Sure, she looks sweet and innocent and her roles in recent years have been fairly predictable. But The Fighter helped Amy Adams break the good-girl mold, and an Oscar win would also propel her into the stratosphere of Hollywood elite she’s long struggled to reach. Adams shows her tough side in this film as the slightly tarnished bartender girlfriend of Mark Wahlberg, in a stellar ensemble cast that also includes Christian Bale and Melissa Leo. The film tells an underdog story, but Adams herself isn’t the underdog here—she’s one of the favorites to win.
Helena Bonhan Carter is razor sharp as Queen Elizabeth, otherwise known (far into the future in this film’s period!) as the Queen Mum. She is the wife of George VI, the quietly courageous king-to-be who struggled with a near-debilitating speech impediment that made him dread the idea of taking the throne. Bonham Carter’s performance is riveting not only for the skill with which she delivers it but also for the way in which it shows her acting range. Although known for being quirky in real life, she settled so comfortably into the role of a cultured royal matriarch that she’s in sight of an Oscar win.
This tale of the hardscrabble lives of boxing brothers has sent another tough female into the ring for a shot at the best supporting actress award. Melissa Leo plays the maternal figurehead of a rather dysfunctional family and does it with considerable panache. If her giddy Golden Globe acceptance speech is any indication, this redheaded dynamo is absolutely thrilled to be invited to the party and is a real contender when it comes to taking home the golden prize. Rumors are swirling that she’ll be delivering a thespian one-two punch this year by taking home the Oscar, too.
At 14-years-old, Hailee Steinfeld delivered a shockingly mature depiction of Mattie Ross, a plucky teen in search of a killer in the Coen Brothers’ adaptation of the western film True Grit. She already won the Critics’ Choice award for her performance causing all of Hollywood to take notice. Now, everyone is poised to see if Steinfeld will land the Oscar, and she’s certainly got the sentimental vote cornered. Whether she wins or not, she’s secured a spot in the world of silver screens and uber-stylists as a rising young star.
Last month when the Golden Globe nominations announced its Best Supporting Actress category there was an actress on the list you may have been surprised to see: Jacki Weaver. The Australian actress again turns head for her Oscar nod for Animal Kingdom. Weaver gives a riveting performance in this down-under crime saga, emerging as the dark horse in this race. In Animal Kingdom, Weaver plays Janine "Smurf" Cody, the matriarch of a dysfunctional family of bank robbers whose world of crime gets shaken up when their teenage nephew Joshua comes to live with them following his mother’s drug overdose. It’s a film that wasn’t on the radar but one that has gained momentum this awards season.
By Marissa Stapley-Ponikowski