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In fairness to the Academy, this year’s list of Oscar nominees are largely what was expected and are a very strong selection. This is particularly clear in the Best Picture category, where (unlike usually) nothing is nominated that doesn’t deserve recognition. This isn’t a year in which The Reader is chosen above The Dark Knight, The Wrestler or Wall-E. Yes, it certainly helps that this has been such a strong year for English language cinema. Yet inevitably, with traditional Oscar fodder The King's Speech leading the pack, it is hardly surprising they have missed a few deserving talents.
The most notable omission this year is arguably the failure to recognise Christopher Nolan in the Best Director category, something he clearly deserves. Not simply because Inception is an exquisite and groundbreaking piece of work; it is also the most complex and most directed of the nominations. The result of a vast array of elements coming together on a grand scale is thanks to his skill and mastery, something that is present but to a lesser degree in the case of the other Best Director nominees. No doubt, a foolish mistake brought about by the Academy’s snobbish reactions to its summer blockbuster status and its science fiction elements.
Other noticeable exclusions include Mark Wahlberg being ignored in the Best Actor category for his sterling performance as Mickey Ward in The Fighter. It was a decision caused perhaps by the understated nature of the performance, though this isn’t that surprising as the Best Actor list is identical to that of the BAFTAs, so although this is far from shocking, it is a little disappointing. The other criticism hoisted at the actor nominations is the exclusion of Ryan Gosling for Blue Valentine when Michelle Williams has gained a Best Actress nomination for the same film. I’d argue, though, that as good as Gosling is, he doesn’t quite cut the mustard compared to the other nominees this year.
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language film has also made a few foolish decisions, not least the failure to nominate the sublime Of Gods and Men, which didn’t even make the nominee short list despite being a truly wondrous piece of work. Yet at the same time, it is good to see something interesting and as incredibly dark and disturbing as Greek comedy and social satire Dogtooth gain a nomination.
Excluding a couple of other obvious omissions such as Daft Punk’s Tron Legacy soundtrack, most of the other awards nominations make sense, even the decision that Hailee Steinfeld’s leading role in True Grit only gets a Best Supporting nomination on the grounds she has a much better chance of winning. Yet overall, the Academy has made some very good decisions, such as the inclusion of the intelligent and more adult film The Illusionist over Tangled or Despicable Me in the Best Animated Feature category. Furthermore, Winter’s Bone has been nominated for both Best Picture and Best Actress. Same goes for Black Swan, a film thoroughly deserving of its awards success so far and yet is hardly traditional awards material given that, had it been released thirty years ago, it could possibly have ended up on the Video Nasties list. This year is one where the Academy have made (as is always the case) a few obvious omissions, but on the whole has done much better than usual in terms of nominating truly deserving films.
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