The Best Actress race this year leading up to the 98th Academy Awards has mostly felt like a race between two women, with an inconsistent bunch of other actors trailing far behind. From a surprise nomination for Eva Victor at the Golden Globes to a surprise snub of Chase Infiniti for the Oscar, despite leading the Best Picture frontrunner, it’s been a chaotic year. But the biggest shock came from Kate Hudson’s nomination, the sole for her film, and one that followed months of steady momentum for the star. Pundits don’t think Hudson’s chances are strong, and her inclusion has puzzled many.
Jessie Buckley in Hamnet and Rose Byrne in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You are the towering forces vying for the top prize this year. Both portray mothers dealing with insurmountable stress, just in separate centuries. While Jessie Buckley finds herself in a Best Picture hopeful, which snagged 8 nominations, Byrne is the sole nomination for her film. Likewise, Hudson in Song Sung Blue is the sole nomination for hers. Hudson is also a mother fighting against the odds and turning a little dream to be a singer into a heartfelt reality. Like Buckley’s character, Hudson’s faces multiple life-altering and traumatic events, and her grief overwhelms her in the film’s darkest moments.
Is it just that the Academy enjoys stories about mothers? Susan King, for Gold Derby, noted that all of the Best Actress nominees in 2022 were playing mothers, and the penchant the Academy has had since its early days for nominating and awarding such roles. This year’s nominees tell a different story, though, especially Emma Stone’s inclusion for Bugonia. So what about Hudson makes her stand out?
The Academy loves range. Musicals have been awarded top prizes several times, from Oliver! to Chicago, singing and dancing are bound to get voters interested. Stone’s win for La La Land showcased the depth of her talents; with her Best Actress-winning performance, voters saw her comedic timing, dramatic chops, and musical capabilities. Hudson’s role in Song Sung Blue features a charming romance, a deep state of depression and her eventual recovery, and songs sung not just blue, but well. The film, however, hasn’t garnered much buzz outside of her performance, which begs the question: what about Hugh Jackman? Jackman shows an equal range in his performance, yet he’s spent this awards season on the sidelines.
Friends in high places, good connections, and name recognition almost certainly play a factor. This isn’t Hudson’s first nomination, as she was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in Almost Famous. The daughter of Hollywood legends, her mother Goldie Hawn an Oscar winner herself, Hudson is returning to the ceremony more than 20 years later. This isn’t a recreation of Andrea Riseborough’s surprise nomination — a good campaign has taken Hudson to several ceremonies years after previous success. But if recognition doesn’t guarantee a win, Hudson must fill a niche no one else does.
While there is a grit to most of the nominated actresses’ performances, Hudson’s character is much softer. If you’ve ever seen a movie trailer, you’ve probably heard a film described as “the feel-good movie of the year.” Song Sung Blue is that film in the awards season conversation. Positive reviews are filled with words like “charming,” “warm,” and “genuine,” words that wouldn’t describe Bugonia or If I Had Legs I’d Kick You. Thorny female protagonists are a breath of fresh air in a misogynistic world, but the patriarchal refrain that being an unlikeable woman is a death sentence still rings true. It’s great to see there’s space for abrasive characters like those Byrne and Stone portray, though many voters have noted being put off by similar characters in the past. Hudson’s role offers likeability in an easy-going film — exactly the kind of palatability many voters crave.
There is no single factor that contributes to the much-coveted Oscar for Best Actress. Awards are touted as achievements in excellence, but we all know a good narrative, an expensive and aggressive marketing campaign, and ideas about what roles women “should” play are just as crucial. Hudson’s nomination seemed like a shock, but in the big picture, she’s a typical awards season story. The reality is that awards season is not a vacuum of sheer excellence, but a microcosm of our shifting culture and tastes, where the art of film is so much more than a series of moving images. Film encapsulates moments in time within a specific context, and narratives, like Hudson’s, will forever matter just as much as an actor’s artistic output.
