Oscar Nominations; Major Misses

Tuesday morning pinching myself in front of the TV to stay awake at 5:30 AM while waiting for the Academy Award nominations. The annual wait is about to be over. Which films, actors, directors, and screenplays are about to be nominated? Are they the best in film from 2005?

There were some mild surprises in the nominations. Capote being nominated in the Best Picture and Directing categories was a surprise to me. Munich didn’t seem to have the buzz going in to receive those same nominations. Crash was the most satisfying of the nominations personally since I feel that is truly the Best Picture of 2005.

In the acting categories there were not a lot of surprises in the nominations except perhaps William Hurt’s Supporting Actor nomination for his memorable but very small role in A History of Violence and Keira Knightley’s Best Actress performance in Pride and Prejudice. Both are worthy performances, but were not favored by many critics as a pick going into the nominations.

The real surprises seemed to come in the missed nominations much more than those that were nominated by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. For the film and directing category, I wondered where the Academy members were toward the end of 2005? It seems not in the theaters seeing and enjoying Walk the Line like a lot of the movie going public since that film was not nominated. This was certainly one of the best five films of the year and how could it have been overlooked except in the acting categories? As said in a line uttered in Shakespeare in Love, “It’s a mystery!”

And what happened to Cinderella Man this year? Did it’s poorly timed June 2005 release as well as the title doom the very excellent and successful combinations of Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Russell Crowe and Akiva Goldsman from Oscar glory? It was a wonderful film that should have had all the elements of success, yet garnered nominations only for Paul Giamatti in the Best Supporting Actor category and Best Editing.

Which brings me to the acting category misses. There seems to be a big problem for lead actors or actresses this year to be nominated if their film came out too early in the year. In the actress category Joan Allen should not have been ignored for The Upside of Anger. Hers was a terrific performance. Keira Knightley gave a good likable performance in Pride and Prejudice, but she should not have been nominated over Joan Allen. The young actress’ turn should have waited for another year and performance.

Anyone who has seen Cinderella Man must feel that Russell Crowe deserved a nomination for his role as fighter Jim Braddock. It is one of the most amazing dramatic performances ever given and certainly in the top 2 of the year in film. Was it a snub to the best actor in film today because of a phone he aimed at the head of NYC concierge earlier this year? Aren’t the Oscar’s supposed to be about best performances, not pitching ability or popularity? Who exactly was Paul Giamatti playing opposite in his best supporting actor turn? I challenge anyone to watch the scene where Crowe as Braddock begs for money from boxing promoters to turn back on the electricity so he can get his kids back home and not declare it is one of the best scenes an actor has ever put on film. Brilliant. Sadly ignored by Academy members.

On March 5th I’ll once again be before the TV eagerly awaiting the winners. I recommend film fans to go to the theaters or rent DVD’s to see as many nominated films as possible before the ceremonies. Also don’t miss a trip to the theater to see Walk the Line and a run to the video store to rent Cinderella Man and The Upside of Anger.

Marie