Best- actress race boasts plenty of star power
The best- actress race is already shaping up to be a beauty.
In years past, the Oscar for that category has been criticized for its lack of competition because of a dearth of strong female leading parts in Hollywood. But the positive emphasis on women’s roles has vastly improved the main actress category, says Pete Hammond, awards columnist for the industry website Deadline. com
“Most years there’s a competitive best- actor race, while best actress features Meryl Streep, along with one or two other big roles,” Hammond says. “But this is the strongest best- actress race I have seen in years.”
Here’s how the contest is playing out on the road to the 89th Academy Awards on Feb. 26:
IT’S CROWDED AND TIGHT
Paramount Studio’s decision to place Viola Davis’ Fences role in the best- supporting- actress category rather than best actress shows how strong the actress category is this year, says Tom O’Neil, editor of the awards site GoldDerby. com. Davis won a 2010 best- actress Tony for the same role on Broadway.
Last year, Brie Larson ran away early toward Oscar victory with Room. This year, the race is “a big toss- up really” says O’Neil, with powerful performances such as Emma Stone in La La Land ( Dec. 9), Jessica Chastain in Miss Sloane ( Nov. 25), Ruth Negga in Loving ( Nov. 4), Annette Bening in 20th Century Women ( Dec. 25) and Natalie Portman in Jackie ( Dec. 2) vying for spots.
OVERDUE ACTRESSES
The race features actresses “shockingly overdue” in the Oscar department, O’Neil says. Amy Adams ( five nominations, no wins) will contend with two films, Nocturnal Animals ( Nov. 18) and Arrival ( Nov. 11). Bening is vying with 20th Century Women after four nominations starting with 1991’ s The Grifters.
Chastain is riding Miss Sloane after two nominations.
“The Oscar IOU is a powerful force with these actresses,” O’Neil says. “We saw that last year with Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant, and he finally took home his Oscar.”
THERE’S SOLID DIVERSITY
Even with Davis stepping out of the best- actress category, it still features powerful, diverse roles from fresh Oscar faces. Ethiopian- Irish actress Negga is a strong candidate and awards season bright light for her role in Loving, which focuses on a landmark Supreme Court case over interracial marriage. Taraji P. Henson is expected to contend for her ( still unseen) role as an AfricanAmerican mathematics genius working for NASA in
Hidden Figures, which will see a qualifying release on Christmas Day.
“The fact we have two really realistic shots with these actresses is a good thing,” Hammond says.
YAH, MERYL’S IN THE MIX
Three- time Oscar winner ( along with a record 19 nominations) Streep is back in the mix for her role as a New York heiress trying to be an opera singer in Florence Foster Jenkins.
“She’s not a sure thing because it’s such a strong category this year and it’s a comedy, which can be tough,” Hammond says. “But never discount Meryl Streep in any year.”
FRENCH ARE REPRESENTING
Paris- born actress Marion Cotillard is garnering awards attention as a female French Resistance fighter in World War II alongside Brad Pitt in Allied ( Nov. 23). Veteran French actress Isabelle Huppert is seeking her first Oscar nomination for her role in Paul Verhoeven’s Frenchlanguage drama Elle ( Nov. 11), which Hammond calls “her best chance ever.”