Oscar Frontrunners Make Strides at Telluride and Venice

With the Venice and Telluride Film Festivals opening this past week, the Oscar contenders wasted no time in making their stakes at the front of the evolving race.

Below are a list of the films that received a boost from critics and bloggers after their respective premieres.

Eddie Redmayne, Alicia Vikander, "The Danish Girl":

• Whatever your feelings are about the cisgendered Eddie Redmayne portraying Trans trailblazer  Lili Elbe (the first documented women to receive sex-reassignment surgery), the stars aligned for the beginning of the film's inevitable Oscar campaign. Biopics are like catnip for Oscar voters (Redmayne is the current Best Actor victor after playing Stephen Hawking in "The Theory of Everything") and I'm sure voters will love to recognize the film in a year that included many talking points concerning Trans issue. Again, Redmayne's casting is drawing much criticism, as it should be, but voters will likely ignore that and reward the film for meaning to do well rather than actually deepening the conversation about what it means to be Trans. The reviews, however, went wild for the actor's work; Publications like Variety and The Hollywood Reporter have contributed raves. However, it's Alicia Vikander who could stand to benefit the most from her involvement. After starring in several acclaimed films throughout the year ("Ex Machina", "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." to name a few), she could be this year's Jessica Chastain with her high profile performance here. And you know how Oscar loves their supportive wives in biopics... 

Michael Fassbender, Aaron Sorkin, Danny Boyle, "Steve Jobs"

• Michael Fassbender's performance in the latest effort in documenting the Apple creators life is landing him amongst the top of many pundits' Best Actor lists. Much like "The Social Network", the film focuses on a divisive, but huge innovator and undeniable genius. Sorkin's usual fast-paced screenplay seems to be a match made in heaven for Fassbender and his co-stars (including Kate Winslet and Seth Rogan), which paired with Danny Boyle's unconventional approach to a biopic, is drawing acclaim. Though "The Social Network" left voters a bit cold (it lost the big prize to "The King's Speech", critics went nuts over the film (every single association named it their Best Picture choice of its year). Could lightening strike twice for "Steve Jobs"? 

Michael Keaton, "Spotlight" 

• Michael Keaton should've won what would have been his first Oscar for last year's "Birdman" but could find himself back in the discussion for his supporting work in "Spotlight", where he plays a newspaper editor overseeing a story concerning the Massachusetts Catholic Church sex scandal. The film is being heavily compared to "All the President's Men" which means great things for Keaton. Even better, the Best Supporting Actor category is pretty dry (again) this year, which only sweetens the deal for Keaton, who could gain sympathy after being the Best Actor bridesmaid last year. If a groundswell forms for rewarding the long-time character, the film could receive rewards in other fields, such as its Screenplay and even the Score. 

Carey Mulligan, "Suffragette"

• Though critics seem to be higher on Carey Mulligan's performance than the film its contained in, that shouldn't stop the actress from collecting (or being heavily considered for) her second career nomination. Since she was first nominated for "An Education", Mulligan has built a diverse portfolio of work, delivering vastly different performances in each project ("Drive", "The Great Gatsby" and "Inside Llewyn Davis". Mulligan also drew raves in this year's "Far From the Maddening Crowd", which did pretty well at the box office. Though she's not a slam dunk in the way Julianne Moore or Cate Blanchett were the past two years, she stands a very great chance compared to her fellow competitors right now. 

Brie Larson, "Room" 

• Perhaps the film that received the biggest boost, "Room" received multiple standing ovations after premiering at Telluride. Distributor A24 hasn't had extremely successful with Oscars (see Jessica Chastain in "A Most Violent Year" or James Franco in "Spring Breakers"), this might be the film to change that. Brie Larson, an actress on the verge of her breakout for awhile now, could find herself amongst the final five Best Actress contenders if the critics push hard enough (and hopefully they push harder than they did for her excellent work in "Short Term 12"). The film itself is adapted from the wildly successful novel of the same name, and I'm sure with some savvy marketing it could be a modest box office hit (seriously, that trailer still gives me chills). If love for the film extends beyond Larson's work, perhaps eight year old Jacob Tremblay or the film's screenplay could find some recognition.  

Johnny Depp, "Black Mass"

• Johnny Depp has been absent from the awards race since he starred in "Sweeney Todd", which was his third career nomination. Depp presumedly in second place the year he starred in the first "Pirates of the Caribbean" which won him a Screen Actors Guild award. There's surely enthusiasm for his work (a career including "Ed Wood", "Edward Scissorhands", "Sleepy Hollow") and after some questionable career moves over the past several years, his work in "Black Mass" as convicted crime boss Whitey Bulger could find him back at the Oscar roundtable. After the film's Venice world premiere, critics were riding high on Depp's work. Everyone loves a comeback story, but no one more so than the Academy Awards.