Per usual, there were some notable snubs and some long-shot heartbreaker snubs that Alabama Liberal was holding out hope for. However, an unusually strong Best Picture category almost makes up for it…
The Good
When was the last time that the two best films of the year were actually nominated for Best Picture? Well, that’s exactly what’s happened with “Dune” and “Don’t Look Up” both nominated. Also, some of my other favorites like “CODA,” “King Richard,” and especially “Nightmare Alley” snuck in there. What’s happening here? 5 of the year’s 20 best films actually up for Best Picture? Unheard of… Of course, they’ll all probably lose to something overrated like “Power of the Dog” (just as “Parasite” beat out “Joker” and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” a couple of years back), but it’s great to just have them included.
I’m also pleased that “Dune” looks set to run the table in the technical categories, and there’s a long-shot chance “Don’t Look Up” might win Best Screenplay, which it definitely should in an otherwise weak category. I doubt “Dune” can pull off a similar upset in Best Adapted Screenplay, but it truly is a better adaptation than even Frank Herbert’s original novel.
Mostly, I’m just pleased that some of the year’s most overrated films didn’t get nominated for major awards. “Passing” is terrible, but you’d never know it from the raves it’s received up to this point. It was (mercifully) shut out of all categories, including ones where it had been heavily favored, like Best Supporting Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay. And I was relieved that “The Lost Daughter” did not receive a Best Picture nomination, possibly making room for some of the better films I mentioned earlier.
The Bad
Okay, so I didn’t truly expect Nicolas Cage (“Pig”) to be nominated for Best Actor, but I was hoping-against-hope he would be. Same thing for “No Sudden Move” in the Best Original Screenplay category. It also would’ve been interesting to see if the script for “Zola” could’ve made a splash as the first Adapted Screenplay nominee to be (essentially) adapted from tweets. I think it is more of a surprise disappointment that the explosively-joyful “Sing 2” wasn’t nominated in the Best Animated Feature category, as I surely would’ve enjoyed seeing it there more than the overrated “Encanto” or slightly-stale “Raya and the Last Dragon.”
Moreover, I’m disappointed that the astoundingly-overrated “The Power of the Dog” looks set to dominate many of the major categories. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if it won Best Adapted Screenplay (for a script that is about as captivating as a jar of farts, favoring lingering glances and vague scenes of no dialogue over something interesting happening), Best Director (people have been wanting another female Best Director winner for a while and Jane Campion’s competition is not strong), Best Supporting Actor (seems almost assured at this point, unless Jesse Plemons splits some of Codi’s votes, which seems unlikely), Best Actor (the shakiest of the bunch, but it’s possible Benedict Cumberpatch beats out Will Smith or Javier Bardem), and Best Picture (a lot of the truly great movies may split votes).
The Ugly
Lady Gaga’s “House of Gucci” snub is inexplicable. Sure, support for the movie seems soft overall (Jared Leto was also overlooked for Best Supporting Actor–although he should’ve been for a performance that’s also been Razzie nominated, but “Gucci” was also snubbed in the costume design category), but even people that don’t like the movie that much love her performance in “Gucci.” Truthfully, she mesmerizes the screen like a young Ava Gardner–bright, calculating eyes popping against curly brown hair–and I was hoping she’d not only be nominated, but win the category. This is 2021’s version of Jennifer Lopez (“Hustlers”) or Bill Murray (“On the Rocks”) as a performance that could’ve easily won the category has been unjustly denied. By far, the year’s biggest acting snub, as this might’ve been my favorite performance of 2021.
Then you have what is–to me–the single biggest snub of this year’s Oscar nominations: Denis Villeneuve for “Dune.” Like Gaga, I believe Villeneuve should’ve not only been nominated, but won this category. He was tragically (but not surprisingly) overlooked for “Blade Runner 2049” (although the movie won a few technical categories), but “Dune” is nominated for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, most technical categories, and Villeneuve received a Director’s Guild nomination. Even if you weren’t going to follow the DGA nominations to the letter, I’m not sure Steven Spielberg or Paul Thomas Anderson really needed to be recognized yet again. Denis did something many thought was impossible: took only half of Frank Herbert’s dense, technical-jargon heavy “Dune”–a book many people thought was unadaptable, and made something accessible, occasionally awe-inspiring, and darkly exciting.