Oscar Picks
Nathan Westfall
The Broadside
If you are a fan of the film world you will be keenly aware that the 83rd annual Oscars are quickly approaching. On Sunday, Feb. 27, the film giants will gather at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood to give out the most prestigious awards.
Here are my picks for the main awards:
Best Supporting Actress
For supporting actress, I would have to go with Melissa Leo’s rendering of Mickey Ward’s mother in “The Fighter.”
Much like Bale’s performance, she really owned this role. By the end of the film, you loved to hate her character.
Best Supporting Actor
By far, the best performance in this category would belong to Christian Bale in “The Fighter.” His portrayal of Dick Eklund, the trainer and brother of Mickey Ward, was nothing less than inspired.
Best Director
Although this field is stacked with a “who’s who” of modern Hollywood heavy hitters, the standout directing effort came from David Fincher with his film “The Social Network.”
His use of a great script and fabulous young actors made watching a film about creating a website absolutely enthralling.
Best Actress
This award should go to Natalie Portman.
Her performance in “Black Swan” was amazingly subdued and thought provoking.
As she slowly buckles from the pressure of being the lead role in the production of “Swan Lake” and descends into madness, she never strays from the insecure reclusive character from the beginning of the film.
Portman gives an inspired performance that deserves the highest honors.
Best Actor
It is not very often that a performance from a foreign film will be nominated for an Academy Award.
Even though most of us wouldn’t consider “The King’s Speech” to be foreign, it was made in the United Kingdom.
This film wouldn’t have been half as good as it was without the expert talent of Colin Firth. He is an actor that has long been giving knock-out performances and is yet to be recognized. I believe this year will be his year.
Best Picture
This was the most difficult choice for me. Every film in this category was nothing short of brilliant.
But if I have to look at this field from an academic stance, “The Social Network” rises to the top.
The script was amazing, the acting talent was top notch and the execution was as close to perfect as I have seen from this year’s nominees.
Although I have seen all these films, “The Social Network” was the only one that I rushed out to buy the day it was released.
Nathan Westfall can be reached at [email protected]