By Delaney Benison
On Jan. 16 Chris Pine and Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs took to Beverly Hills to announce the 2015 Academy Award Nominations. In response, quite a few people are upset with the lack of nominations for the diverse minority talent present in films this year. Movie critics and viewers feel there were some glaring snubs in the choices made by the Academy this year. It has left many with the same question: Who really deserves the nominations?
The first thing I said to a friend after walking out of Selma was, “David Oyelowo is going to win the Oscar for that.” So it came as quite a shock to find out last Thursday that not only was he not going to win, he was not even nominated. There is a lot of controversy over this because many people, including myself, found that Oyelowo was able to capture the emotion of Martin Luther King, Jr., who suffered because of his choices while trying to shake a nation free of its prejudices. He found the intonation in MLK’s voice and the power behind his words. Oyelowo managed to take the spirit of Dr. King’s movement and put it on the big screen, but a glittering Academy Award speech was not meant to be. It was considered a major snub of the actor and even the movie itself, despite the fact that Selma is nominated for Best Picture.
The list of the snubbed also includes women directors. Although Selma was nominated for Best Picture, its director, Ava DuVernay was not recognized by the Academy for helming the movie’s vision. David Carr of the New York Times wrote, “The director of Selma, Ava DuVernay, is a black woman who found the studio backing to make a movie that is great cinema, not a history lesson. And no club in the United States — over the last several years, the academy has been around 93 percent white, 76 percent male and an average of 63 years old — is in more need of new blood than Hollywood.” If nothing else, Hollywood needs to shake things up.
Angelina Jolie also felt the pangs of Hollywood’s dismissal, as her direction in Unbroken did not receive any recognition. While Unbroken did not do as well as anticipated in the box office and in reviews, it still managed to capture the true, inspiring story of an Olympian turned World War II POW. This was artfully portrayed by Jack O’Connell, who delivered an outstanding performance.
The list of best actress nominees seemed to be coming from slim pickings, possibly due to the noted lack of strong female roles available in cinema this year. That being said, Julianne Moore is a favorite in her movie Still Alice, portraying a women diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. While many agreed that Moore’s performance was deserving of a nomination, questions remained about whether or not everyone belonged on the list of nominees. Jennifer Aniston’s performance in Cake is widely considered to be a miss in this category. Aniston transforms into a woman wracked with chronic pain and depression while in a support group. She clearly took a brave step in a more serious direction, but she ultimately came up unrewarded for it. The movie may have been overlooked due to lack of traction, but Aniston still delivers a full performance, far from those of the days of her romantic comedy roles.
It is also important to keep in mind the nominated movies and their successes this year. Richard Linklater’s Boyhood is favored to win, if for no other reason than he filmed it for 12 years, as the protagonist of the film grew up and the characters developed with the story. In all seriousness, the movie takes a unique glance at the process of growing up and facing the inevitability of family imperfection.
Also of great consideration is Wes Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel. Anderson hilariously captures the hijinks of an eccentric hotel concierge and his loyal lobby boy with great writing and even better casting. Birdman took home well-deserved nominations in Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actor and Actress and a Best Picture.
Many people walked away from the nomination ceremony saying, “so many deserved it who didn’t get it.” It is good to know all who are nominated for Academy Awards, but also important to know those who should have been. Film captures the attention of millions and shapes culture. Far be it for moviegoers to let the prominent strides made in film this year go unrecognized, Oscar or no Oscar.
