It's a celebration! As is typically the case with Nominations Day, we were treated to some surprises this morning - some films lost momentum, some performances were snubbed, and some wishful thinking proved to be exactly that. In any case, you can find a few top-level thoughts on my end after the jump. And feel free to chime in with your own thoughts!
Team BlacKkKlansman: While The Favourite and Roma lead the pack in nominations, I was surprised to see BlacKkKlansman among the few films to secure nominations in all the key categories widely considered as essential for the Best Picture prize (Director, Acting, Screenplay, Film Editing). BlacKkKlansman is easily my favorite of the year (though The Favourite is also a very close runner-up), and I was afraid it might have been forgotten behind the phenomenon that is A Star is Born as well as all the momentum secured by Roma and Green Book.
My one nit would be that I'm not that passionate about Adam Driver's work in the film, and it's obtuse that Driver would be one to represent BlacKkKlansman in the acting department over John David Washington (Globe and SAG nominated) or the terrifying Jasper Pääkkönen (my MVP who was not nominated anywhere, and isn't even in consideration for BlacKkKlansman's SAG ensemble nomination), but it is what it is - the science of awards bodies' preferences and groupthink function in perplexing ways. In any case, I'm excited to see Spike Lee get his first nomination for directing. While Alfonso Cuaron is favored to take the directing prize for Roma, wouldn't it be miraculous if BlacKkKlansman managed to pull out a Picture win nearly thirty years after the Academy's egregious snubbing of Do the Right Thing, especially considering Driving Miss Daisy 2 is also in contention this year? Excuse the corny pun, but do the right thing AMPAS - I believe in you.
Yalitza Aparicio and Marina de Tavira: Two things happened when de Tavira's name was announced. Initially, I was overcome with shock and glee, as I absolutely loved her performance in Roma but hadn't even considered a nomination as being within the realm of possibility. Then, I cursed myself because that most likely meant that Aparicio would be in on the Best Actress front as well, and I had naively noted that I didn't think Aparicio would garner enough support.
Aparicio's name too was announced, and what inspired choices they both are. de Tavira's nomination comes one year after we were treated to Lesley Manville's surprise nod in the supporting actress category, while Aparicio follows nearly a decade's worth of refreshing, come-from-behind nominations in the Best Actress field - a la Emmanuelle Riva, Marion Cotillard, Charlotte Rampling and Isabelle Huppert. AMPAS has really stretched its imagination this decade on the Best Actress front, and I'm so proud to see it. The Best Actor category, on the other hand...
Best Actor and its Continued "Real Person" Complex: Once again, we're treated to a Best Actor field that largely consists of performances from Actors portraying real-life individuals. I had bitched about this last year, even suggesting that Christian Bale would be in the mix this year for Vice, and look!
I had hoped that Ethan Hawke would slip into this category for First Reformed, given all the critics prizes he had secured, and because I wanted to see a fictional character edge out a real-life portrayal for once. Alas, it looks as though Dafoe got in over Hawke for his Vincent van Gogh in At Eternity's Gate.
I've not seen At Eternity's Gate, so I seek not to criticize the merits of Dafoe's nomination, but I do wish that the Academy would make some more imaginative selections in this otherwise consistently stale category. One year ago, if you'd have told me that the Academy / industry as a whole would largely reject First Man (sidebar: I may be very excited about de Tavira but I do ache for Claire Foy), I'd be stunned. Though to snub one biopic/real-life portrayal only to turn to a bevy of other biopics/real-life portrayals is a superabundance I'd like to see less of. I also find it limiting and queer that this concept of "Best Actor" seems to largely equate to biopics, "real" characters, and the prosthetics that typically fall in between. I've a lot of feelings on this - more to come soon.
For what it's worth:
- 2013: 7 wrong across 6 categories (4 across fields of five)
- 2014: 9 wrong across 6 categories (6 across fields of five)
- 2015: 8 wrong across 6 categories (7 across fields of five)
- 2016: 7 wrong across 6 categories (5 across fields of five)
- 2017: 7 wrong across 6 categories (5 across fields of five)
- 2018: 6 wrong across 6 categories (My best yet!)
Your predictions were pretty spot on, Allen. I have to say, I am disappointed that Ethan Hawke wasn't nominated and I was hoping either Kidman or Roberts would make the cut because I think the performances of Lady Gaga and Melissa McCarthy have been overrated. I get what you mean about the bio-noms for Best Actor (4 of 5 play real people). It's predictable, expected and tiresome at this point because often it's the role and not the performance that's rewarded. I'm bored with that dynamic.
ReplyDeleteAs for the films, so many people are saying Black Panther's nomination is historic but somehow being 'the-first-comic-book-movie-to-be-nominated' (talk about damning with faint praise) doesn't sound like a step forward to me; it sounds like a marketing decision ('yes, Oscar is STILL RELEVANT'). The fact that it received no other major nominations, just the same technical/musical ones these films usually get, means the Academy wasn't all that enthusiastic for it after all. So much for history. I want very much to see 'BlacKkKlansman' and though I don't think it's a heavy favorite it would be nice to see Spike win for screenplay or direction. On the other hand, 'Bohemian Rhapsody'? Many of the reviews said the film is bad and Malek's performance its only redeeming quality. 'If Beale Street Could Talk' would have been a better choice IMO. In any event, 3 of the 8 Best Picture nominees are sizable box-office hits so the members of the Academy will sleep well tonight.