These should be early contenders for next year's Oscars

These should be early contenders for next years Oscars Image By ROBERT W. BUTLERThe Kansas City Star more News

We’re little more than halfway through the 2010 film year — the half that usually is forgotten in the crush of Oscar hopefuls that will be thrown at the country’s screens from October through December.

So now’s an opportune time to look back over the last six months of movies to single out those titles and performances worthy of Academy Award consideration but which, because they debuted so early in the year, will probably be overlooked in January.

We’ll start the discussion with “Winter’s Bone,” the Ozarks-lensed independent picture that opened here a month ago and still is going strong. it continues to sell out some of its weekend shows.

Part detective story, part character study, part ethnographic examination of back-roads America, this tale of a 17-year-old girl looking for her meth-cooking daddy in the dangerous rural drug scene remains my pick for film of the year.

Little movies like this one often get missed, but “Winter’s Bone” has created such a buzz inside the industry that it has a real chance for a best picture nomination.

Young Jennifer Lawrence seems a shoo-in for an actress nod, as does Debra Granik for both her effortless direction and the superb screenplay. a longer shot — but not by much — is John Hawkes as our heroine’s scary/protective Uncle Teardrop. (He didn’t get that nickname in Sunday school.)

Another memorable indie effort was the Irish film “the Eclipse” (not to be confused with that big-budget vampire/werewolf thing). a ghost story unlike any I’ve ever seen, Conor McPherson’s yarn (he should be in contention for both writing and directing honors) gets under your skin and haunts you, not so much for its supernatural elements as for its sheer humanity.

Ciaran Hinds (you probably don’t know the name, but you’ll certainly recognize that face) is superb as a small town Irish widower whose mourning is interrupted by a series of eerie encounters. Hinds is good enough for an Oscar nomination, but it’s a long shot. more likely is a supporting actor nod for Aidan Quinn, playing a drunken, self-absorbed and totally arrogant novelist who’s equal parts hilarity and pathos. the best work of Quinn’s career.

“the Ghost Writer” is a superlative political thriller, a worthy best picture candidate (so smart, so literate, so in love with the English language) that ought to nab yet another directing nomination for Roman Polanski, as well as for the screenplay he wrote with Robert Harris. Acting awards are less likely, though I loved Pierce Brosnan and Olivia Williams as a former British prime minister and his seemingly supportive missus.

While we’re talking about best picture possibilities, don’t forget “Exit through the Gift Shop,” a documentary (or is it?) about the outsider artist scene by the elusive British artist Banksy. It’s one of those totally original movies that defies categorization. I’d push it for best documentary feature, except I’m not sure it’s a documentary. It’s unclassifiable.

On the best actor front, things are a bit thin right now. Michael Douglas should be considered for his sleazeball-to-end-all-sleazeballs performance in “Solitary Man.” And perhaps Hal Holbrook for playing a stubborn, cranky old geezer in “that Evening Sun.”

Best actress? I was lukewarm to the film but remained impressed by the otherworldly Tilda Swinton’s performance in the Italian “I Am love.”

Even better was Noomi Rapace’s turn as an antisocial computer hacker in “the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.” She perfectly nailed the maddening oddness of the heroine of the late Stieg Larsson’s series of detective novels. (Rapace is reprising her role in two more movies.)

Perennial nominee Johnny Depp could get a supporting actor nomination for his mad Hatter in Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland.” showing why he merits the big bucks, Depp takes a small role and delivers a polished gem of comedy and pathos that somehow dominates the whole enterprise.

“I don’t like it in here,” he says of his head. “It’s too crowded.”

Ever heard a more concise description of insanity?

As for the supporting actress race, there are candidates all over the place. I’m citing VanessaRedgrave for convincing us that you’re never too old to fall in love in “Letters to Juliet,” young Chloe Grace Moretz as a pint-size costumed vigilante (the perfect blend of humor and savagery) in “Kick-Ass” and Greta Gerwig as the naïve woman who falls for Ben Stiller’s maddening loser in the otherwise forgettable “Greenberg.”

But as I said before, most of these won’t get a chance once the studio-backed push for the awards gets under way. enjoy them now.

To reach Robert W. Butler, call 816-234-4760 or send e-mail to bbutler@kcstar.com.