It’s November and in the world of cinema that means that the race for the Oscars has already begun. While some films look like they have been cooked up in a lab to bait Oscar voters (cough "Danish Girl," cough "Suffragette" cough), it really is the most wonderful time of the year.
From thoughtful dramas about social issues like "99 Homes" to political comedies surrounding the economic crisis of 2008 like "The Big Short" to a new Quentin Tarantino movie, this year looks to be much more competitive than the last Oscar competition, where the winners seemed to be determined long before the official broadcast in February (and it didn’t help that "American Sniper" was robbed of its Best Picture Oscar.)
Interestingly, the most stacked category this year seems to be one that often times is the least competitive one compared to the likes of Best Picture, Director or even Actor. From Sandra Bullock to Natalie Portman, Meryl Streep to Cate Blanchett — even including Julianne Moore, Best Actress is a category that has been fairly predictable in recent years, where the one name that dominates discussions and predictions usually ends up winning in the end.
But this year, the Best Actress race is probably going to be the best of the entire bunch.
To begin with, some incredible names are making strong cases for one of only five nominations: Cate Blanchett for both “Truth” and “Carol”, Emily Blunt for “Sicario”, Jennifer Lawrence for “Joy”, Saoirse Ronan for “Brooklyn”, Charlize Theron for “Mad Max: Fury Road”, Alicia Vikander for “The Danish Girl” and those aren’t even the indie darlings that could completely steal the show from one of these major contenders!
For example, Brie Larson (you know, Jonah Hill’s romantic interest in “21 Jump Street”? Yeah, I’m not kidding) has come out of nowhere with a mesmerizing performance in “Room,” a story about a long-kidnapped woman raising her 5-year-old son in captivity. I haven’t seen it yet, but it sounds like an impressive tour de force, with Larson nailing what would be a difficult role for any actress. She has become a frontrunner, even a favorite to bring home the gold in February.
But wait — there’s also Charlotte Rampling, a relatively unknown 69-year-old British actress who has been in the business for nearly five decades now, who gives a chilling performance in the movie “45 Years” that has been generating buzz February. Rampling is not the only actress over age 60 who could come away with a nomination, with traditional powerhouses like Lily Tomlin for "Grandma" (who lost Best Supporting Actress in 1976 for Altman’s "Nashville") and Maggie Smith for "The Lady in the Van" being very much so in the race.
There is even the possibility of actress, Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, who is transgender, being nominated for her role in the heartfelt and tender “Tangerine.” Even though the producers don’t have the money to set up a massive campaign, a grassroots moment is gaining moment is strength as the studio hosts Academy Q&As for voters, critics and fans.
In my personal opinion, even though I still have to wait until films like “Room,” “Carol” and “45 years” come to Phoenix, the most deserving would either be Emily Blunt or Charlize Theron for absolutely dominating in quality action movies. Both of these performances managed to subvert traditional gender and genre clichés, to create memorable characters, especially in the case of Theron as Imperator Furiosa in the best film of the year.
But no matter who wins in February, just the fact that this category is so stacked this year, is absolutely great for Hollywood. For an industry that is seen as a predominately male-dominated, where there is really only one auteur female director in Kathryn Bigelow, having the Best Actress completely outshine the Best Actor competition has the potential to finally bring attention to gender issues that Hollywood should be talking about.
Reach the columnist at ndsmit12@asu.edu or follow @noahsmith1996 on Twitter.
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Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
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