Film Essay: 2019 Oscar Nomination Reflections

1/22/19

Today, I have been inundated with questions for my opinion on the Oscar nominations for 2019; whether I thought they hit the mark?; whether I thought they missed anyone?; whom do I think will win? I don’t mean to say that the questions were unwanted. I love talking about films in almost any form, but, even when I was too young to truly understand, somehow, I always understood that the Oscars are a game. As with all games, there are rules. The company that runs the best Oscar campaign, usually costing a great deal, ends up getting nominations or even wins. There is such a thing as an apology award, where the Academy felt they got it wrong and so award a nominee the following year. Yes, I am thinking of you Judi Dench who should have won for Mrs. Brown and instead the following year won for Shakespeare in Love. So, I have never taken Oscar nominations or awards as a statement of the quality of the film in question. That being said, I’ve also always enjoyed trying to predict the game.

However, this year, these conversations I had continue to linger in my mind. So, I started to reflect on my reactions to the nominations. Certainly if you want to see whom I would pick as the “Best Director” or the movie with the “Best Editing”, I have a list of my choices for the best of the year in my Top Ten 2018 essay. But here, I thought I might simply reflect on some surprises and some disappointments with this year’s Oscar list. This list will not include nominations that were expected, but still exciting, like Spike Lee finally getting an Oscar nomination for direction (how he wasn’t nominated for Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X, He Got Game, Inside Man [not that I think this is a great film, but, it got hype that year], or Chi-Raq) or that Alfonso Cuaron was nominated for 4 different awards for the same film (five if you count Best Foreign Film).

Surprise: Roma most nominations

Going into the nominations, I was sure that either Star is Born or Green Book were going to walk away with the most nominations. It is amazing to me that a black and white film, in a foreign language has garnered the most nominations. It is a wonderful step forward. In the past, there have been numerous films that have been nominated both for Best Foreign Film as well as Best Picture, but Roma seems like it has a shot of actually winning and deservingly so.

Also, it was a delight to see the film rewarded with two acting nominations including one for Yalitza Aparicio, who becomes the first indigenous person from Mexico to be nominated for a performance. Even more surprise nomination for Best Sound Editing. Roma uses the sound of the world, sometimes the lack of it because of the distance between the camera and the subject as the music of the film. It is a remarkable feat like No Country for Old Men.

Disappointment: No female director nominations

This unfortunately wasn’t all that surprising, but, this year there were so many great female directors. Obviously my choice would have been Chloe Zhao for making The Rider, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen. I had more hope that Marielle Heller might get a nomination for the extremely well reviewed Can You Ever Forgive Me? The film did receive three nominations for Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Given the Academy’s obvious affection for this film, I hoped… but no.

There were other choices, although many of them not as mainstream as Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Debra Granik, Leave No Trace, returns for her third feature, all of which have been incredible films. Winter’s Bone might have been better reviewed, and at least landed one Oscar nomination for Jennifer Lawrence, starting her incredible career, but, Leave No Trace bears Granik’s signature use of slow editing and long takes to place us into an environment.

Lynne Ramsey, You Were Never Really Here, also didn’t generate that much buzz, but, the film was extremely well reviewed. Lynne has been a pioneer in cinema bringing great films such as Morvan Collar and We Need to Talk About Kevin to the screen. Once again though, she is overlooked.

If you asked me who could have been replaced on the list? Adam McKay’s signature style of blending documentary with fiction certainly gave Vice a unique vision, but, at times it was overwrought. It didn’t know how to blend the fictional with the nonfiction essay portions as well as it could have been. I easily would have nominated any of these directors instead.

Surprise: Black Panther, a “popular” film nominated without a category for “most popular film”

The huge controversy that rocked the Academy, before having Kevin Hart as the on-again/off-again host, was the decision to include a “Most Popular” category. I understand their thinking, but I disagree with their reasoning. The Academy believes that people no longer tune in to the Oscar broadcast because the films nominated are not reflective of the highest grossing movies. Thus, by creating a category for “Most Popular”, they would attract viewership because movies like Infinity Gauntlet would receive a Best Picture nomination of sorts. But, the problem is live broadcast viewership (with the exception of sports) is declining. People’s attention spans are collapsing. The ceremony is too long. Too rigid. Too formulaic. The performances are often lack luster for the talents that perform there. There are many reasons other than the fact that Transformers is not getting a nomination.

However, Black Panther finally breaks the mold. Black Panther’s success is a victory for when high and popular art merge. Ryan Coogler should have also been nominated for a directing Oscar, but, his film has merged brilliantly directed art with high box office sales. Let’s hope that the next time a film like this, or Dark Knight, or Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban comes along they have an equal opportunity for nominations.

Disappointment: Ethan Hawke, First Reformed snub

Ethan Hawke has been nominated four times for an Oscar: two for Best Screenplay and twice for Best Supporting Actor. He has grown up in cinema and continued to adapt to roles as his age increases for decades. In First Reformed, he delivers his best performance. I didn’t expect the film to receive other nominations besides a Best Screenplay for the legendary Paul Schrader, but, Ethan deserved this nomination and this award. My other choices for Best Actor had no chance of being nominated.

Surprise: Willem Dafoe, At Eternity’s Gate

I admit… I still haven’t seen At Eternity’s Gate, but my fellow teacher and professional film critic, Groucho Reviews (read his reviews at www.grouchoreviews.com) placed this as the 3rd best film of the year. I take him at his word that Dafoe gives a masterful performance in a character, Van Gogh, whom so many other actors have played. I am glad that Willem Dafoe received this nomination after not winning for Best Supporting Actor last year for The Florida Project.

Disappointment: If Beale Street Could Talk

Not a Best Picture nomination… Not a Best Director nomination… Not a Best Editing nomination… Not a Best Cinematography nomination. I am glad that Jenkins received a writing nomination and Regina King a Best Supporting Actress. The nomination I’m most excited about from this film is Best Score as I believe it is indeed the best score of the year, but… no other nominations? If Beale Street Could Talk feels like a film made for our times, even though it is based in the past. It is one of the few hopeful or optimistic films, despite the barriers and injustice present.

Surprise: Cinematography category

I am not often genuinely surprised by Oscar nominations, but here… even if I disagree with the nominations, there’s something to be said. Here are the nominees:

The Favourite (Robbie Ryan)

Never Look Away (Caleb Deschanel)

Roma (Alfonso Cuaron)

A Star Is Born (Matty Libatique)

Cold War (Lukasz Zal)

A Star is Born is the only nomination that was a lock in my mind. I wanted to believe that Alfonso Cuaron was also a lock (he did after all shoot one of the most technically complicated films I’ve seen in years), but, I am glad to see the other nominations. They weren’t ones that I expected especially Lukasz Zal for his gorgeous cinematography in Cold War, nor for Caleb Deschanel’s more depressing and bleak Never Look Away, but deserving without a doubt! Great job reaching for films that were not as represented in this category.

Disappointment: Documentary Nominations

Some great documentaries are on this list. Really well made and visually stunning. Aka Free Solo, but the two most moving documentaries of the year somehow fail to make the list. First, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, the incredible story of Mr. Rogers and his TV show. I was moved to tears during the episode where he put his foot in the same bucket of water as a black man, protesting segregated swimming pools. We need more shows like his these days.
The second Fail State about the corruption of the for-profit college industry that destroys lives. In Fail State, yes you are inundated with a lot of information, but also the life stories of people whose lives have been destroyed by this industry.