With the Oscar nominations announced yesterday morning, there were a few shocks mixed among the mostly predictable nominees, but the most important revelation was my newly rediscovered peace of mind.
“No Country for Old Men” and “There Will Be Blood” tied for the most with eight nominations each, “Juno” scored surprising nominations in the director and best picture categories, and one of this season’s initial critical darlings, “Atonement,” stepped out of the front-runner spot, hopefully once and for all.
This World War II-set drama garnered seven nominations but only three in the major categories, losing out on acting nominations for stars Keira Knightley, James McAvoy and Vanessa Redgrave as well as a best director nomination for Joe Wright.
While it may sound like I’m just laying it on thick against the romantic and depressing love story in favor of greedy businessmen or a thrilling game of cat and mouse (“There Will Be Blood” and “No Country for Old Men,” respectively), this apparent snub has breathed new life into one of my favorite times of year: awards season.
Back over winter break, I made sure to stock up on all the likely award season contenders such as “No Country for Old Men,” “Charlie Wilson’s War,” “Juno” and “Atonement” among others. “No Country” was, simply to say, amazing; “Juno” was hilarious and heartfelt; however “Atonement,” in my eyes, was the epitome of blah.
Maybe the initial wave of hype was just glad-handing thanks to the applauded novel of the same name. Maybe there were more people out there in the world who thought Wright and Knightley’s last work together, “Pride and Prejudice,” was a best rather than a bust. Whatever it was, I went into the theater on a Tuesday afternoon expecting to be blown away and instead I almost got put to sleep.
Obviously, there is always a chance a love story won’t move one person the way it does another. I thought there was a high probability, especially after “Atonement” received the Golden Globe for best drama, that I would be proven wrong for this year’s Oscars.
Then the waves started to shift. “There Will Be Blood,” getting a late start in the race for the golden boy because of its Christmas release date, seems to have stolen both “Atonement” and “No Country for Old Men’s” respective thunder for best picture (for the time being, anyway). It seems good buzz, something treasured by every man, woman and child tied to the entertainment business, can only get you so far.
Sure, there’s always the chance of a huge upset such as “Gladiator” over “Traffic” or, even worse, “Crash” over “Brokeback Mountain,” but “Gladiator” still featured two Oscar-nominated performances and “Crash” had at least a moving and emotionally powerful script as its secret weapon, though I still favor “Brokeback.”
Every time I have tried to compare “Atonement” to “Juno,” one of my favorites this year, all I hear about in “Atonement’s” defense is the great cinematography or the score. I don’t know about anyone else, but I need my Oscar winners to be complete with moving storytelling, whether it be relatable (“Juno”) or not (“No Country”), and once in a lifetime performances (Ellen Page and Javier Bardem respectively).
Maybe this is why “Juno” director Jason Reitman received the unexpected fifth nomination for best director over “Atonement’s” own Joe Wright. It’s one thing to shoot a love story well but it’s another to shoot the kind of story audiences can fall in love with.
There’s a long way until the actual ceremony on Feb. 24 and “Atonement” still grabbed seven nominations, so anything can happen. But I’d bet on the determined oil tycoon, the crazed killer or the pregnant 16-year-old over the stuffy lovesick English woman any day.
If you think “I Know Who Killed Me” should have swept the nominations, e-mail kstanhope@media.ucla.edu.