On the Academy Award Nominations

(Side note:  I've been patiently waiting for Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler to open near me before publishing my year-end best of list.  With the film opening in New Orleans on Friday, expect that list to appear sometime on Monday)

In a year of mostly lackluster films, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences did a fine, if not exceptional, job of choosing nominees for the 2009 Oscar ceremony.  Most surprising were the almost virtual shut outs of three high-profile contenders-- Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino received not a single nomination (take that you old cur!), Sam Mendes' Revolutionary Road, considered a shoo-in for Best Picture and lead acting nods walked away with a few tech categories and a silly Supporting Actor nom for Michael Shannon's loud, off-putting work, and The Dark Knight, the most popular film of the year and one of the best, received the obligatory nod for Heath Ledger's knock-out work (expect him to win as well) and swept the tech cats, but went without the expected Best Picture and Best Director nods.

I personally was a little surprised by the myriad of noms for Gus Van Sant's Milk, by far the best of the nominated Best Pictures.  While I think it was almost the best film of the year, I didn't expect the Academy to agree.  After Crash beat Brokeback Mountain in 2005, I thought it was clear they preferred old-fashioned racism parables (this year Gran Torino) to thoughtful gay rights tomes.  Thankfully, I misread, and the AMPAS are atoning for past mistakes.

The acting categories were mostly as predicted with a few surprises-- the invaluable Richard Jenkins snuck in as a lead actor for The Visitor, Melissa Leo as well as lead actress for the little-seen Frozen River.  Taraji P. Henson received a baffling nomination  for her work in The Curious Case on Benjamin Button and, fresh off the massive success of Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr. snuck in for his satirical role in Tropic Thunder.  Personally, if a comedic performance was going to be nominated on the basis of a years worth of stellar work, I would have preferred James Franco in Pineapple Express, but I'll take what I'm given.

Bravo to the Academy for their recognition of Viola Davis's ten show-stopping minutes in Doubt and for not feeling the need to ego-stroke Cate Blanchett for average work in Benjamin Button.  One wonders why they chose to applaud Angelina Jolie's histironics in Changeling and choose Kate Winslet's role in The Reader over more accomplished work in Revolutionary Road.

One also questions the nomination of Waltz with Bashir as Best Foreign Language film but not Best Documentary or Best Animated Film, of which it could also have been nominated.  The original screenplay category contained three small treasures-- In Bruges, Frozen River, and Happy-Go-Lucky; the Best Song category did not contain Bruce Springsteen's marvelous 'The Wrestler', from the eponymous film.

Then there is the troubling case of Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire which, readers of this blog will remember, I hate.  Thankfully none of the subpar acting was singled out, but ten overall nominations for this nonsense is a bit overboard.  The fact that the only slightly better Benjamin Button received 13 is not a bit more heartening.

The Nominees-

Best Picture
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

Actor
Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn, Milk
Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

Actress
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie, Changeling
Melissa Leo, Frozen River
Meryl Streep, Doubt
Kate Winslet, The Reader

Supporting Actor
Josh Brolin, Milk
Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road

Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, Doubt
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis, Doubt
Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler

Director
David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon
Gus Van Sant, Milk
Stephen Daldry, The Reader
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

Adapted Screenplay
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Doubt
Frost/Nixon
The Reader

Slumdog Millionaire

Original Screenplay
Frozen River
Happy-Go-Lucky
In Bruges
Milk
Wall-E

Animated Feature Film
Bolt
Kung-Fu Panda
Wall-E