There is no need to panic about a few of the details today at the SAG award nominations. For instance, many thought Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy might have done better — but it will do very very well at the BAFTAs, which will push it from thence towards Oscar. I also think Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo were late entries and wouldn’t show up at SAG — they probably weren’t seen by enough members, I’m guessing. I don’t think Tinker, Tailor was seen much either. But I should probably research a bit before making sweeping statements like that.
When people say things like Shailene Woodley was left off – well, she wasn’t left off because she got an ensemble nod. So technically it wasn’t an out and out snub. Albert Brooks, though, did get a snub — however, he has many more friends in the Academy than in SAG, so I’m expecting he’ll still make it in the Oscar race. Gary Oldman, Woody Harrelson, and of course, Michael Fassbender were all left off the Best Actor list. But Demian Bichir’s nomination is a cause for celebration. It was a “little” movie but what a great performance. His has stuck with me through the months – partly because of the character he plays but also his restrained performance is so moving.
The Help and The Artist get the biggest bump, naturally. The Help, of course, is the force to be reckoned with for the ensemble win. Given all of these things I think the SAG award win for Best Actress is going to be a showdown between Viola Davis and Glenn Close, who has never yet won a SAG and has respect from the actors. Although with a membership as big as 100,000 (2100 did the nominating) it’s hard to know. Meryl Streep could win with those kinds of numbers. The most likable character, though, is Davis’. And if there is that much love for The Help with actors — and Davis is so well known and beloved within the actors community — well, it follows logic that she could at last win. Davis heads up the ensemble for The Help and is the standout performer, along with Octavia Spencer.
We’re not quite yet to the point where we can stop counting the times a black actress has won the SAG but we’re not there yet. So the SAG is way ahead of Oscar as in its short history, Halle Berry already won for Monster’s Ball. For Oscar, 84 years and one black actress has taken the prize.
The real puzzler for me is why Kevin Spacey was ignored for his work in Margin Call — it being one of the best performances of the year, lead or supporting, male or female. There is no way these actors didn’t see Margin Call, but it’s possible that they’re not as into the slow burn of the Wall Street meltdown, in one of the best and most intricate screenplays of the year. They seem to like the more showy performances all the way around. Subtle doesn’t appear to register much.
However, it’s great that Melissa McCarthy was recognized for Bridesmaids. Comedy is harder than it looks — McCarthy, like Jonah Hill, are deceptively funny – they’re a lot more versatile than their work would have you believe. Though it’s always harder to break from the mold of comedy — as funny actors have long lamented — but they shouldn’t have to always be serious to be recognized as good actors. It’s great to see the SAG have considered comedy of value in the film awards.
Oscar won’t match this completely. BAFTA makes a hell of an impact in the acting awards and tomorrow’s Globe announcements will confirm or deny a few of these. Sometimes we have Oscar years when everything matches up throughout – and sometimes they are all over the place. This year, there are only a few things we can count on. We’ll know better as the weeks wear on.
