Months before the release of the film, Kasi Lemmon’s ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ had started to generate Oscar buzz.
With the way biopics have consistently faired well with the Academy, the makers were certain that the film was meant for major awards glory and that was always part of their plan.
Hence it came as a surprise when Sony Pictures and other behind curating the film, failed to meet the deadline for Golden Globe and Critics Choice movie-submission by the end of 2022 – and missed out on the opportunity generating advance buzz around the film ahead of it’s December 23 release.
That was perhaps the biggest facepalm moment of 2022 – especially since Naomi Ackie delivered what can easily be called one of the best female performances of the year. It was nearly certain that she was going to grab a Globe nomination for her act in the film, and the young and starry-eyed British actress missed her chance to be recognized due to late submissions.
As Whitney Houston, Naomi transformed herself into the late songstress, not only recreating her on-stage mannerisms with minute-details but also humanizing her off-screen persona.
It was a difficult task, considering Houston is fresh in the memory of those following Pop culture, and especially because she only passed away 10 years ago. People, in general, remember it all.
This makes it way more difficult to recreate the imagery, than it is in the case of an Elvis biopic or a Judy Garland one.
Toppled with the scrutiny Houston fans made Ackie go through for not looking like a replica of the late singer, Naomi’s undertaking of the project became all the more harrowing.
But despite it all, it stunned many to see how the 31 year old British actress, managed to grab the essence of Whitney to such an extent, that some viewers pointed out how ‘homegirl’ may as well have been from Jersey.
This was perhaps the most difficult acting task among females this year and Naomi Ackie aced it, thanks to her 8 months of preparations, which included studying the accent as well as the mannerisms, that constituted the late diva’s larger-than-life image.
It could easily have turned into a parody, but Ackie walked the difficult bleak path and turned it into an emotionally charged act that lingers in your head long after you’ve seen it.
Notwithstanding, the overall critique for the film – Naomi Ackie now eyes the big ‘O’, as she was recently also included in the longlist of BAFTA awards unveiled earlier this week.
Meanwhile, Sony Pictures will continue to campaign for the film for the upcoming Academy Awards, and Ackie will remain in the center of it all.