This Sunday, awards season comes to a close as the Oscars arrive; perhaps not as important as once billed, seeing who picks up an Academy Award statuette is still the most entertaining night on the film calendar. This year, nine films have been nominated for Best Picture and every day leading up to the big night, I will be running through each film and rating its chances of winning. Presented by Seth MacFarlane, the ceremony will be broadcast live through the night on Sky Movies Oscars (check the top-notch official poster below.)
So, time to grab your popcorn and get your sweepstakes ready - the rundown starts here..! First up?
AMOUR
Michael Haneke, the Austrian auteur, is renowned for making films so bleak you’ll either love ‘em or hate ‘em (see: Funny Games, Hidden, The White Ribbon.) But rarely does a film garner such unanimous praise as the French–language film Amour has done since it's Palme d'Or win at Cannes Film Festival last May. His emotionally-driven love story about a long-married couple who have to deal with a trauma when illness strikes is elevated by the two central performances (Emmanuelle Riva – officially now the oldest Best Actress nominee ever,and Jean-Louis Trintigant - cruelly overlooked) making this Haneke’s most acclaimed film to date. A nomination, and probable win, in the Foreign Picture category is a no-brainer; its appearance in the main category is a nice touch.
Will it win?
If Haneke hadn't received a nod in the Best Director category, Amour's chances would be non-existent. But its aforementioned Foreign Picture nomination counts it out of the race. Last year’s winner (The Artist) may have been French-affiliated, but a foreign-language film has actually never won the top prize since the ceremony's conception in 1929. Nine have been nominated (including Amour,) with Clint Eastwood’s Japanese-language Letters from Iwo Jima being the most recent in 2006. Crazy to have to count Amour out when it is probably the most unanimously praised film out of all the nine nominees.
Film: 4.5/5
Chances of Winning: 1/5
Read my Amour review here
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