Who will win an Oscar vs who should win one

24 February 2017 - 14:41 By Tymon Smith
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It’s Oscar night on Sunday. Tymon Smith gazes into his crystal ball and gives predicting the winners a bash

There are always issues ahead of cinema's most glamorous and overrated night - #oscarssowhite, #oscarssomale, #oscarssoold. What it comes down to though, is that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences makes a selection, deciding who to shower with gold on Sunday night.

The Golden Globes and the Baftas have given some insight into who might scoop this year's statuettes. But it's not always the best man, woman or film that gets the award...

BEST PICTURE

Who will win:La La Land, the most overrated, escapist, and shallow film of the year.

Who should win: It should be a night to celebrate the elegant, poetic meditative Moonlight, a film that will live on long after Sunday night.

BEST DIRECTOR

Who will win: Damien Chazelle, the driving force behind the insane success of La La Land.

Who should win: Barry Jenkins who put his heart, soul and many of his difficult personal experiences into every minute of Moonlight.

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BEST ACTOR

Who will win: Casey Affleck's excellent performance as a grieving janitor in Manchester by The Sea has already seen him win most of the year's awards.

Who should win: He's already won one Oscar - many believe for the wrong film - but Denzel Washington's gruff and complex performance in Fences would certainly be deserving of another statue and this time for the right film to boot.

BEST ACTRESS

Who will win: Emma Stone because she's nice and sings well enough in La La Land.

Who should win: French actress Isabelle Huppert, often patronisingly described as the Meryl Streep of European cinema, is long overdue for an accolade from the academy and her performance in Paul Verhoeven's Elle definitely merits one.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Who will win: Mahershala Ali's brief but unforgettable turn as a drug dealer in Moonlight has already won him a string of awards and it's unlikely he'll be disappointed on Oscar night.

Who should win: Ali should, no question.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Who will win: Viola Davis for her defiant performance in Fences. She leads a field that includes three black actresses for the first time in the history of the awards.

Who should win: Davis's performance is strong but the real standout turn this year is British actress Naomie Harris' heartbreaking portrait of a mother losing herself to drug addiction in Moonlight.

• This article was originally published in The Times.

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