s Best Actress victory will not count against her. Hawkins was the secret weapon in Blue Jasmine’s armoury, with her reactions to co-star Cate Blanchett’s withering monologues often guiding the audience through some tough terrain.
And the winner is ... Lupita Nyong’o. The most impacting feature screen debut from a female since fellow nominee Jennifer Lawrence’s Oscar-nominated turn in 2010s Winter’s Bone. The inexperienced Nyong’o delivered an utterly heartbreaking portrayal of a woman living with the worst life could throw at her. Clearly the superior work in an otherwise even field.
BEST DIRECTOR
David O. Russell American Hustle
Alfonso Cuaron Gravity
Alexander Payne Nebraska
Steve McQueen 12 Years a Slave
Martin Scorsese The Wolf Of Wall Street
Forget that speech you memorised: Russell’s third nomination in four years suggests he is getting close, but the comparatively lightweight American Hustle won’t trump this heavy field. Ditto Payne (third nom in ten years) for the wonderful Nebraska. The veteran Scorsese’s electric handling of The Wolf Of Wall Street deserves some kind of special award: it sizzled with the try-anything energy of a filmmaker just starting out.
Deserves to win, but won’t: The great Oscars paradox kicks in yet again. If 12 Years a Slave is going to be ranked Best Film by voters, surely it warrants the Best Director gong as well? No dice, this year. Therefore the brilliant British director Steve McQueen misses his chance to make history by becoming the first black filmmaker to win this category. Insiders believe he didn’t “sell” himself on the awards circuit as effectively as his chief rival.
And the winner is ... Alfonso Cuaron. Gravity already has secured its reputation as a game-changer for modern cinema, and its spectacular success is all down to the singular creative vision of Cuaron. Though working with few actors and a lot of tricky technology, Cuaron conjured a movie miracle that lodged itself permanently in the memory of all who witnessed it.
BEST MOTION PICTURE
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street
The honour’s all yours, the spoils are all theirs: Undoubtedly the strongest field since nominations were extended upwards of five a few years back. Neither Nebraska nor Philomena fit the profile of typical Best Picture winners, but they are hardly also-rans. Her is bound to wield a seminal influence on other movies in years to come. The likes of American Hustle, Wolf Of Wall Street and Captain Phillips would be clear winners in weaker years.
Deserves to win, but won’t: While Gravity still has a chance of knocking
off 12 Years a Slave, it appears the US awards circuit has pegged it as more of a technical triumph than a ‘complete’ motion picture. Most regular film-goers would tend to disagree with that theory. If there is to be a boilover, only the brave and unconventional Dallas Buyers Club could capitalise on a voting split between the two faves.
And the winner is ... 12 Years a Slave. While statistics across the current awards season makes this the clear first pick, it is both the substance and seismic impact of this torrid factual drama that seals a deserved Oscars victory. Yes, the Academy does have a history of rewarding an “issues” film, but to fully address an issue as complex and challenging as America’s history of slavery is an achievement that will stand the test of time.
THE BEST OF THE REST
Best Screenplay — Original
And the winner is ... Her. Spike Jonze’s vision of a future where humans will fall in love with software flowed from page to screen with all ones and no zeros.
Best Screenplay — Adapted
And the winner is ... 12 Years a Slave. John Ridley worked wonders in getting the stodgy prose of an obscure 19th century book to speak to a modern audience.
Best Cinematography
And the winner is ... Gravity. One of the most attractively absorbing visual experiences in cinema history used 3D as a weapon and not a crutch.
Best Animated Feature
And the winner is ... Frozen. With Pixar having temporarily lost their mojo, it’s great to see that Disney’s animated division have reclaimed theirs.
Best Documentary Feature
And the winner is ... The Act Of Killing. An incredible slice of real life where Indonesian war criminals were persuaded to re-enact their terrible deeds. Out now on DVD in Australia.
... AND ALSO
Best Foreign Language Film: The Great Beauty (Italy)
Best Original Score: Steven Price Gravity
Best Original Song: Let It Go Frozen
Best Production Design: The Great Gatsby
Best Costume Design: The Great Gatsby
Best Makeup & Hairstyling: The Great Gatsby
Best Sound (Mixing & Editing): Gravity
Best Visual Effects: Gravity
Best Film Editing: Gravity
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