A few weeks ago on Saturday Night Live, the comedienne Melissa Villasenor performed song summaries of several of this year’s Oscar nominated films. Each time, her summary closed by noting that the film in question was rooted in “white male rage.”
It’s arguable that, in some sense or another, white male rage is the single most pervasive theme in the history of American movies, maybe of movies worldwide. But Villasenor’s point is taken; from Joker to The Irishman to Jojo Rabbit to 1917 to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, white male rage seems particularly well-represented among this year’s Academy Award nominees.
Anyway, here are a few notes on the 92nd annual awards, to be presented earlier than usual, tonight, Sunday, February 9:
Best Picture: My prediction to win—and that of Vegas, at this writing—would be the Sam Mendes WWI drama 1917. It’s an absorbing film, but my own favorite of the nominated pictures is Bong Joon Ho’s hilarious, horrifying, wildly original class satire Parasite, followed closely by Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and then by Scorsese’s The Irishman.
Best Actor: Probably the closest there is to a lock is Joaquin Phoenix as the title character in Joker, and it’s hard to argue with Phoenix’s achievement. But in a subtler way, Leonardo DiCaprio seemed just as good to me as the jittery cowboy star in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Snubbed Robert DeNiro did restrained, ultimately moving work in The Irishman, and Jonathan Pryce was great as one of the title characters in The Two Popes.
Best Actress: Renee Zellweger is heavily favored to take the award for her impressive turn as late-vintage Judy Garland in Judy. Again, I’d be hard pressed to dispute the greatness of her acting feat, whatever the shortcomings of the surrounding movie. But a word should also be said for Charlize Theron’s flawless impersonation of Megyn Kelly in the slightly underrated Bombshell.
Best Supporting Actress: I thought Florence Pugh’s Amy was the best thing about Greta Gerwig’s generally overrated version of Little Women. But Laura Dern is favored to win for her turn in Marriage Story, and I’ve always been a fan, so that’s what I’m rooting for.
Best Supporting Actor: The current favorite here is Brad Pitt as the unflappable stuntman in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and his easygoing performance was a delight. So was Anthony Hopkins as cranky, troubled Pope Benedict in The Two Popes, and Tom Hanks as a relentlessly compassionate Fred Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. But Al Pacino’s grandly clownish Jimmy Hoffa in The Irishman is his most memorable performance in years.
Best Director: Sam Mendes leads the pack for 1917, and will likely take home the Oscar unless the opinion takes hold that his one-continuous-shot approach on the film is a gimmick. I loved his quote dismissing this criticism, however: “We experience life as a single shot. We go through life with one unbroken take. It’s editing that’s the gimmick.”
The Show: Like last year, the show is scheduled to do without a host, opting instead for a procession of presenters. Presumably this was seen as the likeliest way to prevent controversy. It’s also the likeliest way to prevent entertainment.
Snubs: No doubt any number of omissions could be cited, but two leap to mind: First, how does Rami Malek win Best Actor last year for lip-synching Freddy Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody, but the excellent Taron Edgerton, singing for himself, get overlooked for (the admittedly uneven) Rocketman? Second, Lulu Wang’s The Farewell was overlooked in general, but especially for Best Original Screenplay, for Best Supporting Actress for Zhao Shuzhen as the formidable Nai Nai, and for Awkwafina for Best Actress. No offense to anyone in that category, but I didn’t see five better performances than her’s this year.
Snack suggestions: Peaches and “Ram-don” (Ramen and Udon) in honor of Parasite. Pizza and Fanta pop in honor of The Two Popes.
One More Prediction: …also a boast; this past year, on this very blog, I predicted that the animated short film Hair Love, which showed before The Angry Birds Movie 2, would be nominated for an Oscar. I was right; now I’ll go out on a limb and predict that it will take the award. But I could be wrong, of course; the film is definitely, and refreshingly, not about white male rage.
