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Oscar Nominations: The Nineteen Year Wait
This year I approached the Oscars with much trepidation. Nineteen years ago, Paul Giamatti shone as a depressed, sardonic teacher in Alexander Payne’s Sideways. He had nominations for every Oscar precursor award. Every Oscar forecaster had him as a lock for his first Best Actor nod. But the Academy voters left him off for Clint Eastwood in Million Dollar Baby. Unlike Giamatti, Eastwood did not show up in any precursor nominations. While Eastwood gave a solid performance, it had nowhere near the complexity and depth Giamatti showed. After the Academy announced those nominations, I was beyond mad. Looking back on that day now, livid and apoplectic come to mind. It was the most upset I have ever been over something that did not involve me personally or any of my favorite sports teams. Giamatti was an up-and-coming character actor just starting to move into lead roles. His plain looks and everyman persona struck a chord with me. Giamatti excelled at playing outsiders with a chip on their shoulder, men who feel that they don’t quite measure up. In that way was maybe it was fitting that he was passed over, but that was of little comfort. In 2023, Paul Giamatti once again played a cranky, self-loathing teacher in an Alexander Payne film. Even though The Holdovers takes place in 1970, Giamatti’s character could easily be his Sideways role 20 years later. This time Giamatti delivers different shadings with less anger and frustration but more bitterness and resignation. Again, Giamatti deftly mines humor and pathos from his character’s failings and grudges. As he did before, Giamatti showed up in every Oscar precursor nomination. Again, he was considered a lock. But was he? I had been burned before (technically it was Giamatti that had been burned, but he likely handled it better than I did). So I held my breath when the presenters announced the Best Actor nominations. There he was on the list. At last! I felt relief and then joy. It took nineteen years, but the Academy voters finally did right by him. After the Giamatti nomination the Academy could have picked reality TV stars and I would have been OK. But the Oscar voters generally nailed their picks this year. Yes, there’s the Barbie controversy, which I will address in Director and Actress, and yes there’s some talent I believe went overlooked. But in the eight categories I’m covering here, there’s only a couple of nominees that shouldn’t be there. The Academy’s snubbing of performers of color has been well documented, including by me. This year seven out of the 20 acting nominees were of racial minorities, including at least one in every category. Women directed three of the Picture nominees and wrote or co-wrote four of the ten Screenplay nominees. I’m not claiming that anything close to full equality has been achieved, but the nominees are starting to look more like America and the world. It’s with this sense that the Oscars for once reflected the best the year had to offer that I hand out some grades: BEST PICTURE American Fiction Anatomy of a Fall Barbie The Holdovers Killers of the Flower Moon Maestro Oppenheimer Past Lives Poor Things The Zone of Interest Grade: B+ On the whole, a strong, eclectic mix of blockbuster favorites, international standouts, and indie darlings. Credit the Academy for remembering Past Lives, a tender look at life’s choices and the path not taken, even though it came out during the summer and did not do great box office. I’d prefer to see Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret instead of The Zone of Interest. Kelly Fremon Craig adapted a novel many considered unfilmable into a sweet, funny and heartfelt coming-of-age film. I respected and admired The Zone of Interest as an artistic vision more than a compelling film. It’s description of “the banality of evil” packs a chilling punch, but in the end it was too clinical for me. DIRECTOR Jonathan Glazer -- The Zone of Interest Yorgos Lanthimos -- Poor Things Christopher Nolan -- Oppenheimer Martin Scorsese -- Killers of the Flower Moon Justine Triet -- Anatomy of a Fall Grade: A- You may have heard a thing or two about the director of the prior year’s most popular film, considered a shoo-in for a Director nomination, being left out in the cold. Of course, that was ... Steven Spielberg in 1976 getting snubbed for Jaws. The other helmers of the Best Picture nominees all made it, but the Academy Directors branch picked Frederico Fellini for Amacord over Spielberg. While I understand the uproar over Greta Gerwig’s exclusion, we all need to put it in perspective. It’s not misogyny but another type of bias. The Academy has a long history of passing over popular filmmakers for international auteurs. You can make a good case for why Gerwig should be nominated starting with how she made a clever, funny film from a plastic doll. So many connected to Barbie, which along with Oppenheimer, turned around what had been a bad box office year. Of course, you can also make a good case for Cord Jefferson (American Fiction), Celine Song (Past Lives), or Bradley Cooper (Maestro). Alexander Payne made The Holdovers, my pick for best of the year. Like Gerwig, he was nominated by the Directors Guild of America, but also like Gerwig, the Oscars didn’t follow suit. The Academy is slowly opening the door to giving women directors long overdue recognition. Justine Triet deserved her nomination for Anatomy of a Fall, seamlessly combining a courtroom thriller with a family drama. As it is, Gerwig the first director ever, male or female, to have their first three films all nominated for Best Picture. ACTOR Bradley Cooper -- Maestro Colman Domingo -- Rustin Paul Giamatti -- The Holdovers Cillian Murphy -- Oppenheimer Jeffrey Wright -- American Fiction Grade: A Besides Giamatti, Wright’s nomination might be the most gratifying. He’s been one of America’s most underrated character actors for decades now, with notable turns in everything from Wes Anderson films to James Bond. American Fiction gave him the leading man showcase he needed and he did not disappoint. He brought gravitas and vulnerability along with comedic flair. Rustin as a biopic may have underwhelmed, but Domingo’s performance didn’t. Some have faulted Domingo for going big, but if you see video clips of the real Bayard Rustin, you realize that Domingo captured him perfectly. No complaints if Leonardo DiCaprio had made the list for Killers of the Flower Moon, but I don’t kick any of these five nominees out. ACTRESS Annette Bening -- Nyad Lily Gladstone -- Killers of the Flower Moon Sandra Hüller -- Anatomy of a Fall Carey Mulligan -- Maestro Emma Stone -- Poor Things Grade: B+ How can the Academy nominate Ken, but not Barbie? Doesn’t Margot Robbie’s exclusion only validate the point of the movie? Not really. As with Gerwig, Robbie’s omission illustrates a bias, but not the one claimed on social media. The Academy, especially in the leading acting categories, prefers roles in prestige projects. Paul Giamatti, Jeffrey Wright and Emma Stone scored nominations for films that could be fairly called comedies, but their look and pedigree likely appealed more to the Academy voters, which still skew older. By contrast, some news outlets reported Academy voters not wanting to nominate someone for playing a toy. The Academy shows somewhat more flexibility with Supporting categories, with Kevin Kline, Jack Palance and Marisa Tomei winning for pure comedies. Annette Bening was somewhat of a surprise here, but her character and her film’s message about overcoming ageism likely resonated with older voters. Sandra Hüller broke through in 2023 with both Anatomy of a Fall and The Zone of Interest. She has a gift for playing characters who are not trying to be liked and that have sides hidden from the audience. SUPPORTING ACTOR Sterling K. Brown -- American Fiction Robert De Niro -- Killers of the Flower Moon Robert Downey Jr. -- Oppenheimer Ryan Gosling -- Barbie Mark Ruffalo -- Poor Things Grade: A Gosling got a nomination and Robbie didn’t simply because he was in a supporting category and she wasn’t. While Willem Dafoe for Poor Things and John Magaro for Past Lives would have also been worthy nominees, there’s no one I’d kick off this list. Ruffalo looked like he was having the time of his life going against type as an egotistical boor in Poor Things. Brown has made the jump to movie star after his hilarious turn in American Fiction. With the many new faces among the nominees this year, it feels comforting to see an old pro like De Niro at his best when reunited with Martin Scorsese. SUPPORTING ACTRESS Emily Blunt -- Oppenheimer Danielle Brooks -- The Color Purple America Ferrera -- Barbie Jodie Foster -- Nyad Da’Vine Joy Randolph -- The Holdovers Grade: B+ My wife and I became fans of Danielle Brooks through “Orange is the New Black” and it’s thrilling to see her breakthrough. She’s a force of nature that steals every scene she’s in. Randolph is another character actor and another one going against type. She excels playing loud brassy women, but dials it back in a subtle heartbreaking performance. Those upset at Robbie’s snub would hopefully take some comfort in Ferrera’s surprise nomination. She was the real person in the film and the audience surrogate, while her killer monologue didn’t hurt. Emily Blunt has delivered Oscar worthy performances before, but her work in Oppenheimer is not one of them. She plays hurt and angry and doesn’t go beyond that. Compare that to Rachel McAdams exquisite turn in Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret as a mother struggling to adjust to a new community while being there for her daughter. McAdams gives complexity and layers to what simply could have just been a “Mom” part. Unfortunately, Margaret came out too early and didn’t catch on with audiences the way it should have. ADAPTED SCREENPLAY Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach -- Barbie Jonathan Glazer -- The Zone of Interest Cord Jefferson -- American Fiction Tony McNamara -- Poor Things Christopher Nolan -- Oppenheimer Grade: B- Lost in the hubbub about Barbie in the Director and Actress categories was the Academy inexplicably placing the screenplay in the adapted group while the Writers Guild of America, the critics groups and anyone with common sense considered it original. Just because it’s a known character does not make it adapted. The Academy nominated Toy Story as original even though it featured Mr. Potato Head, another popular toy. When Bradley Cooper and Josh Singer developed the Maestro screenplay, they did so off a life very well documented. They did not create Leonard Bernstein out of whole cloth, but their screenplay is original while Gerwig and Baumbach ,who created a whole story for Barbie, is adapted? That doesn’t pass the smell contest. The category fraud also left off Martin Scorsese and Eric Roth for their brilliant adaptation of David Grann’s Killers of the Flower Moon. That screenplay would have also been much more worthy than Oppenheimer. That screenplay is the weakest part of the film. After examining the price paid for developing a weapon of mass destruction, the story lowers the stakes so much that the climax centers around whether a supporting character gets a Cabinet post. ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Samy Burch and Alex Mechanik -- May December Bradley Cooper and Josh Singer -- Maestro David Hemingson -- The Holdovers Celine Song -- Past Lives Justine Triet and Arthur Harari -- Anatomy of a Fall Grade: A Screenplay plays its traditional consolation prize role for May December, which was shut out of all the other categories despite stellar work by Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore and Charles Melton. Hemingson’s virtuoso screenplay for The Holdovers was his first writing for film after years of working on television. He based the story on his own experiences at a prestigious New England prep school. Hemingson avoids cliches or easy character beats, while creating such vivid characters. The laughs and emotions are always earned, never forced. Maybe he should stick with the movie gigs for a while. With all of the accolades Killers of the Flower Moon earned, some both inside and outside Native communities questioned that a white filmmaker telling a story set in the Osage, but focusing more on the white characters. I don’t believe the film culture should ever get to a point where only a person in a race/ethnicity/culture can tell those stories. Scorsese took great pains to work with the Osage community to make sure the language, songs and customs shown were accurate. He spotlighted heinous crimes that went underreported for a century. The questions raised about Killers touch on larger questions about representation. As much as Scorsese had the right and perhaps even the responsibility to tell this story, Native filmmakers should see the opportunities to tell their own stories, and to tell them from their own Native perspectives. For years Hollywood depicted American Indians as bloodthirsty savages. Even more recent films that tried for a more balanced approach, such as Dances with Wolves, did so through the “white savior” perspective. Every once in a while, a Native made film like Smoke Signals would emerge, but those were few and far between. The success of “Reservation Dogs” and “Dark Winds” on television illustrates that there’s an audience for Native-made, Native-set stories. But it doesn’t seem like film studios or distributors are listening. Fancy Dance, a film from Indigenous director Erica Tremblay set on the Seneca–Cayuga Nation Reservation, garnered good reviews at Sundance last year. The film addresses missing and murdered Indigenous women, a crisis plaguing tribal communities. I’d love to praise the film, but I haven’t actually seen it. More than a year after Sundance, Fancy Dance still has no distributor. Ima/gine living in a Native community and while an outsider’s film set on tribal lands plays everywhere, a Native’s film set on tribal lands plays nowhere. How would that make you feel? One other fact adding to the irony, both Killers of the Flower Moon and Fancy Dance star Lily Gladstone. Gladstone, to her credit, has talked up Fancy Dance as her fame has grown the past several months. If Gladstone wins on Oscar night, she would be the first Native American so honored in the Academy’s 97-year history. Maybe it would also give distributors the push needed to buy Fancy Dance and finally get it in front of audiences. Awards are great, but the chance to share stories in the first place is what matters most. Adam Spector February 1, 2024 Contact us: |
