2017 Oscar Predictions: Best Supporting Actor

This Oscar race is dominated by Mahershala Ali, the drug dealer in "Moonlight," with Academy favorite Jeff Bridges nipping at his heels. Updated 12/20/16.

“Moonlight”

Emerging at Sundance was Wes Anderson discovery Lucas Hedges (“Moonrise Kingdom”) for his performance in Kenneth Lonergan’s “Manchester By the Sea.” As Patrick, Hedges switches on a dime from a son mourning his father (Kyle Chandler) and tussling with his uncle (Casey Affleck) about his future to flirting with high school girls. A star is born.

Jeff Bridges won critics’ raves at Cannes for surprise indie sleeper “Hell or High Water,” and Hugh Grant returned to the screen in form-fitting style as the devoted younger husband/manager of Meryl Streep’s “Florence Foster Jenkins.”

Kyle Chandler, Lucas Hedges, Matt Damon, Kenneth Lonergan, Casey Affleck at ‘Manchester By The Sea’ Sundance premiere.

Photo by Chelsea Lauren/REX/Shutterstock

Breaking out at Telluride and Toronto was Barry Jenkins’ ensemble in “Moonlight” (A24), especially “House of Cards” star Mahershala Ali in the role of the Cuban-born drug-dealer who nurtures the young boy “Little.” So far Ali is the frontrunner, winning the Gotham, New York and Los Angeles film critics and Critics Choice awards.

“Hell or High Water”

In Venice and Toronto, “Slumdog Millionaire” star Dev Patel won kudos for his moving performance in “Lion,” as the adult who finds the parents he lost at age five via Google Earth. He landed Critics Choice, Golden Globe and SAG nominations. Peter Sarsgaard delivered as Bobby Kennedy opposite Natalie Portman in “Jackie” (Fox Searchlight). And Michael Shannon stole Tom Ford’s “Nocturnal Animals” (Focus) from his costars by adding some welcome humor to the heavy proceedings.

“Lion”

The Weinstein Company

Denzel Washington’s movie of August Wilson’s “Fences” brings back together the storied Broadway ensemble, and both Stephen Henderson and Mykelti Williamson are earning raves. Martin Scorsese’s late-breaking “Silence” introduces dazzling monologuist and actor Issei Ogata as the sophisticated and conniving government official who seeks to save Japan from Christianity.

“Fences”

Paramount Pictures

Early year long-shots include Alan Rickman, who could join the ranks of posthumous Oscar nominees for his rich performance as a British general trying to engage a drone strike on terrorists in Bleecker Street’s 2016 indie hit “Eye in the Sky,” and Ralph Fiennes’s volcanic supporting performance in “A Bigger Splash,” just the kind of show-stopping turn Oscar voters love to acknowledge. The question is will they be remembered so many months after release?

Frontrunners:
Mahershala Ali (“Moonlight”)
Jeff Bridges (“Hell or High Water”)
Hugh Grant (“Florence Foster Jenkins”)
Lucas Hedges (“Manchester by the Sea”)
Dev Patel (“Lion”)

Contenders:
Stephen Henderson (“Fences”)
Issei Ogata (“Silence”)
Alan Rickman (“Eye in the Sky”)
Michael Shannon (“Nocturnal Animals”)
Mykelti Williamson (“Fences”)

Long Shots
Ralph Fiennes (“A Bigger Splash”)
Aaron Eckhart (“Sully”)
Peter Sarsgaard (“Jackie”)

source

http://www.indiewire.com/2016/12/2017-oscar-predictions-best-supporting-actor-1201687997/