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Summary
Three of the biggest contender for the top prizes at the 2024 Academy Awards – Maestro , Napoleon , andKillers of the Flower Moon – all divvy up the same harsh the true that could hurt their chances of accomplish Oscar glory . With an eclectic mix of acclaimed films across every genre , this has been one of the most unpredictable old age for Oscar candidates . Poor Thingsis the uncanny Best Picture rival in a while , Aircould do surprisingly well for a movie about a sneaker , and Ryan Gosling ’s memorably uproarious turn as Ken inBarbiecould contribute to a rare Oscar winnings for a big - budget studio drollery .
Some of the categories are easier to predict than others . Spider - Man : Across the Spider - Verseseems like a shoo - in for Best Animated feature film . The honorable plump for Actress backwash is a toss - up between Rosamund Pike forSaltburnand Tilda Swinton forThe Killer . Best Original Screenplay could go toPast LivesorThe Holdovers , or evenBarbie(although it ’s technically an adaptation ) . But the Best Actor class is tricky to reckon , because three of the expected nominee – Bradley Cooper forMaestro , Joaquin Phoenix forNapoleon , andLeonardo DiCaprio forKillers of the Flower Moon – have all been let down by the same tough reality .
3 Of This Year’s Best Actor Contenders Were Upstaged By Their Female Co-Stars
Bradley Cooper ’s performance as Leonard Bernstein inMaestro , Joaquin Phoenix ’s functioning as Napoleon Bonaparte inNapoleon , and Leonardo DiCaprio ’s performance as Ernest Burkhart inKillers of the Flower Moonwere all gestate to land them Best Actor nominating speech . But now that all those movies have been released and critics have shared their opinions on each of them , those actor ’ turns have all bear from the same problem : being upstaged by their distaff atomic number 27 - whiz . The vista - stealing female lead ofMaestro , Napoleon , andKillers of the Flower Moonovershadowed the work of their male colleagues and put themselves in line for a Best Actress trophy .
The fact that the biggest manly stars are upstaged by their female carbon monoxide gas - stars in 2023 ’s prestigiousness films could pass to a very heated Best Actress raceway , but it meansthere ’s no standout contender for Best Actor , so that family is astray open . This could permit for some outliers to offend through , like Nicolas Cage for his vocation - best performance as the man of everyone ’s ambition inDream Scenarioor Anthony Hopkins for his much - lauded turn as the beginner of psychoanalysis inFreud ’s Last Session . No one upstaged Cillian Murphy inOppenheimer , so that could put him forward of all his rival inthe Best Actor race .
Maestro Is Really Carey Mulligan’s Movie
In his ego - starring biopicMaestro , Bradley Cooper chronicles Leonard Bernstein ’s animation through his family relationship with actress Felicia Montealegre , played by Carey Mulligan . While Bernstein is the film ’s focus , it ’s really Mulligan ’s moving picture . Critics have generally responded positively to the whole picture , butmost of them have singled out Mulligan for especial praise . While Cooper impersonate the complexities of Bernstein ’s angst and hedonism , Mulligan gives the film its heart as the embattled spouse who ca n’t bring herself to turn a unreasoning eye . It ’s such a great performance that she even works wonders with the intimate figure of speech of a depressed character stepping into a swim pool fully garment .
Maestrois the second photographic film that Cooper has directed after his critically and commercially successful 2018 remake ofA Star is conduct . A Star is Bornsimilarly saw Cooper ’s lead character overshadowed by his magnetised distaff co - star . Cooper gave a stunning performance as area rock star Jackson Maine , but Lady Gaga stole the spotlight in the role of Jack ’s protégée - turn - wife Ally . A lot of histrion - conductor are reluctant to share the spotlight , but Cooper ’s directorial crusade have shown that he ’s a generous enough performer to not only partake in the spotlight , but release it completely ( although it could wound his chance of win Best Actor at the 2024 Oscars ) .
Vanessa Kirby Steals The Show From Joaquin Phoenix In Napoleon
This year , Ridley Scott did what Stanley Kubrick tried and failed to do throughout his entire life history : he made a motion picture about Napoleon Bonaparte . Napoleonstars Joaquin Phoenix as the titular warmonger and chart his upgrade from an ambitious young regular army officer to the Emperor of the French . Phoenix gives a o.k. performance as Napoleon , particularly in capturing his brusk temper and lust for power with a sly sense of humour , butVanessa Kirby steals the show as Napoleon ’s first married woman and tightlipped intimate , Empress Joséphine . Phoenix ’s performance is serviceable , but nothing judgment - blowing ; Kirby ’s performance , on the other paw , falls into the latter category .
Despite the mixed review article , there ’s a pot to admire inNapoleon . There are mountain of exciting struggle successiveness , and Scott helm those sequences with his common panache . These conflict chronological sequence could pull in the film some technical nominating address like Best Cinematography , Best Film Editing , and Best Production Design . But Phoenix ’s one - note portrayal of Napoleon as a proto - Hitler with an American accent is a long pellet for a Best Actor nominating speech . If Phoenix is name for Best Actor , it ’ll believably just be a courtesy to a previous winner ; he ’s improbable to actually win . ButKirby has a veridical shot at earning the Best Actress prize .
Napoleonis Joaquin Phoenix ’s second quislingism with director Ridley Scott afterGladiator .
Lily Gladstone Is The Breakout Star Of Killers Of The Flower Moon
Martin Scorsese ’s grueling dramatisation of the Osage Nation murder fling , Killers of the Flower Moon , was hype up as the first Scorsese motion-picture show to have both of his go - to leading homo : Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro . But the film ’s M.V.P. is neither DiCaprio nor De Niro ; it ’s their female Colorado - star , Lily Gladstone . DiCaprio and De Niro share a captivating moral force as DiCaprio ’s Ernest Burkhart is manipulated by his unscrupulous creature - master uncle , De Niro ’s William Hale , to poison his married woman and usurp her fortune . ButGladstone gives the film ’s most compelling performance as Ernest ’s wife , Mollie , who ’s devastate by the slaying in her community .
Scorsese shows the heart - wrenching tragedy of the murders through Mollie ’s eyes . As her sis and neighbors are slaughtered around her , Mollie is overwhelmed with grief . Gladstone is a brilliantly subtle actor ; she can convey a complete change in Mollie ’s behaviour with nothing more than a smell . She shows Mollie ’s jolt at the murders and her disgust at the thirsty wolves infiltrating her community just by the way she squints her middle . Much like Mulligan is the heart ofMaestro , Gladstone is the substance ofKillers of the Flower Moon . If anyone involved withKillers of the Flower Moonis guarantee an Oscar nomination , it ’s Gladstone .
