The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
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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