Surprise snubs and quirky twists in record Oscars race
It won’t come as a surprise that Jane Campion’s The Power Of The Dog dominated this year’s Oscar nominations, but that’s not to say every film was worthy of a mention.
Won’t someone please think of the fans?
Lady Gaga’s snub in the best actress category for this year’s Oscars has certainly led the social media outrage over this year’s Academy Award nominations, announced by presenters Tracee Ellis Ross and Leslie Jordan on Tuesday morning California time.
The field, which included history-making honours, pleasant surprises and some glaring snubs, was led by some margin by director Jane Campion, who became the first woman to be nominated twice for best director with her unconventional western, The Power of the Dog. Its 12 nominations include four in the acting categories – Kirsten Dunst secured her first nod with a best supporting actress nomationation – while sci-fi blockbuster Dune clinched 10, and will duel it out for best picture with The Power of the Dog alongside West Side Story, the three-hour Japanese language film Drive My Car, Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast, CODA, Don’t Look Up, King Richard, Licorice Pizza and Nightmare Alley.
Gaga had reportedly spent nine months deep in method acting for her role as Italian socialite Patrizia Reggiani in the widely panned sartorial biopic House of Gucci and fans were counting on the effort to bag her second best actress nomination (her first, in 2019 was for a generally well-received turn in A Star is Born) after receiving honours at the Critics Choice Awards, Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild Awards and BAFTA Film Awards. But the film, directed by the legendary Ridley Scott, picked up a mere one nomination – for makeup and hairstyling.
shouts to lady gaga, who was snubbed but made oscar season a lot more fun with her wild stories #oscarnoms
— Marlow Stern (@MarlowNYC) February 8, 2022
Me to the Oscars after they snubbed Lady Gaga pic.twitter.com/5nEgXhUuR1
— Joey Nolfi (@joeynolfi) February 8, 2022
Jessica Chastain stole Lady Gaga's Oscar, she must be held accountable.
— Jordan Hoffman (@jhoffman) February 8, 2022
Gaga’s absence from the field possibly smoothes the way for Australia’s Nicole Kidman (also resident of Nashville, US), nominated for her rendition of Lucille Ball in Being the Ricardos.
Kidman, however, still has to see off Olivia Colman (who won in 2019 for The Favourite and was nominated again last year for The Father) in order to equal her 2003 win for her portrayal of Virginia Woolf in The Hours.
It may help Kidman (or it may not, the Oscars can be funny that way) that co-star Javier Bardem is nominated for his portrayal as Ball’s husband, Ricky Ricardo, and also that J. K. Simmons picked up a best supporting actor nomination for his work on the film.
And it’s just another one of those weird Oscars things that despite such acclaimed performances, the film itself isn’t in the running for best picture, or Aaron Sorkin nominated for best director.
It’s possibly even more weird that Denzel Washington was nominated for The Tragedy of Macbeth but not his Lady, played by three-times best actress winner Frances McDormand, who won as recently last year for Nomadland, which also took best picture.
In a quirky twist, Kidman is also up against Bardem’s wife, Penelope Cruz, and they’re not the only golden couple, with Jess Plemons also nominated – in the best supporting actor race – for Power of the Dog alongside wife Kirsten Dunst.
Any possible link between commercial success and Academy Award glory has been well and truly severed. Despite passing the $1.69bn mark at the global box office and arguably rescuing cinema post-pandemic, Spider-Man: No Way Home missed out for best film, landing only a visual effects nomination.
Hopes were also dashed for Daniel Craig’s final and decidedly dramatic innings as superspy James Bond, with No Time To Die also failing to land a spot in the prestigious category, picking up a mere three nominations for sound, visual effects and song.
Back to the leading ladies. Kidman, who won a Golden Globe for her turn as Ball, also faces stiff competition from Jessica Chastain, who underwent a transformation for The Eyes of Tammy Faye as profound as Kidman’s in The Hours. There’s also newbie Kristen Stewart who has stormed in with her first nomination for her performance as Princess Diana in Pablo Larraín’s Spencer, but whether she would make the cut was a topic of debate after she failed to land a nod at the SAG Awards and BAFTA Film Awards. Indeed any link there may have been between the British and American Oscars is also non-existent now, after Wes Anderson’s much decorated The French Dispatch and Rebecca Hall’s Passing starring Ruth Negga were overlooked.
Branagh’s semi-autobiographical film Belfast garnered seven nominations, including one for 87-year-old Judi Dench for best supporting actress, knocking out her co-star Catriona Balfe from the category.
You couldn’t make it up.
The Academy Award winners will be announced on March 27, US time.
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