Which famous actor has never won an Oscar? Which performances would you have given the Oscar to an actor who did not win it?

Which famous actor has never won an Oscar? Which performances would you have given the Oscar to an actor who did not win it?

The last part cracked me up. It does seem to me that a light, subtle but excellent performance can’t make the nominations, at least couldn’t back then. They needed some heavyweight dynamics for even consideration!

I saw The Master once again yesterday. Amidst the towering performances by PSH and Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams gave a stunning performance! She really is a genius. One other role of Amy's that I liked was her role in American Hustle. Jen Lawrence was good. But not as near as good as Amy Adams. Such a charismatic actress! 

These come immediately to mind:

Ralph Fiennes (Schindler’s List), Judy Garland (A Star Is Born), Any actress in 1987 instead of Cher (She was spectacularly ordinary in Moonstruck), Clark Gable (Gone With the Wind), Adriana Barraza (Babel - If you haven’t watched this, treat yourself. She was tremendous).

And, in closing, let's check the telemetry:

Amy Adams operates almost exclusively between ‘great’ and ‘transcendent.’

And she's functioning on the latter plane in Denis Villeneuve’s cerebral and unforgettable Sci-Fi drama, Arrival.

Her work here is stunning. Her performance as Louise Banks is nuanced, layered, and operating on multiple levels.

At first glance, this isn’t a performance that screams ‘greatness,’ but the genius of Adams’s performance manifests once Arrival plays all its cards in the final third.

Her performance is a high-wire act; the much-vaunted twist would have fallen flat had it not been for her remarkable ability to somehow play heartbreak and aloofness at the same time.

The true extent of her accomplishment becomes apparent on a re-watch. Armed with the knowledge of the outcome, we begin to see the incredible precision with which Adams breathes life into her character.

Her subtle emotive moments take on an entirely different meaning the second time around. It is an inspired performance.

And it wasn’t even nominated. And it’s not as if a group of people colluded to ‘snub’ Adams.

But even accounting for the unpredictability of the many variables that contribute towards an Academy Award nomination, a performance of this caliber should surely have been recognized.

Adams starred in another potential awards darling that year in Nocturnal Animals, and a prevailing theory states that it led to a ‘vote split’ situation with Arrival.

While she’s dependably excellent in the former movie, her work in Arrival is several notches above it.

Then there’s the Meryl Streep of it all. Streep essentially secures a guaranteed nomination every time she puts out any dramatic movie met with fair critical reception.

That year, she was nominated for Florence Foster Jenkins. And she’s good in it. She’s Meryl Streep.

But Adams is doing something far more demanding in Arrival, and while I can’t begrudge the other nominees, in an ideal world, she would have occupied the slot that Streep filled.

Ultimately, it’s a lot of ‘coulda, woulda, shoulda.’ And it’s of little value. But Adams’ work in Arrival will always be of great value, Oscar or not.

Besides, she’s going to win one sooner rather than later, she’s far too talented, and it’s a foregone conclusion.

With Arrival, 2016 could have been her year, and I would still argue that it should have been her year.

It’s coming. She just needs a movie where she gets mauled by a bear and eats raw bison liver. That seems to do the trick.

Picture Courtesy Ricetta

Thanks for Reading