They Shoot Oscar Prognosticators, Don't They?
Round Two Around The Corner
By J. Don Birnam
November 25, 2015
Los Angeles Critics: Arthouse Crowd? If one of the three main critic groups likes to think of itself as an arthouse crowd, it’s definitely the L.A. critics. Past picks for Her, Gravity, and The Descendants signal a desire to at least fall into the outskirts of the mainstream. Still, none of those movies were crazy picks, like when the National Society of Film Critics picked Goodbye to Language last year.
A pick for Spotlight here could signal that it is indeed a strong contender, but do not count out arthouse favorites like Carol, Diary of a Teenage Girl and even Son of Saul (NYFCC may pick that as well, come to think of it). I’m going to stick with Spotlight, but this one will be interesting.
In acting, they also have shown a knack for not falling for category fraud as well, awarding Patricia Arquette their Best Actress plaque last year. For that reason, I expect them to go for Alicia Vikander’s entire 2015 body of work, including Ex Machina, Testament of Youth and, of course, The Danish Girl. I also expect them to laud Michael Fassbender in lead and Rylance in supporting.
And with Vikander out of contention, Best Supporting Actress will be much more exciting, with Elizabeth Banks likely in the lead, but Kate Winslet also not out of the question, as is Kristen Stewart for Clouds of Sils Maria, if the LA critics really want to seem high-brow and mirror what the French did last year with her performance.
Enjoy Thanksgiving. After that, the going gets tough as we will have SAG and Golden Globe nominations drop in quick succession.
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