And I think there might just be a potential winner in the mix.
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This awards season has been about as congested as the LA freeway during rush hour. Launching like a rocket out of the post-New Year gate with last Sunday’s Golden Globes and continuing this weekend at the Critic’s Choice Awards, things kick into even higher gear on Monday morning when Oscar nominations are announced and the ultimate race really begins.
With the nomination front-runners already largely lined up, it got me thinking about all of the actors who are unsure bets that turned in gold-worthy work this year. So, to shine a last-minute light on the dark horses on the Oscar derby track, here are six stellar supporting performances that I hope the Academy surprises us by recognizing next week.
Scarlett Johansson, Jojo Rabbit
It’s a foregone conclusion that ScarJo is going to score a Best Actress nomination for her emotional acrobatics in Marriage Story, and deservingly so. But as a luminous bright light in the shadows of the Anti-Nazi Resistance raising a Hitler-worshipping son in Jojo Rabbit, she is simply transcendent in a performance that has garnered only intermittent awards attention. Her work here is so connected, multi-dimensionally human and emotionally effective that it only takes a simple (yet highly consequential) shot of her shoes later in the film to instantly shatter even the most cynical audience member. In fact, I’m putting my big out-on-a-limb, all-or-nothing prediction bet on her: If Scarlett manages to land this nod, she’s going to take home the Oscar. Boom.
Song Kang Ho, Parasite
If you’re looking for the most relevant, layered and sublimely made movie of the year, Parasite is all of those things and more. And while it’s certainly due in large part to the writing and directing, it’s the cast that sells every ‘OMFG’ second of the twisted tale, especially Song Kang Ho as the Kim family patriarch. Song walks an emotional and thematic tightrope from scene-to-scene, carrying the film as it wildly shifts and twists in unpredictable directions—transitions made fully believable by his commitment to the moment and clarity of motivation. It isn’t often that foreign language performances penetrate this category, but Song is a more than worthy contender.
Luenell, Dolemite Is My Name
I got a real kick of out Dolemite Is My Name, which has mostly received notice for the return of Eddie Murphy’s character actor genius to the big screen (or however big the TV you watch Netflix on is). For my money, though, the most interesting, unexpected and hi-larious turn in the movie is from Luenell, who plays Rudy Ray Moore’s ‘wealthy’ aunt. She might only pop-up for one short scene and some change, but Luenell was indelibly memorable as she telegraphed more about the woman, the life she’s lived and her relationship with her nephew in a glance than many actors could do with 10 pages of dialogue—all while delivering literal LOL’s.
Timothée Chalamet, Little Women
It can’t be easy tackling an iconic character in a beloved literary classic like Little Women, and I thought just about the entire cast rose to the challenge. What made Chalamet’s interpretation of lovelorn Laurie so special, though, was how fresh it felt. While the other performances had me doing a cross-examination with the 1994 iteration, that wasn’t the case when it came to his. Chalamet’s pulsing energy breathed new life into Laurie in an emotional portrait of a young man navigating a rollercoaster of first-time feelings with plenty of bumps along the way. You felt his elation, desire, desperation and depression emanate from the screen in a way that arguably made his character more relevant to the story than ever, and that’s the kind of work that Oscar should take note of.
Zhao Shuzhen, The Farewell
A real gem of a movie that I hope gets more recognition than predicted, if the Academy gets it right, it will at least give a shout-out to the indispensable Zhao Shuzhen as the titular grandmother, Nai Nai, in the year’s other best foreign language film, The Farewell. In a fully formed, flesh-and-blood characterization that was so naturalistically on-point that it almost made it seem like she wasn’t acting at all, Zhao Shuzhen made us care about her matriarch as much as the family surrounding her holding a secret did. Strong, playful, sad and inspiring all at once, her performance is a master class that deserves its due.
Julie Walters, Wild Rose
If you need a Dame to come in and show everyone how it’s done, Julie Walters is one of your go-to gals every time. That said, there was something different and uniquely special about her work in Wild Rose. Not every actress can communicate near-volcanic frustration and sadness that’s always simmering beneath the surface, while also conveying the duality of the bottomless depths of unconditional love for her “wild” daughter and grandchildren, whom she’s also raised. There isn’t a scene in the film where you don’t feel the weight of Walters’ character’s long and challenging journey, which makes the payoff of her turning point monologue near the end such an unexpected gut punch. Here’s hoping the Academy feels the same.