Surprises, snubs, & Holy S#$T!!!

Now that I’ve had a bit of time to let the announcement of the Academy Award nominees marinate I have many opinions regarding the way it all turned out. Just like each year there were some obvious snubs, some pleasant surprises, and some true head scratchers. For the purpose of being as concise as possible I am going to be focusing primarily on the six, so-called, major categories, with my thoughts on a few other omissions and inclusions in other categories sprinkled in, so let’s get into it.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

We start with one of the biggest surprises for me of the entire thing. The exclusion of Catriona Balfe for Belfast. Leaving out Ruth Negga for Passing was also somewhat of a surprise, but did not make my jaw drop as much as the lack of a nomination for Balfe. It is true that when the film came out Judi Dench was getting quite a bit of praise, but that seemed to have shifted solely to Balfe and her understated, heartbreaking performance. All of sudden she was the one getting the nominations and seemed as close to a sure thing as you can get. I think everyone was surprised she didn’t make the cut. Negga was less of a surprise but still had seemed to be gaining momentum and as such was on many short lists for a nomination. However, on a more positive note, I was beyond excited to see Jessie Buckley for The Lost Daughter on the list. For me she is simply the best part of that film and really gives it its heart. Very happy for her. It was also very nice to Aunjanue Ellis for King Richard make it. She gives a performance every bit Will Smith’s equal. The confrontation scene in the kitchen is enough alone to warrant a nomination. Leading up to the nominations there seemed to be a lot of questions about who would get the final two slots, but then again, one of the surefire slots was supposed to be Balfe, so really, what does anyone know?

SUPPORTING ACTOR:

This was such a strong category this year that it’s hard to really call anyone a snub or a surprise. I will say most people did not expect Jesse Plemons to make the cut alongside his costar (and probable winner) Kodi Smit-McPhee. Although it wasn’t expected, Plemons’ nomination is very much deserved. His performance is one that is so quiet; the type of performance that often gets over-looked. I’m glad it wasn’t. As far as snubs, I don’t personal think they should‘ve been nominated, but leading up to the announcement, Bradley Cooper for Licorice Pizza and Jared Leto for House of Gucci had been getting some recognition and seemed destined to pick up nominations. I’m glad they didn’t. I do wish, however, there had been room for Ben Affleck and Jamie Dorman. But in a stacked category it’s hard to argue they were definitely more deserving than any of the five actors that got nominated.

ACTRESS:

The biggest surprise to me here was Kristen Stewart actually making the cut for Spencer. When the film first came out she seemed like a shoo-in for a nomination, but much of her momentum and that talk had begun to die down over the last few months which actually culminated in her being left out of the SAG Nominations. So many, myself included, thought love for her performance had dwindled and that come announcement day she’d find herself on the outside looking in. The other major surprise to me (some would call it a snub) was Lady Gaga being left off the list. The academy loves this type of performance and seems to have an affection for Lady Gaga so I definitely thought her name would be announced. Personally, I’m glad it wasn’t because nearly everything about House of Gucci (including her performance) underwhelmed for me, but it was a bit of a surprise that the academy seems to feel the same way, seeing as how House of Gucci did not do very well overall.

ACTOR:

This is the only of the six major categories I predicted in its entirety. No major surprises or snubs here. I will say, I was hoping that the academy may show some imagination and nominate Nicholas Cage for Pig or Bob Odenkirk for Nobody. Although, only one of those performances (Cage) had a remote chance of a nomination, and it was very remote at that. But Cage gave one of the most focused, powerful, and effective performances of the year so I was hoping it would lead him back to the Oscars, but I wasn’t surprised when that turned out to not be the case.

DIRECTOR:

For me, this category easily had the most “what the f$#k just happened” moment of the entire list of nominees. Denis Villenueve did not get a nomination for his epic Dune. This was a snub in every sense of the word. Every single prediction list I saw had him on it, and many had him winning it. In fact, in my opinion, he should have won it. I would’ve have included him over every name listed as a nominee. This was a gigantic mistake and misstep by the academy. So much so that it truly does feel like a mistake. As if everyone assumed everyone else would nominate him so they went a different way and then he got left off as a result. Completely, and utterly, crazy. I don’t know for sure which of the nominees lead to this result, but my guess would Ryusuke Hamaguchi surprise nomination for Drive My Car. In fact, Drive My Car got a lot of love from the academy and seems to have some nice momentum going into he ceremony. But still, no Villeneuve? It almost invalidates the entire thing.

BEST PICTURE:

And now we come to the granddaddy of them all, best picture. The only major surprise when it comes to an omission is Tick…Tick…Boom not being nominated. Once again, I think it fell victim to the love for Drive My Car, a somewhat surprising addition to the best picture nominees, all but guaranteeing it a win for best international film. But beyond that the list of best picture nominees is pretty much what I expected, even if it isn’t completely what I was hoping.

OTHER THOUGHTS:

I would’ve loved to see The Tragedy of Macbeth and Pig get nominated for best picture, but realistically only one of those had a chance. I would’ve also loved to see Joel Cohen be included in the director category for The Tragedy of Macbeth. He completely made it feel new and fresh and got award worthy performances out of his entire cast. Frances McDormand should have absolutely been nominated for The Tragedy of Macbeth (I’m sensing a theme), but not only that, she should’ve won. She is, in a word, phenomenal, in that movie. So too was Rachel Zegler in West Side Story. I know DeBose as Anita has the showier role, but Zegler was absolutely hypnotic every time she was on screen. The clear love for Drive My Car was perhaps the second most surprising aspect of these nominations (behind only the omission of Villeneuve.) Surprising, but exciting. Also, “Just Look Up” from Don’t Look Up NOT being nominated for best song is ridiculous. It is easily one of the five best songs of the year and is incorporated into the movie is such a seamless way that it should’ve gotten a nomination. I’m also sure Manuel-Miranda and Disney are kicking themselves for not submitting “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” for best song. Songs that become cultural phenomenons tend to well at the Oscars, and clearly they were not able to predict the mass appeal of that song. But not doing so has pretty much paved the way for “No Time to Die” to take home the trophy. It was also very surprising to me that neither The French Dispatch nor Mass got any nominations. They should have both gotten something. Mass could’ve been in consideration for screenplay and should have received a best supporting actress nomination for Ann Dowd. The French Dispatch should have gotten one of either picture, score, screenplay, cinematography, or director, among others. And finally, come congratulations are in order. First to Flee for being the first film to be nominated in best animated, best documentary, and best international film in the same year. Secondly, to Steven Spielberg to become the first director to be nominated in six different decades. So there’s my more in depth analysis of the snubs, surprises, and holy s#$t moments of this years academy award announcement. I hope you enjoyed reading it. Have a great day.