Oscar nominations filled with snubs and surprises
Roma, The Favourite lead way while A Quiet Place shut out
91ST ACADEMY AWARDS Sun., Feb. 24, on CTV
Roma and The Favourite led Tuesday’s Oscar nominations with 10 nods apiece, but — as always — there was another list of high-profile snubs and surprises, including the Academy’s full-on embrace of the critically reviled Bohemian Rhapsody, Bradley Cooper and Ryan Coogler’s omissions in the director category, crickets for A Quiet Place and spoonful of reality for Mary Poppins Returns’ leading lady Emily Blunt. Here’s a look at what stood out to us most :
A STAR (ISN’T) BORN
Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born earned a slew of nods, including best picture, best actor (for Cooper), best adapted screenplay, best actress for Lady Gaga and best supporting actor for Sam Elliott. But Cooper was left out of the best director category in favour of Adam McKay (Vice) and Pawel Pawlikowski (Cold War). Maybe Cooper, who is nominated for a Director’s Guild prize, can take comfort in the fact that Ben Affleck saw his 2012 snub in the same category lead to a best picture win for Argo.
SOME LOVE FOR SUPERHEROES
After high-profile snubs in past years for films including Wonder Woman, Logan, Deadpool and The Dark Knight, the Oscars nominated Black Panther for best picture. It’s not a huge surprise considering its reviews and box office (the film was the highest-grossing title in North America last year), but it shows a growing acceptance for the genre. Still, it isn’t all roses. Black Panther failed to garner noms in the acting categories (Michael B. Jordan turned in a stellar performance as the villainous Erik Killmonger) and direction.
NO COUNTRY FOR OLDSTERS
With Robert Redford hinting that his most recent film, The Old Man & the Gun, might be his last, I thought it would be a nice sign of respect for the Academy to at least nominate the veteran actor and his co-star, Sissy Spacek. Ditto Clint Eastwood, who turned in a stellar performance as a drug courier in The Mule. Eastwood’s latest was a powerful meditation on time and familial regret that I think will be remembered as one of his best.
AY—OH
Hot off its winning night at the Golden Globes, Bohemian Rhapsody continued its march to possible Oscar glory with best picture and best actor nods. The film, which was a miss with critics, has been an audience pleaser since its release last fall.
PUT AWAY THE PEACHES, CHALAMANIACS
Rising star Timothee Chalamet received Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and Critics’ Choice noms for his role as a drug addict in Beautiful Boy. But the Oscars passed on him and the entire film, which was shut out.
CRICKETS
There was no better movie-going experience in 2018 than John Krasinski’s taut thriller A Quiet Place. I had expected the film would have been a multiple nominee for best picture and Emily Blunt for best actress.
THE RETURN OF SPIKE LEE
BlacKkKlansman is one of the best films of last year — and one of Spike Lee’s very best, period. It’s a searing social commentary that boasts uncanny prescience to the times we’re living in. But I wondered if its August release date might have caused it to be forgotten. Kudos to Lee, who earned his first nom for directing, and to Adam Driver, up for best supporting actor. Sadly, star John David Washington failed to make the cut in the best actor category.
NETFLIX, AMAZON HIT A MILESTONE
Streaming giant Netflix emerged as a major player at film festivals in Toronto and Venice in September. Now with Roma, Alfonso Cuaron’s semi-autobiographical story that chronicles the turbulent year in the lives of a middle-class family in 1970s Mexico City, Netflix has landed its first best picture nomination. Roma also scored noms for first time actress Yalitza Aparicio, a supporting nomination for Marina de Tavira and best director for Cuaron. Similarly, Amazon Studios netted surprise noms for its Polish-language feature, Cold War, including best director.
CRAZY RICH SHUTOUT
Crazy Rich Asians might have made box office history with its all-Asian cast, but the film (a hit with audiences and critics) was overlooked entirely. Sad, considering it was chockablock with fine performances from Awkwafina and Michelle Yeoh and a crackling screenplay by Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim.
CAN YOU IMAGINE THAT?
Playing the original role of Mary Poppins in 1964 helped star Julie Andrews go home with a best actress Oscar. But, despite a nod at the Golden Globes earlier this month, Emily Blunt couldn’t Trip a Little Light Fantastic to her first nomination for her role in Disney’s long-awaited sequel.
CONTROVERSY? WHAT CONTROVERSY
After its TIFF People’s Choice prize, Golden Globe win and Producer’s Guild Award, Peter Farrelly’s feelgood road trip dramedy Green Book seemed clearly in the driver’s seat heading into awards season. Then, a series of controversies surfaced — including an anti-Muslim tweet from one of the film’s writers and producer and news that Farrelly once liked to flash his genitals. Voters seemed undaunted, heaping five nods on the film, including best picture.
FAILURE TO LAUNCH
Ryan Gosling and First Man earned critical raves after the TIFF premiere of the Neil Armstrong biopic. But the Damien Chazelle-directed flick crash-landed with audiences and failed to earn even an expected best supporting actress nod for Claire Foy (who plays Janet Armstrong).