There is an actress named Daphne Joy Randolph who has been acting since 2013, and has appeared in 40 films so far. No one would have known her even if he saw her personally in front of him, because she resembled many faces and did not have any distinctive features. On the contrary, if one of us accidentally met Margot Robbie, Jodie Foster, or Emma Stone.
But the situation will change, if only to a sufficient extent, on February 10, during the ninety-sixth “Oscars” ceremony. This is because Daphne is the strongest candidate in the “Best Supporting Actress” competition for her role in Alexander Payne’s film “The Holdovers.”
Daphne Joy Randolph will steal the show (Focus Films)
Her victory will not be easy against Jodie Foster and Emily Blunt in particular, but, according to most people’s expectations, it is the most likely win in this division.
It’s okay to talk about why. Daphne is almost the only female actress in “The Continuers.” Starring Paul Giamatti, the theme revolves around him and his male students. She is the cook and supervisor of school affairs: a large, obese woman, the beauty of her features cannot be measured, but no one among all her competitors in this race has presented a performance that is more effective, spontaneous, and combined with studied spontaneity than her. Any kind viewer cannot help but admire not only her role, nor the way she performs alone, but also her natural and emotional personality. There are scenes of her alone, and others in front of Paul Giamatti and the young Dominique Sessa, but the eye will not leave her for the sake of others. You will watch it reflect a profound human condition. Through it, the viewer can almost see the history of the best African-American actors and actresses in the history of cinema.
Two at the forefront
Perhaps the film’s hero, Paul Giamatti, wishes that his chances of winning the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role were as guaranteed as they are.
He is the professor that no one likes because of his approach that combines hostility and stubbornness. He has no nice things to say to anyone. His manager tells him frankly, “No one likes you,” and he is at the forefront of these. Giamatti’s way of playing the role is stylistically saturated. He creates his character to the best of his ability, giving it energy and uniqueness. But that doesn’t seem quite what’s needed for this role. There is a degree of showmanship that is not on par with the performance of some of his competitors, who tended to the principle of “less is better than more.”
Among these is his first competitor, Cillian Murphy, for his role in “Oppenheimer.” In his previous films (including two films directed by Christopher Nolan, “Dunkirk” and “Prologue”), he is always good. The difference between his previous films and his new film is that he carries the entire film here, devoid of many elements, including that he is years younger than Oppenheimer himself, and he must represent a controversial character in a neutral manner so that one side does not favor the other in his positions. Yes; He invented the bomb, but he felt guilty. Yes; He was left-leaning, but he was not a traitor.
To Giamatti and Murphy in the race for Best Actor in a Leading Role, attention is directed to Jeffrey Wright for “American Fiction.” Like Giamatti, Wright has always been close to entering various awards seasons. Likewise, it has been overlooked more than once. Like him, he is an actor whose talent can be relied upon, and in fact he deserved all the good roles he played, including his role here.
The above will certainly lead to another good actor, Colman Domingo, being overlooked for his role in “Rustin,” and this will be easy because his emotional diagnosis is similar, or not similar, to the real character he represents.
The last one to consider is Bradley Cooper for his role in “Maestro.” He previously ran for office more than once and did not win. There is no regret if he did not play the character of the musical writer Leonard Bernstein, as a lot of personal behavior and going over details had to be accepted by the film based on a weak scenario.
A final note here is that “Oppenheimer”, “Rustin”, and “Maestro” are about 3 real personalities. From this angle, it is more predictable that Cillian Murphy will be the one who will take the stage and thank the director for this opportunity.
Gladstone: An awkward question
On the female side in the race for Best Actress in a Leading Role, expectations indicate that Lily Gladstone will win the Oscar in this category. She has stubborn competitors, namely Annette Bening, who puts her long-standing talent in “Niad” (another real character), Emma Stone for “Poor Things,” Carey Mulligan for “Maestro,” and then Sandra Holler for “Anatomy of a Fall.”
What makes Gladstone at the forefront of expectations is that she is the first Native American actress to be nominated for the award for her role in “Killers of the Flower Moon” by Martin Scorsese. This is well taken into account at a time when reform trends and its associations are widespread, and the desire to raise the hat of appreciation to all its citizens. It is the same trend that prompted the Academy to award Sidney Poitier the “Oscar for Best Actor” for his role in “Lilies of the Field” in 1969.
But the embarrassing question is; Is it really the best out there? Her role in Scorsese’s film was not keen on showing her abilities because she is simultaneously the main actress and the marginalized actress. The director directed his attention to introducing Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio. Her scenes are similar, they start fresh and emotional, then fall into morbid monotony. These are not scenes that require a distinguished performance, which favors the above, which is that the “Oscar”, if she actually wins it, will be a kind of tribute to her origins.
Emma Stone may steal the few votes that will separate her from Gladstone. But its performance is chaotic; It is calculated with shocking scenes more than those that reflect dramatic ability.
Better than Carey Mulligan, but she can hardly pull herself out from under the dominance of the space Cooper gives himself.
This leaves us with German Sandra Höller. Worthy of attention, but she is not the one who will receive the award with others who have more accessible and impressive dramatic waves.
Downey in the spotlight
If there are disparities between the levels of acting in other races, then in the “Best Supporting Actor” race, the levels differ and meet at the same time.
There are 4 celebrities and one new one is Sterling K. Brown, the African-American, plays his role well in “American Fiction,” but how can he have any chance of winning in the face of a performance ready to amaze and influence, as well as that of Mark Ruffalo in “Poor Things” and Robert Downey Jr. in “Oppenheimer?”
Robert Downey Jr. is prominent in the competition (Getty)
Some believe that Downey Jr. was worthy of playing the role of Cillian Murphy. It is not because Downey is not fit for this responsibility, as he is at the appropriate age at least, but part of what has increased the value of “Oppenheimer” is that Murphy is not known to be of the same size, compared to Downey. Therefore, another type of performance could have occurred on the front of this film, neither better nor worse, but different in that Downey steals the film with his talent, which does not happen with Murphy in the role.
As for Mark Ruffalo and his surprising role for those who follow him, he is about to steal the spotlight from all this elite actor with his character, which is one of the best elements of “Poor Things.” Yes; The film suffers from writing problems and some stumbles in execution, but when it comes to how Ruffalo chose to portray his character, one can only admire this diversification that he achieved forcefully from his previous films.
This does not happen with Ryan Gosling, who is nominated for his role in “Barbie.” A role that any other actor could have accomplished, because it is written like an open letter with no secrets. He is undoubtedly malleable, but his role here is fragile, and he will not attract enough voters to give him any award.
Robert De Niro remains. This unbeatable actor in the serious roles he plays, especially those under Scorsese’s direction, as is the case in “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Two problems will rob him of the “Oscar”: the first is his name, Cillian Murphy, and the second is that we have seen him in better written roles.
Expectations and wishes
* “Oscar” for Best Actor in a Leading Role:
– The Luckiest: Cillian Murphy for “Oppenheimer”
– Also deserving of it: Paul Giamatti for “The Continuers,” and Jeffrey Wright for “American Fiction.”
– The Luckiest: Colman Domingo for “Rustin”
* “Oscar” for Best Actress in a Leading Role:
– The Luckiest: Lily Gladstone on “The Flower Moon Killers”
– Also deserving: Annette Bening for “Niad” and Carey Mulligan for “Maestro.”
– The Luckiest: Sandra Holler for “Anatomy of a Fall.”
* “Oscar” for Best Actor in a Supporting Role:
– The luckiest: Robert Downey Jr. for “Oppenheimer.”
– Also deserves it: Mark Ruffalo for “Poor Things.”
– The least fortunate: Sterling K. Brown for “American Fiction”
* “Oscar” for Best Actress in a Supporting Role:
– The Luckiest: Davin Joy Randolph on “The Continuing”
She deserves it too: no one else.
The least fortunate: America Ferrara for “Barbie.”
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