The Best Supporting Actress race at the Golden Globes presents a diverse range of thespians, all of which should be nominated for the Oscar.
Anne Hathaway: Les Miserables
Leading the pack in the category is Anne Hathaway of Les Miserables. In that film, she plays the iconic role of Fatine and sings the most famous number in the entire piece, "I dreamed a dream." Most critics have noted that her role is short, but she makes the most out of it and provides a heart breaking rendition of the aforementioned song. Hathaway's status as front runner has been solidified over the last few weeks as she has garnered the most victories among precursor awards. She has already won a total of nine Best Supporting Actress awards from the critics including the Satellite Awards, Washington Film Critics Awards, and the New York Online Film Critics awards. None of the other nominated actresses have won more than three. Hathaway has already been nominated for the Globe two previous times for Best Actress for her work in Love and Other Drugs (2011) and Rachel Getting Married (2009). She has never won, so the Globes may feel the need to finally give her the prize.
Sally Field: Lincoln
Sally Field is Hathaway's fiercest competition for her role as Mary Todd Lincoln in Lincoln. She has been lauded for providing an emotional contrast to the equally riveting performance of Daniel Day-Lewis as the iconic President. She has already won three precursors including the NY Film Critics. However, her greatest advantage may be her popularity with the Hollywood Foreign Press. She has been nominated for 12 Golden Globes since 1978 and has won twice. She won in 1980 for her lead role in Norma Rae and last won in 1985 for her role in Places in the Heart. She could be a sentimental choice for the Globes who could look to celebrate the veteran actress.
Helen Hunt: The Sessions
Helen Hunt is the other major contender in this category for role as a sex surrogate in The Sessions. Hunt's nomination this year is her eighth since 1993. She has won the awards four times, but three of the victories were in the television category for her work in Mad About You. Her lone victory in the film category was in 1998 for her Oscar winning performance in As Good as it Gets. She has won two precursors thus far in the 2012 Awards season and has not built as much momentum as the aforementioned thesps.
Amy Adams: The Master
Amy Adams's nomination for her role in The Master is her fourth at the Globes. Adams' performance is arguably the darkest of the five and has been referenced as vicious and "a beast ready to be unleashed." She has picked up some steam over the last week with three precursor victories. Many thought her chances at making an Oscar run were over when the Screen Actors Guild ignored her in its nominations, but she is now a dark horse candidate to win the Globes. If she continues to win precursors, she could elevate her position in the race.
Nicole Kidman: The Paperboy
Nicole Kidman is the actress in this category with the smallest chance of winning. Her role in The Paperboy was widely unnoticed until the SAG and Globes gave her nominations. She has not won any precursors in this season, supporting the notion that she likely does not win this category. However, she is the highest profile star on this list and that alone could sway Globe voters since they have been known to favor major stars. She has been nominated for 10 Globes in her career and has won three. An interesting caveat about her placement in this race is that she is also in contention for another award for Best Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television. Since she is in that category, it is possible that the Globes give her that award and then feel less obligated to award her in this category.
Prediction: Anne Hathaway should win the award as she is one of two that have yet to win. Amy Adams has not obtained a great deal of buzz and since The Master was not nominated for Best Picture, it is an indication that the Hollywood Foreign Press was not as excited about this film. Les Miserables is nominated for Best Picture and most pundits have Hathaway as the frontrunner by a large margin. Her awards up to this point support that notion. If Hathaway is to lose, it will be to either Sally Field or Helen Hunt. However, I believe that this is a Hathaway victory.
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