After its victory at the Golden Globes – and its strong showing in the Bafta nominations – I suspected that the British film Atonement would be a shoo-in for the Best Picture Oscar in February. Now the Oscar nominations have actually been announced, I’m not too sure.
Not only are the American films No Country for Old Men (recommended by the Spectator on, count ‘em, one – two – three occasions) and There Will Be Blood leading the pack with eight nominations each, but the director of Atonement, Joe Wright, hasn’t been nominated for Best Director. Academy voters like to link the Best Picture and Best Director in their minds, and the absence of a Wright’s name next to a checkbox will detrimentally influence their opinion of Atonement more generally. If so, Brits will have to pin their hopes elsewhere – with Daniel Day-Lewis (Best Actor, There Will Be Blood) and Julie Christie (Best Actress, Away From Her) being the folks most likely to bring Oscar to these shores.
For what it’s worth, here’s my should-win/will-win list for the main awards:
Best Picture
Should win: There Will Be Blood
Will win: There Will Be Blood
Best Director
Should win: Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood)
Will win: Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood)
Best Actor
Should win: Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood)
Will win: Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood)
Best Actress
Should win: Marion Cotillard (La Vie En Rose)
Will win: Julie Christie (Away From Her)
Best Supporting Actor
Should win: Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men)
Will win: Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men)
Best Supporting Actress
Should win: Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton)
Will win: Cate Blanchett (I’m Not There)
Best Foreign Language Film
Should win: 12
Will win: The Counterfeiters
Best Animated Film
Should win: Can’t decide between Persepolis and Ratatouille Will win: Ratatouille
Fingers crossed that I won’t be disappointed when the winners are announced on 24 February.
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