Oscar nominations finally landed Thursday morning after being delayed twice by the Los Angeles wildfires. For some, the news might arrive as a welcome distraction from a month of headlines that have been grim and tragic, though I think even those nominated might be more thrilled about the prospect of rain in the weather forecast this week than their recognition.
In a perfect world, all the deserving nominees would be celebrating. But for every Oscar nominee feeling like they’re defying gravity today, there’s a counterpart wondering why they aren’t popular. It’s not personal. This isn’t “Conclave.” Pettiness and backstabbing were (probably) not involved.
The Oscars cap their nominees at five per category (with the exception of best picture), leading, invariably, to some surprises and omissions — some egregious, some understandable. I am contractually obligated to call these oversights “snubs,” though voters likely meant no ill will, unless they were voting for (or against) Sebastian Stan’s portrayal of Donald Trump in “The Apprentice.”
But let’s not dwell on that. Let’s move on to the snubs and surprises of the nominations for the 97th Academy Awards, which will be presented on March 2.
SURPRISE: Fernanda Torres, “I’m Still Here” (lead actress)
Torres’ Golden Globes win earlier this month gave her a late boost, as it prompted voters who hadn’t seen “I’m Still Here” to move it to the top of their to-do list. She’s outstanding in Walter Salles’ period drama, playing a defiant woman holding her family together after a repressive regime takes her husband away. I suspect that the final spot in the crowded lead actress category came down to Torres and Marianne Jean-Baptiste in “Hard Truths.” Voters went with Torres and the more accessible film.
SNUB: Marianne Jean-Baptiste, “Hard Truths” (lead actress)
Jean-Baptiste won lead actress honors from the three major film critics groups — L.A., New York and the National Society. Six of the last seven women to win honors from both the New York and Los Angeles groups went on to earn an Oscar nod. The exception? Sally Hawkins, who, like Jean-Baptiste, starred in a Mike Leigh movie, “Happy-Go-Lucky.” Granted, “Hard Truths” is a challenging film. But Jean-Baptiste was so skilled at showing us the pain behind her misanthropic character’s brittle exterior, I thought she was undeniable. But like Pansy says in the film: “People. Can’t stand them.”
SNUB: Angelina Jolie, “Maria” (lead actress)
At its Venice Film Festival premiere, “Maria” earned an eight-minute standing ovation, prompting tears from it star, Jolie, who plays legendary opera singer Maria Callas in the film. It turns out that was the high point for the movie and its headliner. Film critics weren’t impressed, calling the film a “chilly, one-note bore.” Music critics who covered Callas wrote that “Jolie would make a great plastic doll of Callas.” The biopic genre has always been (and continues to be) catnip to voters, but “Maria” proved to be an exception.
SNUB: Nicole Kidman, “Babygirl” (lead actress)
With that packed lead actress category, the numbers weren’t on Kidman’s side. Neither was the movie’s marketing, which billed “Babygirl” as an erotic thriller, leading to some confusion for audiences (and voters) who came in expecting … what? “Basic Instinct”? This feels like it’ll be another risk-taking Kidman performance that, years from now, we’ll look back at and wonder how it failed to connect on a larger scale.
SURPRISE: “I’m Still Here” (picture)
Walter Salles’ excellent “I’m Still Here,” anchored by Torres’ Oscar-nominated performance, snuck in, benefiting from a surge in viewing by voters while ballots were out. The movie also earned a nomination for international feature. Great day for Brazil. With all the love, might Torres be a dark horse to win the lead actress Oscar?
SNUB: Edward Berger, “Conclave” (director)
“Conclave” pulled in eight nominations, including picture, but the directors branch found no room for Berger, even after he earned nominations from the Directors Guild and the British Academy Film Awards. For him, it’s unfortunately reminiscent of how his last movie, “All Quiet on the Western Front,” fared with Oscar voters. Lots of love, but none for the director.
SNUB: Daniel Craig, “Queer” (lead actor)
Most pundits figured Craig could earn his first Oscar nomination for a go-for-broke performance as a lonely expat shaken (and stirred) from mindless debauchery after he becomes obsessed with a younger man in Luca Guadagnino’s “Queer.” But the movie is sluggish to the point of inertia. Maybe ayahuasca would help? I don’t think they hand that out at the academy screenings.
SURPRISE: James Mangold, “A Complete Unknown” (director)
The Directors Guild gave Mangold a nomination too, so, in retrospect, is this really a shock? A little. The academy’s directors branch hasn’t rubber-stamped the DGA’s slate since 2010, so it figured someone might be out. But it wasn’t Mangold, the force behind the Dylan-goes-electric biopic, which has proved immensely popular with the academy’s older voters.
SURPRISE: Sebastian Stan, “The Apprentice” (lead actor)
Stan’s decision to reveal that he couldn’t participate in Variety’s “Actors on Actors” series for his portrayal of a young Donald Trump in “The Apprentice” turned out to be genius. “They were too afraid to go and talk about this movie,” Stan told an audience of awards voters. Suddenly, Stan — and his fascinating, flawed movie — were back in the news. And who doesn’t like an underdog story, not to mention one poking its real-life subject, who can now be counted on to offer his thoughts on this year’s Oscars.
SNUB: “Sing Sing” (picture)
The running theme with “Sing Sing,” the inspirational drama about a real-life prison arts program that uplifts inmates, is that not enough people saw it — not when it premiered in theaters in July and not during awards season screenings. I always thought it would turn a corner because, c’mon, it trumpets the importance of the arts and, in particular, acting. I’ll never understand how it failed to find its audience.
SNUB: “September 5” (picture)
This drama about ABC Sports’ coverage of the hostage drama at the 1972 Summer Olympics hadn’t made much noise until it picked up a Producers Guild best picture nomination. Critics liked it well enough, but often in a backhanded way, calling it a very good television movie. But the fact that it played well on the small screen, as opposed to, say, “Nickel Boys,” gave some hope that it might have a leg up with voters who prefer to stay at home and watch movies on the academy’s screening portal. Turns out “September 5” might have won an Emmy, but not an Oscar.
SURPRISE AND SNUB: “Nickel Boys” (picture, director RaMell Ross)
Ross’ adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s acclaimed novel about the friendship between two Black boys at a cruel Florida reform school in the early 1960s challenged viewers as he told the story subjectively from the point of view of his protagonists. It was a bold conceit — not too bold though for voters to nominate the movie for best picture. However, the directors branch omitted Ross. Strange since “Nickel Boys” felt like the most-directed movie of the year.
SNUB: Denis Villeneuve, “Dune: Part Two” (director)
No nomination for the first one. And now he’s overlooked for the second entry, which was even better. Are voters waiting for the third one to anoint Villeneuve like they did Peter Jackson and the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy?
SNUB: Jamie Lee Curtis, “The Last Showgirl” (supporting actress)
Curtis, the (often) self-proclaimed “weapon of mass promotion,” surprised many by picking up nominations from the Screen Actors Guild Awards and the British Academy Film Awards for her brassy turn as Pamela Anderson’s spray-tanned friend in “The Last Showgirl.” But she won’t get the chance to pick up a bookend for the Oscar she won two years ago for “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” I imagine the Emmy she earned for “The Bear” will have to do (for now).
SNUB: Margaret Qualley, “The Substance” (supporting actress)
Yes, “respect the balance” was a rule of the movie, designed to impose limits on Elisabeth and Sue’s ventures into the world. But that shouldn’t have kept voters from rewarding both Qualley and Moore with nominations.
SNUB: Denzel Washington, “Gladiator II” (supporting actor)
The real snub: Fun.
