The topic of addiction haunts several complex characters as they grapple with demons. In A Star Is Born, Cooper’s gruff, fading musician Jackson Maine tussles with the burden of his craft as he finds himself drawn to mentoring a young, talented newcomer (Lady Gaga in her first leading role in a film). Comedic supernova Melissa McCarthy hits sharp, subtle notes in the 1990s-set dramedy Can You Ever Forgive Me? as hard-drinking misanthrope and literary forger Lee Israel. In Ben Is Back—lest you had forgotten that she’s an Oscar winner—Julia Roberts once again showcases her range as a mother battling the impact of her son’s (Lucas Hedges) drug addiction and recovery as he unexpectedly comes home for the holidays. (Another Oscar-winning actress, Nicole Kidman, plays a Southern Belle mama to a character played by Hedges, in Joel Edgerton’s gay-conversion drama Boy Erased.)
The gut-wrenching Beautiful Boy is based on the true story of a loving father and son struggling with the latter’s descent into drug addiction, with stunning turns from Timothée Chalamet as young Nic and Steve Carell as dad David. Across many in-contention films, two-hander performances may make it tricky for how some studios weigh lead and supporting acting categories. For example, Chalamet and Carell match up in their powerful respective roles; in Green Book, Peter Farrelly’s tale of a celebrated black concert pianist (Mahershala Ali) touring the Jim Crow South with his white Copa club bouncer-turned-driver (Viggo Mortensen), the film delicately avoids cliché, largely due to the yin-yang performances by the pair.
The film won the prestigious People’s Choice Award at TIFF this year, often an early indicator of an Oscar front-runner. Then there are the surprise breakouts. Watch for newcomer Yalitza Aparicio, who captivated audiences as Roma’s quiet and endearing nanny Cleo. Viola Davis’ Veronica finds herself left alone and with no choice but to clean up her late husband’s crimes in Steve McQueen’s heist thriller Widows, a genre role that breaks new ground for her. Julianne Moore lets down her inhibitions as Gloria, a single divorcée trying to find her purpose in her 50s, in Sebastián Lelio’s Gloria Bell (due for release in spring 2019)—a film that left TIFF audiences cheering. And British actress Olivia Colman, who has forged a formidable comedic and dramatic career, plays the short-tempered, sickly, and surprisingly randy Queen Anne in The Favourite. Colman gives a master class in unpredictability and alternating moods as she’s pulled in a tug-of-war between two power-hungry schemers, adeptly played by Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone.
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