As this year’s Oscar ballots are now being sent to Academy members, voters for the Spirit Awards are also deliberating over their ballots. (You can check out all the nominees here.) I’m expecting Precious and Crazy Heart to dominate the ceremony on March 5, which would be completely fine by me. But I’d also like to point out three underdog nominees that are worth considering.
Best Male Lead: Adam Scott, The Vicious Kind My EW colleagues Wendy Mitchell and Margaret Lyons have both declared their love for Scott (Step Brothers, Party Down) on PopWatch. In last year’s Sundance entry The Vicious Kind, he delivers one of the most fascinating performances I’ve seen in a while, playing a short-fused rural Connecticut construction worker who finds himself attracted to his little brother’s new girlfriend. He’s equal parts scary and alluring, and now he’s a deserving nominee alongside powerhouses like Jeff Bridges and Colin Firth. The film is playing now in New York and will be available on demand and on DVD later this month.
Best Female Lead: Gwyneth Paltrow, Two Lovers James Gray’s New York love story was quite polarizing at Cannes in 2008, so I was glad to see it receive multiple Spirit nominations. Paltrow is fully convincing as Joaquin Phoenix’s fragile neighbor who’s caught in a toxic relationship. She will most certainly lose to Precious‘ remarkable Gabourey Sidibe, but I hope the nomination will encourage Paltrow to take on more similarly challenging roles.
Best First Feature: A Single Man With Crazy Heart, The Messenger, and Paranormal Activity all in the running, the Best First Feature category is as strong as the Best Feature race, which includes Precious and (500) Days of Summer. But while all the First Feature nominees boast strong components, the one that amounts to the greatest overall achievement is A Single Man, Tom Ford’s miracle of a directorial debut. The performances, the script, the design, the score, and the cinematography all add up to a confidently directed film that feels like it’s from a veteran filmmaker.
Well I’m still rooting for Joseph Gordon-Levitt to win (though it will probably be unlikely since he’s up against Jeff Bridges).
Gwyneth Paltrow was really wonderful in Two Lovers, one of the most underrated performances of the year. Her vulnerability mixed with charisma made it impossible for anyone not to fall in love with her. Talk about making a challenging role look easy, huh?
I wish Gwyneth would stick to acting – she is very talented – and stop showing the world what a vile, vapid person she is.
FINALLY!!!! EW mentions “The Vicious Kind”. it was number two on my top ten of 2009 and Adam Scott gave the best performance of the year for me, he really is a revalation in the film. I seriously may just be the #1 fan in the world of ‘The Vicious Kind’… I’ve seen it at least thirty times already. Adam has been a great actor for a while now and I think had the movie got more of a wider release and campaign he could have been an Oscar contender for Best Actor. It seriously depresses me how the whole film has gone so unnoticed by a lot of people.
kudos for EW mentioning it. I’ve never heard of this movie but will add it to my netflix rotation immediately.
Queue up Netflix
Thanks for giving the Single Man some love.
*Loved* Gwyneth Paltrow in Two Lovers.
Is there a link to the EW interview w/James Cameron in which he discussed ecoterrorism?
Go Gwyneth!
Colin Firth is perfection!
where’s avatar. this award ceremony sucks
If you didn’t realize, the full name of this ceremony is the “Independent Spirit Awards.” Last time I checked, Avatar was studio produced.
Agree about A Single Man. I am in love with that movie! I was really disappointed it didn’t get more love from the Academy. It’d be great if it could shine here.
Great article… It’s like you were inside my own head when I was thinking back on movies I loved from the past year that no one has paid that much attention to. I’m not surprised Two Lovers hasn’t generated a lot of awards buzz–it’s too perfect in its construction and artistic purpose to pander. But I thought it was great! Same for A Single Man.
Thanks for mention The Vicious Kind–I’ll check it out.
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Agree with the Paltrow choice. I think it’s her best performance to date.
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What about Downloading Nancy? Maria Below gives an unbelievably brave performance in a dark and powerful story.