I don't know what I was expecting from this year's nominations, but this is quite a collection of movies. The ten Best Picture nominations include the movies everyone has been acclaiming all year - "Everything Everywhere All At Once," "The Banshees of Inisherin," "The Fablemans," and "Tár," blockbuster hits "Avatar: The Way of Water," "Elvis," and "Top Gun: Maverick," and indies "Triangle of Sadness" and "Women Talking." I didn't see "All Quiet on the Western Front" coming, edging out movies like "The Whale," "Babylon," "The Woman King," "Glass Onion," "RRR," and "Till"
This was an unpredictable year for the Oscars, with no clear consensus on some of the major categories going into the announcements. The wildest nomination is definitely Andrea Riseborough getting into Best Actress for "To Leslie," which I'd only heard about because the campaign for the little seen film went viral. She and Ana De Armas getting nominations meant Danielle Deadwyler and Viola Davis were left on the outs. Bill Nighy and Paul Mescal getting nominations for Best Actor meant no Jeremy Pope. Stephanie Hsu and Jamie Lee Curtis seem to have bumped Dolly DeLeon and Janelle Monet.
Frankly, it's not a good year for black cinema at the Oscars. Brian Tyree Henry and Angela Bassett picked up acting nods in the Supporting Actor and Actress categories, but "The Woman King" and "Till" were totally shut out, while movies like "The Inspection," "Devotion," "Nope," "I Want to Dance With Somebody" and "Emancipation" never worked up much buzz. Instead, Asian actors are all over the Acting categories, with Hong Chau finally getting a nod for "The Whale" along with four actors from "Everything Everywhere All At Once."
It's also not a great year for women filmmakers. "She Said" was snubbed, and "Women Talking" made it into the Best Picture race, but only had two nominations. Sarah Polley didn't make it into the directing category as some had hoped. As previously mentioned, women-led projects like "The Woman King" and "Till" got no attention. My personal long shot for awards attention was "Good Luck to You Leo Grande," which did manage some acting nominations at the BAFTAs, but no such luck at the Oscars.
I think that this is a very strong batch of movies overall, with no obvious duds like "Vice" in the mix. Still, I'd written off a lot of these movies months ago, not having much enjoyed Ruben Ostlund's "Triangle of Sadness" or "All Quiet on the Western Front." I feel I should write up reviews for these two, but frankly I don't have much to say about either of them. I'm also not looking forward to sitting through "Avatar: The Way of Water," having cooled significantly on the original movie over the years. It's the only major nominated film I haven't seen yet.
There's something that feels off this year. I don't understand how Ruben Ostlund is in the Best Director race. What is "Top Gun: Maverick" doing in Best Adapted Screenplay? And not Cinematography?! Where is "Decision to Leave"? Or "Descendant?" It's also odd to see Judd Hirsch in Best Supporting instead of Paul Dano. Great performance, but if we want one-scene wonders from "The Fabelmans," why not David Lynch? On the other hand, this is how I know that these awards aren't fixed. These nominations are messy and weird, and reflect a movie industry that is much the same.
If you'd told me that "Turning Red" would be the lone Disney/PIXAR nominee in the Best Animated Feature category at the beginning of the year, I would not have believed you. If you'd told me that Tom Cruise not getting a Best Actor nod for "Top Gun: Maverick," would be considered a snub, I would have been doubtful. Ehren Kruger being Oscar nominated is frankly depressing, but on the upside Ke Huy Quan is the frontrunner for Best Supporting Actor, with a comeback story for the ages. I'm not really looking forward to Brendan Fraser turning on the waterworks again, but your mileage may vary.
I still need some time to process this, and track down a few films. With "Avatar" and "Top Gun: Maverick" in the mix, and Michael J. Fox getting the Hersholt, at least we're likely to see a bump in Oscar viewing figures. At least we don't need to worry about that issue this year.
---
No comments:
Post a Comment