'Tis the Season

The Oscar season, that is.

I must say that awards season is a pretty languid affair for me…until I get to the night of the actual awards show. Then (just ask my poor family) I become a feral, teeth-gnashing, nail-gnawing mess of a girl. Those moments right before the winner is announced and I make a quick guess, crossing my fingers so hard they turn pallid, are the quintessence of agony. I then I deflate when, as usual, my prediction proves incorrect, and proceed to gaze glassily at the antics of the show's host until the next winner.

It's an emotional workout that leaves me spent for the rest of the year.

Any-who, I have a few opinions (gasp!) on the state of affairs having to do with the gleaming statuette, about who I want to win and whatnot. However, note that I am of the sort who desperately wants all the awards (Critics' Choice, Golden Globes, SAG, BAFTA, Oscar) to match up, or else I descend into a fit of neuroticism, so I write this post whilst twitching. Also note that I have yet to see Amour, Beasts of the Southern Wild, and Life of Pi, so my opinions may change in time if I do end up seeing them.

BEST PICTURE

Django Unchained

In a perfect world, the Best Picture winner is the one out of all the nominees that will be remembered in the years to come. Django Unchained is a film that will be remembered. Quentin Tarantino just knows how to make a movie that is artful without forgetting its purpose as entertainment, as well as giving kudos to spaghetti westerns and blaxploitation movies. You can feel his enthusiasm behind every frame, a sign of a great and signature director. I loved every minute of it (though I wish that basically the only female character was more fleshed out, but I suppose her character was more of a metaphor. Still…)

BEST ACTOR

Lincoln

Oh, Daniel Day-Lewis. You, when I was only the wee age of twelve, showed me an elevated form of acting in My Left Foot that left me stunned. In a world where so many actors lament their profession, you delve completely into each role and dedicate huge chunks of your life to them. You are a league of your own. Have fun with your Oscar triplets.

BEST ACTRESS

The Impossible

So much pain and beauty in The Impossible, in no small part due to Naomi Watts's sublime performance. She conveys so much through her luminous eyes. Rarely is there a moment where you can sense she is acting. And in the scenes when she is pain, you cannot help but feel her pain. My only complaint about this movie was that this family was too beautiful to be real (oh, Ewan McGregor…).

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Argo

I just love Alan Arkin, okay? I've loved him since Wait Until Dark, and of course in Little Miss Sunshine, and I love him no less as the cantankerous producer in Argo. Sure, he may be doing the same routine he's been doing for quite some time, but he does it so well! It takes a great actor to hold up a persona in movie after movie.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Les Misérables

I bow to you, dear Princess of Genovia. Practically all my life I've been a Les Mis fan (I sang a solo of "Castle on the Cloud" in third grade. Yikes.), and I must admit that I started shaking with sobs when Anne Hathaway began to sing "I Dreamed a Dream." Not because it was heart-wrenching, though it was, but because I was so overcome with emotion that this performance would be the one captured on celluloid. She brings an airy, fragile quality to Fantine that is distinctly her own, and with only twenty minutes of screen time she leaves an indelible impression. Not to mention she's just an awesome person.

EDIT: Amour for all the awards.