At This Year’s Oscars, the Best Actress Race Is the One to Watch

glamour.com:

Minamata, while fans of Camila Cabello attempted to spam her widely-panned Cinderella adaptation to victory.Then, there was the news last week that —the lead in Steven Spielberg’s best-picture nominee West Side Story—had not been an extended an invite, coinciding with the announcement of a lineup of presenters that was, to put it politely, eclectic, including the likes of Tony Hawk, Kelly Slater, and DJ Khaled. (It was later revealed that the ensuing Internet backlash led the Academy to ask Zegler to present an award, too.)Less reflective of the Academy, but just as much of a rollercoaster, has been the awards season race in general—and few categories are as hotly contested as best actress, which, just days before the Oscars ceremony begins, is still anyone’s game.

What makes this year’s best actress run-off so interesting, though, is the way in which it speaks less to the quality of the performances this year than to the internal politics of the Academy and the kind of actors they like (or don’t like) to reward.

Here, we run through every actor nominated for best actress—and why this will be the trophy to watch at this year’s Oscars.While Kristen Stewart might have had one of the strongest showings out of the gate with the effusive reviews she received for when it premiered in Venice last year, she’s struggled to maintain that momentum as awards season has chugged along. (She even lost the Critic’s Choice Award to Jessica Chastain earlier this month, in what was believed to be her safest bet.) Don’t count her out just yet, though.