[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The nominations for the 87th Academy Awards were released this morning, and as per usual, everyone is outraged by the lack of recognition for their favorite films or performers. The nominations were a mix of pleasant surprises and disappointing snubs, but that is standard operating procedure when it comes to the Oscars. Expecting anything more is setting yourself up for disappointment.
With that said, disappointment is also inevitable, with hundreds of films and a limited amount of nominees for each of the categories. It is impossible to recognize everything. But there were a few glaring omissions and a couple awesome nominations that I thought I would talk about here.
THE BAD
Gone Girl, Best Adapted Screenplay. Gillian Flynn adapted her own best-selling novel for the big screen — no small task — and her script was as good as the original source material, serving as the baseline for another exceptional film from director David Fincher. I’m left wondering if the trashier elements of a script that veers into dark satire were what turned off voters.
Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler and David Oyelowo, Selma. I will admit that the Best Actor category was stacked this year and a reasonable argument could be made for each of the actors that were nominated. But to think that neither Gyllenhaal nor Oyelowo merited a nomination is mind-blowing to me. Nightcrawler was the perfect showcase for Gyllenhaal, and his unnerving performance as the sociopathic Lou Bloom stands as his best work to date. Oyelowo, on the other hand, was tasked with humanizing Martin Luther King, Jr. and bringing out the flaws in a man that history has come to remember as a saintlike crusader — and he knocked it out of the park.
The LEGO Movie, Best Animated Feature Film. Let me be clear: This is the best animated feature film of the year. For it not to be nominated at all is a complete failure on the part of the voters. This could’ve been a 90-minute advertisement for LEGOs. Instead, writer-director duo Phil Lord and Chris Miller delivered a clever spoof of the overworked “chosen one” narrative, with a surprising amount of adult humor and an important message about embracing the limitless possibilities of imagination.
Selma, Everything. It collected a single win at the Golden Globes. Then director Ava DuVernay was left out of the Directors Guild of America Awards. The writing was on the wall, but I held out hope that the Oscars would come through in the end. Alas, it was not to be. Other than a pair of nominations, including Best Picture, Selma was left with almost nothing, and I’m struggling to understand why. Clint Eastwood’s American Sniper appears to have fulfilled the role that was expected of Selma, and while I have yet to see that film, I have my doubts.
THE GOOD
Michael Keaton (Birdman) and J.K. Simmons (Whiplash) were both locks for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, respectively, but I’ll give the Academy props for not dropping the ball there. Both delivered the best work of their respective careers and were more than deserving.
Nightcrawler, Best Original Screenplay. Jake Gyllenhaal is the star attraction of Nightcrawler, but he also benefits from a smart script that uses his character’s rise through the ranks of news media to satirize both the television producers that thrive on footage of human carnage and the consumers whose insatiable bloodlust necessitates the unashamed exploitation of human suffering.
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl. What a knockout performance. I can’t talk much about what she brings to the table for fear of spoiling the film’s second and third acts, but Pike steals the show as “Amazing” Amy Dunne, the wife whose disappearance causes the secrets of her eroding marriage to unravel. I was thrilled to see that she had been nominated for Best Actress.
Whiplash, Best Picture. Whiplash was not nominated in either Best Picture category for the Golden Globes, so I wasn’t holding my breath that the Oscars would give the film its due. But lo and behold, the Academy proved me wrong. While the Best Picture Oscar appears to be Boyhood‘s to lose (with The Grand Budapest Hotel emerging as its chief challenger thanks to a late burst of momentum), I’m glad to see this film at least recognized as a nominee, because it is a sensational showcase for Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons that has largely flown under the radar.
So what was your biggest snub? What surprise nomination were you most excited to see? Comment below and speak your mind! The 87th Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, February 22nd. Be sure to tune in and be outraged!
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]