(...Story Continued from Previous Page) And in a nod to Time magazine critic Richard Corliss, whose advice to
the Oscar committee is to forget class and go for box-office gold and audience
favorites, here's a popcorn film with critical cred: "The Bourne Ultimatum."
Best Actor
In a category dominated this year by bold, brawny performances carved out of
testosterone and drive and gritty assurance, the delicate touch of Frank Langella in "Starting Out in the Evening" was drowned out. Playing a
once-celebrated author whose politeness and gentlemanly manner hide his hurt and
the wounds of the past, his discreet performance is the very model of quiet
restraint covering a lifetime of experience that he keeps wrapped up inside.
Also missing is Chris Cooper's turn as FBI double agent Robert
Hanssen in "Breach," a startling creation of great intensity that has been
all but forgotten since its early 2007 release. And I'd like to have seen a
little love for Josh Brolin, whose career has been reignited thanks
to his deft turn in "No Country for Old Men," and James McAvoy ("Atonement"), a young actor with a bright future, big
talent and a knack for making the most of good roles.
Best Actress
It's hard to get behind Cate Blanchett's nomination for "Elizabeth: The Golden Age," a pale rerun of her original turn
in "Elizabeth," especially set next to the funky and freewheeling
performance in "I'm Not There" that earned her a Supporting Actress
nomination. I'm more impressed by the fearless work of Nicole Kidman as the tightly wound Margot in "Margot at the Wedding." Self-involved, reflexively judgmental
and dubiously maternal, Margot is a vivid creature, hard to like but endlessly
fascinating, and hides her brittle vulnerability by shifting her own feelings of
shame or guilt into casual cruelty without batting an eyelash.
Additionally, I didn't care much for Neil Jordan's new age vigilante movie "The Brave One," but Jodie Foster's performance is
mesmerizing and far more interesting than the film around her. Keira Knightley lives up to her promise in
"Atonement" and Amy Adams creates a lively character out of a
(literally) two-dimensional role in "Enchanted," but my long-shot snub is for Anamaria
Marinca in the searing Romanian drama "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days." Her nomination would have
slightly eased the blow received when we all learned the academy ignored the
film in the Foreign-Language category.
Best Supporting Actor
Why is everyone convinced that Casey Affleck is a supporting actor
in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"? Forget that he
dominates screen time -- it's his story! Move him up to the Best Actor category
where he belongs (and he does belong -- his wary, anxious, twitchy creation is a
revelation). Then, fill his spot with Robert Downey Jr., whose skittery,
sly turn as San Francisco Chronicle reporter Paul Avery stands out in an
impressive ensemble of intense performances in "Zodiac." Downey makes it look so effortless that I wonder
whether people forgot he was actually performing.
Also ignored was Paul Dano, who not only holds his own against Daniel Day-Lewis in "There Will Be Blood" but also carves out a marvelously
insidious character of self-righteous hypocrisy. Ethan Hawke's understated work in "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" was unfairly overshadowed
by Philip Seymour Hoffman, and everyone else in "No
Country for Old Men" is forgotten in the intensity of Javier Bardem's killer, including the quiet integrity
of Tommy Lee Jones and the drawling ease of Woody Harrelson.
Best Supporting Actress
Ruby Dee is a surprise nominee for the otherwise
all-but-shut-out "American Gangster," a choice that says more about her legacy
and her stature as an artist than her performance in this crime epic. (Imagine
the scene -- Ruby Dee: "Oh my! Is that MY Oscar nomination!?!" Denzel: "Yes, that's your Oscar nomination, mama!")
Call it her lifetime-achievement nod. This year, however, I favor Jennifer Jason Leigh's vulnerable and unaffected
performance in "Margot at the Wedding," flitty yet empathetic and honest and,
for a change, the stable figure in this supremely dysfunctional family.
Catherine Keener is, simply put, beautiful in "Into the Wild," and Kelly Macdonald's resigned performance in "No Country
for Old Men" has been unfairly unheralded. Although Saoirse Ronan's performance in "Atonement" is
perfectly fine, it pales next to the heartbreaking work done by Vanessa Redgrave in just a few minutes of screen
time. But forgotten by almost everyone is Margo Martindale's soaring performance
in the final chapter of "Paris, je t'aime," reading a lonely, melancholy monologue that
echoes with regret and resignation. Yeah, it's a pipe dream, but she's worthy.
And why shouldn't I pipe dream?
Best Director
OK, I know it sounds like a broken record, but ... it's a crime that David Fincher's work on "Zodiac" has been completely
overlooked. One of the best films of the year and Fincher's most disciplined,
focused and mesmerizing film to date, it's a work of great restraint from one of
the most technically accomplished directors working today and the rare crime
film that digs into the nature of investigation and the frustrations of
dedicated people facing dead-ends in the real work of police detectives.
The academy's list matches the Directors Guild of America nominees in all but
one slot: Sean Penn's vivid and impassioned work on "Into the
Wild," a labor of love where the love burns through every scene, was left out
for Jason Reitman's playful direction of "Juno" -- nice work indeed but simply not of the same caliber.
And although Tony Gilroy makes an auspicious directorial debut
with "Michael Clayton," Joe Wright's direction of "Atonement"
is richer and more dramatically dynamic.
More Snubs
I'm happy to see the academy break with the Writers Guild of America on
Original Screenplay and include the animated "Ratatouille," but it would have been a nice surprise to see
Cristian Mungiu's "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days" get a nom here. The dense and
nuanced "Zodiac," which earned a WGA nomination, is a glaring omission in the
Adapted Screenplay category, and the delicate scripting of "Starting Out in the
Evening" is a worthy underdog.
Roger Deakins earned two nominations for Best
Cinematography -- the first time that's happened for a cinematographer in 40
years -- for "No Country for Old Men" and "The Assassination of the Jesse
James by the Coward Robert Ford" and he deserves them both. But it's a shame not
to see the passionate imagery of "Into the Wild" or the razor-sharp work on
"Zodiac" recognized.
"Surf's Up" has no place in the Animated Feature lineup, and
forget "The Simpson's Movie" (d'oh!). Satoshi Kon's delirious "Paprika" from Japan is a far more interesting, creditable
pick.
The nominations process in the Foreign-Language Film category remains the
shame of the system. Cristian Mungiu's brilliant "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days"
picked up awards from critics groups across the country (not to mention a little
thing called the Palme d'Or at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival and the Best Film
at the European Film Awards) and didn't even make the short list for the Oscars.
And "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" isn't even eligible under
the academy rules because it's a French-language film that's an American
production. Mon dieu!
Which actors, directors and films do you think were snubbed by
the academy? Write us at heymsn@microsoft.com
Sound off: Comment on this story
In addition to his regular contributions to MSN Movies, Sean Axmaker is a
film critic for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and a DVD columnist for MSN
Entertainment. He is also a contributing writer for GreenCine.com, Turner
Classic Movies Online and Asian Cult Cinema, among other
publications. |
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