Universal and Christopher Nolan have made their choices. According to Gold Derby, “The Odyssey” will campaign six performers in the acting races this awards season. Matt Damon goes Lead Actor; Robert Pattinson, Tom Holland and John Leguizamo go Supporting Actor; and Anne Hathaway and Samantha Morton go Supporting Actress.
Left off the ballot (snubbed, if you will) are Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Lupita Nyong'o, Elliot Page, Himesh Patel and Jon Bernthal. That's no surprise. Nyong'o is in the movie for a minute or two and has maybe two lines. Page gets one notable scene. Zendaya mostly stands in the background looking beautiful; the part just doesn't give her anything to do. Same with Theron. The dog arguably gets more screen time than most of these actors.
As for the actual contenders: Hathaway is currently Gold Derby's favorite to win Supporting Actress outright, and I get why. Her Penelope carries a lot of weight in the story — and her reunion scene with Damon near the end, when she tests whether he's truly her husband, is beautiful. Still, I wouldn't call it a career-best turn. She did more striking work in “Rachel Getting Married.”
Morton is the other Supporting Actress hopeful. I loved her sequence as Circe, the witch who transforms Odysseus' men into pigs. It's one of the film's most memorable moments. But, and I may be in the minority here, it's the practical effects that steal that scene, not Morton. She's good, but she only has, what, 10 minutes of screen time?
Damon is a strong lead and probably the most consistent performer in the cast. He carries this behemoth of a film. That said, he's in a tough Best Actor race with John Malkovich (“Wild Horse Nine”) and Andrew Scott (“Elsinore”). It's going to be close. Damon has never won an acting Oscar, and neither has Malkovich, so both men have a narrative working in their favor.
John Leguizamo has a narrative too. He's a veteran who has never been nominated, and he already has an Emmy and a Tony. Voters love that kind of story. Pattinson certainly steals many scenes in this movie, practically overacting his way to meme-dom, which is exactly what happened this summer. But there might only be room for one “Odyssey” actor in this category, and pundits have already pegged Leguizamo as the safer bet.
Then there's Tom Holland. I'm sorry, but he's the weakest link in this cast. He's a reliable Peter Parker, but he's out of his depth here, and campaigning him in a category with Pattinson and Leguizamo only splits votes. If anyone deserved that third slot, it was Himesh Patel, who gave a better performance and somehow didn't even make the FYC list.
I thought “The Odyssey” was a worthy film, but the acting was never the point. It's a Nolan spectacle with stars stuffed into every scene, and only a few performances truly rise above the rest and matter. It's Damon's movie, with Hathaway as its emotional anchor.
Not many directors have had a better fall than Jonathan Levine. The guy seems to be everywhere these days, with plenty of projects greenlit, and studios have taken note.