Some of you might be wondering why I haven't posted anything on the Oscar nominations yet. Frankly, I'm a little underwhelmed and disappointed in the choices. Maybe I got a little too into the whole Golden Globes business, but I just feel like we've been through this already. Almost exactly, in fact.
When I look through the nominations in what I consider the major categories (acting, directing, best film and best foreign language film), I don't see a whole lot of difference in the nominations. And while I guess that's a feather in the cap of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, it makes for a pretty boring awards season. Still, there are enough differences to warrant some discussion, plus I've got to go off on my designated rants for the season.
To underscore the overlap between the Globes and Oscar nominations, I've put the non-Globe nominees in red.
Performance by an actress in a leading role
Penélope Cruz in Volver
Judi Dench in Notes on a Scandal
Helen Mirren in The Queen
Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada
Kate Winslet in Little Children
Of course, there's likely to be near-total overlap in the lead acting categories, because the Globes have twice as many nominees. But you will, frankly, never convince me that Kate Winslet should be on this list for her performance in Little Children. It's the worst work I've ever seen from her. Beyonce has more place on this list for her work in Dreamgirls than Kate Winslet has for Little Children. Oh, yeah. I said it.
Performance by an actor in a leading role
Leonardo DiCaprio in Blood Diamond
Ryan Gosling in Half Nelson
Peter O’Toole in Venus
Will Smith in The Pursuit of Happyness
Forest Whitaker in The Last King of Scotland
Just about everyone who's seen Half Nelson is thrilled at Ryan Gosling's inclusion. He's done fantastic stuff elsewhere, so I eagerly await seeing him in -- no, I haven't seen it yet. But I will, I promise.
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Adriana Barraza in Babel
Cate Blanchett in Notes on a Scandal
Abigail Breslin in Little Miss Sunshine
Jennifer Hudson in Dreamgirls
Rinko Kikuchi in Babel
Hmmm. Again with the two-fer for Babel. I'm glad to see Breslin nominated, though. I've done some reconsidering since I griped about every single supporting performance I saw last year and I've grown to appreciate her a lot more. Breslin did something you don't often see child actors do: she played Olive as a child, not as a pint-size, jaded adult. I don't think she has a chance of winning (Hudson probably has this one in the bag), but her performance has really grown on me.
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Alan Arkin in Little Miss Sunshine
Jackie Earle Haley in Little Children
Djimon Hounsou in Blood Diamond
Eddie Murphy in Dreamgirls
Mark Wahlberg in The Departed
Okay, now here we have an embarrasment of riches -- and a variety of them as well. I've managed to see all these films and I have to say that, with the possible exception of Arkin, all these performances were great. Neither Hounsou or Wahlberg are given a lot to do, but they do it incredibly well. Murphy is probably my favorite in this category, but I'll be pretty damn happy no matter who wins.
Best foreign language film of the year
After the Wedding - Denmark
Days of Glory (Indigènes) - Algeria
The Lives of Others - Germany
Pan’s Labyrinth - Mexico
Water - Canada
Well, at least we don't have any American films in this category. I did boggle a bit at the inclusion of Canada, but the film in question is set in India, so it's definitely a foreign language film from a country that does not contain a state named California, so it's all good. Let me just say: Pan's Labyrinth was freaking amazing.
Achievement in directing
Alejandro González Iñárritu - Babel
Martin Scorsese – The Departed
Clint Eastwood – Letters from Iwo Jima
Stephen Frears – The Queen
Paul Greengrass – United 93
Cue the Cate-Blanchett-losing-it-in-Lord-of-the-Rings music. Did these people not see Children of Men?!! (Well, no, wait, they nominated it for editing, cinematography and adapted screenplay, and that's great and all, but --) It's freaking incredible, and the direction is just flawless! Again, I keep going over that word "achievement" in the name of the award, and I can think of no better term to describe what Alfonso Cuaron does in that film. I've already ranted about Scorcese's Greatest Hits, as I refer to the direction of The Departed. It's an excellent film, don't get me wrong, but we've been there before with him. Several times.
Best motion picture of the year
Babel
The Departed
Letters from Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen
I still have yet to see Babel, and by now, I almost feel like it'll have to give me a tickertape parade, a foot massage and a plate of cheese fries to live up to all the nominations it's gotten. I have no earthly desire to see Letters from Iwo Jima (World War II films hold almost no appeal for me), but I've heard great things about Ken Watanabe in it, so I'll probably try to sneak it in.
You know what one of the very best films of 2006 was? (No, besides Children of Men; I know I've talked that one to death already.) The Painted Veil. Unless you live near a pretty good indie theater, you might not even have heard of it, but it's fantastic. It's based on a Somerset Maugham novel about a British doctor and his socialite wife who go to the interior of China in response to a cholera outbreak.
I know, I know, you're thinking it's going to be a dry, lifeless character study. That's what I thought going into it. And I was fucking riveted. The story was alternately moving and horrifying, the cinematography was gorgeous (the opening credits alone are a work of art), and the performances were just phenomenal. If you get a chance to see it, I highly recommend it.
My friend Nathaniel of The Film Experience noted that the absence of appropriate acclaim for major films released in December (he even mentions Children of Men) might prompt studios to start dishing out the good stuff in October. I hope and pray that someone somewhere at some studio heeds his wise words so I don't have to cram good films together next January like I have this year. It's like eating a bunch of rich food in a hurry; I've got a kind of cinematic indigestion. So perhaps Oscar should be grateful that my response to the nominations is a mere shrug rather than a fruity belch.
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