It's beginning to feel like David O. Russell is a staple for awards season and thanks to his films and her own infinite awesomeness, Jennifer Lawrence is earning a similar spot as well. Tuesday, the New York Film Critics Circle named Russell and Lawrence's 2013 film American Hustle the best film of 2013. Lawrence also garnered the Best Supporting Actress honor from the NYFCC. This could be big news for the director, but especially for Lawrence.
The NYFCC doesn't always predict Oscar winners, but their record isn't terrible — in the past the organization has awarded Oscar winners like The Artist, The Hurt Locker, and Lord of the Rings: Return of the King and in the Best Actress race, voters chose Reese Witherspoon's Walk The Line performance and Helen Mirren in The Queen before the Oscar nominations were even announced. It's not an exact science, but it's safe to say that these are awards we might want to pay some attention to.
With that in mind, our helpless brains shift like refrigerator magnets in Lawrence's direction. What does all the buzz around American Hustle's win mean for Lawrence? Well, for one, it means that she likely won't have to pull a Melissa Leo and beg us to "Consider..." in order to get the attention of Academy voters. While an NYFCC win didn't work for 2012's Zero Dark Thirty, the film didn't happen to star the most powerful woman in show business at the moment.
Lending weight to Lawrence's already unstoppable presence by awarding her the NYFCC award to her and the film she's earning buzz for can only strengthen her potential to win going into the Oscar race. The Academy already proved that her charm worked on them when they selected her performance in The Silver Linings Playbook over incredible performances by Jessica Chastain, Naomi Watts, Emmanuelle Riva, and Quvenzhané Wallis.
All the early buzz that she and American Hustle have just garnered can do is turn her current blaze of fame into an even greater wall of fire. It didn't seem possible, but her Oscar potential just might consume us all over again. And the miraculous thing is, we love her so much as a society that we probably won't even resent her for it.
For the full roster of NYFCC winners, head to the organization's official website.
