Spotlight

Spotlight Date: 23-February-03
 

Nominations for the 75th Annual Academy Awards

Yes, it's that time of year again, when reporters, studio executives, jewelers, limo drivers, admen, fashion designers, and Mary Hart focus all of their attention on the buildup to and outcome of one long, star-studded, and flattery-filled event known as "The Oscars." Every year I am right there too, watching, mocking, admiring, criticizing, yawning, cheering, and dabbing my eyes when the winners start to cry or thank their spouses effusively. The Oscars may be more a popularity contest or auction to the highest bidder than a genuine recognition of work well done, but what the heck. They're the highest honor Hollywood has to bestow, and rare is the filmmaker or actor (or fan) who doesn't respect their power.

Here are my thoughts leading into the big event, and my analysis of the major categories.

Biggest Break From the Norm -- The lack of British nominees in the acting categories. Where are the Denches, Winslets, and McKellens who usually pepper the field?

Most Egregious Oversight -- The omission of "Far From Heaven" from the "Achievement in Costume Design" category. (It should also have been nominated for Best Picture.)

Most Ridiculous Nomination -- "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" for Original Screenplay.

Stupidest Category -- Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song). This category should really be called "Pop Tune with Market Potential Performed by the Biggest Top-40 Act." The nominees almost always suck; and how could "Gollum's Song" be left out this year? (Answer: because you'll never hear it on the radio.)

What Makes This Year Historic -- Meryl Streep's record 13th nomination. Elmer Bernstein being nominated in a sixth consecutive decade (for the score of "Far From Heaven"). A musical leading the pack for Best Picture. And, hey, 75 years of tradition ain't bad.

And now for the biggies:

Picture -- I might not be qualified to call this one, not having had the slightest interest in seeing "Gangs of New York," but I feel pretty confident that I would not find it worthy. That leaves one film I hated ("The Hours"), one film from my Honorable Mentions list ("Chicago"), and two fine films from my Top Ten list ("LOTR: The Two Towers" and "The Pianist").

Who I Think Will Win: "Chicago." It's splashy, it hasn't ruffled anyone's feathers, and it's got both popular and artsy fartsy appeal.

My Pick: "The Two Towers." It lacks the exquisite wonder and elegance of "The Fellowship of the Ring," but it's still an amazing accomplishment in cinematography, special effects, and epic storytelling that will go down in history as part of a true classic. And Gollum/Smeagol was the most memorable character of the year.

Actor -- Four of the five nominated performances are from movies on my Top Ten list, and all of these are deserving of commendation. These are: Adrien Brody for "The Pianist," Nicolas Cage for "Adaptation," Michael Caine for "The Quiet American," and Jack Nicholson for "About Schmidt." (The fifth is Daniel Day-Lewis in "Gangs of New York.")

Who I Think Will Win: Day-Lewis. The Academy loves Caine and Nicholson, who are definite contenders, but I think it will toss the Irishman a bone, hoping to keep him from retreating back into retirement.

My Pick: Cage by a hair, because he shines in not one but two very different roles.

Supporting Actor -- This is the only sure-fire category this year. It's a fine group of actors, but Chris Cooper in "Adaptation" delivers an unforgettable performance in the juiciest role, and thereby steals all thunder from Ed Harris in "The Hours" (nominated for PC sappiness), Paul Newman in "Road to Perdition" (nominated for being Paul Newman), John C. Reilly in "Chicago" (nominated because it's "Chicago"), and Christopher Walken in "Catch Me If You Can" (nominated as much for a strong performance as for having worked with Spielberg).

Who I Think Will Win: Cooper.

My Pick: Cooper. I've always loved this guy, and this is the role of a lifetime.

Actress -- I like this year's list. It represents an eclectic mix of roles (although all of the women are young and gorgeous, which is a bit suspect): we've got a feisty Mexican artist (Salma Hayek in "Frida"), suicidal author Virginia Woolf (Nicole Kidman in "The Hours"), an adulterous Long Island housewife (Diane Lane in "Unfaithful"), the perfect 1950s homemaker (Julianne Moore in "Far From Heaven"), and an amoral flapper from the Jazz Age (Renée Zellweger in "Chicago").

Who I Think Will Win: Moore. Her double nomination means this is her year, and a stronger performance in "Far From Heaven" than in "The Hours" (coupled with the fact that the Academy is overlooking the film in other categories) gives her a thin edge over Kidman and Zellweger.

My Pick: Moore. Such grace and understated emotion in the year's best film should not go unrewarded.

Supporting Actress -- This category is often a showcase for new talent, but this year there's a mix of old pros (former winners Kathy Bates in "About Schmidt" and Meryl Streep in "Adaptation"), established stars whose time has come (Julianne Moore in "The Hours"), and newcomers (Queen Latifah and Catherine Zeta-Jones in "Chicago").

Who I Think Will Win: Streep. As she reminded us at the Golden Globes (where she scored in this field), it's been a long time since she's won anything. Zeta-Jones might sneak an upset, though, if "Chicago" sweeps.

My Pick: Streep. I wasn't that impressed with any of the other performances.

Director -- This is my weakest category, since I haven't seen Martin Scorsese's "Gangs of New York" or Pedro Almodovar's "Talk to Her." However, judging from what I know of these men's previous work, and from my opinions of Rob Marshall's "Chicago," Stephen Daldry's "The Hours," and Roman Polanski's "The Pianist," this is rather a weak field that neglected some more worthy men (namely, Peter Jackson and Todd Haynes).

Who I Think Will Win: Scorsese. He has to be given an Oscar at some point (in addition to the inevitable Lifetime Achievement Award), and the Academy will likely feel warm and fuzzy toward the dream project he worked on for 30 years.

My Pick: Polanski. "The Pianist" was a finely tuned, beautifully rendered film, as much or more a personal journey for the director as "Gangs of New York."

Copyright © 2003 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.