With the Academy Awards just weeks away, we look at the films in the running and predict who’ll take the prize
From Hacksaw Ridge to Manchester by the Sea, these are the films enjoying the biggest awards-season buzz
NEVER mind the blockbusters . . . this is the season for the Oscar contenders.
Over the coming weeks, British cinema-goers will get the chance to see the movies that are creating the biggest awards-season buzz Stateside.
They are led by Ryan Gosling’s feel-good musical La La Land, which has been a smash with critics and US audiences.
Here, GRANT ROLLINGS looks at the movies not yet on general release over here which are in contention for top gongs – and rates their chances out of five.
So which stars should be rehearsing their acceptance speeches? And who should be ready to “Foxtrot Oscar”?
Moonlight
NAOMIE HARRIS and relative unknown Mahershala Ali have both been basking in the awards buzz for this small-budget movie.
With four major Golden Globe nominations, Moonlight is the outsider to watch.
Set in Miami, the story focuses on childhood friends Chiron and Kevin at three stages of their troubled lives – young adolescence, mid-teen and young adult.
Bond girl Naomie plays the young Chiron’s drug-dealing mum.
Released: February 17
Gong rating: 2
La La Land
THERE’S one place bookies don’t live and that’s in la la land – so there are several reasons why this romantic musical is odds-on favourite to win best picture.
The main one is that La La Land is about Hollywood dreams and there is nothing Academy voters like more than films that reflect their own industry.
Recent winners Birdman, The Artist and Argo prove that.
It also has the glamour of leads Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone and is a good bet for Best Director in hot young talent Damien Chazelle.
Released: January 13
Gong Rating: 5
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Fences
THERE shouldn’t be a repeat of the #OscarsSoWhite controversy this year, with Denzel Washington’s Fences set to break down race barriers.
Viola Davis will be a favourite for Best Supporting Actress, with Denzel in line for a nomination for Best Actor or Best Director . . . or both.
Based on the Pulitzer and Tony-award winning play by August Wilson, it tells the story of ex-con and baseball player Troy Maxson.
Zero awards could lead to pickets for Fences.
Released: February 10
Gong rating: 4
Hacksaw Ridge
MEL GIBSON’S first outing as a director in a decade could be the bloodiest-ever Oscar nominee.
The horror of war is shown in graphic detail, with limbs hanging and rats gnawing at corpses.
Andrew Garfield plays real-life World War Two hero Desmond Doss.
He saved around 80 injured US soldiers in Japan by lowering them to safety by rope over Hacksaw Ridge.
Pacifist Doss’s refusal to carry a gun gives an Oscar-friendly message but Academy voters may be reluctant to hand the controversial Gibson top honours.
Released: January 27
Gong rating: 3
Manchester by the Sea
NOT a movie about our rain-sodden city – but the movie most likely to steal La La Land’s thunder.
Casey Affleck plays a down-on-his-luck guy who returns to the Massachusetts town of Manchester-by-the-Sea after his brother’s sudden death.
Affleck may win the Best Actor statuette that has eluded his brother Ben, but its downbeat tone isn’t exactly what the world needs at the moment.
And there’s more chance of a sunny January in Manchester than this beating La La Land at the box office.
Released: January 13.
Gong rating: 4
Lion
THIS has trains, India and Dev Patel – but don’t expect the new Slumdog Millionaire.
While Lion is incredibly emotional and uplifting like the Danny Boyle movie, this time Dev plays an Indian “orphan” adopted by a wealthy couple in Tasmania.
Based on a true story, it tells how Saroo Brierley tracked down his long-lost mum using Google Earth.
Dev puts in an impressive performance as Saroo alongside Nicole Kidman as his adoptive mother, but he would have to phone a lot of friends to be a winner.
Released: January 20
Gong rating: 3
