mlrg wrote:As I’ve written in other posts, I think Lupita gives the weakest performance of the four that I’ve seen (still haven’t seen Nebraska). But she will eventually win.
Weaker than Julia Roberts? Well, there goes your credibility.
I'm not going to get into a debate (again) with the posters who somehow came away from the film thinking that all N'yongo did in it was scream while she was getting whipped. You obviously just saw what you wanted to see (not the actual performance, but the performance in your own head) and are also, most likely, a little bit racist (yep, sorry, I went there).
Jennifer Lawrence would most certainly be the anointed one in this category if she hadn't won so recently. She steals every scene she's in in
American Hustle and is really, very funny in it. This nomination just shows the extent of her range. I think we'll be seeing her nominated many, many more times down the road. Her versatility and likability are two feathers in a very talented acting cap. Look for her to win a second or even third Oscar further on in her career. Just not this year.
In re-watching Sally Hawkins' performance last week in
Blue Jasmine, I was struck by how assured she is throughout the film. How committed. Even during the first scene she shares with Blanchett, she cautiously telegraphs what has already occurred between the two characters in the past and doesn't even give it away. She constantly displays a kind of intuitive knowledge of people that her sister so clearly lacks. "You know her, too? Boy [Raylene] gets around." It's a really wonderful performance and the Academy gets a lot of credit for recognizing it.
June Squibb's spicy performance is an absolute hoot in
Nebraska (yes, dws, that scene at the graveyard is iconic). Remember how she was the woman whose husband had three testicles in
In and Out? I see her in a very strong third place position. As I mentioned some weeks ago, she could end up as a third party beneficiary for voters unable to commit to Lawrence because of too-much-too-soon syndrome and N'yongo who some might feel is too fresh to be awarded this soon in her career.
My bet though is, as it has been since I saw
12 Years a Slave, on Lupita. An astonishing breakthrough performance.
"The mantle of spinsterhood was definitely in her shoulders. She was twenty five and looked it."
-Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell