Why It's Desperate: Warner Bros. have enthusiastically played-up the Johnny Depp comeback narrative throughout this Oscar season, that it's his best work following a long spate of cash-grab roles. In addition, it's based on an acclaimed book, is directed by Scott Cooper (who scored Jeff Bridges a Best Actor win for 2009's Crazy Heart), and is edited by one-time nominee David Rosenbloom (The Insider). On top of all this, it's an epic, sprawling, true-life crime story clearly trying to fashion itself as "the next Departed", and comes with a stupendously talented cast including Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Corey Stoll, Dakota Johnson, Kevin Bacon, Peter Sarsgaard, Jesse Plemons, Adam Scott, Julianne Nicholson, Juno Temple and more. On paper, it has everything an Oscar-winning film needs. Will It Succeed?: Unfortunately not. Depp has received an outstanding amount of well-deserved acclaim for his work here, and though he's likely to earn a Best Actor nomination, he's sure to be out-gunned by the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant) and Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs) when trying to secure the win. There's not really anything else in the movie beyond the makeup that's likely to get a nod, but it'll probably go home empty-handed either way. For Depp, though, the nomination alone will in effect be the win, re-affirming his penchant for actual acting rather than cartoon tomfoolery.