LEAD ACTRESS
Yalitza Aparicio, “Roma” Glenn Close, “The Wife” Olivia Colman, “The Favourite” Lady Gaga, “A Star Is Born” Melissa McCarthy, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
Winner: Close
Possible alternative: Colman
Analysis: Races that look competitive when the calendar turns often have a way of becoming set in stone by the time final balloting begins. Both Close and Colman won Golden Globes for their nominated performances, and Colman gave a funny and heartfelt speech, thanking costars Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz (“my bitches”). Then an hour later, Close won for lead actress drama (Colman had won for comedy) and brought down the house with a glorious speech about gender equity, relating it to her mother, a woman who felt she hadn’t accomplished much with her life.
“Women, we’re nurturers,” Close said, “But we have to find personal fulfillment. We have to follow our dreams. We have to say, ‘I can do that, and I should be allowed to do that.’ ”
Close won the Oscar with that speech. And, as I’ve written before, she happens to be really good in “The Wife” too.