FYC: Youth Acting and Breakthrough Stars
Wednesday, February 3, 2021 at 10:42PM by Nathaniel R
Alan S Kim, everyone's favourite mischief maker in Minari
Each year at the Critics Choice Awards -- I just filed my ballot -- we're expected to vote in a category that gets almost no press or campaigning: Best Young Performer. The nominees tend to be whichever kid had a leading role in a movie everyone saw. I've always found this depressing since all awards categories should be taken seriously and, as with adult performances or directing or costuming or whatever, you should think about your ballot and not just pick the most visible option solely because they're right in front of you. So each year I try to help by posting my own ballot...
The Critics Choice Award category actually goes up to 21 years of age which I've always found not-smart for reasons of content and comparison. Remember the year where Adèle Exarchopoulous won the category for her very sexual star-making turn in Blue is the Warmest Colour and her competitors were kids in movies about kids?!? This is not sex-shaming. Blue is the Warmest Colour was a fine movie and there's nothing wrong with very naked sexual star performances from adult actors... but maybe keep them in the adult categories, you know?
"Saint Frances" bizarre release strategy, waiting a year after a big fsetival breakout to be released did it no favors. Ramona Edith Williams is a major scene stealer.
This year you're likely to see a dynamic where both young adult actresses from the abortion drama Never Rarely Sometimes Always up against actual children (Fine performances but I didn't vote for them since my own category avoids this adults competing with children problem). There are usually five nominees. I think it's quite obvious that Helena Zengel (Globe nominee for News of the World) and Alan S Kim (the scene stealer of Minari) will be nominated and that's wonderful as they're both worthy in really excellent films. As to who will be the fifth nominee, who knows?
But my other three choices are less high profile: Orlando Schwerdt (True History of the Kelly Gang), Ibrahime Gueye (The Life Ahead), and Ramona Edith Williams (Saint Frances).
Toby Wallace mad a splash in Babyteeth... opposite Eliza Scanlen who broke through in the past couple of years with Little Women and Sharp Objects
Reader Comments (15)
Fantastic choices! I know it took a while for Saint Frances to get a US distributor and then Oscilloscope had other priorities in late 2019. Teeny tiny team there. Managed to book the Angelika in early 2020, which never would've happened if they'd released earlier.
The film is so good, as is Williams. You're making me want to see THE TRUE HISTORY OF THE KELLY GANG!
In interviews Carrie Coon always points out they filmed richer arcs for the kids in THE NEST but the scenes ended up getting cut. Both are terrific.
Saint Frances was a wonderful film and Williams was a major reason why. I'd love to see Millie Bobbie Brown here for Enola Holmes.
Aw yaas for the Radha Blank love...and Toby Wallace! Ben Mendelsohn and Essie Davis and Eliza Scanlen were great, but darned if Wallace didn't walk away with Babyteeth, at last for me...something I would *not* have predicted when his character first appears.
@Lynn Lee - I completely agree! I mean I knew the other 3 and I guess maybe that's why I had lower expectations for Toby but wow, he's great.
Nathaniel, excellent picks especially for those Breakthrough Performances. I've been ringing the bell for Radha this whole awards season. God, I wish she and the movie get more love than just all these breakthrough awards though as well-deserved as they are.
For the Under 18 Performance, good picks! But I have to "campaign" a bit for Lucas Jaye (Driveways), Sasha Knight (Cowboys), Jackson Robert Scott (Gossamer Folds), Madalen Mills (Jingle Jangle), Lucas Bond (Summerland), Sophia Lillis (Uncle Frank), Fathia Youssouf (Cuties), and Alexis Chikaeze (Miss Juneteenth). Hope you get to check these out if you haven't yet!
ryan -- would definitely have nominated Alexis Chikaeze but like the girls of Never Rarely she's too old for the category. I missed a lot of the movies you mentioned though. Did Cowboys actually come out?
I think anybody putting together a list for Best Youth Performance might want to consider the vocal work done by Honor Kneafsey (12) and Eva Whittaker (8) in Wolfwalkers. Both actresses brought nuance and charm to their roles, not to mention they believably sold the high drama of the third act. Voice acting is acting too, damnit!
I know the movie is a mess, but Caoilinn Springall is amazing in Midnight Sky.
Past comment not mine. I love kids that can act and I think that when they are good they bring the best out of their adult acting partners. Like Paquin and Hunter, Tremblay and Larson, Hoffman and the Kramer vs Kramer kid to name a few
LSS -- I think it has to do with the naturalism and lack of self-consciousness that they can bring. I totally agre.
Connor -- good call. The reason I dont often go there with voice acting is that when i'm thinking of the performance i instinctually recall facial expressions and image and that's the animators. Perhaps I need a category solely for voice acting/mocap/animated characteres where a team of people are responsible.
When will the Oscars reinstatete the Best Juvenile Performance award, as a regular category? Five nominees, boys or girls.
Now, this 21-year-old limit is ridiculous. It should be 16.
@Nathaniel - You are of course correct on COWBOYS. Looks like that's officially releasing later this month. As for Alexis Chikaeze, that's too bad. She literally just turned 19 a couple weeks ago, but I guess with your personal rules you actually want them to be *under* 18. I guess I mistook that for "18 and under". Anyways she WAS under 18 while filming. ;)
Marcos -- well it was never a regular competitive ecategory but it seems odd that they don't occassionally do a juvenile Oscar anymore. It would make more sense than having the random child occassionally compete in Best Actress or Best Supporting Actress or whatnot. Would have been nice to see Quvenzhane Wallis and Jacob Tremblay in recent years getting one. They dont need to do it every year of course.
Loving the inclusion of Gueye Nathaniel. I thought he was astonishing in such a layered performance and wish he was in the Best Actor conversation. I second the Sophia Lillis mention as she is such a captivating screen presence - future Oscar winner I hope