So without much further ado, here are my picks and predictions for the Academy Awards celebrating films released during 1997. As in the past, my pick is my personal preference among the nominees while my prediction is that which I feel stands the best chance of actually winning its category.
PICTURE - Although many critics have been rallying around "L.A. Confidential", the fact that its the same old crime drama dressed up as film noir won’t escape the scrutiny of voters. "As Good As It Gets", "The Full Monty", and "Good Will Hunting", all in contemporary settings, will suffer from the Academy’s penchant for bestowing its highest award on historical epics. It’s an inescapable fact that 13 of the 16 most recent honorees in this category have been films set, at least primarily, in the past. Personally, I have a real soft spot for "As Good As It Gets" and wouldn’t mind seeing it take home the gold, but "Titanic" has this one wrapped up, and rightly so.
ACTRESS - Judi Dench, "M" in Pierce Brosnan’s two outings as Bond, was nominated for her role of Queen Victoria in Mrs. Brown. She is a likely contender in the category both for her impeccable performance and her past body of work. Julie Christie stands nominated for the film "Afterglow". Because it was seen by so few, her chances in this category are slim. Helena Bonham Carter, here nominated for "The Wings of the Dove", can never be written off, but is unlikely to prevail over her competition. Kate Winslet, according to numerous Internet polls, is the people’s favorite, most likely because she appears in a film everyone has seen. I did enjoy her performance in "Titanic", but it wasn’t the tour-de-force that Helen Hunt delivered in "As Good As It Gets". Helen was remarkable and if she doesn’t go home with something to place on her mantle, it will be a travesty.
ACTOR - The surprise in this category was that "Titanic" heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio wasn’t nominated. In his place is Matt Damon who co-wrote his own part in "Good Will Hunting". His fine performance will likely be overshadowed by those given by previous Oscar nominees and winners Jack Nicholson in "As Good As It Gets", Peter Fonda in "Ulee’s Gold", Robert Duvall in "The Apostle", and Dustin Hoffman in "Wag the Dog". "Ulee’s Gold" has a strong following and a win for Fonda is likely, but for my money Nicholson gave the year’s best performance. Duvall is likely to be overlooked while Hoffman just didn’t light up the screen as he has in the past.
SUPPORTING ACTRESS - This race is likely to come down to Kim Basinger for her role as a femme fatale in "L.A. Confidential" and Gloria Stuart as the aging survivor of the "Titanic". Joan Cusack’s over-the-top comedic performance in "In and Out" is a long shot, while Minnie Driver in "Good Will Hunting" and Julianne Moore in "Boogie Nights" are only slightly more plausible. Personally, I didn’t find Basinger’s performance to be the eye-opener others claimed.
SUPPORTING ACTOR - Oft-nominated Robin Williams will likely still be an also-ran this year, despite a textured performance in "Good Will Hunting". Robert Forster, whose filmography spans four decades, has received his first nomination, it being for Quentin Tarantino’s "Jackie Brown". His chances at taking home the coveted statuette aren’t as good as those of Burt Reynolds in "Boogie Nights" or Sir Anthony Hopkins in the almost-overlooked "Amistad". Hopkins rarely fails to deliver, but Reynolds being on the comeback road may give him the edge. The final nominee is Greg Kinnear for "As Good As It Gets". Kinnear showed really chemistry with co-stars Nicholson and Hunt and elevated his role beyond the cliché it easily could have been.
DIRECTOR - As little a chance as "The Fully Monty" has for winning best picture, it’s director Peter Cattaneo is even longer of a shot. "Good Will Hunting’s" Gus Van Sant is still too much of a Hollywood outsider to stand much of a chance. Atom Egoyan, director of "The Sweet Hereafter", edged James L. Brooks out of this category but won’t win for his little-seen film. This leaves Curtis Hanson for "L.A. Confidential" and James Cameron for "Titanic". Typically best picture and best director go hand in hand. Although Hanson could upset this tend, Cameron is still the likely choice.
The nominees in the remaining categories are:
ART DIRECTION - Gattaca, Kundun, L.A. Confidential, Men in Black, Titanic
CINEMATOGRAPHY - Amistad, Kundun, L.A. Confidential, Titanic, The Wings of the Dove
COSTUME DESIGN - Amistad, Kundun, Oscar and Lucinda, Titanic, The Wings of the Dove
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE - Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life, Colors Straight Up, 4 Little Girls, The Long Way Home, Waco: The Rules of Engagement
DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT - Alaska: Spirit of the Wild, Amazon, Daughter of the Bride, Still Kicking: The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies, A Story of Healing
FILM EDITING - Air Force One, As Good As It Gets, Good Will Hunting, L.A. Confidential, Titanic
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM - Beyond Silence, Character, Four Days in September, Secrets of the Heart, The Thief
MAKEUP - Men in Black, Mrs. Brown, Titanic
ORIGINAL DRAMATIC SCORE - Amistad, Good Will Hunting, Kundun, L.A. Confidential, Titanic
ORIGINAL MUSICAL OR COMEDY SCORE - Anastasia, As Good As It Gets, The Full Monty, Men in Black, My Best Friend’s Wedding
ORIGINAL SONG - "Go the Distance" in Hercules, "How Do I Live" in Con Air, "Journey to the Past" in Anastasia, "Miss Misery" in Good Will Hunting, "My Heart Will Go On" in Titanic
SHORT FILM ANIMATED - Famous Fred, Geri’s Game, LA Vieille Dame et Les Pigeons, The Mermaid, Redux Riding Hood
SHORT FILM LIVE ACTION - Dance Lexie Dance, It’s Good to Talk, Sweethearts?, Visas and Virtue, Wolfgang
SOUND - Air Force One, Con Air, Contact, L.A. Confidential, Titanic
SOUND EFFECTS EDITING - Face/Off, The Fifth Element, Titanic
VISUAL EFFECTS - The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Starship Troopers, Titanic
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY - Donnie Brasco, L.A. Confidential, The Sweet Hereafter, Wag the Dog, The Wings of the Dove
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY - As Good As It Gets, Boogie
Nights, Deconstructing Harry, The Full Monty, Good Will
Hunting
The Oscars will be broadcast on Monday, March 23rd at
7:00 p.m. MST on ABC.