When recently asked who is the actual Oscar frontrunner between Cillian Murphy and Bradley Cooper, The New York Times’ Kyle Buchanan, an astute Oscar observer, says watch out for Paul Giamatti (“The Holdovers”).
In fact, Buchanan believes the Oscar is “Giamatti’s for the taking”, which would actually be quite wonderful since I’m a fan of this beloved character actor and still believe he should have not just been nominated for his indelible performance in 2004’s “Sideways”, but won the whole thing (no offense to Jamie Foxx in “Ray”).
Giamatti, 56, has been around for over three decades as an actor, and in his best work (“Sideways,” “The Holdovers,” “American Splendor,” “Private Parts”) has managed to become one of those rare performers capable of excelling in both leading and supporting roles.
The Best Actor race is, more or less, down to six actors. I can’t see anyone else being added. The three main contenders are Murphy, Cooper and Giamatti:
Cillian Murphy — “Oppenheimer”
Bradley Cooper — “Maestro”
Paul Giamatti — “The Holdovers”
Leonardo DiCaprio — “Killers of the Flower Moon”
Colman Domingo — “Rustin”
Jeffrey Wright — “American Fiction”
Most pundits have Murphy as #1 and Cooper #2. That’s been the narrative for a few months now. However, if there’s a dark horse, then it’s Giamatti as the curmudgeon New England professor in “The Holdovers.”
With that said, it’ll be hard to beat Murphy. It’s such a towering performance and he’s practically in every scene of the 3-hour “Oppenheimer.” His Robert J. Oppenheimer also turned into an unlikely meme generator this past summer with the ‘Barbenheimer’ phenomenon. I don’t know many people who disliked this performance.
DiCaprio’s work in ‘Killers’ isn’t being talked about enough because, well, he doesn’t have much of a narrative. He already has an Oscar. If quality is actually a factor in winning awards, then DiCaprio’s rich work in ‘Killers’ would have a major shot at Oscar gold. It’s one of his best performances.
There are those who believe that Bradley Cooper’s work in “Maestro” was “transformative,” while others complain about the Oscar baitiness of the film (and performance). I can’t say I disagree with the latter group, as the issue I had with “Maestro” was that it very much felt like a film about Bradley Cooper playing Leonard Bernstein rather than an effortless portrayal of the legendary conductor.
And so, despite a few reservations I had about the film, I keep going back to Giamatti — his work as the grinch-like professor who learns a lesson in empathy is sheer perfection. There’s a precision, and immense likability, to his work here that it might be very hard for Oscar voters to resist it come crunch time.