By David Fear. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominations for the 97th Oscars this morning, and as usual, there were yelps of joy throughout the land: Big up The Brutalist! Viva Anora! You got in for Best Picture, Nickel Boys! And there were screams of agony, as the inevitable disappointments surfaced over the names not called by Bowen Yang and Rachel Sennott at the podium. This one hurts. A hard truth to swallow, indeed.
Instead, French director Coralie Fargeat swooped in and deservedly took the last slot, much to our delight. The film also made it into the Best Picture category as well. Apparently, her story about a Hollywood actor determined to do anything to stay young and relevant resonated with even the most squeamish of voters.
It was a truth universally acknowledged that Kieran Culkin would be one of the five nominees for Best Supporting Actor, given the sheer amount of love for his take on a shiny, happy stoner on a trip with his cousin.
Kudos to write-director and co-star Jesse Eisenberg as well for his Best Original Screenplay nomination. But most of us thought that this funny, moving, thoughtful riff on the road movie would be among the 10 films picked for Best Picture, and — no offense to most of the ones who did make it in — the fact that it was left out feels like a glaring mistake. That title now doubles as a description of our feelings on the matter.
Her portrayal of a woman navigating decades of life under a military dictatorship is a hell of a showcase, to be sure. There was precious little chatter about the film other than main performance, even with positive word-of-mouth on the fest circuit. What, no love for a woman of a certain age who finds sexual liberation, one glass of milk at a time? And that makes this snub feel particularly heinous.
