When the Oscar nominations came out last week, there was a collective sigh of relief from Oscar watchers everywhere. The Academy had made the right choices, leaving out the usual Oscar fluff like Dreamgirls in exchange for one of the best and boldest Best Picture lineups in recent memory.
Sure the really great films were given screenplay nominations (Pan’s Labyrinth and Children of Men) to lessen public disapproval, but the five nominees, Babel, The Departed, The Queen, Letters from Iwo Jima, and Little Miss Sunshine, pleased fans across the board. (Well, not Dreamgirls fans.) Now the Academy has to do something that will turn the positive response upside down; it has to pick one of those five nominees to actually win.
The problem the Academy faces is a simple one. Every film has a passionate fan base. Critics, Oscar bloggers, and less vocal film fans are rooting for something. What’s worse is every one of those groups sees the potential for a win in this wide open race.
How wide open is it? Little Miss Sunshine has momentum from the Screen Actors Guild ensemble win and the Producer’s Guild win, but it lacks two important nominations in Editing and Directing. The Departed has a great list of nods and the box office booty of no other nominee, but has yet to see any precursor love. Babel has the most nominations of any film (discounting Dreamgirls' three nods for Original Song) and the Golden Globe for Best Drama. Unfortunately for Babel, it has as many detractors as it does supporters. The Queen and Letters from Iwo Jima, both have pedigree and acclaim to spare, but neither one has the Big Mo that the other films have.
Yes, any of the films could win and it wouldn’t be unexpected. But for every person who loves Little Miss Sunshine there is another person who loves another nominee. After last year’s Crash-lash, the Academy can’t afford to pick another contentious winner.
The least controversial choice would be The Departed, a popular film that can be seen as the Academy finally coming to its senses after so many years of Scorsese snubs. But that assumes that the voters don’t seem him as a controversial choice among their own ranks. He is still an East Coast guy, after all, and he’s not prom king material judging from his acceptance speech at the Golden Globes.
Article comments
1 - Pat Evans
They should have really been bold and included "Pan's Labyrinth" with the best picture nominations, not just best foreign picture. I'd really hate to see "Babel" win.
2 - Dan
I agree, but I'll take what I can get from the group that usually nominates films like "Chocolat" or "Seabiscuit."