Because everyone’s a critic, Indignation is a key component to Oscar season. Some issues surface year after year, like the Academy’s aversion to superhero movies (Wonder Woman didn’t even lasso a visual effects nomination!) and comedies (The Big Sick, anybody?), while other snubs are more personal (my long-standing love affair with Kenneth Branagh clouded all judgment when this year’s Best Supporting Actors were announced).
And speaking of indignation, remember the collective vitriol levelled at Warren Beatty when he was handed the wrong envelope for Best Picture last year? Beatty should get a do-over at this year’s ceremony and an apology from all those conspiracy theorists who called him out on Twitter. Below is a scorecard for who was nominated and who was overlooked for the 90th Academy Awards, which airs March 4: let the yelling-at-the-telly begin!
Best Picture
Nine Best Picture nomination slots have been populated this year, including Call Me By Your Name, The Darkest Hour, Dunkirk, Get Out, Lady Bird, Phantom Thread, The Post, The Shape of Water and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. No bad choices there, but for my money Dunkirk offered the greatest payoff: with economic use of dialogue and score Christopher Nolan created a valuable history lesson, tension from start to finish, great ensemble performances, mind-boggling air-battle sequences (in 70mm, no less), and haunting scenes that stick with me still.
Who will win: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Who should win: Dunkirk
Who was overlooked: The Florida Project
Best Director
His is a fantastic Cold War-era fable about a woman who falls in love with a merman, though many viewers this year felt it fell directly from their cable news channel: the persecution of minorities and misogyny loom large in del Toro’s The Shape of Water as it did in news headlines. Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk), Jordan Peele (Get Out), Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird) and Paul Thomas Anderson (Phantom Thread) also nominated.
Who will win: Guillermo del Toro
Who should win: Christopher Nolan
Who was overlooked: Luca Guadagnino, Martin McDonagh, Steven Spielberg
Best Actress
We’re still a little squeamish (understandably) about the whole Tonya Harding thing, so Margot Robbie isn’t likely to bring home the gold on Oscar night. Frances McDormand’s performance as a grieving mother-turned-vigilante seems to be a lock, despite accusations of white privilege amidst an occasionally loopy screenplay. Sally Hawkins’ mostly silent performance was magical; Saorise Ronan and Meryl Streep were seemingly effortless.
Who will win: Frances McDormand
Who should win: Sally Hawkins
Who was overlooked: Frances Pugh (Lady Macbeth), Rooney Mara (A Ghost Story)
Best Actor
There are a few actors I would swap out of this category (sorry, Denzel) but among the nominees, young Timothee Chalamet – a fresh-faced 22 – left an indelible impression as a teen feeling love for the first time. However, the Academy loves historical characters, and Oldman’s verisimilitude to the real thing leaves no doubt of his walking away with the award for his performance as Churchill in The Darkest Hour. Daniel Day-Lewis (in his cinematic swan-song, apparently), Denzel Washington, Daniel Kaluuya also nominated.
Who will win: Gary Oldman
Who should win: Timothee Chalamet
Who was overlooked: Christian Bale (Hostiles), James McAvoy (Split), James Franco (The Disaster Artist), Jake Gyllenhaal (Stronger)
Best Supporting Actress
The night’s tightest race is between mothers: Allison Janney plays the worst mother of the year in I, Tonya, while Laurie Metcalf’s character overcompensates in Lady Bird. Mary J. Blige (Mudbound), Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread), and Octavia Spencer are longshots.
Who will win: Allison Janney
Who should win: Laurie Metcalf
Who was overlooked: Michelle Williams (All The Money In The World), Holly Hunter (The Big Sick)
Best Supporting Actor
You could make a strong argument that Michael Stuhlbarg was overlooked for up to three films this year (Call Me By Your Name, The Shape of Water, The Post) while Woody Harrelson somehow snuck in the list. Other Best Supporting nods went to Willem Dafoe, Richard Jenkins, oldest-nominee-ever Christopher Plummer, and Sam Rockwell.
Who will win: Sam Rockwell
Who should win: Willem Dafoe
Who was overlooked: Michael Stuhlbarg (Call Me By Your Name), and both John Boyega and Will Poulter for Detroit
Best Foreign Film
In the running are A Fantastic Woman (Chile), The Insult (Lebanon), Loveless (Russia), On Body and Soul (Hungary) and The Square (Sweden). The Square is probably best known in North America, thanks to its English-speaking stars Elizabeth Moss and Dominic West, but the universal acclaim for Sebastian Lelio’s film should tip the scales in Chile’s favour.
Who will win: A Fantastic Woman
Who should win: A Fantastic Woman
Who was overlooked: BPM, In The Fade
Animated Film
Not quite sure why critical stinker Boss Baby is nominated, ditto Ferdinand, which was only marginally better received. They’re up alongside The Breadwinner (a Canada co-production), the make-you-cry Coco, and visual wonder Loving Vincent.
Who will win: Coco
Who should win: Loving Vincent
Who was overlooked: The Girl Without Hands
Best Documentary Feature
In a strong category, Abacus: Small Enough to Jail, Faces Places, Icarus, Last Men in Aleppo and Strong Island are all up.
Who will win: Faces Places
Who should win: Last Men In Aleppo
Who was overlooked: Jane, the exhaustive biopic of Jane Goodall
