Kidman is the obvious bet for consolation prize: it
feels like she's moving into the Grande Dame phase
of her career in which every major role she takes has one eye on the little gold fella, and if a lot
of the time she's going to aim and miss (the specter
of «Grace
of Monaco» hovers on the horizon, not eligible here yet, but
still its stinking word
of mouth and distribution troubles are already
part of the narrative), in general the Academy loves a trier, so a nod for
something as unexceptional - but - prestigey as «The Railway Man» would not be out
of the question.
I
feel like I'm
still learning How To Write A Novel That's Not Crap, and I'd have thought passing that
part of the course was
something of a must before moving on to the Advanced Novel - Flogging
part of the curriculum.