Next we take a look at the Best Actor contenders and we will start with the Gurus’ top five (complete list here):
- Daniel Day Lewis – There Will Be Blood
- Tommy Lee Jones – In The Valley of Elah
- James McAvoy – Atonement
- Johnny Depp – Sweeney Todd
- Emile Hirsch – Into the Wild
This is where I am starting to think the Oscar race this year is going to find its champion as There Will Be Blood recently screened at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas and has received nothing but praise for director Paul Thomas Anderson, star Daniel Day Lewis and the movie itself.
Marjorie Baumgarten at Variety says it “rivals Giant and Citizen Kane.” John DeFore at The Hollywood Reporter says “it’s a certain awards contender and will be a strong draw for serious moviegoers.” He also compares it to Giant.
Of course we can’t forget Harry at Ain’t It Cool who says, “It is a legendary performance. Iconic and powerful. It is his absolute best work, which is saying something as he has never ever been anything other than great.”
Basically, it sounds like Daniel Day Lewis is a lock for not only a nomination, but based on these opinions I would be surprised if he doesn’t take home his second Oscar of his career.
As for the other fellas, it seems like Tommy Lee Jones and James McAvoy are both locks, especially Jones. I really think it is a stretch to put Johnny Depp in there, especially since Tim Burton’s films have not garnered anything special as of late and while early buzz on the film is intriguing, no one has seen it so to give it this much cred is a little premature.
Emile Hirsch is great in Into the Wild, but I don’t see him getting a nod over Denzel Washington in American Gangster or Philip Seymour Hoffman from Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead, which came out of Toronto with massive amounts of praise.
I don’t imagine Tom Hanks (Charlie Wilson’s War) or George Clooney (Michael Clayton) will be getting the nod this year even though I loved Clayton. There seems to be a small contingent that wishes Viggo Mortensen would get a nom for Eastern Promises, but even David Cronenberg has been quoted saying he believes Viggo’s performance is too subtle to get an Oscar. He told me, “I’ve read some reviews that have said that it’s too flat and what that says to me is that they aren’t getting it. I don’t know if they are of the Jack Nicholson school of acting or whatever it is that they think is Oscar worthy, I don’t know, but Viggo is a very brilliantly subtle actor.” Subtle or not, I see him gently being left out of the top five in 2008.
If I was to take a stab at a top five based on word of mouth and the limited number of films to be considered so far I would come up with this:
- Daniel Day Lewis – There Will Be Blood
- Tommy Lee Jones – In The Valley of Elah
- James McAvoy – Atonement
- Denzel Washington – American Gangster
- Phillip Seymour Hoffman – Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
It’s always nice to be nominated, but I think all the fellas this year are looking up at Daniel Day Lewis, I can’t wait to see that film. I will now hand it off to Dre to take us home looking at the Best Picture contenders.
