Brutally Honest Oscar voter #2: Natalie Portman was the most impressive actress
The Hollywood Reporter’s Brutally Honest Oscar Ballot series is here! And I’m enjoying it, even though some of these voters are absolutely infuriating. Yesterday, we discussed Ballot #1, from a woman in the acting branch of the Academy, who had many weird opinions about how Arrival sucked and Mahershala Ali shouldn’t get an Oscar (RAGE!). This is Ballot #2, from a “member of the 389-member public relations branch who — this season, anyway — is not associated with any of the nominees.” You can read the full piece here. Some highlights:
Disqualifying Best Picture nominees: “I didn’t dislike any of the nine. That being said, Fences, more or less, feels like a play — it already won the Tony, and I don’t feel it deserves an Oscar. Lion is a little too predictable in its storytelling — you knew where it was going from the beginning. Hacksaw is out because its storytelling is just a little too traditional. I really liked Hidden Figures and I’m glad it’s been so successful, but it’s fundamentally a conventional studio movie and just not as deep as the others.”
Finally, someone who doesn’t think La La Land was the greatest thing ever: “I liked La La Land a great deal, but it felt a little light for me — I feel like a curmudgeon saying that, but it’s true, it just was not a home run. I love Hell or High Water, but I found that I loved three other movies more. Whereas Hell or High Water is great entertainment, Manchester [by the Sea] actually gets to the emotional core of who we are — it’s just weightier, and I prefer that.
The voter went for Moonlight for Best Picture: “But, as far as my vote, it wasn’t close for me: I just loved Moonlight. The construction and humanity of it was just outstanding — [co-writer/director] Barry Jenkins is really a poet. A story about someone who is just desperately seeking love — I mean, who could not be touched by it? I thought it was amazing.
Best Director: “I knocked off [Hacksaw Ridge’s] Gibson and [Manchester by the Sea’s Kenneth] Lonergan right off the bat. I liked both of their movies, but I don’t see them as directorial achievements. I was actually pretty surprised that Gibson even got a nomination. He’s a talented director, but he wasn’t worthy of a nomination for this movie, and I say that totally apart from my personal feelings about him, which aren’t supposed to factor in here — although he certainly harbors some prejudices that I don’t like and I wouldn’t want to have him over for dinner or to marry my daughter. [La La Land’s Damien] Chazelle and [Arrival’s Denis] Villneueve did fine jobs, but [Moonlight’s Barry] Jenkins is the only real option here.
A vote for Casey Affleck for Best Actor: “Ryan Gosling is very charming and likable, but I don’t think he gave an Oscar-level performance — he gets an A for effort, but not an AA [Academy Award] because the Oscars aren’t for effort, they’re for achievement. The other four are all wonderful. Viggo [Mortensen, of Captain Fantastic], Denzel [Washington, of Fences] and [Andrew] Garfield [of Hacksaw Ridge] gave great performances, but Casey had the hardest acting challenge and was a cut above the rest. It’s really hard to play a guy who you’re not supposed to like and make him someone who you like because you see there’s more to the man.
The Best Actress: “Let’s be real: [Florence Foster Jenkins’ Meryl] Streep was excellent, but other people — starting with Annette Bening, for 20th Century Women — were equally or more deserving this year. I think the Golden Globes speech helped her a great deal. I love French films, but [Elle’s] Isabelle Huppert was just doing what she often does, playing a sophisticated Frenchwoman with a secret. I love [La La Land’s] Emma Stone — she’s charming and adorable — but, as much as I hate to say it, her singing and dancing wasn’t that terrific. She’s not Cyd Charisse or Debbie Reynolds, you know? It was a very hard choice for me between [Loving’s] Ruth Negga and [Jackie’s] Natalie Portman. Both were extraordinary. Negga had to give a complete, nuanced performance without having much to actually do, since all the courtroom drama was off the screen, and she was luminous. Portman had to do the opposite — to believably recreate someone we all know in situations we all remember, but not look like she was forcing it. I guess I just was even more impressed with Portman.
Yay, a vote for Mahershala Ali! “I like Michael Shannon — he’s done really outstanding work — but I actually found him to be the weak link in Nocturnal Animals, which I liked more than most and hoped to see get more attention. Lucas Hedges was really good [in Manchester by the Sea], but not Oscar-worthy. It was really close between [Moonlight’s Mahershala] Ali, Bridges and Patel, because all three are worthy. Patel was very good as a likable character, but I will wait ’til he does something better before voting for him. Bridges was amazing, but in the way that he always is, kind of like Meryl Streep. But Ali was doing something we hadn’t really seen and in a very convincing way that made you miss him when he was gone.
A vote for Viola Davis: “Octavia Spencer [of Hidden Figures] was fine, but it was a predictable and unspectacular performance. [Moonlight’s] Naomie Harris was fine. [Lion’s] Nicole Kidman was really great in a non-glamorous role. And even though Michelle Williams was only in Manchester for a few minutes, I thought she did an amazing job. But I gave it to [Fences’] Viola Davis because she gave a full-throated performance that really laid it all out there — she’s always willing to strip herself naked to reveal a character, and never more so than with this movie.
I’m feeling pretty simpatico with this Oscar voter. I agree that Barry Jenkins is a poet and that Moonlight was the best film this year. I agree that La La Land was enjoyable but it wasn’t deep and Emma Stone doesn’t really deserve an Oscar for being cute. I agree that Michael Shannon is the bomb but he doesn’t deserve an Oscar for Nocturnal Animals. The only thing I disagree with is Casey Affleck for Best Actor – CB and I were talking about this the other day, but there’s really only a five-minute segment of the film where I was like “okay, Casey is doing Oscar caliber work here.” The rest of the time, he’s just dead inside. He does well at playing an empty shell, but still… why are people so crazy about his performance, honestly?
Photos courtesy of WENN.
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