Documentaries: “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” and “Three Identical Strangers”
A massive shock in the documentary section has to be the omission of Morgan Neville’s portrait about the life and guiding philosophy of Fred Rogers, the host, and creator of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” ‘Neighbor’ has grossed $22 million, making it one of the highest-grossing biographical documentary of all time (highest grossing doc since 2013’s “One Direction: This is Us”). ‘Neighbor’ was the presumptive winner of this category for sure and Focus Features were basically waiting to roll in for the victory lap. Somehow, the doc was entirely overlooked. Neon’s “Three Identical Strangers” was also expected to make the cut making for the only nomination for the mini-major studio, but the Tim Wardle-directed doc just couldn’t get any love.
Others: No love for Toni Colette in “Hereditary,” “Suspiria” which some thought could take a makeup or production design nom, Steve McQueen’s ‘Widows,” Michael B. Jordan in “Black Panther” (the best performance in the film bar none), nor John David Washington, son of Denzel, for “BlackKkKlansman.” Frankly, the Indie Spirit Awards is going to be much more interesting to watch this year. Let’s not forget Ryan Coogler. “Black Panther” made history to become the first Marvel movie and superhero film to be nominated for Best Picture. Nominated for seven Oscars in total, it’s a well-loved film, but its director Ryan Coogler, was sadly shut out.
SURPRISES
Willem Dafoe – Actor In A Leading Role
Ignored by SAG, the “At Eternity’s Gate” star still landed his fourth nomination for playing iconic artist Vincent Van Gogh. Despite winning Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival Dafoe was often overshadowed by other contenders and the disappointing performance of “At Eternity’s Gate” at the box office (reviews were also not as strong as originally hoped). But the Actors Branch watched their screeners and respected Dafoe’s passionate performance.
First Reformed – Best Original Screenplay
Yes, Ethan Hawke was left out in the cold for Best Actor, Willem Dafoe sneaking in to take the final slot for “At Eternity’s Gate,” but Paul Schrader, the legendary screenwriter behind “Taxi Driver,” “Raging Bull,” and “The Last Temptation Of Christ” was not forgotten and finally given some recognition. Having worked in this industry for five decades, Schrader had never been an Oscar nominee until today. His first nomination comes for “First Reformed” his austere tale of a tortured priest struggling with his faith and a full circle of sorts for Schrader who wrote the book on Transcendental Style (spiritual minimalism), but avoided the subject he was on an expert on for his entire life until now. A24 must be overjoyed.
Marina De Tavira and Yalitza Aparicio – Actress In A Leading & Supporting Role
Netflix was hoping that “Roma’s” Aparicio could sneak into the Best Actress field, but they knew Alfonso Cuaron’s acclaimed drama was going to have a big day when De Tavira was announced as a Supporting Actress nominee in the early round of announcements. This was everything the “Roma” team could hope for considering both SAG and BAFTA snubbed the two contenders. It also proved that with genuine Acting Branch support that “Roma” is a contender to take the Best Picture crown.
“Never Look Away” – Overall
Can the Academy embrace a 3 hour and 9-minute drama with positive but not stellar reviews outside of the Foreign Language Film category? You bet they can. Not only did the German film knock the celebrated “Burning” out of the FLF race, but Caleb Deschanel landed a Cinematography nomination. Deschanel is now a five-time nominee so it’s not like he didn’t have standing with the Cinematographer’s branch, but he hadn’t made the ASC Awards cut, a major precursor for Oscar which rarely differentiates because so many of the guild members are AMPAS members. Instead, “First Man’s” Linus Sandgren got the boot and Sony Pictures Classics got an unexpected bounty.
“Cold War” – Overall
Cannes had a field day at Oscar with “BlacKkKlansman” earning 7 nominations and Palme d’Or winning “Shoplifters” landing a Foreign Language Film nomination. What was truly impressive was Amazon Studios’ “Cold War” breaking out of the FLF field and earning a Best Directing nod for Paweł Pawlikowski and a Cinematography nom for Lukasz Zal. The latter had already earned a nom from the American Society of Cinematographers, but Pawlikowski, who won Best Director at Cannes, surged past notable contenders such as DGA nominees Peter Farrelly and Bradley Cooper, Barry Jenkins and Ryan Coogler. It would have been icing on the cake of star Joanna Kulig snuck into the Best Actress race, but the love for “Cold War” is clearly apparent. Moreso, if “Roma” wasn’t part of the equation the film’s success would be a huge trend-setter of just how important international voters are now in the Oscar equation.
“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” – Overall
For those who believe the only reason Netflix had massive success this season because of Alfonso Cuaron, may we present to you “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.” The “surprise” Coen Bros. film played at the Venice Film Festival and New York Film Festival which obviously helped its profile and with a Best Picture win and three other noms they are clearly Oscar mainstays. That being said, ‘Buster Scruggs’ also earned a theatrical release before it streamed on Netflix. It wasn’t as long or promoted as heavily as “Roma’s” but it was a significant draw, especially in New York and Los Angeles. “Scruggs” ended up earning Costume Design, Original Song and, in a surprise, Adapted Screenplay nod. Honestly, the latter shouldn’t have been because, well, it’s the Coens and their legend just continues to grow.
“Green Book’s” Original Screenplay nomination
It’s unclear how much the controversy over “Green Book” affected its standing with the Academy. The news that co-screenwriter and producer Nick Vallelonga deleted his twitter after it was revealed he’d tweeted a false 9/11 conspiracy twitter to Donald Trump was expected to at least affect the film’s Original Screenplay nomination considering how progressive the Writing Branch has been in the past. That didn’t come to pass. Instead, Vallelonga made the cut (over the superior “Eighth Grade” script, mind you). Perhaps too many votes had already been submitted or maybe the story didn’t resonate with members who weren’t paying close attention to social media. Nevertheless, the film’s director Peter Farrelly was snubbed in the Directing category after earning a DGA nod previously. Would he have been anyway? Ponder.
That’s it. Your thoughts, disappointments, grievances etc? You know where to put ‘em.
