Best Actress:
JB:
Will Win: Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Should Win: Sandra Bullock, Gravity
This is one of the easiest categories to call for Oscar night. Blanchett has been an unstoppable force, winning nearly every award in sight, including the Golden Globe, Critics’ Choice, SAG, and BAFTA. If anyone else were to win, it would be the biggest upset of the evening. That being said, this is the one acting category where I don’t agree with the most likely winner. My vote would easily go to Sandra Bullock for her outstanding performance in Gravity. Blanchett was fine, but her performance came off as nothing but a 90-minute nervous breakdown, whereas Bullock took the audience on an emotional roller coaster. Her portrayal of a woman trying to cope with a terrible loss while dealing with a present crisis and trying to find a reason to continue on is unforgettable and, in my opinion, is the most deserving of the award.
JA:
Will Win: Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Should Win: Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Any other year, this would be a stunning race between Amy Adams’ dazzling turn in American Hustle and Judi Dench’s vivid portrayal of Philomena Lee. However, this is Cate Blanchett’s year, and it has been her Oscar to lose ever since her boozy, unhinged Jasmine wandered onto movie theatre screens last summer. Blanchett’s performance is full-bodied, although she never lets her character’s anxious mumbling and hot flashes define her. Even after playing queens and movie stars, the actor has never shined quite like this, making us feel deep pathos for a spoiled, saddened belle. Even if we despise Jasmine, we pity her too and recognize that her journey to start over is a noble and necessary one. It must be hard for her fellow nominees to watch Blue Jasmine and see just how sorely they are going to miss Oscar gold.
IF:
Will Win: Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Should Win: Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Blanchett has been the frontrunner for Best Actress ever since Blue Jasmine exploded in July. Her revealing, brave turn as a damaged socialite spiralling into depression, poverty and mental instability wowed critics then, and no actress has really landed as much immediate goodwill as her since. Best Actress is as close a lock as any at the Oscars this year.
But though Blanchett had one of the showiest roles this year, Bullock brings remarkable strength and charisma to her desperate astronaut in Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity. Some tend to overlook the brilliance of her performance due to the film’s visual splendor, but the film would be next to nothing without its lead actress. She’s completely electric to watch, capturing Stone’s wounded soul and silent resilience in a performance both athletic and emotive. Bullock also deserves some serious credit for acting alone, and in tremendously difficult conditions, for the majority of the film. In Gravity, she’s more natural and vulnerable, not the mention better, than we’ve ever seen her before. She gave my favorite performance of the year, hands down.