Best Picture
The Academy has stuck to its guns and kept their nominee list at 10 pictures. But, while there are twice as many films up for the awards as there has been for most of Oscar history, the competition is pretty cut and dry: “The Social Network” or “The King’s Speech?”
The movies that are up this year are all up for a reason. “Inception” is the big-name picture of the year that is up to calm down those Christopher Nolan fans who were upset when “Batman” lost out. “Toy Story 3” might be animated, but it made young and old alike cry in the middle of a movie theater over their lost or thrown out toys.
“127 Hours,” “True Grit” and “Black Swan” were all triumphs of film making by big-name directors. “The Kids are All Right” was a feat of great” screen writing and performances that tackled complex social issues, “The Fighter was a real-life “Rocky” (a former best picture winner) and “Winter’s Bone” is a modern American tragedy. But, narrow it down to the ones that were accompanied by a best director nomination, and you have “The Social Network,” “The King’s Speech,” “Black Swan,” “The Fighter” and “True Grit.“
While all of those “final five” have great potential, “The King’s Speech” will be the one to bring home the little gold statue. It has all the things the Academy loves in a best picture winner. It’s a historical drama, one set at the dawn of WWII at that, where someone overcomes a disability. It also helps the academy has a history of shunning “Black Swan” director Darren Aronofsky and the Coen Brothers can fill a house with their statues, so it’s unlikely they’ll bring another one home for their western remake. While”The Fighter,” “The Social Network” and “The King’s Speech” are all great films with great, Oscar-worthy performances, it’s Tom Hooper’s “The King’s Speech” that has the perfect combination that adds up to the top prize.
Best Director
This category is a tougher call then it usually is. While “The King’s Speech” is probably going to be top dog, director Tom Hooper is a first-time nominee with only a few big screen movies under his belt. But, with his former TV work, we can see a mastery of the historical drama and it’s likely that his career is only starting to take off. David Fincher, on the other hand, has several nominated films in his past (including “Se7en,” “Alien 3” and “Fight Club”) and his own best director nominee for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and the only film that won anything was “Benjamin Button.” The Academy is ready to give Fincher his due for “The Social Network.”
He tackled modern history, a history that was all about writing code and dealing with complex technology that the average moviegoer can get lost behind, and kept it interesting. While there was plenty of controversy about the accuracy of the story, telling the tale of an online phenomenon without losing an audience in lines of coding takes skill and dedication, something Fincher deserves acknowledgement for.
Best Actor
When this year’s Academy Awards hosts were announced, Oscar nerds everywhere all had the same reaction: James Franco? But, he’s going to be nominated! And he did get nominated for his mind-boggling performance in “127 Hours.” The question is, will he win for it?
While Franco’s turn as the brave and adventurous hiker, Aron Ralston who has to cut off his own arm to survive was a heart-stopping (and, in some cases, nausea-producing) performance, he will lose the highly coveted prize of best actor to Colin Firth in “The King’s Speech.”
Firth’s King George IV, or Bertie, as he is affectionately called by his speech therapist and family, was pitch perfect. He was never an actor who was stammering through his lines. He was a man with a distinct and debilitating disability that colored every aspect of his life. It’s rare that you find a performer dig so deeply into a role as Firth did for this film.
His chances are also helped along by good ol’ Oscar himself. The Academy loves biopics and Firth was nominated last year for a “Single Man.” And while the movie “Tropic Thunder” may have gotten some flak a few years ago for the line “you never go full retard,” it’s true. The Oscar often goes to someone who plays somebody who is disabled but doesn’t make them someone to be pitied. A combination of these three things make Firth a shoe-in for this year’s honor.
Politics aside, Firth’s performance definitely earned the Oscar.
Best Actress
When the envelope for this category is opened, it’s Natalie Portman who will be coming to the stage to accept the award for her portrayal of tortured ballerina, Nina, from the film “Black Swan.”
While there were heaps of beautiful female performances this year, it’s hard to hold a candle to Portman’s. She trained, lost 20 pounds, a lot of weight for someone who was already pretty small, sustained injuries on set and, apparently, even sacrificed having a trailer so the film could have a medic on site. Not even accounting for that kind of dedication, she accomplished something that is hard for anybody: play somebody who is murderously insane that the audience still feels for.
This peek into the life of an artist is the best performance by a woman this year, and Portman will go home with an Oscar for her trouble.
Best Supporting Actor
Batman fans who were upset that “The Dark Knight” got snubbed at the Oscars may be happy to see Christian Bale go home with the award for best actor in a supporting role.
His portrayal of real life boxer and drug addict Dicky Eklund was both beautiful and painful. It was hard to feel sympathy for someone who so destroyed his life and almost brought his family down with him, but with Bale playing the role, it was there anyway. It was difficult to understand how someone could fall so far, from being a boxing great to a prison junkie, but Bale made it happen. He made it impossible to not want to reach out to help him and his brother make it back on top, even though he did some pretty deplorable things.
As with many likely winners, Bale will get some help from Academy politics. They tend to favor actors who lose piles of weight (it shows real dedication) and actors who portray real people. Add a dash of loveable drug addict and bam, Oscar gold.
While the other actors in this category did some fantastic work, it’s Bale, not Geoffery Rush, John Hawkes, Jeremy Renner or Mark Ruffalo, who will go home with the coveted prize.
Best Supporting Actress
This is a hard category to call this year, one that has been filled with so many fantastic female roles, but I think the Academy will honor Melissa Leo for her role in “The Fighter.”
I say this is a tough call because, in all honesty, there isn’t a performance that really outshines the rest. All of these actresses did what an exemplary supporting actress is supposed to do and they did it well. Leo’s “Fighter” costar, Amy Adams, has been nominated several times and still hasn’t won, but Leo’s portrayal of the mean mom with her heart in the right place is the glue that really held “The Fighter” together. Helena Bonham-Carter was a moving and humanizing force in “The King’s Speech,” Hailee Steinfeld’s performance in “True Grit” was one far beyond her teenage years and Sigourney Weaver as the grandmother and family matriarch was just what the film needed. All of that aside, Leo’s overbearing mother will make you hate her and love her all at once.
In case anyone needed more proof after her performance and subsequent nomination in “Frozen River” that Leo is here to stay, her win for “The Fighter” should do it.
