Almost There: Charles Melton in "May December"

by Cláudio Alves

Apologies for the delay in what was supposed to be the Almost There series' glorious return. Since the Oscars are less than one week away, let's see if I can get things back on schedule, starting with a look at one of the season's most disappointing "snubs." When May December premiered in Cannes, many singled out Charles Melton's performance, starting a narrative with great potential. Here was a Riverdale heartthrob making his way into the big leagues, proving he could go toe to toe with such awards-winning stars as Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore. Sadly, not long after a Gotham victory, Melton's campaign lost steam, victim of his film's failure to secure industry support, and he ended outside of AMPAS' Best Supporting Actor ballot…

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Almost There: Barry Keoghan in "Saltburn" & Andrew Scott in "All of Us Strangers"

by Cláudio Alves

Earlier this week, the Almost There series returned with a look at Penélope Cruz's failed bid for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. Now, it's time to move on to Lead Actor, where the season's most prominent contender without a nomination was Leonardo DiCaprio in Killers of the Flower Moon. But since you're probably tired of reading my defense of Scorsese's latest, I decided to focus on two others instead. The first victim is Barry Keoghan in Saltburn, for which he was nominated at the Golden Globes, BAFTAS, and Critics Choice Awards. Our second sacrifice is Andrew Scott, whose campaign for All of Us Strangers was full of passion but few actual plaudits. There were nominations at the Globes, Spirit and British Independent Film Awards, little else...

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Almost There: Penélope Cruz in "Ferrari"

by Cláudio Alves

To celebrate the return of the Almost There series, let's consider the season's buzziest turns, starting with a contender who came close to her third Best Supporting Actress nomination and fifth overall nod. She's won before, for Vicky Cristina Barcelona, in a much different register than the one she's exploring in this latest bid for gold. Of course, I'm talking about Spanish superstar Penélope Cruz, who molded her natural accent into some vaguely Italian sound to play Laura Ferrari in Michael Mann's long-gestating biopic project. It's an immense performance, primordial in its power and classical in construction. Devastated and devastating, she's grief incarnate…

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Almost There: The Return and the Unlucky Thirteen

by Cláudio Alves

Everybody's fighting about Oscar "snubs" since nominations were announced.

It's been a while. The last time I wrote an Almost There piece was nearly a year ago, last February, still reeling from Danielle Deadwyler's lack of an Oscar nomination. Since then…nothing. Personally, I needed a break from the format, and maybe you did too. While the race for gold can be used to contextualize and remember films and performances of yesteryear, it also limits what one can discuss and how. In any case, the series has been on pause for enough time, so let's welcome its return on the heels of the latest batch of Oscar nominations. 

That reminds me - this comeback merits some oomph. Because of that, I'm planning something special for the following weeks…

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Almost There: Barbara Stanwyck in "The Lady Eve"

by Cláudio Alves

Since its inception, the Academy has shown a certain reluctance to awarding great acting within the comedy genre. It often feels that the sillier the role, the less likely it is to win plaudits for the performer who fleshes it out on screen. That's not to say that comedy is wholly absent from the acting races – it's just rarer, more prone to reductive judgment and dismissal. Considering all this, the recent SAG results feel even more miraculous. They point us toward a scenario where a wild genre riff might win over half of the acting prizes. So with that mind, a comedic episode of "Almost There".

Let's reflect upon an achievement that might be justly named the pinnacle of screen comedy – Barbara Stanwyck's stunning turn in 1941's The Lady Eve…

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