Surveying The Oscar Field - Who Is Still In The Hunt For The Best Actress Oscar This Year?11/14/2017 
By Deann Chiazzese
The conversation as to whether objective criteria will prevail over social factors and subjective bias in this year’s Oscar race has never been more relevant. Perhaps you are one that believes that objectively good work will always get the award. There are other camps that believe strongly that the social climate will impact nominations and winners this year. No matter where you fall, it is always interesting to consider the question. With less than a month until Golden Globe nominations and 38 days to go until final Oscar nominations, we thought it would be a good idea to take a look the current contenders for Best Actress.
With the barrage of accusations owning the internet, it felt timely to re-evaluate the potential impact of relevant news on key categories. What better place to start than Best Actress race. Female director considerations are heating up with standouts like Dee Rees ("Mudbound") and Greta Gerwig ("Lady Bird"). Additionally, Kathryn Bigelow ("Detroit") and even Patty Jenkins ("Wonder Woman") are at least part of the discussion. Many are asking if this could be a standout year for women directors. We can only hope this continues to move in the right direction.
As you will see in the current Best Actress short list below, we are very behind. Narrative and direction have paved the way for amazing female performances to occur. As it stands today, very rarely are those roles written and/or directed for women by women. Until we have appropriate representation of women writing and creating our media, we must always keep this in mind when evaluating the female-specific acting categories. So, let’s jump in and focus on what we have this year. We have captured a short list of standouts for 2017 (This is not an exhaustive list but a good sampling). These are the performances that are in the conversation after the majority of the films have now been screened. These are listed based on my view of current likelihood. Your list may be ordered differently but the questions remain the same. Frances McDormand
Film - "Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri "
Oscar History - 4 Noms/1 win Female Writer - No Female Director - No Fictional/Portrayal - Fictional Status - This was written for a female protagnist and the narrative is a mother on a very personal search for justice against a horrific crime. Will voters rally behind this message and her performance as a result? Meryl Streep
Film - "The Post"
Oscar History - 20 Noms/3 wins Female Writer - Yes (1/2) Female Director - No Fictional/Portrayal - Portrayal (Kay Graham) Status - Some major pluses with this pick include 1/2 the writing team being female and amazing talent is involved. Will the writing and directing effectively showcase this as Kay's story and resonate with voters? Margot Robbie
Film - "I, Tonya"
Oscar History - 0 Noms Female Writer - No Female Director - No Fictional/Portrayal - Portrayal (Tonya Harding) Status - Being the newcomer amongst Oscar alumnis could help Margot. Will potraying a divisive figure with potential ties to a violent crime overshadow the great performance? Sally Hawkins
Film - "The Shape Of Water"
Oscar History - 1 Nom Female Writer - No Female Director - No Fictional/Portrayal - Fictional Status - She does not speak and this is a love story. No narrative spoilers in this article so lets wait until the nominations are in to dive deeper. Jessica Chastain
Film - "Molly's Game"
Oscar History - 2 Noms Female Writer - No Female Director - No Fictional/Portrayal - Portrayal (Molly Bloom) Status - She is definitely in a man's world making her own rules and is sure to impress with Sorkin’s cutting writing style. Will we see layers to the character that make her accessible and likeable? Saoirse Ronan
Film - "Lady Bird"
Oscar History - 2 Noms Female Writer - Yes Female Director - Yes Fictional/Portrayal - Fictional Status - This is our most likely shot to have a Best Actress winner in a role written and directed by a woman. Can a simple coming of age story breakthrough enough for voters to weigh this performance against some of the other heavy hitters tackling heavy subjects? Kate Winslet
Film - "Wonder Wheel"
Oscar History - 7 Noms/1 Win Female Writer - No Female Director - No Fictional/Portrayal - Fictional Status - With harrassment and assault scandals plaguing hollywood, will the ties to Woody Allen, as writer and director, hurt Kate's chances? Emma Stone
Film - "Battle Of The Sexes"
Oscar History - 2 Noms/1 win Female Writer - No Female Director - Yes (1/2) Fictional/Portrayal - Portrayal (Billie Jean King) Status - Despite being the recent Best Actress winner for her performance in "La La Land," this has lost almost all of its buzz. We all need some triumph in our lives. With the current scrutiny on systemic mysogony, harrassment and assault, could this movie make a comeback and put Emma back in contention? Judi Dench
Film - "Victoria & Abdul"
Oscar History - 7 Noms/1 Win Female Writer - No Female Director - No Fictional/Portrayal - Portrayal (Queen Victoria) Status - Does the snapshot of such a short period of this predominant figure life do enough to make the character multi-dementional? Is it more Abdul's story than Victoria’s? Jennifer Lawrence
Film - "Mother!"
Oscar History - 4 Noms/1 Win Female Writer - No Female Director - No Fictional/Portrayal - Fictional Status - This is movie about greed, power and selfishness and Jennifer's character is the grounding force in the chaos. Could this timely message help her chances? Carey Mulligan
Film - "Mudbound"
Oscar History - 1 Nom Female Writer - Yes Female Director - Yes Fictional/Portrayal - Fictional Status - Our only other possible female written and directed, She is rumored not to be the standout of this film. Will the strength of the ensemble cast around her build her brand? Selma Hayak
Film - "Beatriz At Dinner"
Oscar History - 1 Nom Female Writer - No Female Director - No Fictional/Portrayal - Fictional Status - A kind and spirited woman takes on a "Trump" like figure. Will that message help move her up the ranks for consideration? Brooklynn Price
Film - "The Florida Project"
Oscar History - 0 Noms Female Writer - No Female Director - No Fictional/Portrayal - Fictional Status - Can a divisive story showcasing this first time child actress even begin to contend with the depth of the roles on this list? Michelle Williams
Film - "All The Money In The World"
Oscar History - 4 Noms Female Writer - No Female Director - No Fictional/Portrayal - Fictional Status - Ridley Scott is recasting Spacey and holding the release date for this film. Could it be to ensure Michelle gets a seat at the table because she is a fantastic in this movie? Vicky Krieps
Film - "Phantom Thread"
Oscar History - 0 Noms Female Writer - No Female Director - No Fictional/Portrayal - Fictional Status - There is enough intrigue to imply there are twists in this film. She appears to simply be the sideline to Daniel Day Lewis's movie. Is there is a secret in this performance that will help to elevate her in the race? Daniela Vega
Film - "A Fantastic Woman"
Oscar History - 0 Noms Female Writer - No Female Director - No Fictional/Portrayal - Fictional Status - This would be the first transgender acting nomination. Could this be the statement voters decide to make this year? Is the performance enough to warrant it? Gal Gadot
Film - "Wonder Woman"
Oscar History - 0 Noms Female Writer - No Female Director - Yes Fictional/Portrayal - Fictional Status - This is a stretch, but I include it because it is getting the most mainstream buzz and it is a female performance directed by a female. It is a long, long shot to say the least outside of a potential win for Best Actress in an Action Movie at the Critics Choice Awards. Stay tuned for Part 2 of this article. We will release that when the nominees are finalized and continue the exploration that we started here. In the meantime, we want to know what you think. Did we leave anyone off? Who stands the most to benefit from what is a very toxic and controversial time in Hollywood right now? Please let us know in the comments below. You can follow Deann and hear more of her thoughts on the Oscars and Film on Twitter at @tweedledeedee33
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