Yep, Meryl Streep Could Win Her Fourth Oscar For Steven Spielberg’s ‘The Post’

We can finally discuss  Steven Spielberg‘s highly anticipated new drama “The Post” and there is one huge takeaway:  If Meryl Streep wants to win a fourth Academy Award for Best Actress this may be her shot.

Steven Spielberg’s ‘The Post’: A Stirring, Sentimental & Feminist ‘All The President’s Men’ Prequel [Review]

The Liz Hannah and Josh Singer written period piece chronicles the decisions Kay Graham (Streep) must make as publisher of the Washington Post when the newspaper gets its hands on the infamous Pentagon Papers.  A study about the history and success of the Vietnam War commissioned in 1967 by then Secretary of Defense Bob McNamara (Bruce Greenwood), the documents didn’t get into the hands of the press and then the general public until 1971.  The New York Times initially published excerpts and findings before the Nixon administration took them to court.  The film focuses on whether Graham will publish the Post’s findings under threat of a similar lawsuit taking place at the same time as a stock offering on the American Stock Exchange. Tom Hanks plays Ben Bradlee, the Executive Editor of the Post who battles the legal team and the financial figures around Graham in order to convince her to publish.

You can count the times Streep has been “fine” or simply “good” on the big screen on one hand and only a few of those movies were released this century.  This is arguably the subtlest and most tempered work Streep has crafted since “The Bridges of Madison County” and she’s delivered classic performances in “The Devil Wears Prada,” “The Hours,” “Doubt” and “The Iron Lady” over that time span.  It’s simply exemplary. The question won’t be whether Streep will get nominated, but whether she can actually win.  And if there is a performance and a year that might find her matching Katharine Hepburn‘s four Academy Award wins for acting it’s this one.  Of course, Frances McDormand, Sally Hawkins and Saiorse Ronan may also have a say, but if Streep signals she wants to be part of the race (as opposed to giving a silent blessing to someone else) it could absolutely be hers for the taking.

Oh, and that National Board of Review Best Actress win doesn’t hurt either.

(And as my friend Kris Tapley keenly noted, if Trump goes after her? It’s a slam dunk.)

As for “The Post’s” other awards season hopes Tom Hanks has a fantastic chance at earning his sixth Oscar nomination in the Best Actor category (again, thanks NBR) and, barring a critical surprise, the film should earn a Best Picture nod.  Some of the other categories are less clear. Spielberg has a shot in Best Director, but if he didn’t earn a nod for the superior “Bridge of Spies” it’s hard to see him earning one for “The Post.”  Often a wasteland for prestige pics, Original Screenplay is historically competitive this season .  Hannah and Singer also have a shot, but it doesn’t seem as safe a pick as say Guillermo del Toro for “Shape of Water,” Greta Gerwig for “Lady Bird” or Martin McDonagh for “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.”  The only supporting hope is probably Bob Odenkirk in the Supporting Actor race, but it might not pop enough.  That being said, a SAG Ensemble honor still seems a strong possibility based on the just the collective love for the actors in the film alone.

Sarah Broshnar and Michael Kahn have a shot at Editing and, obviously, the venerable Ann Roth is always a Best Costumes contender.  What you won’t see are nominations for two-time Cinematography winner Janusz Kaminski (his most pedestrian collaboration with Spielberg ever) or two-time Production Designer honoree Rick Carter.

Beyond  Streep and, likely, Hanks, “The Post” is going to be a film whose awards season hopes are going to fluctuate based on the combative political environment the current presidential administration is fostering.  And, frankly, that means anything and everything is possible.

“The Post” opens in limited release on Dec. 22.