The Pitch
Who Should Win:
Milk
Who Will Win: Slumdog Millionaire or Milk (at this point, it could go either way.)
Best Actress
: Kate Winslet gave an enthralling performance in The Reader affecting enough to surpass the many flaws of the film itself. However, one must question whether this is her greatest performance or merely another good performance? The most devastatingly moving and gripping performance came from the category’s least-known member, Melissa Leo. In Frozen River, Leo immerses herself in a down-on-her-luck character forced into criminal activity to make ends meet, a relatable story in these dire economic times.
Who Should Win: Melissa Leo
Who Will Win: Kate Winslet
Best Supporting Actress
: Viola Davis (Doubt), the odds-on favorite to win according to Oscar pundits and various critics, was incredibly compelling in her fragile and conflicted portrayal of a mother unsure of how to act in response to allegations that a priest has been molesting her son. The greatest performance, however, came from Penelope Cruz whose depiction of an unstable and violently passionate artist in Vicky Cristina Barcelona avoided the role’s relative caricature in both wonderfully entertaining and, strangely, touching ways.
Who Should Win: Penelope Cruz
Who Will Win: Viola Davis
Best director
: It seems mighty likely at this point that the genius of Slumdog Millionaire’s Danny Boyle will reign supreme at the ceremony this year and knock David Fincher out long enough for him to remember that Fight Club = genius and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button = a mediocre, overwrought Forrest Gump wannabe. Gus Van Sant, though he crafted Milk beautifully, was not the powerhouse behind the film. Like Ron Howard and Stephen Daldry, directors of Frost/Nixon and The Reader, the movies were mostly commanded by the actors.
Who should win: Danny Boyle
Who will win: Danny Boyle
Best actor
: If the results of this year’s Golden Globes have any say in it, Mickey Rourke will be awarded the prize for his role in The Wrestler, even if Milk’s Sean Penn is an equally worthy-contender. This one looks like a toss-up and it seems even more certain that Brad Pitt, Frank Langella and Richard Jenkins are pawns in this contest. Pitt’s role in Benjamin Button, especially, was completely unflattering to his polished acting skills.
Who should win: Mickey Rourke (after all, Penn already has an Oscar.)
Who will win: Sean Penn or Mickey Rourke
Best supporting actor
: After a brief hissy fit over the hideous snub of Slumdog’s Dev Patel, we re-evaluated our say in this matter and decided that if Patel isn’t an option, the academy is apt to honor either the breathtaking Heath Ledger posthumously for his role as the Joker in The Dark Knight or praise the lesser known Michael Shannon for his explosive performance in Revolutionary Road.
Who should win: Michael Shannon
Who will win: Heath Ledger
’s Arts & Entertainment editors got garden-weaseling in the last two weeks after the Academy Award nominations were finally announced and watched all the movies we wanted to see but were too busy to go to. For you, faithful readers, we endured the standard popcorn-crunching, loud-whispering-old-fogie-filled theatres in order to bring you our unfailingly honest opinions. Why? Because we can’t stand to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button succeed at the Oscars this year. We will not stand back silently (especially not if Kevin is involved) and watch yet another undeserving, mainstream shlock-fest triumph.
In the immortal words of Spoon, “You got no fear of the underdog/That’s why you will not survive!”
Best Picture: Milk and Slumdog Millionaire should rightfully be regarded as the top movies of last year. If the Academy seeks to award the most visually inventive film, then Slumdog will surely prevail. If they wish to award the most pertinent and defining film of last year, then the Academy will settle with Milk. It’d be nice to see Danny Boyle win Best Director as his work on Slumdog was certainly the most imaginative, but let’s hope Milk triumphs as Best Picture.