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By Sean Axmaker
Special to MSN Movies
See also: Was 'Ratatouille' Robbed of a Best Picture
nod?
See also: Full list of Oscar nominees
It's an open question whether the red carpet, the stargazing, the invariably
overlong ceremony with its record of misjudged entertainment set pieces, and the
obligatory afterparties will be present, but to paraphrase one of this year's
big nominees: There will be Oscars.
If there is a consensus among critics this year, it's that it was a good year
for American cinema. Some might say it was a great year for American movies.
There was certainly no lack of ambition in nomination leaders "There Will Be Blood" and "No Country for Old Men," not to mention films such as "Into the Wild," "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert
Ford" and "I'm Not There." Academy voters actually snubbed splashy hits
such as "Hairspray," traditional Oscar bait such as "American Gangster" and bubbly star-studded pictures such as "Charlie Wilson's War" for a selection of darker and more
ambitious dramas. Well, as long as they are not about Iraq ...
These studio-funded films fall somewhere between the kind of adult pictures
studios used to favor and the indie projects that took over from the studios
when they put their attention into youth-oriented spectacles, action films and
sequels ... which means there's not a popular hit in the bunch. So far, the teen
pregnancy comedy "Juno" is the biggest hit in the Best Picture category this
year.
For the most part, it's a classy bunch, but there's always room for
complaining. There is no shortage of deserving artists who didn't make Oscar's
cut and we're not shy about sharing our opinions on where the academy went
wrong. So here is our report card on Oscar's slights and oversights. Call it:
They shoulda been a contender.
Best Picture
The five Best Picture nominees are a worthy -- if fairly dark -- class this
year, lightened only by the inclusion of the indie-ish comedy "Juno." I adore
the film, I confess, and find it far more interesting and alive than last year's
token quasi-indie "Little Miss Sunshine." But I'd prefer to see Sean Penn's "Into the Wild" -- the glaring omission
of the category -- in its place. This sprawling, ragged human epic throws the
audience headlong into the romance of an odyssey across America, living in the
moment and in the buzzing thrill of the quest for something that may not exist.
Carved out of primal imagery, raw emotion and pure passion, Penn's ambition may
exceed his grasp but only by degrees.
The academy has traditionally been resistant to genre films, which is the
only reason I can fathom for the snubbing of "Zodiac" in every category. David Fincher's mesmerizing drama about the obsessive
search for the true-life serial killer who terrorized San Francisco in the late
'60s and early '70s made many a critic's top 10 list but didn't receive one
nomination. Talk about a killer! Also, when it comes to ambition, it's hard to
beat "I'm Not There," surely the most eccentric and creative biographical drama
ever made. (Story Continues On Next Page...) |
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