Oscar, Why Bother?

Article by Ray Schillaci

There was a time when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences truly meant something. To be nominated was a recognition of the quality of one’s work behind and in front of the camera. A Best Picture nod was not just about a technical achievement, box office receipts or the political climate, but how well that story was told to the audience. Somewhere down the line, the Academy lost its way.

In the past, the Academy was aligned with audiences from small to big productions. Movies like the 1946 film The Best Years of Our Lives struck a chord with audiences across the nation and with the Academy as well. The story of three World War II veterans, two of them traumatized or disabled, return home to the midwest only to have not only their lives change forever, but their families as well. That emotional chord would resonate once again with Michael Cimino’s The Deer Hunter in 1978, recounting the devastating effects of the Vietnam war on several close friends in a small steel mill town.

Audiences and the Academy embraced and aligned on so many other occasions from epic productions such as Gone With The Wind, Ben Hur and Lawrence of Arabia to small scale films that gripped the hearts and made the souls soar with 1965’s Marty that told the simple story of a middle-aged butcher and a school teacher that had both given up on love until they meet one another at a dance. Then in 1977 a relatively unknown actor with a much smaller budget stepped into the ring with at least three profound American films that would be considered some of the best of that era (All the President’s Men, Network, Taxi Driver) and win the hearts of everyone with audiences screaming out in the theater for Rocky, what would be a quintessential American dream story.

What I am laying out to you is that with so many of these wonderful films, we had a profound care for all of the thoughtfully drawn characters, the story and the outcome. It was all believable to us at the time. These films illicit emotions from audiences that resonated with the Academy as well. But, somewhere down the line, whether it be ratings, political correctness, perhaps laziness on the members of the Academy for not actually viewing all the films available or the studios themselves not having enough faith in their films to give them a proper push, we are presented with several unworthy nominees for Best Picture.

I’ll probably anger fans and my editor, but when has that stopped me, Avatar: The Way of the Water, Top Gun: Maverick and even Tár, in my opinion, have no business being in the Best Picture category. The first two mentioned are box office giants. At least Top Gun: Maverick is fun, but there is nothing new about it and it’s a bit of a fantasy with some of the outlandish aeronautics. The old dog out to make a comeback and teach the kids a lesson or two is old hat in a souped up fighter jet. As I stated before there is no antagonist except for age in this film. It’s an entertainment fluff piece that even manages to get a bit confusing as to what the mission really is all about.

James Cameron’s over-bloated sequel to Avatar may be the most unnecessary long running retread in motion picture history. The characters are so paper thin that they are crushed under the wave of CGI leaving no one caring for the characters or for another round. It’s like watching a PS5 game, but Cameron has all the controls. The story is flimsy, the characters stick-thin and the family angle is merely thrown in for good measure. And, the Academy recognizes this by not giving Cameron a nod for screenplay.

Sorry James Cameron, it just ain’t Marvel. Speaking of which, the blue people in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever were far more arresting. I couldn’t help but feel that Ryan Coogler was robbed of recognition due to the Cameron advertising monolith machine for Avatar. This film just did not float my boat. It’s not so much that I needed to pee, but I had to keep myself from nodding off at Cameron’s New Age/Old Age preachings while seeing homages to himself.

I will acknowledge that Tár is a well made film, but it is definitely not for a general audience. Cate Blanchett is Lydia Tár, a brilliant composer at the top of her game that is not the easiest person to get along with and may or may not take advantage of her fame with other young women and may be involved in a scandal of a suicide. Blanchett is rightfully cold and unlikeable very much like the film itself. It will manage to fascinate some, but turn off many others.

I felt the same way about Tom Ford’s Nocturnal Animals that many declared brilliant. I found the film more in the line of the director trying too hard to play the auteur. It just did not feel organic as it has in the past with others such as David Lynch, Andrei Tarkovsky or even Brandon Cronenberg. There have been films in the past with unlikeable characters, but somehow the director manages to grab us and keep our attention and have us talking about the movie long after it’s over. Taxi Driver, There Will Be Blood, A Clockwork Orange, Citizen Kane are all fine examples of brilliant films that deserved the Best Picture nomination. I feel Tár is just not in that category nor would I recommend it.

Over the years the Academy has baffled general audiences with their nominations. They are either trying to compensate for their lack of diversity completely overlooking other great films or they dismiss certain films for their genres. Their show has become less of an event every year and more of a sideshow.

They’ve gone from having an orchestra to having a DJ. They’ve embarrassingly wheeled out old stars that cannot address the audience and have had hosts or multiple hosts that are more like court jesters than actual elder statesmen or stateswomen like Billy Crystal, Bob Hope, Johnny Carson that know how to handle the star-studded audience while keeping the global attention entertained. All the while, ignoring films that deserve recognition.

Director Gina Prince-Bythewood and writers Dana Stevens and Maria Bello’s The Woman King was a glaring omission on the Academy’s part. The story alone is an emotional whirlwind and the director’s epic and sensitive vision is one that stays with you long after the film is over. How this film was ignored while the Cameron sequel was placed on a pedestal along with Tom Cruise’s smile is a crime.

If the Academy was going to pick an obscure artsy film they should have forgone Tár and given some love to Robert Egger’s The Northman. The cinematography and production design alone deserved some recognition. This was possibly the best tale of vikings ever portrayed on film yet the Academy took a hard pass.

The Academy also ignored the sheer ingenuity and brilliance of Ti West’s Pearl with an Oscar-worthy performance from Mia Goth. My God, I could rewatch Pearl with friends and family (17+) so many times over Tár. The tale of a young girl on the edge of insanity reaching for stardom to escape her ho-hum life on a farm and all the terrible responsibilities and guilt that she has been saddled with. Ti West created such a fascinating original thriller that it even caught the eye of Martin Scorsese who praised it!

There, I have said my peace. I have three other films I look forward to seeing: Triangle of Sadness, All Quiet on the Western Front and Women Talking. I am very excited about the first for three reasons: love the subject matter, Woody Harrelson and director Ruben Östlund. The director made Force Majeure in 2014 about a family vacationing in the Alps and we witness a slow dysfunction within as an impending avalanche is about to hit. Absolutely unnerving, funny and brilliant. I can only imagine what he does with a cruise of the privileged and filthy rich with Woody at the helm of the ship.

So far, I am leaning towards Everything, Everywhere All at Once with Elvis tightly closing in for Best Picture. I believe Everything, Everywhere… checks all the boxes in addressing family, LGBTQ, diversity, the Asian community, the meaning of life all in a very chaotic yet sensitive way. It’s a film that is very hard for some people to keep up with, but those that do win big. Then, there is Baz’s Elvis. What can you say? There would be no film without the absolute brilliant performance of Austin Butler. Director Luhrmann pulls out all the stops and delivers his best film since Moulin Rouge!

Then, there is Steven Spielberg’s life story, The Fablemans. It is a sweet ode to his childhood and both his parents. Just as there would be no Elvis without Austin, there would be no Fablemans without Michelle Williams’ gut wrenching earthy and brilliant performance. For me, Spielberg’s film is a slow start from the beginning and it’s not until Judd Hirsch’s introduction as an estranged uncle does the film really get its legs. But, when it does get going, Spielberg fires on all cylinders and delivers the magic he is so well known for.

At this point, the dark horse (or donkey – for those who have seen the movie) for Oscar race would be The Banshees of Inisherin. A tender and harsh tale of friendship and mortality that is both funny, touching and eventually devastating with two actors at the very top of their game. A great film that should win Best Original Screenplay even though Everything, Everywhere…is as innovative as it is, Banshees is like poetry in motion and truly captures the tortures one goes though with mortality.

Yes, the Academy did get some deserved picks right and we can only hope for a few surprises during the telecast. Announcing Jimmy Kimmel as host is a step in the right direction. We can only hope politics are kept to a minimum and those who deserve to be heard are not cut off too quickly by the music. And, wouldn’t it be nice if the show not only ended in a timely manner, but was entertaining as well?

Visit Ray’s blog at themonsterinmyhead.com