Only eleven days remain before the biggest award ceremony of the year and the most important marketing/career opportunity for the films and creators lucky enough to have been nominated for some of this years academy awards. I don’t doubt that this years Oscars will be entertaining but, at least on paper, a lot of the categories seem to have very little contention between the nominees, such as the award for Best Actor which I for one refuse to believe will go to anyone but Daniel Day-Lewis. Despite this I would still argue there are at least four categories that will provide the competition needed to make this years Oscars well worth a watch. Here are the categories I feel have outcomes that are truly up in the air.
Actress In a Leading Role
This one is a three horse race and it is going to be a mighty close one to say the least. The big contenders in my mind are: Jessica Chastain for her outstanding performance in Zero Dark Thirty which has already helped her pick up a Golden Globe award, Jennifer Lawrence is another fierce rival for her performance in Silver Linings Playbook which has so far brought her fortune at the Golden Globes where she won the award for best actress in a comedy/musical and at the Screen Actors Guild awards where she won the Outstanding Female Performance award. Then there’s the French underdog Emmanuelle Riva; just a few days ago Riva picked up the prestigious BAFTA award in the same category, which startled me to be frankly honest considering that the aforementioned actresses were part of her competition. Will she shock us for a second time at the academy awards?
Costume Design Award
Period drama and fantasy’s almost exclusive award category will definitely have presented a challenge for the academies voters this year with all five films in the category featuring striking, authentic and elaborate costumes for almost everyone on screen. Late 19th century Russian nobility flick “Anna Karenina” is the leading favourite for most with designer Jacqueline Durran having already received two awards, including a BAFTA, for her efforts at the drawing board. I’m also placing my bets on Anna Karenina but that doesn’t mean to say Les Mis, Lincoln and particularly Snow White and The Huntsman don’t stand a decent chance of taking the prize. The sheer detail that went into the armor of combatants in Snow White was astounding even if it has gone unnoticed so far at the award ceremonies; Lincoln and Les Mis both demonstrate how to use costume to effectively immerse an audience, even if they don’t have the same degree of frivolity that Snow White and Anna Karenina produced. There is a good chance voters will have picked up on this and may reward one of the two films for their cunning practicality.
Music – Original Score
In the Original Song category there is absolutely no doubt that Adele’s “Skyfall” is going to win, however the category for best original score leaves far more options open to explore. Skyfall is of course one of the five contenders and although the “Skyfall” song by Adele is flawless (to the point where I ignored my usual distaste for Adele’s work) I don’t feel Skyfalls’ overall soundtrack carries its weight in comparison. On the other hand Anna Karenina and Life of Pi both have well rounded and equally as euphoric soundtracks, their overall consistency is giving me the impression that they have slightly better chances of winning the award with Life of Pi having already picked up the Original Score award at the Golden Globes. Lincoln and Argo both have ample soundtracks yet they don’t fare as well in comparison and will be written off by me for this award.
Adapted Screenplay
Every award winning picture spawns from a marvelous script, which we have seen in abundance during the past year. Unsurprisingly Tarantino is dominating the Original Screenplay awards with Django Unchained but there is no such domination at the Adapted Screenplay playing field. Screenwriters of Argo, Lincoln, Life of Pi and Silver Linings have all managed to get their paws around some gold, whether it be at a major or minor ceremony. Four of the five screenplays already show award winning potential meaning an open debate is left behind on which will take home the top prize. Sadly this sort of leaves Beasts of the Southern Wild way out of the competition, it is hard to be 100% about that though and the Oscars can be full of surprises.
There’s my two cents on what to bite your nails for at the coming Oscars on the 24th February, if you have any disagreements or feel I left anything out and want your say feel free to comment below!
The Picture Post 