If 'Mudbound' Is Going To Be Sundance's Oscar Player For 2018 Netflix Has Work To Do - Page 2 of 2

Critically, Luca Guadagnino’s “Call Me By Your Name” should also have a great shot at a Best Picture nomination. The Sony Pictures Classics pickup earned rave reviews (read mine) and currently has a 97 on Metacritic based on nine reviews (pretty standard number of reviews so far for a film festival). Guadagnino may have crafted a masterpiece, but we’re left wondering if its too cinephile for even an Academy that is only becoming slightly (emphasis on “slightly”) more cinephile. It’s easy to predict that there will be a lot of grumbling over the fact Timothée Chalamet is playing a 17-year-old who has a beautifully romantic affair with a 24-years-old played by Armie Hammer mostly because Hammer looks like he’s 35 and the character’s age is never explicitly stated in the film (although it is in the production notes). But the movie is incredible. The performances are incredible. And, unlike Guadagnino’s overlooked marvel “I Am Love,” the fact below the line branches embraced unconventional indies such as “Jackie” and “Moonlight” this year mean “Call Me” could earn Original Score, Cinematography and Production Design nods, among others. Chalamet has an outside shot at a Best Actor nod and Guadagnino could sneak into Best Director, but my gut instinct is that any Best Picture support for “Call Me” will have to come from the writing, directing and below-the-line branches.

Other films basically have shots at specific individual honors. Sam Elliott is absolutely fantastic in “The Hero” even if the reviews so far (61 on Metacritic) are likely lower than the filmmakers expected. Elliott has a long road a head of him, but could easily be in the discussion for Best Actor when the season starts.

Lily Collins is a fringe Best Actress player and Marti Noxon an Original Screenplay candidate for “To The Bone,” but as a Netflix acquisition it may have an even tougher road ahead of it.

A number of the impressive performances in Margarett Betts’ “Novitiate” could earn attention including  Melissa Leo (hunting for her third nomination with a role other actors will adore), Julianne Nicholson, Morgan Saylor, Dianna Agron and, most notably, Margaret Qualley. Betts, earned a special jury prize for Breakthrough Director, could be rewarded for her script in the sometimes wide-open Original Screenplay category.

Danielle Macdonald gives a major star turn in “Patti Cake$,” but that crowd pleaser is likely hunting for Golden Globes love although writer/director Geremy Jasper and Jason Binnick could be looking a Best Original Song nomination. Another Golden Globe player might be “The Big Sick” if it’s a hit although Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon could be Original Screenplay contenders (are we detecting a theme in this category?).

Other performances or films that earned buzz included Salma Hayek in “Beatriz at Dinner,” Jeremy Renner in “Wind River” and Melanie Lynskey in the aforementioned “I Don’t Feel At Home In The World.”

As this past and previous years have taught us it’s sometimes difficult to gauge which Sundance film will earn the Academy’s fancy 12 months later. Few thought “Winter’s Bone” or “Whiplash” would end up as Best Picture nominees, but history proved the naysayers wrong. What films will surprise next January? There’s a lot of time, but if Netflix can convince Academy members it’s running a truly theatrical operation? Well, “Mudbound” may be Sundance’s Oscar player in 2018.