The Snubbed: Oscar hopefuls that weren’t nominated, but should have been
The Dark Knight – Best Picture
In what was probably the biggest snub of all for the 2009 Oscars, the only major award that The Dark Knight is nominated for is Best Supporting Actor. True Heath Ledger deserves the nod, if not the award, but he was not an island onto himself. The success of this film is directly tied to the talents of one man: Christopher Nolan. He’s the one that took Batman from the Vegas-style insanity of Batman & Robin and made a film that was as darkly serious as any crime noir you can name. In the process, Nolan proved that a “superhero movie” can mean many different things beyond “pow” and “zap.” Granted, it’s the second most popular movie of all time, but The Dark Knight is as much an artistic achievement as it is a technical one.
Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino) – Best Actor
It’s amazing how sometimes things get a lot of hype only to somehow seemingly disappear before all the chips are counted. What’s trickier still is that I have no idea who Eastwood could usurp a spot from; the Best Actor category is exceedingly strong this year. But if there was room for a sixth nominee then let it be Eastwood. His achievement in Gran Torino is not in playing the tough and gruff retiree, but in the way his armour falls from him as he takes a couple of young Hmong teens under his wing, and finds a more nobler self in the process.
Sally Hawkins (Happy Go Lucky) – Best Actress
I can’t believe Sally Hawkins was overlooked, because not only is this film a constant and consistent crowd-pleaser, but Hawkins won a freakin’ Golden Globe too. Basically, the role of Poppy, a modern day Pollyanna in a world of sour-pusses, is one of those parts where a different actor could have entirely changed the chemistry. If they had played it too hard, it would have been too broad and if they had played it too soft, then it wouldn’t have felt real. Hawkins found the perfect mix, and as a result she shines and leads the viewer easily along on an inflated sense of optimism no matter what else is happening about her.
Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon) – Best Supporting Actor
As much as Frank Langella deserves the high praise and acclaim he brings to the part of Richard Nixon, it seems his dramatic counterpoint – Michael Sheen as David Forst – has been shut out. The movie is called Frost/Nixon, and is basically about two men who have everything to prove and not much left to lose out of eight hours of recorded interviews. As Langella rails bombastic about his rightful legacy when not playing teasing mind games with his opponent, it’s Frost who must overcome the more significant challenge and find a way to best a man with the benefit of a sharp mind and clarity of purpose. What’s first a lark becomes a test of one’s social responsibility. Basically, Frost had to come further to meet Nixon, which mades his victory so much sweeter.
Rosemarie DeWitt (Rachel Getting Married) – Best Supporting Actress
Obviously, Anne Hathaway has gotten the lion’s share of the attention regarding this movie, but her character’s histrionics easily grab attention. It’s Rosemarie DeWitt as the title character who has to find a way to take the brunt of it while standing her own. While Hathaway’s Kim is a flurry of anger, doubt, depression and self-recrimination, Rachel deals with anger issues of her own while trying to keep even a straight face for her father’s benefit, even if happiness over the occasion escapes her. In the gale force emotional storm that is Kim’s brief weekend visit, Rachel is the sobering, steady calm in the centre eye.
Mandy Walker (Australia) – Best Cinematography
Say what you want about Australia, from its story to the chemistry – or lack there of – between Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, but what you can’t deny is that it looked awesome. The beautiful landscape of the Outback is shot in long sweeping panoramics and rich colours; as if it were the best National Geographic photo spread ever taken of the Land Down Under. Basically, the film looked gorgeous in such a way that the visuals alone almost made up for the utter lack of a compelling plot. Almost.
Robert Knott & Ed Harris (Appaloosa) – Best Adapted Screenplay
Based on the novel by Robert B. Parker, this leisurely-paced western made you wonder where it was going and when will it get there, but you didn’t mind the fact that it wasn’t getting there at its own speed. Not only is Knott and Harris’ dialogue utterly lyrical to the ear, but it paints an instant and meaningful picture of easy camaraderie between two old cowboys. If there’s a reason it didn’t get nominated, it’s because Harris, along with Viggo Mortensen, make it look way too easy. They just settle in to their parts like a warm bath. But without this script, Appaloosa would just be a bunch of sticky western clichés with no spirit.
Young @ Heart – Best Documentary (Feature)
Seniors singing classic and modern rock songs as a metaphor for thinking and feeling young may sound odd by itself, but this documentary never left anyone wanting during its substantial theatrical run. Like Happy Go Lucky it was a small, feel good hit that left you in a mix of exaltation and profound admiration. The songs can come across as either uplifting or reflective depending on the mood, and the way they’re read by this elderly choir offer several unique arrangements that give you a version of the hits that you’ve never heard before. I can only assume the members of the Academy have hearts of stone having escaped the power of Young @ Heart.
Kevin Blank (Cloverfield) – Best Visual Effects
In what seemed to be the year of subtle, non-intrusive effects work, maybe a big, ol’ monster movie kind of defeats the point. But Cloverfield wasn’t your average monster movie. With a budget normally called “low budget” in relation to its genre contemporaries, Cloverfield managed to astound and stupefy with only a fraction of the money that the films nominated in this category had. Between the monster itself and CG-enhanced views of a destroyed Manhattan and all its landmarks, the film was an impressive example of the often cited, but rarely applied point of view that less is more.
Let the Right One In – Best Foreign Language Film
This snub can’t be blamed entirely on the Academy because most of that lies with the Swedish government, who decided to not make Let the Right One In their “official” entrant for the Oscars. But then again, Academy rules are to blame, at least in part. Harry Knowles of Ain’t-It-Cool-News explained it really well on his site saying, “When you depend upon a host nation to offer up a film for consideration for Best Foreign Language Film, you are forced to consider only the films that the nation in question feels artistically represent their country.” Considering how this film finished on a litany of Top 10 lists for 2008 – including mine – it’s kind of unbelievable that it’s not being considered on what’s basically a technicality.
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