2012 Oscar Nominees:

Thoughts and Ruminations

February 2, 2012     

On the morning of January 24 this year’s list of Academy Award nominees were announced. For the most part, there were few surprises as far as the major categories were concerned. It was, however, the glaring omission of many notable films and performances that caused the biggest shocks. Then again, we have to remind ourselves that this is the Academy Awards and mistakes happen there on a routine basis, in spite of the fact that, as a general rule, the Academy tends to have a fairly decent batting average. After all, what fun is the Oscars without picking apart the Oscar snubs? Without any further prefacing here is a recap of some of the high and low spots on this year’s list of Academy Award nominees. After the article, you will find an actual list of the nominees in the major categories.

The best picture nominees were pretty much on target with what critics and audiences alike were expecting, with the exception of perhaps one film in the category. Although I personally enjoyed the film Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, has not been a critical darling. It mystifies me that it was even nominated in the category, considering the film’s lukewarm reception. What I think would have been a more interesting choice would have been to nominate the celebrated comedy Bridesmaids. It’s a film that both audiences and critics-for the most part-can’t seem to profess enough love for. I also have to commend the Academy for the inclusion of a film that was both equally hailed and hated, Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life. Personally, I didn’t care for it, but I know many who stand in awe of Malick’s cinematic achievement, so a nomination for the film was the fair thing to do. 

The best director category seems to have been filled with much of what was predicted early on. The most glaring omissions would have to be previous nominees, Steven Spielberg (War Horse) and David Fincher (Girl With the Dragon Tattoo). Personally, I think Fincher’s work was some of the best of the movie going year but I can’t really disagree with those who were nominated either. Perhaps the Academy needs to open up a few more slots in the best directing category.

The biggest surprise in the best actor category has to the inclusion of actor Demián Bichir for director Chirs Weitz’ film A Better Life. No one expected this film, which deals with the problems faced by an illegal immigrant and his son, to get any nods, especially considering that it was released last Summer. I will say that it also gives me great joy to see Gary Oldman finally getting a nomination for his work in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, after being snubbed for way too many years. He is one of the best working actors out there today.

The best actress category contains the usual assortment of actresses portraying historical figures-Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher, Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe-but, thankfully they didn’t forget to nominate Rooney Mara for her searing portrayal of female heroine Lisbeth Salander in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. A glaring omission for me in this category is Tilda Swinton, who turned in one of the year’s best performances as a tortured mother in We Need To Talk About Kevin.

One of the biggest upsets in this year’s list of nominations comes in the form of the best supporting actor category and it is the omission of Albert Brooks’ performance in Drive. Brooks has always been known for his comedic persona and his playing against type as a crime boss in the film was one of the year’s biggest surprises. His being overlooked is, for me, something akin to a criminal offense.

In the category of best supporting actress, the Academy finally decided to bestow some love on Bridesmaids by nominating Melissa McCarthy. I can almost guarantee you that she won’t win but her mere inclusion here should give us hope that comedy films aren’t all but forgotten come awards time.

Finally, I would like to mention the Academy’s list of nominations in the best animated category, which placed several largely unknown films over more well known fare such as Cars 2  and Rio. I’m still not sure what they were thinking there but it safe to say they were a tad off the mark on this one.

That’s it for my recap of the Oscar nominations. Below is a list of these aforementioned categories and their nominees.

Best Picture
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud
& Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
(Best Picture, cont’d)
War Horse

Best Director
Woody Allen - Midnight in Paris
Michel Hazanavicius -
The Artist
Terrence Malick - The Tree
of Life
Alexander Payne -
The Descendants
Martin Scorsese - Hugo

Best Actor
Demián Bichir - A Better Life
George Clooney -
The Descendants
Jean Dujardin - The Artist
Gary Oldman - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt - Moneyball

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 

Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh - My Week With Marilyn
Jonah Hill - Moneyball
Nick Nolte - Warrior
Christopher Plummer - Beginners
Max von Sydow - Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Best Supporting Actress
Bérénice Bejo - The Artist
Jessica Chastain - The Help
Melissa McCarthy - Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer - Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer - The Help

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