SAG Reactions

I know I'm a bit late, but here are my general feelings about the Screen Actors Guild Awards, which took place on Sunday evening. There really isn't much to say, honestly. Very little has changed, as it relates to the general Oscar race. (An aside: I also failed to comment on the BAFTA nominations which came out a while back. It's not because I was lazy or had nothing to say about them. It's mostly because the BAFTA nominations were so utterly horrendous that I'm going to be Pollyanna and just pretend that the BAFTAs aren't happening this year. And that's the last you'll hear me say about them. Aside over)

Best Ensemble: Slumdog Millionaire
Are you shocked? I wasn't. I don't know why people were. Yes, Milk was the most deserving of the five nominees, but since when does that translate to actual winner? Certainly not this year. I've been saying (if only to myself) that if the Screen Actors Guild was myopic enough to nominate Slumdog's ensemble, a win is not out of the question, if not likely. This, combined with the Producers Guild win only cements the film's frontrunner status. And my whole "whatever keeps Benjamin Button from winning" stance that I've adopted is totally working like a charm. Even I'm singing "Jai ho!" and I didn't even love the movie. It's all about outlook, people.

Best Supporting Actress: Kate Winslet - The Reader
So, she officially has "the big 3" (BFCA, Globe and now SAG). What will happen at Oscar, where she's nominated for the same performance, but in lead? Will they let her go away empty-handed? What of this category? Is Cruz really the frontrunner? Anything is possible in this category unless you're deserving, in a great movie and your last name is Dewitt (I will NEVER stop harping on that).

Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
Seriously, does this category even require commentary at this point? It's kind of funny in that the one person who I might have seen taking Ledger down (Dev Patel) isn't even nominated. I am hearing rumblings of a Robert Downey Jr. surge. All I have to say about that scenario is this: Mickey Rourke AND Robert Downey Jr. backstage together. God help us all. Someone's getting drunkenly punched in the face and you know it's going to be poor Kate Winset.

Best Actor: Sean Penn - Milk
I still say that the Oscar will ultimately go to Rourke. I would love to see Penn win for Milk, but unless I'm missing something, he's not well-liked enough to overcome the obvious hurdle that is already having won fairly recently (albeit for an inferior performance--isn't that how it always goes?).

Best Actress: Meryl Streep - Doubt
Man, this woman can light up a room with her speeches! Almost makes you forget how spotty her performance in Doubt was (compared to her other work, I mean). This remains a tight race between Streep and Winslet (who was not competing in this category with her Oscar nominated performance), with Hathaway as a long range spoiler. I wouldn't be surprised to hear either of those three names called on Oscar night, but I think Winslet will ultimately prevail. It feels like time.