David Edelstein’s Oscar picks
With just hours to go until the Academy Awards, our critic David Edelstein offers his Oscar picks:
It’s an unusually momentous Oscar night for many reasons, not all to do with quaint notions like “artistic merit.” Another factor is (surprise!) politics.
During the blacklist in the ‘50s, the government called Hollywood lefties “Russian dupes.” Hoo boy! Watch ‘em throw that back at the White House!
And pace yourself with the drinking games, okay? If you do a shot when someone mentions fascism, racism, sexism or homophobia, you will be in a coma before the major awards.
Of course, Oscar had its own race problem in 2016 with no nominations for non-whites. The Academy made membership changes and voila! People of color in every major category, deservingly. Shame works! Three out of four acting awards could go to minorities.
- For first time ever, 3 black actresses nominated in same Oscars category
- Oscars Not So White: Barry Jenkins makes history with nominations
- 2017 Oscar nominations: Full list
- Download Oscar ballot for your office pool or party (pdf)
It’s hard to imagine Viola Davis not winning Best Supporting Actress for “Fences.” Academy voters still second-guess themselves over the 2011 Oscar they gave to Meryl Streep in “The Iron Lady” over Davis in “The Help.” Plus, Davis plays a wife who scores a moral victory over an unfaithful ass of a husband.
- Viola Davis pulls no punches (“Sunday Morning,” 01/15/17)
- Viola Davis on her role in “Fences” (12/18/16)
In the Supporting Actor category, “Moonlight” introduced us to the magnetic Mahershala Ali as the drug dealer who’s the closest thing the young protagonist has to a father figure. Now I hear Dev Patel in “Lion” is making inroads, but this could be the much-beloved “Moonlight”’s only Oscar.
- What Mahershala Ali hopes “Moonlight” audiences will take away (“CBS This Morning,” 11/30/16)
- The glow of “Moonlight” (“Sunday Morning,” 01/29/17)
- How actor Dev Patel spent eight months preparing for “Lion” (“CBS This Morning,” 01/04/17)
For leading actress, my fave, Annette Bening in “20th Century Women,” was omitted, inexplicably. The five actresses left are brilliant, but Emma Stone will win in spite of some who say, “The movie is so L-I-T-E.” As if utter incandescence is a crime.
- Emma Stone: Dancing among the stars, firmly planted on Earth (“Sunday Morning,” 02/12/17)
- Extended transcript: Emma Stone (“Sunday Morning,” 02/12/17)
Leading actor is weird. Casey Affleck in “Manchester by the Sea” cleaned up with us critics: No one alive conveys fogged-in grief so movingly. But for various reasons, including whisper campaigns about Affleck settling two sexual harassment cases out of court, Denzel Washington in “Fences” is now the front-runner.
- Casey Affleck’s time has come, again (“Sunday Morning,” 11/27/16)
- Denzel Washington on movie revival of iconic play, “Fences” (“CBS This Morning,” 01/17/17)
- Denzel Washington’s “fourth-quarter” mission (“60 Minutes,” 12/18/16)
Everything, I mean everything else, is about Damien Chazelle’s sublime musical, “La La Land,” which suits me fine. I’ve heard people say it’s apolitical, which in itself is political.
I want to scream! This year is scary enough; let’s allow ourselves for just a little bit to dream.
- “La La Land” ties record for most Oscar nominations (“CBS This Morning,” 01/24/17)
- How “La La Land” was a “dream project” for director Damien Chazelle (“CBS This Morning,” 02/20/17)
