TIFF: Twelve Ye... Oh, Let's Just Oscar Update
Thursday, September 12, 2013 at 6:16PM Twelve Years a Slave is... God, I'm going to need some time to collect myself. Good grief but that movie is harrowing / amazing. That's all I got for now. Can we discuss later when I've stopp... I think I have something in my eye.
But since we're talking powerful and overwhelming emotion, our minds should naturally drift to actresses. Patsey the slave (Lupita Nyong'o) confides memorably to Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) that she has no comfort in this world. But Supporting Actress is deeply comforting to us and we need comfort right now after this movie.
Reducing great movies to Oscar talk is awful. I know I know. I hate myself for typing this but LET'S TALK OSCAR'S BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS RACE (UPDATED CHART). I went in to 12 Years a Slave anxious to see what McQueen & Fassbender could do (I'm happy to report that they're three for three under the umbrella of utterly amazing director/muse collaborations) and wasn't thinking about the actresses much at all. A rarity. But still, once I remembered to think of them I was curious about Qu'venzhane Wallis (barely in it... in fact most people won't notice that she is) and Alfre Woodard. Alfre at least has a juicy and blessedly atypical scene to chew on. It's kind of a relief really from the scenes surrounding it and every harrowing story needs catch your breath moments. Especially if you've forgotten to breathe. Which kept happening to me.
As it turns out Lupita Nyong'o as the slave girl "Patsey" and Sarah Paulson as her cruel mistress "Mary Epps" are where it's at for supporting actressing in this movie. Their every scene together is knife's edge brilliant.
Also @ TIFF
Labor Day in a freeze-frame nutshell
Paranoia Mano-a-mano Thrillers Enemy & Pioneer
Jessica Chastain at the Eleanor Rigby Premiere
August Osage County reactions Plus Best Picture Nonsense
Rush Ron Howard's crowd pleaser
TIFF Vow: Dreaming of 2014
The Past from Oscar winner Asghar Farhadi & Cannes Best Actress Berenice Bejo
Queer Double Feature: Tom at the Farm and Stranger by the Lake
Boogie Nights Live Read with Jason Reitman and Friends
First 3 Screenings: Child's Pose, Unbeatable and Isabelle Huppert in Abuse of Weakness
TIFF Arrival: Touchdown in Toronto. Two unsightly Oscars
Reader Comments (54)
My feeling is that August: Osage County will get an obligatory Ensemble nomination from SAG, but Meryl will be the only performer to get an Oscar nod. I've read elsewhere that Lawrence's role in American Hustle is actually quite meaty, so I'm not sure how much of a wild card pick that is (assuming what I read is in fact true). I agree with your top four, but I'm not so sure about Diaz. The Counselor just doesn't seem to be picking up any buzz. Right now I'm actually leaning towards Paulson for the fifth slot.
I absolutely love McQueen. Possibly the best today. And the reviews are making me jump up in the air. But i still have a hard time seeing this as an oscar favorite. Admittedly i haven't seen the film yet so i can't really add much, but McQueen is a tough filmmaker and his films aren't exactly entertaining. They are incredibly tough which is why i am hesitant. The academy is known to usually go for the more crowd baiting material like king's speech over social network. i also see this as more of a critics film than one for audiences. I wouldn't be surprised if some mainstream film goers won't like it. But i hope im wrong. Hunger is an incredible film but it is one of the hardest movies for me to watch again. Shame i actually find entertaining to some extent. Anyway i have loved mcqueen's evolution as a filmmaker.
@CMG
I am always baffled and a little annoyed when us cinephiles claim to "know" more than the Hollywood industry. It's not like Steve McQueen has come out of nowhere and that Hollywood doesn't know who he is...how else do you think Michael Fassbender started becoming prolific within the industry? Because of HUNGER.
Shame was very buzzy a couple of years ago and I am sure it was because of these two movies that led Brad Pitt to seek McQueen out and produce and co-star in 12 Years a Slave. McQueen has been steadily on the rise for the past few years.
Kurtis O: I'm curious about your comment re: McQueen not showing what Ejiofor's character "gained" from slavery. Acknowledging that I may have misunderstood the point, what on earth is there to "gain"?