The Oscars: A History of Injustice
Talking about awards means talking about injustice. It’s not the first time I have said it, and it won’t be the last. Despite this year’s Oscars having satisfied most of my cinematic wishes - almost all the movies I liked in 2017 got some love and awards attention-, very rarely has the Academy managed to keep me happy. Before going off for Spring Break, here is my top 5 most utterly abhorrent (yes, I did go there) moments in recent Oscar history. 1. Carol not winning Best Picture, 2016 I know what some of you are thinking… Carol did get nominated for 6 Oscars. However, it went home empty-handed, while many pundits agree that Haynes’ film - a flawless and rapturous adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel that sees two women falling in love - is one of this century’s greatest gems. Indeed, everything in Carol reaches mind-blowing levels of finesse and artistry. Carter Burwell’s music, Ed Lachman’s cinematography, or Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett’s disarming, chemically-engineered performances, all display unmatched gracefulness and sensitivity. Plus, awarding Spotlight the Oscar for Best Picture was just plain baffling. Oh, Carol wasn’t even nominated for that one. What the actual hell, Academy. What. The. Hell. 2. Sandra Bullock’s Best Actress Win for “The Blind Side”, 2010 Let me set this straight: I love Sandra Bullock. She truly deserves the title of one of Hollywood’s leading ladies. However…
Besides The Blind Side being sappy, over-sentimentalized and wholly pretentious, Sandra Bullock’s title role in the movie was just average. Even over-the-top at times. So why giving her the Oscar in a year when Meryl Streep was also nominated for her joyous turn in Julie & Julia?Or Carey Mulligan for a spectacular breakthrough appearance in An Education? Doesn’t feel right to me. Not one bit. 3. Begin Again completely shut out, 2015 I know, I know. Not all movies are made for the Oscars (thank God!). But if there is a movie that stands out for its low-key tenderness and passionate commitment to its genre, that movie is Begin Again. A small dramedy - maybe too small for any awards campaign - which not only gives Keira Knightley the role of a lifetime, but is also one of the great musicals of our century - perhaps second only to La La Land.
It was only nominated for Best Original Song. That's that… 4. Eddie Redmayne’s Best Actor Win for “The Theory of Everything”, 2015 Call me hater, but Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Hawking (rest in peace, master) is the perfect example of how extravagance can outshine better, more deserving work. His performance was infected with extremely disturbing mannerisms that just killed it for me, honestly.
The fact that the Academy preferred him over Michael Keaton (Birdman) or Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game) still befuddles me. 5. Christopher Nolan ignored… until Dunkirk One of the great geniuses of our time, creator of some of the most entertaining pieces of the last decade, including The Dark Knight - still not over this movie - and Inception, didn’t get nominated for Best Director until this year. Rumor has it he isn’t a particularly charming guy but… isn’t this all about art? So, what’s the lesson? Be wary of critics and Academy members who seem to know better, including myself. Trust your cinematic instinct and do not let Oscar injustices get you. At the end of the day, it’s the movies that really matter.
Comments