Award Watch 2011 :: Oscar omissions & snubs

For every assterpiece that wins a Best Picture Oscar (Braveheart, Forrest Gump, Crash), there are better movies that don't even receive a nomination. Think Singin' in the Rain, Psycho, 2001 A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, Empire of the Sun, Trainspotting, Mulholland Drive, Far From Heaven, City of God, Dreamgirls to name a few.

The same is true for performances. Here's a partial list of worthy omissions: Cary Grant (North by Northwest), Anthony Perkins (Psycho), Nicole Kidman (To Die For), Reese Witherspoon (Election), Faye Dunaway (Mommie Dearest), Divine (Hairspray), Matt Damon (The Talented Mrs. Ripley) and Julianne Moore (A Single Man).

This year is no exception. While The Social Network, True Grit, Black Swan, The King's Speech and The Fighter will be celebrating this morning, others - as deserving as they may be - will not. The reasons are many: often a performance or film isn't fully appreciated at the time of its release (Psycho, Blade Runner), or is too out there for Academy standards (Trainspotting, Mulholland Drive, Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford, Divine as Emma Turnblat). And sometimes they slip by inexplicably (Nicole Kidman in To Die For, Reese Witherspoon in Election, Julianne Moore in A Single Man).

With the nominees this morning, here's our report on just who was snubbed and overlooked:

Best Picture

Here are the Best Picture snubs:

The Town

Ben Affleck's solid crime drama likely placed 11th in the Oscar balloting. Some thought that it was going to knock Winter's Bone out of contention, but that wasn't the case. Nonetheless Affleck's sophomore effort as a director has much going for it - a compelling story, strong performances and a great feel for its locale - the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown that can claim to have the largest number of bank robbers per capita than anyplace in the country. Affleck plays a shrewd leader of a bank-robbing gang who shadows a witness (Rebecca Hall) only to fall for her. While there was a buzz that the film would get Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay (by Affleck) nods, the film's sole nomination went to Jeremy Renner as Affleck's gonzo partner in crime.

The Ghost Writer

Released early last year, this Roman Polanski thriller somehow has got lost in the shuffle in the first round of Oscar voting, which is a pity since the film is darkly-hued, compelling look at political conspiracies and cover-ups that could have plausibly been drawn from recent events. Ewan McGregor gives one of his best performances as a ghostwriter who learns more about his subject - an ex-British Prime Minister - than he should. Polanski's co-wrote the script with writer Robert Harris (from his novel The Ghost) and then brought it to the screen with consummate skill, giving what easily could have been a run-of-the-mill espionage thriller a resonant psychological dimension. The first-rate cast includes Pierce Bronson, Kim Cattrall and Olivia Williams. The biggest problem is that its early release last year guaranteed it would get lost in the shuffle come Oscar-time.

Let Me In

Horror films rarely get cited with Oscars, never mind nominations, and this brilliant little film is no exception. Adapted from Swedish film Let The Right One In (an instant classic in its own right), it tells the story of a young teenage boy, bullied by his classmates, who befriends a new neighbor - a teenage girl who turns out to be a vampire. Many thought writer/director Matt Reeves was crazy to remake a film already destined to be a classic, but Reeves stayed true to his vision by revisiting the original novel the Swedish film was based on and resetting to the American Southwest. The result is one of the creepiest vampire movies ever made. Even Stephen King gushed, "Let Me In is a genre-busting triumph. Not just a horror film, but the best American horror film in the last 20 years." With a masterful performances by Chlo� Grace Moretz as the young girl doomed to a vampire's existence and Kodi Smit-McPhee as the troubled boy who becomes her friend. In a year filled with memorable performances by young actors, you wish the Academy would give an award to the Best Performance by a Young Actor.

Best Foreign Language Film

Here are the Best Foreign Language Film snubs:

I Am Love

This lush Italian melodrama was a film festival favorite (Sundance, Venice and Toronto) and a modest art house hit. Set in Milan at the turn-of-the-Millennium, it tells the story of a wealthy manufacturing family when the family patriarch steps down and turns his textile empire to his son and grandson. Tilda Swinton plays the bored wife of the patriarch's son who has an affair with a handsome restaurant owner with tragic results. When the film was released, there was Oscar talk about Swinton's performance, though it waned towards the end of the year. Nor was chosen as Italy's entry for Best Foreign Film, which means it can't get a nomination in that category. It will have to settle being chosen the Best Foreign Film by the New York Film Critics Online and winning a Dorian Award by the Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association for Picture of the Year.

Undertow

Okay, writing about how this Peruvian entry for Best Foreign Film was snubbed was more last week's news when it was left off the short-list of nine possible choices. But why Contracorriente (its Spanish title) was passed over remains perplexing. Beautifully shot in a Peruvian fishing village, it tells the bittersweet tale of Miguel (Cristian Mercado), a married fisherman with a pregnant wife, who is having an affair with Santiago (Manolo Cardona), an artist who has moved to the village to be close to Miguel. When Santiago drowns, his spirit returns to show Miguel what life would be like if they lived in a more open society. Directed by Javier Fuentes-Le�n, the film mixes magical realism with a cautionary tale of being gay in a Latin American country.

Best Documentary

Here are the Best Documentary snubs:

Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work

Was there a more enjoyable documentary than this inside look at Joan Rivers? Not only is the iconic comedienne hilarious (and hilariously inappropriate), but filmmakers Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg were given full access to all aspects of Rivers' life. The result is a fascinating look into the life of an intelligent, emotionally complex woman whose determination to hold onto her famous persona is paramount in her life. While other documentaries may be considered more serious and worthy of an Oscar, this will likely be the one most-remembered in years to come. It's the kind of movie that people wonder, didn't it win an Academy Award?

A Film Unfinished

Israeli director Yael Hersonski used footage from an incomplete Nazi documentary about life in the Warsaw Ghetto to make this complex and emotionally devastating inquiry into the nature of propaganda. The footage is augmented with interviews and commentaries about the intention of the Nazis. Hersonski's goal, though, wasn't just to reveal the horrors of the Ghetto, rather to make an inquiry into how we view history as recorded on film. Thoughtful, provocative and haunting, it is certainly as worthy as those films nominated in this category.

Catfish

Perhaps this shaggy documentary didn't fit into the Academy's definition of what a documentary should be, but Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman's account of Ariel's younger brother Nev's internet relationship with a young Midwestern girl proved to be a cautionary tale for the Facebook generation. In the film Nev is charmed by the girl - an eight-year old child prodigy - then by her older half-sister, a beautiful songwriter who seems too good to be true. This sends the Nev and the filmmakers on the road to discover the truth. What may have hurt it chances were charges made at the time of the film's release that the entire story was fabricated, which is ironic since the film is all about discovering the truth. Taken on face value, Catfish is a compelling and oddly moving inquiry into identity and the internet.

Best Actor

Here are the Best Actor snubs:

Ryan Gosling, Blue Valentine

While Michelle Williams received an Oscar nom for playing one-half of the married couple in Blue Valentine, her co-star Ryan Gosling did not. He was likely pushed out by Javier Bardem, whose intense performance in Biutiful has received nothing but high praise. Gosling, though, also received great reviews for playing a man struggling to hold his marriage together. Writer/director Derek Cianfrance's concept intercuts the last days of the couple's relationship with its far sunnier beginnings, giving both Williams and Gosling the opportunity to show range. Gosling was also fine is the less-well-received All Good Things, but neither role yielded him a nom this time around.

Jim Carrey, I Love You, Phillip Morris

If this indie comedy had been released by a major studio with the right publicity arm to promote it, you'd likely see Jim Carrey amongst the nominees for Best Actor. But the film languished in distribution hell for two years finally getting a U.S. release at the end of last year to mostly positive reviews. Yet Carrey received his best reviews since The Truman Show as a gay con-artist who falls in love with a fellow prisoner (a fine Ewan McGregor) only to be separated by authorities. Like most fine comic actors (think Cary Grant or Steve Martin), Carrey will likely not get the attention he deserves until he plays a more serious role (if at all); yet his sleek portrayal of a man willing to fake his own death (from AIDS, no less) turned out to be one of last year's nicest surprises.

Casey Affleck, The Killer Inside Me

When Michael Winterbottom's adaptation of Jim Thompson's crime novel was screened a year ago at Sundance, there was an outcry to the film's overt violence. Not that this Is a Tarantino-like bloodbath, rather it is the manner with which a number of beatings against women are presented that shocked (and in some cases disgusted) those early audiences. (One of the film's stars, Jennifer Alba, walked out of the Sundance screening in shock midway through the film.) The response subsequently tainted the film when it was released in the early summer. Lost in the controversy is the terrific performance by Casey Affleck as a dangerous sociopath who will stop at nothing to hide his crimes. His delivery proved coolly mesmerizing in a largely misunderstood film by one of the most underrated and eclectic directors working in films today.

Best Actress

Here are the Best Actress snubs:

Julianne Moore, The Kids Are All Right

As Oscar-nominee Annette Bening's partner in Lisa Cholodenko's LA-based dramedy, Julianne Moore gives a performance every bit her equal. Why, then, was she passed over? It could be that Bening is more the sentimental favorite (having been nominated three times before) and has the stronger role; but a case can be made for Moore's conflicted bisexual, especially when considering her heartfelt apology towards the end of the film. (Plus Moore has been nominated four times without a win.) Perhaps the Academy didn't know if to place her in the Best Actress or Best Supporting Actress category and she fell through the cracks. Whatever the reason, this is the second year in a row that Moore was passed over for an Oscar (last year it was for a Supporting Actress nod for A Single Man). Will she ever win an Oscar?

Diane Lane, Secretariat

When this film was released in the fall, there was a palpable buzz around Diane Lane with many comparing her performance as the real-life owner of triple-crown winner Secretariat, with Sandra Bullock's performance in The Blind Side. Both play strong-willed Southern woman in inspirational dramas that tugged at the heart. But, for whatever reason, Secretariat flopped at the box office and Lane's lovely, thoughtful performance got lost in the shuffle. Lane is one of Hollywood's least appreciated actresses, but this won't be her year for recognition despite her fine effort in this fine sports drama.

Emma Stone, Easy A

On the surface Easy A appears to be a run-of-the-mill teen comedy, which is why many were surprised that it proved to be so charming. Much of the credit must go to Emma Stone in a break-out performance as the high school senior who, because of a misunderstanding, is branded a slut by her classmates. This leads her to brandish a red "A" on her clothes, (a la Hester Prynne from The Scarlet Letter). The husky-voiced Stone is so winning that many wondered just where has she hiding all these years. (In other underrated films, it turns out, like Superbad and Zombieland.) That she received a Golden Globe nomination proved that some thought her deserving (even if it was from the much-ridiculed Hollywood Foreign Press Association). But her having been nominated would violate one of the Academy's stead-fast rules: performances from teen comedies are verboten. So, like Alicia Silverstone (Clueless) and Reese Witherspoon (Election), Stone went unnoticed by the Academy.

Best Supporting Actor

Here are the Best Supporting Actor snubs:

Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake and Armie Hammer (The Social Network)

Part of what makes The Social Network such a terrific film is the quality of the acting from its largely under-30 cast. While each of these actors gave nominee-worthy performances, it is Andrew Garfield who is the most-slighted. As Eduardo Saverin, best friend to Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg (nominated Jesse Eisenberg), his slow boil to action gives the film its moral arc. Justin Timberlake brings charismatic cool to Sean Parker, the flashy web entrepreneur whose connections helps make Facebook grow. And Armie Hammer plays Zuckerberg's litigious foes -- the Winklevoss twins -- with complete believability, partly due to CGI-techniques, but also to his skill as an actor to establish the differing personalities of the two brothers.

Vincent Cassel (Black Swan)

One of France's leading actors, Vincent Cassel plays the stern, sexy taskmaster to Natalie Portman's struggling ballerina in Black Swan. It's a deft, controlled performance in perfect tune with the film's constantly shifting dynamic. Cassel's charismatic turn anchors Darren Aronofsky's psychological melodrama in ways that weren't fully appreciated on a first viewing, which may be why he was passed over for a supporting actor nod.

Best Supporting Actress

Here are the Best Supporting Actress snubs:

Mila Kunis and Barbara Hershey (Black Swan)

Many thought Mila Kunis a shoe-in for Best Supporting Actress as Natalie Portman's frenemy in Darren Aronofsky trippy drama, especially since she was nominated for both the Golden Globe and SAG Award in this category. But her slot was likely taken by Jacki Weaver, so chillingly believable as the cold-hearted matriarch in the Australian crime drama Animal Kingdom. And speaking of mothers-from-hell, we also think Barbara Hershey deserves Academy attention as Portman's controlling mother. Hershey's Mommie Dearest (without the wire hangers) is a wonderfully complex character - caring one second, monstrous the next. Like much of the film, it is difficult to get a grip on her true nature, and much of that credit should go to Hershey's brave, unflinching performance.

Lesley Manville, Another Year

Mitch Leigh's films often take an unflinching look at the turmoil beneath the placid surface of middle-class life in his native Britain. Another Year was no exception, though in this case that conflict wasn't in the central relationship between Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen. They play a content married couple on the cusp of retirement. Rather it is found in the character played by Lesley Manville. As Sheen's working colleague, Manville plays a middle-aged alcoholic whose forced manner barely hides the desperation that lurks right beneath the surface. It's a heartbreaking performance, painful at times to watch and the sort the Academy usually embraces; but, as in the case of Julianne Moore, it proved too difficult to categorize and also slipped through the cracks.

Best Director

Here are the Best Director snubs:

Christopher Nolan (Inception)

The surge of the Coens (Ethan and Joel) for their direction of True Grit is likely the reason why Christopher Nolan was pushed out in this category. It's a tough call: the Coens brilliantly bring to life the American frontier in ways Hollywood has never done before (and that it is such a hit can't help in its popularity). But Nolan's ability to visualize an unusually complicated narrative (involving multiple levels of reality) helps make Inception such a success. Nolan did receive a nomination for original screenplay, though without his kinetic style, that script would have been never been able to film.

Danny Boyle, 127 Hours

Where would 127 Hours be without Danny Boyle's direction? He took a virtually unfilmmable story about a man pinned in a Utah chasm who must sever one of his arms to free himself and turned it into an existential inquiry into the nature of life and death. Obviously some of it has to do with the Oscar nominated script (which he wrote with Simon Beaufoy), which tells of mountain climber Aron Ralston's ordeal, but much of the film's success comes with Boyle's ability to think of the story in visual terms. He also elicits a grueling, physical performance from James Franco, who could be the dark horse in the Best Actor category.