'They were due' — an Oscar narrative that deserves to die?
LA TimesDoes the best performance ever win the Oscar? Al Pacino, left, and Chris O’Donnell in the 1992 movie “Scent of a Woman,” for which Pacino won an Oscar. Ideally, actors would win for their signature roles: Pacino for Michael Corleone, Jeff Bridges for the Dude or Elizabeth Taylor for Maggie in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.” But Oscar voters are rarely prescient enough to see what’s in front of their faces, or they’re distracted by another performance from an actor who’s “due” or has a sentimental narrative, such as when Art Carney won for the sweet “Harry and Tonto,” beating both Pacino and Jack Nicholson. He should have won the Oscar for “Call Me by Your Name,” but lost to the great Gary Oldman, who had the advantages of playing Churchill and being, yes, “due.” Chalamet could win this year or the Oscar could go to previous winner Adrien Brody, not due in any sense for “The Brutalist.” What’s curious about the category is how little traction Ralph Fiennes received. Maybe she’ll finally win that “overdue” Oscar next year.
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