Oscar 2011 In Review

The ceremony wasn't especially offensive or interesting; Billy Crystal did the usual thing, which is safe and familiar.  Overall, I was mixed on the nominations, feeling like some deserving actors got snubbed outright (which I'll touch on below) and making those races less interesting.  I was happy with some of the tech categories (Editing for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo; Song for "Man or Muppet" from The Muppets).  As for Hazanavicius and The Artist winning Director and Picture, well... let’s get into it.

Here are my thoughts about the main categories:

BEST PICTURE

The Artist

The Descendants

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

The Help

Hugo

Midnight in Paris

Moneyball

The Tree of Life

War Horse

Winner: The Artist

This is a good film.  I can't fault the win at all.  It was far better than its main competition (Hugo).  I appreciated the return to the early days of Hollywood and the recreation of the silent era.  The performers, the craftsmanship, the music (beyond just the cue taken from Vertigo), it was all impressive.  It's not a bad thing that it's "light".  It's a new experience for most filmgoers.

Personal preference: The Tree of Life

Again, I'm fine with the winner, but I do have a love for Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life. It's an expansive work looking at a single family amidst the vastness of time and universe.  One person's life is dwarfed by all that has come before and will come in the future.  And yet, that life matters.  This is an emotional, visual journey that I look forward to taking again.

Snubbed for a nod: Drive

Gotta love the Academy for throwing Drive a solitary bone with a sound nod.  But acting, directing, other techs, and picture- nothing.  That's a damn shame.  This film featured an ensemble of complex performances led by Ryan Gosling and Albert Brooks, purposeful direction by Nicolas Winding Refn, a cool soundtrack, and incredible technical prowess, from the editing to the sound design.  It felt like a throwback to an early 1980s "neon-noir" crime thriller, while invoking such classic films as Yojimbo and Le Samourai. I can't recommend it enough.

BEST DIRECTOR

Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist

Alexander Payne, The Descendants

Martin Scorsese, Hugo

Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris

Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life

Winner: Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist

Pretty much repeat what I said above for The Artist. Hazanavicius created a love letter to the movies.  It's hard to believe that this is the first film about moviemaking to actually win Best Picture (sorry Sunset Blvd.), but it is quite effective.  The director had total control of this film.

Personal preference: Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life

Malick never shows up anyway, so the accolades don't mean much (to him, anyway).  He says what he wants to with his films.  It's been a short body of work over a long period of time, but each film, from Badlands to The Thin Red Line to this, has something to say.  The fact that the directors branch had enough Malick fans in it to get him a nod is nice.

Snubbed for a nod: Lars von Trier, Melancholia

I'm sorry to not see David Fincher (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) or Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive), but I have to say that the directors unjustly ignored Lars von Trier.  He's controversial to say the least, and his films are often divisive (Breaking the Waves, Dancer in the Dark, Antichrist). Melancholia is very much a combative work, but there is an assured auteur in control here.  Love it or hate it, his direction was impressive. 

BEST ACTOR

Demian Bichir, A Better Life

George Clooney, The Descendants

Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Winner: Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Dujardin is unknown here in the United States, but his work in The Artist cannot be ignored.  He's in pretty much every scene of the film and the film and its ups and downs rest on the character arc he experiences.  He kept us entertained and moved, and did so without the use of his voice.  That was a performance.

Personal preference: Dujardin

Of the nominees the Academy selected, Dujardin is my pick.  I would have nominated him as well.  Clooney and Pitt are also fine.  But I am really happy to see that Gary Oldman FINALLY got an Oscar nomination after 25+ years of performances (Sid & Nancy, Romeo is Bleeding, JFK, The Professional, The Contender).  He had no shot of winning, but the recognition was long overdue.

Snubbed for a nod (and should have WON): Michael Fassbender, Shame

This was supposed to be Michael Fassbender's year.  Four solid performances, from the literate drama (Jane Eyre) to historical piece (A Dangerous Method) to summer blockbuster (X-Men: First Class) to the pyschological portrait in Shame.  The film was NC-17, but the graphic presentation of a sex addict's life and relationships (or lack thereof) is not titilating, but rather sad and depressing.  We emphasize and feel the pain of this man's fear to connect on an emotional level with others.  It's too bad the rating and the full frontal male nudity scared off Oscar voters. 

Oscar voters also ignored Michael Shannon in Take Shelter, which is a crime itself.  But I'll hold my tongue.

BEST ACTRESS

Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs

Viola Davis, The Help

Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady

Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn
Winner: Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady

It came down to between Streep and Davis, for films that I do not really care for.  Still, the incredible 35 years of work from Streep is impressive, from her previous Oscar wins for Kramer vs. Kramer and Sophie's Choice, to other nominated work such as The Deer Hunter, The French Lieutenant's Woman, Silkwood, Postcards from the Edge, Adaptation, Doubt.  It's a nice gift to her after the 29 years since she last won.    

Personal preference: Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Let me clarify here.  I am picking Mara because she is the only one of the five nominees I would have also nominated.  So she's my preference by default.  That being said, this is an intense performance.  She plays a damaged person very well (the eating fast food children's meals was an interesting character trait), and the horrors she has experienced are conveyed in the quiet moments afterward.  But she is also a strong female character, in a story that was frankly too brutal for the Academy.

Snubbed for a nod (and should have WON): Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin

Swinton has been snubbed multiple times now (see last year's I Am Love).  The narrative follows two storylines for Swinton, in the present as she finds herself a pariah after her son's violent rampage.  It continues to jump back to show Swinton struggling with post-partum depression and the fears that something is not right about her son.  This was the performance of the year, maybe more than Fassbender.  But the movie was just too out there for the voters.

As I mentioned earlier, I only agreed with Mara's nomination.  Combined with Swinton's win, I would have given the other three spots to Charlize Theron (Young Adult), Kirsten Dunst (Melancholia), and Vera Farmiga (Higher Ground).  This category ignored these powerful female roles, which is too bad.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR 

Kennth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn

Jonah Hill, Moneyball

Nick Nolte, Warrior

Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Winner: Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Yes, the guy from The Sound of Music finally has an Oscar.  Plummer has had a nice long career (my favorite snubbed performance of his- The Insider), finally earning his first nomination two years ago (The Last Station).  Now, it was his year to win.  He's the oldest winner ever (at age 82, only two years younger than the Oscars).  Was the performance deserving? Yes, it was.  He's truly the supporting role, with Ewan McGregor as his son carrying most of the film, but it's a strong performance.

Personal preference: Plummer

I'm glad Plummer won, and he was my pick.  That being said, he did not have formidable competition.  Great actors in Branagh and von Sydow, but hampered by their material.  Moneyball is great, but Hill did not wow me.

Snubbed for a nod: Albert Brooks, Drive

I love Albert Brooks' tweet after he found himself snubbed of a nomination: "You don't like me.  You really don't like me."  Great.  He played a great villain in Drive, but I appreciated the fact that he was not a well-groomed, movie villain.  He's just a little mob guy, eeking out a little life in the Los Angeles criminal underground.  That makes his more violent moments all the more powerful.

Was there room for Patton Oswalt for Young Adult?  Guess not...

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Berenice Bejo, The Artist

Jessica Chastain, The Help

Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids

Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs

Octavia Spencer, The Help

Winner: Octavia Spencer, The Help

I don't want to be mean, but I really don't like this movie.  Spencer played the role fine, but it was just too cliche for my tastes.  I get why she won, but I would have voted for something else.

Personal preference: Jessica Chastain, The Help The Tree of LIfe or Take Shelter

Like Fassbender, Chastain had a great year, with performances in multiple movies.  It makes sense that Oscar voters united behind her performance in the feel good movie (The Help).  I really wish she had been nominated for The Tree of Life or Take Shelter though.  She was the definition of supporting actress across her films.  Give her the Oscar, but just for something else.

Snubbed for a nod: Carey Mulligan, Shame

Fassbender does so well in Shame largely because he has a great foil to play off of.  Carey Mulligan has been doing solid work for the past few years, beginning with her Oscar nominated role in An Education.  As the sister of an emotionally withdrawn sex addict with her own demons to wrestle with, Mulligan gives Shame its added pathos.  They really do share the heart of the film and Fassbender would owe a great deal of his success (in my pretend Oscars at least) to her.