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Arts
Friday, February 24, 2017 — 5
What will win:
Some performances are stellar for their front-fac-
ing exuberance. Even harder is keeping a vivid char-
acter reserved and internal, with a complex morality
bubbling and churning beneath the surface while life
passes before the character’s eyes. Mahershala Ali’s
Juan, the drug-dealing surrogate father to young Chi-
ron in “Moonlight,” is the highlight of a phenomenal
cast, precisely because his carefully quiet character
pops off the screen. Though Juan only appears in the
first third of the film, his presence is felt throughout,
not only because of his influence on Chiron, but also
because Ali weaves an indelibly gnarled charm into
his character.
What should win:
There’s a bias against young actors when recog-
nizing achievement, partly because they’re simply
lesser known, partly because they typically lack the
experience to pull off a great performance. Neverthe-
less, Lucas Hedges is perfect as Patrick Chandler, the
grieving, complicated nephew at the center of Ken-
neth Lonergan’s brilliant “Manchester by the Sea.”
Hedges acts with a stunning naturalism that rivals
few other young performers. His mental breakdown
about two-thirds through the film throws the audi-
ence into the same emotional explosion as his own,
while his comedic timing is flawless (see: any scene
with his amateur punk band).
— Daniel Hensel, Daily Film Editor
Who will win and who should
win at Oscars 2017
BEST PICTURE
BEST DIRECTOR
BEST ACTOR
What will win:
Jumped up “controversy” aside, “La La Land”
has all the momentum as we move towards
Oscar night. It scooped up the top award at both
the PGAs, DGAs and BAFTAs, swept every cat-
egory it was nominated for at the Golden Globes
— setting a new record in the process — and
was nominated for a whopping fourteen Oscars,
tying for another record. Even those who hate
the film must admit that it is the objective favor-
ite of the show, and it holds a strong chance of
winning the eleven Academy Awards needed to
tie yet another all-time record.
What should win:
As well it should, because “La La Land” is
delightful. There’s a reason it is garnering so
much love. The cinematography is beautiful,
the story is eminently relatable, Damien Cha-
zelle’s (“Whiplash”) direction is flawless — his
single-take musical numbers are a marvel —
and the songs are memorable and speak to the
film’s deeper themes. That’s without even men-
tioning the absurdly charming performances
from Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, the latter
of whom gave us the heartrendingly emotional
“Audition” scene. Is it perfect? No, but it is
doubtlessly the best film nominated and the
singular most entertaining film of the year.
— Jeremiah Vanderhelm, Daily Arts Writer
What will win:
It comes as a surprise to almost no one that “La
La Land” is poised to clean up at this year’s awards.
After taking home top honors in this category at the
Golden Globes, it looks likely that “La La Land” will
do it again. While deserving of many of the statues it
will pick up next week, the film’s screenplay is among
the weakest of the nominees. The real magic of “La
La Land” is its visual splendor, the story is structur-
ally familiar and the dialogue leans pretty heavily on
Gosling and Stone’s — especially Stone’s — natural
charm. Alas, the Academy has a hard time passing up
hype and anything about itself.
What should win:
This is a tough one. “20th Century Women” and
“The Lobster,” both films that, tragically, are only
nominated in this category, are on par with “Man-
chester By the Sea.” But, it’s Kenneth Lonergan’s
darkly funny screenplay that deserves top honors.
Lonergan masters the tricky art of flashbacks and
writes characters with a precision unseen this award
season. Lee Chandler is one of the most fully fleshed
out, powerful characters of the year. The film’s struc-
ture is perfect, the way it at once opens up and caves
in on itself, revealing and concealing. “Manchester By
the Sea” is master class example of how movies are
born on paper.
— Madeleine Gaudin, Senior Arts Editor
What will win:
Hopefully, this year’s Oscars will have at least
one major upset. Sitting through the four-hour
long ceremony needs to have some sort of pay-
off. However, this certainly won’t be the case for
Best Director. In three out of the past four cere-
monies, the winner for Best Director went home
without a similar trophy for Best Picture. This
year will probably end this streak, and audiences
can expect to see Damien Chazelle with more
hardware than he could ever possibly carry. The
32 year-old’s “La La Land,” a musical reincarna-
tion of Hollywood’s past, deserves praise. Still,
by the time he wins this award, along with every-
thing else, audiences may be a bit frustrated that
their four hour-long commitment didn’t pay off.
What should win:
Barry Jenkins brought to life one of the most
stunning and compelling movies in recent
history with “Moonlight.” His work will be
remembered for decades to come, so clearly he
deserves the highest recognition for a direc-
tor. But really, Jenkins doesn’t need an Oscar
to showcase his masterful talent. At this point,
it would be secondary. Chazelle can walk away
with the award, but Jenkins will prove to be the
true winner for years to come. Kenneth Loner-
gan (“Manchester by the Sea”) in previous, less
competitive years would be the frontrunner.
Sadly, he’ll also have to wait his turn, consider-
ing that nothing’s stopping Chazelle from win-
ning this year’s prize.
— Will Stewart, Daily Arts Writer
SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT
A24
What will (and should) win:
I’m still confused as to why Viola Davis was nomi-
nated for “supporting actress” rather than a lead, for
her portrayal of Rose Maxson in Denzel Washington’s
adaptation of “Fences.” (Edit: I have been told this has
to do with money. I still don’t understand.) Regard-
less, she should win. Her portrayal of Rose’s strength,
both in times of relative contentment and even more
so in times of strife, is striking in its rawness. The
scene in which she confronts her husband after he
blindly complains to her, not bothering to recognize
that she might have sacrificed dreams and aspirations
too, is one of the most powerful scenes between two
people in recent cinematic history.
— Sophia Kaufman, Daily Book Editor
What will win:
Marion Cotillard won in 2007 for “La Vie en Rose,”
becoming the first woman to win for a French-speak-
ing role. Ten years later, Isabelle Huppert (“Elle”)
could follow Cotillard’s path for her portrayal of
rape victim Michele Leblanc. That is, if “La La Land”
weren’t released in the same year. Emma Stone (“La
La Land”) will win this category with ease, even
against the beloved Meryl Streep (“Florence Foster
Jenkins”). Stone’s performance, including the beauti-
fully sung “Audition (The Fools Who Dream),” covers
all of the Oscar-worthy territory.
What should win:
Filmic depictions of presidents and their lives
are like gold for the Oscars. Movies about first
ladies apparently aren’t as successful. Pablo Lar-
raín’s “Jackie,” shockingly, was snubbed in almost
every category, barely getting any recognition it
deserved. Fortunately, Natalie Portman’s (“Black
Swan”) accurate portrayal of ex-first lady Jackie
Kennedy was one of three nominations the film did
receive, and rightfully so. She brilliantly brought
to life the tragedy of JFK’s assassination. In many
ways, Portman’s performance is the archetype for
a perfect depiction of a historical figure. Imitating
each of her many idiosyncrasies and mannerisms,
Portman lived up to the great challenge of not over-
acting. She won’t win, but she certainly deserves
her second Oscar after this performance.
— Will Stewart, Daily Arts Writer
PARAMOUNT
What will win:
Casey Affleck’s performance as Lee Chandler in
“Manchester by the Sea” is nuanced, yet powerful.
The loner handyman with a mysteriously tragic past
is portrayed on screen as equally enigmatic and sensi-
tive. Particularly when interacting with his orphaned,
teenage nephew (a stellar performance by newcomer
Lucas Hedges), Affleck’s Lee is awkwardly endearing.
Their banter ranges from dark humor to tender revela-
tions, all while maintaining impressively rugged Bos-
ton accents (reminiscent of another Affleck’s magnum
opus, “Good Will Hunting”). Affleck will not only get
the Oscar for inducing the largest collective sob from
viewers since “Beaches,” but because he created a
narrative on screen so raw and subtle, that the other
actors in the category (an especially impressive lot this
year) pale in comparison.
What should win:
Viggo Mortensen certainly knows how to wield
a sword, as evidenced by his portrayal of Aragorn in
“The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, but can he raise six
children in the wilderness by himself? The answer is
a resounding yes. In “Captain Fantastic,” Mortensen
plays Ben Cash, a radical idealist who along with his
wife, decides to raise their six children in the forests
of the Pacific Northwest. The eccentrically brilliant
children are trained in everything from hunting and
survival skills to theoretical physics and Marxist the-
ory. The Cash kids are as charming and quirky as the
variety of actors who play them. Mortensen will not
get the Oscar, but his performance as a father trying
to reconcile his steadfast philosophies with the well
being of his children is heartbreakingly honest and
deserves recognition beyond “Noam Chomsky Day.”
— Rebecca Portman, For the Daily
AMAZON
BEST ACTRESS
VINE
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
AMAZON
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
What will win:
Had “Moonlight” not jumped over to the
adapted category, I’d say “Arrival,” which
scooped up the prize at the Writers Guild
Awards, was a sure win. The short story it’s
adapted from is absolutely fantastic. However,
Barry Jenkins’s screenplay is going to be impos-
sible to top. “Moonlight” is too quiet, too per-
fectly understated to lend itself to awards in the
Best Picture and Best Director categories — the
Academy prefers the grandeur of something
like “La La Land.” What is does fit are the Acad-
emy’s ideals for writing. It’s going to win in this
category because it deserves the top of the tick-
et honors, but it’s sadly not going to win them.
What should win:
One of the oddities in this year’s award
season is the flip-flopping the “Moonlight”
screenplay has done between the adapted and
original screenplay categories. The screen-
play won best original at the Writers Guild
Awards last Sunday, but is nominated as an
adapted screenplay at the Oscars. In any writ-
ing category, “Moonlight” deserves the win.
Barry Jenkins’s transformation of Tarell Alvin
McCraney’s unpublished, unperformed play is
incredible and truly deserving on all the hon-
ors it can get.
— Madeleine Gaudin, Senior Arts Editor
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
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