The Academy has released its list of nominations for the films of 2008. Their choices, frankly, are disappointing. It's hard to expect much from the people who gave an Oscar to "honest to blog" and they are continuing to disappoint.
Firstly, Rachel Getting Married received the biggest snub this year. When the film was first released there was talk of it potentially being nominated for Best Picture and it almost certainly getting a nomination for Best Screenplay. What happened between now and then? There is no Best Picture nomination nor one for Best Screenplay. Jenny Lumet, the writer of this film, deserves an award. The dialogue is sharp and natural. There were few cliches lines and some moments cut so close to the bone for anyone with a family. The more I read about this film the more I realize that nothing is a coincidence in its script. The bi-racial Lumet's inclusion of an interracial couple was no coincidence and I'm starting to think that maybe the relationship between the two sister resembles her relationship with her older sister, Amy. At the very least, Anne Hathaway was recognized (even if Rosemarie Dewitt has better).
Secondly, isn't Slumdog Millionaire getting just a little too much love? The film is entertaining and totally watchable but also shallow and sentimental. It played to me like Disney film. The heroes are always good and the villains are very evil. The love story is very cliched. Why exactly are these two destined to be together? It's never quite explained. When watching this at parts I felt like I was seeing a watered down City of God. Thinking back on it, there's very little there in terms of subtext or depth of the script. A movie doesn't deserve such recognition for being entertaining and visually appealing.
P.S. The Wrestler received little attention here either. It should have been a candidate for Best Picture.
Here are my (totally biased) picks for who should win in each major category.
Performance by an actor in a leading role
- Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor” (Overture Films)
- Frank Langella in “Frost/Nixon” (Universal)
- Sean Penn in “Milk” (Focus Features)
- Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
- Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
- Josh Brolin in “Milk” (Focus Features)
- Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder” (DreamWorks, Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
- Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Doubt” (Miramax)
- Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.)
- Michael Shannon in “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage)
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
- Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married” (Sony Pictures Classics)
- Angelina Jolie in “Changeling” (Universal)
- Melissa Leo in “Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics)
- Meryl Streep in “Doubt” (Miramax)
- Kate Winslet in “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company)
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
- Amy Adams in “Doubt” (Miramax)
- Penélope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (The Weinstein Company)
- Viola Davis in “Doubt” (Miramax)
- Taraji P. Henson in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
- Marisa Tomei in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)
Achievement in directing
- “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Fincher
- “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Ron Howard
- “Milk” (Focus Features), Gus Van Sant
- “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Stephen Daldry
- “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Danny Boyle
Best documentary feature
- “The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)” (Cinema Guild), A Pandinlao Films Production, Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
- “Encounters at the End of the World” (THINKFilm and Image Entertainment), A Creative Differences Production, Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser
- “The Garden” A Black Valley Films Production, Scott Hamilton Kennedy
- “Man on Wire” (Magnolia Pictures), A Wall to Wall Production, James Marsh and Simon Chinn
- “Trouble the Water” (Zeitgeist Films), An Elsewhere Films Production, Tia Lessin and Carl Deal
Best motion picture of the year
- “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), A Kennedy/Marshall Production, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
- “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), A Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment and Working Title Production, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Eric Fellner, Producers
- “Milk” (Focus Features), A Groundswell and Jinks/Cohen Company Production, Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, Producers
- “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), A Mirage Enterprises and Neunte Babelsberg Film GmbH Production, Nominees to be determined
- “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A Celador Films Production, Christian Colson, Producer
