R.I.P. Abbie Cornish...

...or, at least, R.I.P. Abbie Cornish's Oscar hopes for her extraordinary performance as Fanny Brawne in Jane Campion's ravishing "Bright Star." I'm getting painfully accustomed to latching on to a great bit of acting that ultimately gets ignored during awards season (last year I was crushed to see Rosemarie DeWitt get repeatedly snubbed for her brilliant work in "Rachel Getting Married").

This year, as much as I adored Carey Mulligan in "An Education," and marveled at Gabby Sidibe's transformative portrayal of the title character in "Precious" (you simply must see an interview with this girl to grasp how much of a departure Claireece Jones is from her actual persona), if I had to choose one lady to go up against Meryl Streep, it'd be Cornish. Such a feisty, yet vulnerable characer she brought so beautifully to life.

However, with all the precursors essentially in the bag, it appears Cornish's fate has been sealed as far as the Academy Awards are concerned. Rarely does a performer with hardly any precursor recognition move on to compete for the big prize.

Which brings me to the Southern-accented elephant in the room: Sandra Bullock is totally lovable, and I don't want to begrudge her her first Oscar nomination but, really, who watched both "Bright Star" and "The Blind Side" and thought Bullock was better than Cornish? (And, for that matter, who thought Bullock was better than Tilda Swinton in "Julia?") I realize "The Blind Side" is far more popular but, still, it baffles and saddens me. Such is the plight of an actress lover, I suppose.