Best Actress

Characters who aren’t quite together are Oscar darlings. Yet, somehow Kirsten Dunst (Melancholia), Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene) and Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk About Kevin) are conspicuously absent. In that same vein, Charlize Theron may have already picked up a win in this category for Monster, but her acid-tongued author in Young Adult could have been in line for the honor just as much as when Ellen Page was nominated for Juno. From time to time, people are nominated in two different acting categories, and not always justly. Unlike Cate Blanchett’s dual duty as Elizabeth I and one of many incarnations of Bob Dylan a few years ago, it would have been nice to see breakout star of the year Jessica Chastain twice-nominated. Already tapped for her role in The Help, the actress also needs accolades for her powerhouse work in The Tree of Life or perhaps The Debt.

Best Actor

As I mentioned above, one guy had a big year all around in 2011, and yet somehow Gosling comes up empty-handed despite worthy acting in Drive and The Ides of March. Granted, he’s not one of those folks who go their entire career without any attention, having been in the running for Best Actor for Half-Nelson, but still… Even more shocking is Michael Fassbender, who was shunted aside even after a string of commendable films. Take your pick from Jane Eyre, X-Men: First Class, Shame or A Dangerous Method. As for someone who’s been nominated more than a few times, it’s a little surprising Leonardo DiCaprio wasn’t included in the roundup for his staunch portrayal of the title lawman in J. Edgar. The overlooked Warrior would have also been a good bet in this grouping for Joel Edgerton or, even more so, Tom Hardy as brothers settling their differences with vicious physical beatings. Then there are those who didn’t seem likely to be among the final five at all, but I was still holding out hope that Paul Giamatti’s wrestling coach of Win Win, Kevin Spacey’s stockbroker of Margin Call, Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s optimistic cancer patient in 50/50 or Dominic Cooper’s Uday Hussein in The Devil’s Double, might have edged in as a wild card.

Best Director

Two big releases for the year should have amounted to another tally mark among the plentiful awards for Steven Spielberg, either for The Adventures of Tintin or War Horse, both equally deserving. Sure, he probably wouldn’t have won a younger brother for his Oscars for Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan, but his output has been better than it has for years. Curiously, Spielberg’s snub from years ago, for his controversial interpretation of The Color Purple, seems to be happening all over again with Tate Taylor for The Help. Such things tend to happen when a white man helms a movie that’s primarily about black women. As for the makers of smaller films, Mike Mills may not have made a huge impression with his quirky indie, Beginners, but the little touches are everything. Falling into that classification is Nicolas Winding Rifn, whose film Drive is brilliantly complex in its simplicity, stacking up as well as any of the nominees.

Best Picture

The Adventures of Tintin, Beginners, and Drive are just a few of the selections that could have worked well in the biggest award of all. With nine nominated movies jockeying for this one, it’s confounding that voters didn’t make it a round 10. Films like Contagion, the all-star look at what could happen if the wrong disease hit the world at the wrong time; the wonderfully retro, surprisingly effective homage to summer sci-fi blockbusters in Super 8; or even the triumphant return of everyone’s favorite frog and his friends in The Muppets would have been a fine one to tack on as a final option. However, for my money, the biggest and most inexcusable brush-off of the Best Picture race and of the year was the lack of kudos for the greatest astronomical financial hit of 2011, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2, which, even the most fervent critic has to admit, is the best in the series and an altogether thrilling feature. No one’s asking for the finale of the boy wizard’s story to sweep the ceremony like The Return of the King did, but somebody should have waved their wand to get Harry and company their proper due after a decade worth of flicks. Well, enough griping about what might have been; next up will be a commentary on the pleasant surprises that this year’s nominations have yielded.

Cincopa WordPress plugin