New Delhi: The Academy Of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has often been criticized for its safe, conventional and (as some in the know call it) the Harvey Weinstein choices (yes, it’s the same Academy which chose 'Rocky' over 'Taxi Driver'). This year especially it has ruffled lot of critics and cine goers with its decision of keeping out some marvellous artists out of the contention.
Here’s some of my personal favourites who are conspicuous by their absence:
Tilda Swinton:
This is perhaps the most glaring and most talked about omission of them all. Ms Swinton in 'We Need To Talk About Kevin' as the mother of an unhinged, sociopath adolescent boy who goes on a killing spree is in equal parts bone chilling, brilliant and courageous. Your guess is as good as mine as to why it did not earn the Academy’s consideration. The fact that she has won an Oscar before surely cannot be a reason given this year marks Meryl Streep’s staggering 17th nomination. Maybe the story of a deeply dysfunctional and extremely disturbing parent-child relationship is not quite what they want to talk about on Oscars night.
Ryan Gosling:
His act in 'Ides Of March' being given the snub has raised lot of eyebrows. Gosling, playing the chief PR manager to the US presidential candidate, is in fine form as he makes the transition from the impressionable, starry eyed to the angry, wronged who outsmarts the pros at their game. In addition the movie has all the Oscar-favourite elements of political betrayal, conceit and Shakespearean retribution. Although on an aside if I had it my way I would nominate Gosling for the crackling gem of last year - 'Drive'.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt:
This one too defies logic. Joseph Gordon-Levitt pitches in the perfectly nuanced performance as the cancer-diagnosed 27 year old Adam and how he deals with this damning, totally unexpected revelation in '50/50'. It is an endearing, triumph-of-the-human-spirit movie without the accompanying hyperbolic schmaltz. Levitt is funny, caustic, understated and completely credible-I don’t know why the Academy thought different.
Seth Rogen:
While still on '50/50' (yes clearly I loved this feel-good drama-comedy),I was charmed by Seth Rogen as the OTT, loud and frequently-vulgar friend of Adam. His struggle, albeit awkward to come to terms with his best friend’s trauma had its moments. I know many of you here may not agree that this no-nomination is nomination-worthy, but allow me my indulgence.
Michael Fassbender:
George Clooney famously quipped about Fassbender’s well endowed erm…manhood and it’s a pity if the brilliant Shame gets typecast as the movie in which the extremely dishy Fassbender frequently strips. A movie about sex-addiction runs the risk of being either seen as a mock-serious caricature of something which is essentially flippant or a deliberate attempt at being scandalous and shocking. But Steve Mcqueen’s movie deftly avoids both these traps and shows the bleak ugliness of the innately pleasurable act of sex. Fassbender plays the lead with searing commitment and it’s a true treat to watch him as he sinks lower into the abyss of his self-destructive fixation. A movie of such nature and a protagonist of such moral fabric may not have won the Oscar but to not acknowledge its genius and not give it a place in the nominees’ list is, if I may use the word lame. I wish the Academy had shown greater gumption. As Mcqueen plainly puts it "In America they're too scared of sex, that's why he wasn't nominated.” On the brighter side: Mcqueen and Fassbender are already working on their third project together.
Stephen Mirrione:
Contagion, directed by the ace plays-on-his-terms Steven Soderbergh is a grey, depressing movie about a fatal virus which cuts across countries and continents in a matter of days, exposing the evil truth about our governments, our multinational corporations, our social media and at times our family ties. It has a stellar ensemble cast (multiple Oscar winners and nominees) which never take over the narrative and is remarkable in its pace, execution and style and how it subtly makes references to the many topical issues of our times including that of a shifting world order. In my mind it deserved at least a couple of nominations but the most jarring overlook is that of Stephen Mirrione for his razor-sharp incisive, crisp and effective editing.
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross:
I’ll keep this short. If it is a score by Messrs Reznor and Ross…if it is a score by Messrs Reznor and Ross for a David Fincher movie…if it is a score by Messrs Reznor and Ross for a David Fincher movie that lays bare the sexual perversion, twisted family ties, religious obsession against the backdrop of a gloomy, snowy Swedish countryside you just stand up, applaud it and hand it over the bloody statuette. The music is as much the star of 'The Girl With The Dragon' Tattoo as is Rooney Mara or Daniel Craig. This one is a very poor choice.
That concludes my rant.
And now over to Sunday when hopefully the best women/men win and we get to witness some genuine moments of wit from the veteran and utterly lovable Billy Crystal, that will rid us of the memories of last year’s dull-as-a-deadpan proceedings lead by a very stoned James Franco.
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