Where you’ve seen her before: The 15-year-old actress earned an Oscar nomination two years ago for her work as the youngest Briony Tallis in “Atonement.”
Why she deserves it: Her film was no good, equally due to the adaptation of the story itself and the inappropriately lavish directing by Peter Jackson. But the incredible mature and talented Ronan was marvelous, delivering an exceptional performance that grounded the film even though it couldn’t save it. Ronan’s Susie Salmon is believably older than her age, and the way she delivers dialogue is simply incredible. For most of the film, she serves as the film’s unseen narrator, and that’s a terrific role for her. She performs consistently at a level of quality and excellence the film never achieves.
Standout scene: (Spoilers) She’s fully terrific throughout the entire film, but her best moment probably comes during her murder scene. Despite the failure of that scene to actually represent or even suggest the violent way in which her life ends, Ronan is in top form. Her face displays an equal mix of real curiosity and fear, and it’s clear that she’s smart enough to know that she shouldn’t be accompanying a strange man into an unfamiliar place completely alone.
Why she won’t get it: Three reasons: the film tanked, she’s young, and she already made it in two years ago. Had the movie been a legitimate Best Picture contender as originally thought, Ronan might have had a better shot, but there’s no room for her without any buzz. It seems that only Stanley Tucci will get mentioned for this film, and perhaps a technical award or two. Ronan is also only fifteen years old, and nominees this young rarely get nominated, especially in this category. Keisha Castle-Hughes did it in 2003 for “Whale Rider,” but there were available spaces in the Best Actress field that year, whereas this year there just aren’t. The fact that she was nominated in 2007 hurts rather than helps her because she’s already been recognized, and that film was a Best Picture nominee. She’ll likely be back in future years, but not this time around.
Read the review of the film here. Oscar predictions begin Monday – don’t miss them.
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