As the Oscar date fast approaches, our Best Picture prediction
is growing foggier by the day. Golden Globes and Guild Awards have been spread
out amongst the contenders. With no single frontrunner, 2016’s Best Picture
race is one of the closest in recent memory. A few weeks ago, Las Vegas released their odds for all of
the nominees in the major Oscar categories. With the likes of Leo and Brie
Larson dominating the awards season, it seems that most of the categories will offer
few surprises. But the granddaddy of them all will be a photo finish.
Posted below are the potential winning odds for each of the
eight Best Picture nominees, along with some thoughts as to why they could win
and why they might not.
Spotlight 4 to 5
Why: If any film has a lead, no matter how small, Spotlight might
claim it- at least according to Vegas. This delicately paced yet unnerving
thriller has received nothing but praise since its release, picking up top
prizes from the LA Film Critics and the Critics’ Choice. A –listers abound,
Spotlight boasts an excellent ensemble cast and a wickedly tight-knit
screenplay, two of the Academy’s favorite ingredients. Underdogs searching for
truth against the immoralities of an institution...is this not the very reason
we tell stories and go to movies?
Why Not: Said story deals with sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.
Accolades aside, it’s hard to predict how the conservative Academy voters will
react to such abhorrent material. Also, from a purely cinematic standpoint,
Spotlight does not exactly dazzle. One critic cleverly compared the movie’s simple
and muted style to that of Michael Keaton’s khakis. In the celebration of
filmmaking, and with such a dynamic movie like The Revenant hot on its heels, can
Spotlight’s substance trump The Revenant’s style?
Notable Victories thus far: Los Angeles Film Critics
Association, Critic’s Choice Awards
