I searched for what I assumed would be the thread(s) discussing USvBH but was unable to find any.
Ok so anyway.
Despite my love for Billie and my respect for Andra, I had absolutely zero intention of watching this because Lee Daniels is the absolute worst director ever to achieve this level of fame. Like ever EVER ever.* He would still be toiling in well deserved obscurity if it weren’t for Oprah’s emotional gullibility and fetish for grand guignol sentimentality.
But with Andra’s nomination I feel obliged. So wish me luck, I’m going in.
*For those who don’t believe me, go watch “Shadowboxer,” the Helen Mirren/Cuba Gooding-as-hitmen-lovers movie you never knew you needed. I apologize in advance.
That’s the only Lee Daniels movie I’ve seen----and it’s a doozy. (Your apology is appropriate.) Dude has some very odd preoccupations, is all I can say in Café Society.
Andra Day’s portrayal is the kind of revelatory astonishing performance Marion Cotillard gave us in La Vie en Rose, or Björk in Dancer in the Dark. I have a feeling the Academy isn’t ready to promote Frances McDormand to the pantheon of triple winners. If that’s the case I hope the Oscar goes to Day.
But is Day’s performance worth sitting through the aggressively awful mess that makes a Les Daniels film a Lee Daniels Film™? It’s close; both factors exceed expectations about equally.
Ultimately Andra Day’s performance is something worth seeing, whatever obstacles Lee “I’m Directing as Bad as I Can” Daniels throws up.
There is a tendency for the academy to give Oscars to actors portraying real life people, particularly famous singers. It’s not 100% - e.g. Joaquin didn’t win for Johnny Cash - but it is a long list. So, this year you’ve got two possibilities with Best Actress: Viola Davis & Andra Day.