Oscars 2014: Who is Winning the Best Actress Race?
4. Judi Dench - Philomena
Ms. Dame Judi Dench has been a fixture at the Academy Awards since her first Oscar nomination in 1997 for Mrs. Brown. After being initiated into the club, her Academy peers have seen fit to nominate her another five times, including a Best Supporting Actress victory in 1998 for her very brief appearance as Queen Elizabeth II in Shakespeare in Love. Even before her relationship with Oscar began, she was a legendary stage actor in England, so in terms of pedigree, Ms. Dench has what it takes for an Oscar nomination. (Fun random fact: Judi Dench starred in a 1968 production of Cabaret that was an influence on the early career of David Bowie). It has been a relatively fallow period for Ms. Dench when it comes to procuring Oscar nominations though. Her last nomination came for her performance in Notes on a Scandal back in 2006, which will make this current gap the longest break between nominations for Ms. Dench in her career. However, the buzz for her performance as the titular Philomena has been very positive, and the stars appear to be aligning to end Ms. Dench's cold streak with the Oscars. Based on a true story, Philomena tells the story of an elderly woman who attempts to find her long lost son that was taken from her by the Catholic Church in the 1950's, when the church made a business out of selling out-of-wedlock children for adoption. While the movie is undeniably middle-brow and will likely have more than a few detractors in the artistically minded sector of the Academy, it's hard to deny the effectiveness of Dench's performance. Playing a relative simpleton, Dench does a brilliant job of getting that point across without turning Philomena into a caricature (cough*June Squibb*cough). There's a lot of hidden depth and humanity in Ms. Dench's performance, and I think that edge, along with her reputation, will be enough to get her in. While the movie will likely miss out on a Best Picture nomination (much to the chagrin of Harvey Weinstein), I think Judi Dench will manage to sneak in to the Best Actress field, but given the competitive field, it's hardly a for sure thing. Nomination Chances: 55%
A film fanatic at a very young age, starting with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movies and gradually moving up to more sophisticated fare, at around the age of ten he became inexplicably obsessed with all things Oscar. With the incredibly trivial power of being able to chronologically name every Best Picture winner from memory, his lifelong goal is to see every Oscar nominated film, in every major category, in the history of the Academy Awards.
