Happy inauguration day, everyone! In keeping with the season, why don’t we “inaugurate” some ideal nominees for the Best Actress and Actor Oscars? Ha! That’s the kind of wit you get around here, folks. For free!

Anyway, after the jump, I’ll continue my dream ballot (here’s part one and part three). Let me know who’d you choose!

 Best Actress

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Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married — Folks have been buzzing about this performance for so long that it runs the risk of not seeming fresh anymore: But don’t let the hype exhaust you. Hathaway’s work is so good that it eliminates the stench of Bride Wars. (My review.) 

Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky — As I wrote in my review, Sally Hawkins is breathtaking in this movie because she makes it clear that Poppy’s perkiness doesn’t come from naivete or idiocy: It’s a carefully chosen approach to a sometimes-terrifying world. 

Angelina Jolie, Changeling — I wouldn’t have seen this movie if it weren’t for Jolie’s Oscar buzz, especially because I’ve sworn to avoid Clint Eastwood as a director. (Why, God, did critics lose their minds for Mystic River and Million Dollar Baby? And save us all if Gran Torino is a best picture nominee.) However, I’m glad I made an exception, because Changeling is fantastic. A twisty, fact-based thriller about a missing child that satisfies both as a genre flick and a social commentary, it’s one of the most elegantly entertaining films I saw last year. And as the mother at the center, gnawed with fear, guilt, and foolish hope, Jolie is phenomenal.

Michelle Williams, Wendy and Lucy — Another one I wouldn’t have seen if it weren’t for the Oscar buzz. Another one I’m glad I discovered. As a homeless woman who is trying to keep her fraying life together and find her lost dog, Michelle Williams conveys an unsettling blend of desperation and intelligence. You can feel how clearly Wendy understands her own predicament, which makes her captivating.

Kate Winslet, The Reader — As I said yesterday, this is not a supporting performance, and since you can’t get nominated twice in one category, I’m giving Kate Winslet in The Reader a slight edge over Kate Winslet in Revolutionary Road. She’s outstanding in both, but I prefer her repentant Nazi guard to her unraveling housewife. Well, really, I prefer The Reader to Revolutionary Road. The former has the gumption to risk offending me with its premise (Nazis can be human, sexuality can be complicated, etc.), while the latter just offends me for rehashing all the anti-suburban rhetoric of the last fifty years. 

 

What? No Meryl Streep in “Doubt?” Sigh. It kills me. If I hadn’t seen Wendy and Lucy, my girl Meryl would be on the list. I thought she was delicious as Sister Aloysius (ha!), but John Patrick Shanley let her go over the top in some key scenes. In the end, I had to choose Williams’ restraint. 

My Dream Winner: Sally Hawkins (though Angelina Jolie was a whisper from victory.) 

p.s. — I know Winslet has never won an actual Oscar, but in my dream awards 2004, she won for “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.” 

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Best Actor

Leonardo DiCaprio, Revolutionary Road — I’m still thinking about the scene where Frank realizes that April may hate him. DiCaprio just looks so broken, like a terrified kid, that my heart is still going out to him. (My review.) 

Sean Penn, Milk — I don’t see how he could have been any better. I’ve already raved, so I’ll just leave it at that.

Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button — I haven’t written about this movie yet (though you can bet I’ll bring up tomorrow), so let me say this: I loved it. Flawed? Yes. But also deeply moving. I was crying for twenty minutes after it was over. To the point that I had to ask Roommate Joe to walk home without me, so I could pull myself together. A huge part of that reaction was due to Brad Pitt’s gentle, touching performance. 

Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler — As with Milk, I’ve already raved, and this is already the most over-analyzed performance of the year. Let’s allow this fantasy nomination to speak for itself. (Sidebar: Call me crazy, but I think he might just get nominated on Thursday. I know it’s a wild prediction, but I’m sticking to it.)

Michael Sheen, Frost/Nixon — Like Roommate Joe, I prefer Michael Sheen’s humanity to Frank Langella’s caricature. I didn’t love this movie, which I found far more “respectable” than “interesting,” but I was drawn to Sheen when his blustering confidence as a TV star became insecurity in the face of a shifty world leader and giddy excitement with the discovery of his own political passion.

What? No Frank Langella in “Frost/Nixon?” Nope. Compared to Sheen, his work is all surfaces. 

My Dream Winner: Sean Penn