My (admittedly spotty) thoughts on the Oscars

Best Picture: Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

This movie, above all, is a lot of fun. So much has been discussed about its originality, its creative technical aspects, Michael Keaton’s big comeback, and what it all means that seemingly few left any room to mention how funny, well-acted, and joyous it is to watch. Aside from Foxcatcher, all the other Best Picture nominees I’ve seen are solid, but none are as entertaining this one. Plus, there is the matter of everything else I just mentioned.

Best Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman

Iñárritu’s filmmaking apparently divides critics as well as audiences. Well, Birdman is the first and only movie of his I’ve seen, and in this case, it’s a hit. The film’s much-discussed “one long take” style (for which cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki’s Oscar is also well-deserved) is exhilarating to watch, as the constant, uncut action gives every moment a palpable energy. The picture moves from scene to scene smoothly and seamlessly, and the real and surreal blend more naturally than you’d expect. What could have been a gimmick (yet another single-camera, documentary-style work) ended up being an awesome technique that only a truly talented filmmaker could have pulled off.

Best Actor: Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything

This was one category where you hate to single out just one of several great performances. Redmayne physically embodied the brilliant Stephen Hawking so perfectly it’s uncanny, and yet despite the limitations of such a role, managed to convey strong emotions in a heartfelt film. Definitely one of the best performances of the year. But still, Michael Keaton threw himself into Birdman, managing to emit some real pathos while keeping up with the pace of the picture and keeping us laughing and cringing. Also, Bradley Cooper underplayed the all-American hero archetype with very real demons in American Sniper. Which of the three was best? I can’t choose, but you couldn’t go wrong with any of them.

Best Actress: Julianne Moore, Still Alice

I haven’t seen Still Alice.

Best Supporting Actor: J.K. Simmons, Whiplash

Or Whiplash.

Best supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette, Boyhood

Or Boyhood.

Snubs:

Much has already been said about the snubs for The Lego Movie in Best Animated Feature and Selma in all the major categories except a token nomination for Best Picture. These grievances are valid, however.

The Lego Movie is arguably one of the best films, animated or live action, of 2014. It’s beautiful to look at and much smarter than almost all kids and family fare (even Big Hero 6, which did win for Best Animated Feature). Some are speculating that the snub was because part of the last act switches to live action. If that is the case, it’s a really stupid technicality to disqualify a deserving film.

As for Selma, we’ll never really know how much political factors or tone deafness to diversity or just simple matters of taste eliminated the film in the Academy’s eyes. All that aside, it deserved to be nominated—Ava DuVernay for directing, and especially David Oyelowo for his fantastic portrait of Martin Luther King, Jr.—on its merits alone. Certainly more than the dry, dour, blatant awards bait that was Foxcatcher, and Steve Carell’s lazy, latex-y attempt to go serious in it.

Lastly, Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar turned out to be quite a divisive picture. I’m of the opinion that it’s a great film, one of the best science fiction movies I’ve ever seen. Everything’s subjective, but I would have put it up for more than just technical awards (which were deserved), at the very least for its screenplay and direction. Then again, since science fiction in general has a hard time escaping its genre label and being taken seriously as art, I’m not at all surprised.