The Oscar nominations arrived on Tuesday, an early-morning wake-up call that was met, in some quarters, with all sorts of jumps, mostly joy, possibly some of the angry kind. For others, dawn was like the atomic bomb test sequence in “Oppenheimer”: an irrevocable countdown leading to oblivion. Do you think it's hard to just be Ken? try to be fair a Golden Globe nominee. That, my friends, is an existential crisis.
In a perfect world, of course, it would be a cherry jubilee for everyone. But these are the Oscars, not the “Critics” Choice Awards, a show where categories and nominations abound like the hot dogs in “May December”. The Oscars limit their nominees to five per category, which invariably leads to some surprises and omissions, some egregious, some understandable.
For the sake of alliteration and search engine optimization, we'll call these oversights “snubs,” though voters probably meant no ill will, unless they were the person at my “Saltburn” screening who started yelling in disgust. agony as Barry Keoghan sucked the cloudy bathwater down to the last drop. This is personal. They will take that resentment to the grave.
But let's not stop at that. Let's move on to the snubs and surprises of the nominations for the 96th Academy Awards, which will be presented on March 10.
Snub: Greta Gerwig, “Barbie” (director)
No! No again! Four years after being passed over for her work behind the camera on “Little Women,” the academy's directors' branch snubbed Gerwig again, this time for “Barbie.” You'd think making a movie that grossed more than $1.4 billion at the box office, earned rave reviews, and launched thousands of think pieces would have merited a nomination.
SURPRISE: Justine Triet, “Anatomy of a Fall” (director)
“Anatomy of a Fall” won the Palme d’Or at Cannes, and since then, the only obstacle Triet has encountered was that France chose another film (“Taste of Things”) for its international entry. I imagine the selection committee regrets that decision now, since Triet's twisty legal thriller earned a best picture nomination along with nominations for lead actress Sandra Hüller and the screenplay, written by Triet and his partner, the filmmaker Arthur Harari. Of course, crank up that steel drum version of 50 Cent’s “PIMP” to celebrate. But stay away from the roof of his house.
SNUB: “The color purple” (photo)
Maybe it was the late arrival, which shortened the runway for the film screening for some of the guilds. Maybe voters felt they didn't need another “Color Purple,” even though it was an adaptation of the 2005 Broadway musical and not an update of Steven Spielberg's 1985 film. If you watched it with an audience, you wouldn't you could avoid getting caught up in its story and its energy. It was not a movie to watch on the couch, as many members of the academy did. And once the cast members started criticizing poor working conditions on set and low wages, the narrative changed and media reports focused on the controversy rather than the film's achievements. “At first it got good reviews, but then all you heard were complaints,” says a source close to the film. “It overshadowed the movie.”
SURPRISE: Colman Domingo, “Rustin” (main actor) The goal of the biopic “Rustin” was to introduce audiences to the work of civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, a man who helped organize the March on Washington, the historic 1963 rally at which the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke. his speech “I have a dream speech. The film was loaded with exposition, along with long monologues and many moving speeches. And it worked because Domingo was the actor who spoke. Sometimes at the Oscars, all an actor needs is a biopic with a couple of good speeches and a scene or two that softens voters' hearts.
Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio in “The Flower Moon Killers.”
(Melinda Sue Gordon/Apple)
Snub: Leonardo DiCaprio, “Killers of the Flower Moon” (lead actor)
This seems like the year the academy passed over DiCaprio for playing the elegant, depraved plantation owner in Quentin Tarantino's “Django Unchained.” Then and now, DiCaprio earned a Golden Globe nomination but failed to secure a spot at the SAG Awards and then suffered a similar fate with the Oscars, despite being considered a fit by most experts. The “Killers” campaign was so focused on DiCaprio's co-star Lily Gladstone that it was assumed voters would reflexively check the box next to her name. Many voters I spoke to couldn't understand her character's behavior. He loves her wife…but he wants to murder her and wipe out her family? Yeah! He is messy. But Oscar voters like their villains to be a little less complicated.
SURPRISE: Sterling K. Brown, “American Fiction” (supporting actor)
Brown's breakthrough role as the cosmetic surgeon whose wife left him after discovering he was having affairs with men brought delicious chaos to “American Fiction,” as well as a real sense of pathos later in the film in his scenes with Jeffrey Wright. Voters rewarded both actors.
DESAIR: Margot Robbie, “Barbie” (lead actress)
A couple of months ago, I wrote that the only thing that could keep Robbie from being nominated would be if voters didn't appreciate the level of difficulty of what she accomplishes in the film: the comedic timing, the emotional depth she brings to the character. , the precise body control she requires to play with a plastic doll. And here we are with the academy, once again, discounting great performances in a comedy.
SURPRISE: América Ferrera, “Barbie” (supporting actress)
America Ferrera's powerful monologue in “Barbie,” in which she laments, “I'm so tired of watching myself and all the other women tie themselves in knots to get people to like me,” was transcribed, discussed, and widely appreciated. as the climax of the film. But the performance of a working mother trying to find purpose and connection with her daughter was bigger than the speech.
Greta Lee with Teo Yoo in “Past Lives.”
(Jon Pack / A24 Movies)
Snub: Greta Lee, “Past Lives” (lead actress)
Eight of the 10 films nominated for best picture also earned nominations for their actors. Those who were left out: “The zone of interest” and “Past lives”. The former is more understandable, since Sandra Hüller, chilling as the wife of the commandant of Auschwitz, got a nomination for her leading role in “Anatomy of a Fall.” Less forgivable: Overlooking Lee's remarkable performance as a woman whose life is turned upside down when her childhood sweetheart comes to visit from Korea. It's a masterclass in how to communicate subtle behaviors and emotions. Unfortunately, the Oscars typically subscribe to “Hoooo-aaah” acting school.
SURPRISE: Annette Bening, “Nyad” (lead actress)
Bening and her “Nyad” co-star Foster were nominated by SAG Awards voters and the academy clearly approved. It's Bening's fifth nomination and her first since her terrific turn as the wine-loving workaholic who tries to keep her family together in “The Kids Are All Right.” It will be a risky bet in the category. It doesn't matter. It will be nice to see her (and Foster) again at the Oscars.
SNUB: “May December” (acting)
Todd Haynes' provocative character study received a warm welcome at its Cannes premiere, and the good vibes continued throughout December as critics groups lavished the film with awards for its screenplay and supporting actor Charles Melton. Then, after its release on Netflix, the movie discourse on Twitter got…interesting, and people were wondering if the movie was supposed to be camp or a melodrama or what. It was as if people were seeing a Todd Haynes film for the first time, and many did, as none of his previous efforts had debuted in wide release. One would think that members of the academy would be able to appreciate the nuances of his style, but the acting branch proved immune, ignoring both Charles Melton and Julianne Moore, who had been listed by many as nominees.
DISAIR: Penélope Cruz, “Ferrari” (supporting actress)
It's strange when Michael Mann makes a movie as fun as “Ferrari” and no one notices. I understand how she could have been edged out in the crowded best picture race, but ignoring Cruz, an Oscar winner and four-time nominee, seems like one of those omissions that people will look back on and ask, “What was she like?” she Not being nominated? Her fierce portrayal of Laura Ferrari, a woman consumed by grief over the death of her son and filled with resentment at the dismissive way her husband and others treat her, was one of the highlights. of the movie.
