There will be many firsts at the Oscars this year. Seth MacFarlane will host for the first time. For the first time in 31 years, one film, Silver Linings Playbook, has garnered nominations in all four acting categories. We have a year where the actress category features the oldest and youngest nominees ever. And Katie Couric will dominate ABC’s pre and post award coverage, taking over from longtime hostesses Barbara Walters and Oprah Winfrey.
In the end, what matters is who goes home with that statuette. So, once again, Woman Around Town is making predictions. We have taken a lot into consideration before casting our votes— the best, the most deserving, the most high profile and, of course, the most overdue for recognition. See how we do after the awards. But remember, there’s always next year. (Click on any of the highlighted titles to read our reviews.)
Best Film
In 2010, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences increased the number of nominated films to as many as ten. This year, nine made the cut; we loved most, if not all, of them. The theme of survival figured prominently. Beasts of the Southern Wild introduced us to Quvenzhané Wallis, the youngest ever nominee fighting to survive in post-Katrina New Orleans; Life Of Pi found us on the high seas with a young man fighting to survive a ship wreck with a tiger as his passenger. In Silver Linings Playbook, surviving without a spouse was the test faced by two young people who ultimately found each other. Surviving amidst a country’s turmoil was the plot in Les Misérables, Lincoln and Django Unchained. Two films—Argo and Zero Dark Thirty—evaluated what it takes to survive in a world governed by terrorism. And, closer to home, in Amour we had the poignant story of an aging couple choosing survival on their own terms.
Nine strong films with compelling plots and outstanding performances. Here are our choices:
Best Film
Lincoln. Never before have our country’s leaders undergone such scrutiny. The political turmoil in Washington seems to take us from one crisis to another with no clear path for the future. Against that backdrop, Lincoln’s leadership brilliantly displayed in Steven Spielberg’s exceptional film with a stellar performance by Daniel Day-Lewis, rises to the top.
Best Director
Spielberg. Never one to rush a film into production, Spielberg waited for the right time and the right actor to create a film for the ages. He’s been overlooked in the past. He should win this time around.
Best Actor
Daniel Day-Lewis’ portrayal of our 16th president has garnered every major award so far and is the one to beat.
Best Actress
The one category where anything could happen. Jessica Chastain won the Golden Globe for her performance as Maya, the CIA agent who tracks down bin Laden, in Zero Dark Thirty. Naomi Watts’ turned in a riveting and physical turn as a tourist who survives the tsunami in Bali in The Impossible. Emmanuelle Riva was heartbreaking in Amour while Quvenzhané Wallis was a revelation in Beasts of the Southern Wild. Any would be a worthy winner. Yet this is the year of Jennifer Lawrence who won the Screen Actors Guild Award for her starring role in Silver Linings Playbook. She is Hollywood’s reining golden girl and should walk away with the golden statue.
Best Supporting Actor
Whoever loses this year in this category has one consolation: he’s won before. Christoph Waltz nominated for Django Unchained won in 2010 for Inglorious Basterds, both films directed by Quentin Tarrantino. Phillip Seymour Hoffman, who won in 2005 for his portrayal of Capote, was nominated this year for The Master. Alan Arkin had a long acting career before he won in 2006 for Little Miss Sunshine. Tommy Lee Jones walked away with an Oscar in 1993 for The Fugitive. And, of course, Robert De Niro won in 1974 for playing a young Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II.
A great horse race, but our money is on De Niro. He’s waited the longest for his second award.
Best Supporting Actress
Both Sally Field (Lincoln) and Helen Hunt (The Sessions) already have Oscars occupying their shelves. (Field has two.) Jackie Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook) and Amy Adams (The Master) and Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables) have been nominated before. This time, it goes to Hathaway.
The 85th Academy Awards will be broadcast at 7 p.m. EST on Sunday, February 24, 2013, on ABC.
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