Friday, February 22, 2019

Who Will Win the Oscar for Best Actress?

The Best Actress Oscar has been a lot of fun to track this award’s season. Early on, the award seemed like a split vote between Lady Gaga (A Star Is Born) and Olivia Colman (The Favourite), but the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards all but diminished that competition, making it clear that this is Glenn Close’s award to lose. Below is a deep dive into this year’s Best Actress race, including my thoughts on the nominated performances, and the Oscars awarding performers for their careers, as opposed to a single performance. (Note: This article ran as a part of the LAMB Devours the Oscar series.)

Yalitza Aparicio – Roma
Aparicio’s natural performance as Cleo is one of the main highlights of Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma. In a story that’s now somewhat famous, Aparicio had never acted in a film before, and decided to audition for Roma as a way of killing time before she started working as a teacher. Cuarón’s decision to cast her as the lead in his film proved to be a stroke of genius, because, throughout Roma, we never feel like we’re watching a performer, but rather, someone who is actually living as Cleo. Aparicio doesn’t really have a shot at winning the Oscar, but it’s nice to know that the Academy isn’t shy about nominating non-actors for major awards.

Glenn Close – The Wife
Prior to this year, Glenn Close had been nominated for six Oscars, and came close to winning twice (for Fatal Attraction in 1987, and Dangerous Liaisons in 1988). And although she’s come up short each time, it seems fairly certain that her luck will change this year. Close’s Golden Globe win in January immediately changed the Best Actress conversation, and her SAG win a few weeks afterwards seems to have cemented the fact that Glenn Close will finally become an Oscar winner.

Now, a main question surrounding Close’s potential win is, does she deserve to win solely for her performance in The Wife, or are Oscar voters awarding Close for her entire body of work? I like Close’s work in The Wife, but this feels like a career win to me. And fans of Oscar history know this isn’t anything new. Denzel Washington (Training Day), Al Pacino (Scent of a Woman), Julianne Moore (Still Alice), and Kate Winslet (The Reader), just to name a few, all should’ve won lead acting Oscars long before they did, but the consensus for their eventual wins was that they had earned it. It was their time. That’s exactly where Close is this year.

Olivia Colman – The Favourite
Like A Star is Born, the Oscar buzz for The Favourite seems to have died down considerably over the past few months. I loved Colman’s frenzied work as Queen Anne, and am bummed that she isn’t more in the running for a Best Actress win. But hopefully her Oscar nomination will help Colman receive more offers for great characters. At this point, I think Colman’s biggest major award win this year (aside from her Golden Globe win for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy) was her BAFTA for Best Actress. Here’s to hoping I’m wrong.

Lady Gaga – A Star Is Born
If you asked me in November, I would’ve said that the Best Actress Oscar was Lady Gaga’s. But the buzz for A Star Is Born has cooled so drastically, for reasons I still don’t understand, that I think Gaga’s best shot at Oscar gold this year is for Best Song. Still, Lady Gaga’s acting work in A Star Is Born surprised most everyone, and I’m so excited to see what she dives into next. All of that noted, if I was a member of the Academy, Lady Gaga would have my vote.

Melissa McCarthy – Can You Ever Forgive Me?
I’ve been a fan of Melissa McCarthy’s comedy for a while now, but have so enjoyed watching her take on more dramatic material these past few years. Can You Ever Forgive Me showcased a side of McCarthy I hadn’t seen before, and even though she won’t win the Oscar this year, I can’t wait to see what this dramatic Oscar clout does for her career.

Who Will Win?
As mentioned, I think Glenn Close has this award in the bag. Of course, there is always room for an upset, but this is as close to a lock in a major Oscar category as we’ll have this year. The Single Performance vs. Entire Career debate is an Oscar tradition, and this certainly won’t be the last time we talk about it. All told, The Wife isn’t the best performance of Glenn Close’s career, but I won’t be mad if she wins.

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10 comments:

  1. I agree, I think this one is a lock now. I'll still be rooting for Olivia Colman on the night!

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    1. I would LOVE for Colman or Gaga to win. But I can't be mad at a Close win either. I just wish there was more to that movie in general.

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  2. I think Glenn Close is going to win as I feel like it's really for her career. If she wins, at least we won't see her in anymore Oscar-bait films as it's why I avoided Albert Nobbs because it looked so desperate to be something special yet it feels like "look at me, I'm acting!"

    Personally, I want Olivia Colman to win as she made me enjoy The Favourite so much as I felt for her but also laughed with her. Even in the scene where she tells the string quartet STOP PLAYING! I ORDER YOU TO STOP!!!!

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    1. I'm so happy Colman won! She was so, so surprised, and her win was completely justified. Definitely my favorite award of the night.

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  3. I'm so bored of those career wins. Close was good but Colman and Gaga were much better. Still, it won't be the worst thing since a performance more ridiculous than Simple Jack is gonna win with someone who would be probably the greatest winner in years

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    1. I'm totally with you about the career wins. Part of me feels bad for Close, but that performance simply wasn't as good as Colman's. So happy Colman won.

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  4. I agree, it will probably be Glenn Close, but I am still hoping for an Olivia Colman win, she was magnificent as Queen Anne. I feel like it's 60-40 for Close, but Colman can come back. I'm also with you on the drastic cooldown on A Star is Born awards buzz, I don't know what happened there. Very weird.

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    1. You were right! So happy Colman came back and won it. My vote still would've been for Gaga, but, yeah, what the hell happened to A Star Is Born's buzz?

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  5. I would love for Olivia Colman to win. I have been following her career since she first appeared on Peep Show and i love that she is finally getting the attention she deserves. I do agree that Glenn Close will win though even though i have not seen The Wife. It just seems like it's her time. And i love Glenn Close so i wont be mad if she wins. She deserves to finally get the award. But The Wife looks like one of those movies i will probably never get around to checking out.

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    1. She won! How cool was that?! Hopefully there's still a chance for Close to win one, but Colman completely deserved it this year.

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