BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Nominees:

Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine; Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle; Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave; Julia Roberts, August: Osage County; June Squibb, Nebraska.

Thompson:

Oscar voters like her; they really like her. That’s Jennifer Lawrence. Proof is her nod for the Winter’s Bone role and her surprise statue for Silver Linings Playbook. Lupita Nyong’o might be the favourite but so was Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty) last year.

Monk:

Jennifer Lawrence. Though she builds a head of steam only in the final act, Lawrence chugs through the kinky polyester scenery of American Hustle with the power of a lusty locomotive, mowing down Amy Adams’s performance like so much dry grass on the tracks.

Stone:

Lupita Nyong’o. Her screen debut is a gruelling role in a punishing movie: Patsey, the slave girl who’s raped, whipped and humiliated. In a film filled with horrific images, hers is the one that lingers longest.