Best Supporting Actress

At this stage in the race, it’s pretty clear that Viola Davis has this category wrapped up. First, as is traditional with so many Oscar winners, it is ‘her time’. Much like Leonardo DiCaprio’s win last year, or Martin Scorsese’s win for the decent but by no means mind-blowing The Departed, after three nominations Davis’s status as one of the most respected and talented actresses of her generation is due recognition.

Secondly, as with all her performances, she is incredible. Her “I’ve been standing with you” monologue is one of the most powerful of this year’s Oscar season, and will certainly stick voters’ minds. But most importantly of all, Davis has the advantage of screen time. While closest rivals Michelle Williams and Naomi Harris give stand-out performances, they must have 20 minutes on screen between them, practically nothing compared to Davis’s full-picture stint in Fences. Quite often in the supporting categories, time counts more than acting.

Best Supporting Actor

While his frontrunner status has been weakened somewhat by his Golden Globe loss to Nocturnal Animals’ Aaron Taylor-Johnson and BAFTA loss to home favourite Dev Patel, Mahershala Ali still looks primed to take the gong come Oscar night. His performance in critical darling Moonlight, as drug dealer Juan, is nuanced and tender, and while he doesn’t have any ‘give me an Oscar’ moments, Mark Rylance’s win last year suggests a deeper appreciation within the academy for subtle character actors.

If anyone is going to challenge Ali it will be Jeff Bridges’s performance as a grumpy Texas ranger in the fantastic Hell or High Water. While the trailer suggests it’s just another mumbly, grumbly Jeff Bridges performance, he in fact brings real emotional depth to an otherwise standard Western trope. Also look out for Dev Patel, whose charismatic lead performance in the well-loved Lion has been sneacked into this category.

Best Actress

Given the sheer amount of love behind La La Land, I have to pick Emma Stone for this category. While it’s not the most revolutionary performance of this year, Stone is undeniably one of the most charming screen presences around, not to mention the fact that she gets an opportunity to show off her singing and dancing chops. In essence, it’s an extremely difficult performance to hate. A more interesting pick would be Natalie Portman in Jackie, although her mannered, stagey and often spiky performance, as well as the fact that she won this award at the start of the decade, may put voters off. While I haven’t seen Elle due to its late UK release date, Isabelle Huppert is one of kind, and should not be ruled out of any race.

Best Actor

It’s a real two-horse race in this category, and what’s more interesting is that the two performances couldn’t be more different. In one corner we have Casey Affleck, who mumbles, shrugs and mutters through Manchester by the Sea. It is a performance of gestures and looks, described perfectly by The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw as “demonstrative and revealing, and yet paradoxically very closed off and hemmed in”.

In the other corner we have Denzel Washington, whose performance in Fences is dialogue-heavy, boisterous, passionate, and brimmed with the charisma that’s made Washington the star he is today. I personally think Affleck’s performance is more deserving. While Washington’s Troy Maxton hits you straight out of the blocks, Affleck’s guilt-ridden Lee gradually gets under your skin, and stays with you for longer. However, Washington’s sheer presence in Fences, as well as his SAG win earlier this month, mean this race will go right to the wire.

Best Director

Damien Chazelle looks set to become the youngest ever winner in this category at 32 years old, another record to go with his film La La Land’s astonishing 14 nominations. While some are still tooting the horn for Barry Jenkins, only the fourth black person nominated for this award, the Oscars may look foolish for giving La La Land such exuberant praise, yet not an award to the person in charge of it all.      

Trophy Talk: Best Picture Breakdown

Best Picture

While Moonlight and Manchester by the Sea have scooped up many of the critics’ association awards, La La Land has won the awards that matter when it comes to the Oscar, and it’s easy to see why. First of all it is extremely nostalgic, miraculously reviving a dead genre that studios used to rely on but now see as a huge risk. You only have to look at recent winner The Artist, a silent film set in old Hollywood, to see why this works hugely in its favour, not to mention the fact that it’s a film about Hollywood and actors.

One of the most heinous crimes committed by the Oscars was giving Best Picture to Birdman over Boyhood, but once you take into consideration that a bunch of actors and creative types gave an award to a film about actors and the creative process, it all starts to make sense. But above all, La La Land seems to tick all the boxes. Its big, bold, feel-good, and everyone is talking about it. While films like Moonlight and Manchester by the Sea may become more appreciated over time, La La Land is hot shit right now, and the Oscars won’t resist the opportunity to put the cherry on the cake