Amid the glory and glad tidings surrounding “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and “The Banshees of Inisherin,” — two films that should expect to hear their names called at the 95th Academy Awards — there’s room for reflection on — and overreaction to — the unexpected. Below, we share some categories that didn’t quite go as expected, and some films that didn’t hear their names called as much as we thought they might. Or, maybe a film or a performance was excluded entirely! Second-guessing is truly the only predictable outcome of this entire awards season, so let’s go ahead and partake in that joyous pastime.
Nothing for ‘Nope’
It was, to me, Jordan Peele’s weakest film. Yet he’s such a distinctive and assured director, it’s surprising that voters shunned his sci-fi/Western epic, which featured some of Peele’s trademark technical bravado (Hoyte Van Hoytema was the cinematographer) with a live-wire performance from Keke Palmer as the electric force of nature Emerald. And then there’s the great Daniel Kaluyya, playing Emerald’s stoic brother OJ, who’s never totally out of any awards conversation, even after securing his first statue last year.
No Acting Nominations for ‘Women Talking’
Ensemble films are always tricky, and often can lead to no nominations or a default nod to the biggest star of the film (here’s looking at you, Tom Cruise in “Magnolia”). But this powerhouse cast seemed a cinch to at least include Jessie Buckley or Claire Foy in the ‘Supporting Actress’ category.
No Women Directors Nominated
Sarah Polley might be the most obvious pick to get the nod, but Gina Prince-Bythewood (“The Woman King”) was very much a part of the conversation, and still is now, for her perceived omission. Let’s not ignore European filmmakers either: Mia Hansen-Løve is a powerful, introspective filmmaker and her intimate “One Fine Morning” (a fine candidate for ‘Best Director,’ ‘Original Screenplay,’ and ‘Best Actress’ and ‘Supporting Actress’) might have been just too mellow for voters.
First-timers Dominate the Acting Categories
This year’s Oscar nominations include many first time nominees. (Pictured, Bill Nighy in “Living,” a British Film Institute (BFI) release).
Of the twenty acting nominations, sixteen (80%) were receiving their first nomination, including all five of the ‘Best Actor’ candidates. And first-time doesn’t necessarily mean new to the game, with familiar faces such as Judd Hirsch, Bill Nighy, Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Brendan Gleeson earning some long-awaited recognition. Still, that means previous contenders such as Viola Davis (one win, four total nominations) and Tom Cruise (three nominations) will be cheering from the gallery.
The d’or Touch
Cannes’ ‘Palme d’Or’ winner “Triangle of Sadness” bagged three nominations, including ‘Best Picture’ and ‘Best Director.’ (Although the wonderful Dolly De Leon was left out of the ‘Best Supporting Actress’ category.) Ruben Östlund’s cutting and hilarious screenplay also earned a nomination, pitting it against some of this year’s heavyweights, i.e. “The Fabelmans” and “The Banshees of Inisherin.” The comparisons to previous Palme — and ‘Best Picture’ — top prizewinner “Parasite” (2019) must end there though. See “Triangle of Sadness,“ if you don’t believe me. Just take some Dramamine first.
Netflix: Never Quiet
A scene from “All Quiet on the Western Front,” which dominated this year’s BAFTA awards. (Photo: Netflix).
Netflix’s “All Quiet on the Western Front” earned nine nominations, including one for ‘Best Picture.’ Unlike some of Netflix’s hyped 2022 festival entries — “Bardo,” “White Noise” — which have had a hard time getting traction with critics and audiences, “All Quiet” is gaining momentum at exactly the right time. Further, its performance at the BAFTA awards — where it lead all films with 14 nominations — could foreshadow its potential success on Oscar Sunday.
Stay tuned for future coverage of this year’s Oscars. In the coming weeks, we plan to publish another follow up with some predictions on which films should and could take home the gold on March 12th.
