The Oscar nominations were announced yesterday, and the repulsive, feel-good movie of the year about racism, The Help, scored a mere four nods for Best Picture, Best Actress (Viola Davis), and two for Best Supporting Actress (Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain respectively). We’ve exhausted ourselves criticizing this movie’s portrayal of black domestics in 1960s Mississippi for reverting to tired racial stereotypes and belittling the Civil Rights Movement. Alex’s piece showed a disturbing trend of Hollywood movies about race featuring fictitious white heroes cajoling some poor black victim to uplift themselves, often at the expense of things like the truth; and I blogged about Nelson George’s excellent article in the New York Times, which traced the history of Hollywood’s troubling depiction of the Civil Rights Movement. I highly recommend you read both of these, and if you MUST watch The Help, stream it or download it illegally please.
I will say this about the four nominations this movie received: with the exception of Best Picture, I’m more or less indifferent to the three actor nods. Davis, Spencer and Chastain are all fine actresses, and Davis especially manages to transcend the material she’s given. I was actually sort of touched by Spencer’s acceptance speech at the Golden Globes when she praised the film for showing the humanity of domestic workers, expressing solidarity with domestics currently working in the United States. It was a thoughtful speech, short on self-congratulation and filled with sincerity, and while it didn’t change my opinion of the movie, I gained a bit of respect for the actor.
The other best picture nominations were pretty obvious picks: Hugo garnered 11 in total, followed by the French silent film The Artist with 10 nods. This was a pretty dull year for movies; yours truly didn’t even bother to compile a Best Of list, but at least two of the nine Best Picture nominees are worth seeing: Midnight in Paris and The Tree of Life are as far apart as they get story wise, but are beautiful-looking films by two of the most important directors alive.
Surprises?
Best Actor:
I haven’t seen Shame yet, but I thought Michael Fassbender was a shoe-in for Best Actor. Given the year he’s had, it’s only right he get some recognition.
Best Actress:
Rooney Mara was nominated for playing the same role Noomi Rapace basically invented in 2009, so why the love for one and not the other? American bias I suppose. This award’s probably going to Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady, but I expect Viola Davis to give her a bit of a run in this category. The Academy loves their disempowered black heroines.
Best Supporting Actor:
Never thought I’d see “Academy-Award Nominee” and “Jonah Hill” in the same sentence. The formerly rotund actor has come a long way from a brief, but scene-stealing bit in 40-Year-Old Virgin, and is the first of Judd Apatow’s guys to get an Oscar nod, so I salute you Jonah!
Best Supporting Actress:
Jessica Chastain has done a remarkably good job of convincing people she isn’t Bryce Dallas Howard. I guess showing up in every movie last year helped people forget about Ron Howard’s daughter. She was rather convincing as a dimwitted socialite in The Help. But if Viola Davis doesn’t win Best Actress, count on Octavia Spencer to win in this category for sure.
Snubs!
Andy Serkis never stood a chance for his CGI-enhanced performance in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, although I know a few critics believe he earned it. To be honest, knowing what I know about CGI, and how it can be used to manipulate an actor’s every facial gesture, I don’t fault the Academy for putting flesh and blood performances ahead of digital ones.
No best documentary nomination for Beats, Rhymes and Life?!? Ok, I’m a Tribe Called Quest nut, so I was going to love this movie regardless, but still, this was a great insight into the band dynamic, showing us the progression of one of the most beloved rap groups of all time, and the internal squabbles that drive them apart.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close got nominate despite audiences and critics hating it...
Michael Fassbender could have been nominated for Jane Eyre or A Desperate Measure very plausibly but that he was overlooked for Shame was one of those imbecilic outrages that we've had to become a numb to with the Academy. You really must see that film post-haste -- Carey Mulligan is also excellent. I realize many people hate the film and can only say I disagree rather passionately. Apropos Jane Eyre, Mia Washikowska is a stunningly talented Australian import and the best actress I've seen in this role. I have so not wanted to see The Help dreading what I've instinctively been sensing would be a condescending and entirely reductionist take on the history. Let's face it, when Hollywood deals with anything that really matters to us, we attend at our own peril; to this day I've never seen Schindler's List.
that lady from bridesmaids getting a best supporting actress nom is the stupidest shit ever