The Oscars have been wildly disappointing for years, maybe forever. And last year was so egregiously bad I skipped watching the ceremony for the first time that I can remember. I still am not over the snub of Lupita Nyong'o. And while the Best Actor race was stacked, you can't tell me that Jonathan Pryce impersonating the Pope was more worthy than Robert De Niro (for The Irishman) or Eddie Murphy (for Dolemite Is My Name). And this was on the heels of the year they gave Best Picture to fricken' Green Book.
Of course, the Oscars can melt your heart as well as break it. And it's incredible that Parasite took home deserving Best Director and Best Picture honors last year. That being said, the way this year's race is shaping up, or is expected to, I already anticipate being seriously disappointed by the results.
Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of admiration for front-runners Nomadland and Minari. Both are fantastic and deserving of winning top honors. But there were a handful of performances that were on the bubble for nominations and seem to be on the outs for one stupid reason or another, and I thought I'd highlight them here.
Maria Bakalova - Ever since she became the breakout star of the Borat sequel, this newcomer has been popping up on a lot of critic's lists and seemed to have a real shot at a nomination. Her co-star, Sacha Baron Cohen, has definitely gone out of his way to sing her praises and I think she is deserving. Her performance as Borat's daughter wasn't just a stunt, she invested a ludicrous character with real feeling and pathos and walks off with some of the film's biggest laughs. She may still score a nomination but I fear that as almost always, anti-comedy bias will keep her from getting real consideration.
Bill Murray - Speaking of comedy getting shortchanged, when I saw Sofia Coppola's lovely On the Rocks I thought Bill Murray was assured a nomination for doing some of his career best work as the well-meaning but morally dubious father of Rashida Jones. For a while he was very much in the running and then for inexplicable reasons (maybe he didn't campaign for it?) he was getting pushed aside for the likes of Jared Leto, who gives a mildly entertaining performance in a mildly entertaining movie, The Little Things. This feels like this might of been Murray's last chance to get the awards recognition he richly deserves, but he'll almost certainly get snubbed again.
Delroy Lindo - My hands down favorite performance of the year in my favorite movie of the year. Again, Lindo was at the top of everyone's list this summer and perhaps he peaked to early as is the sixth man on many prognosticator's lists. It's a shame because this criminally underrated character actor gave a tour de force acting clinic in Spike Lee's war film Da 5 Bloods and his was easily the most memorable, emotionally compelling work I saw this whole year. I know this is Chadwick Boseman's award, and he deserves it, but Lindo should be in the final five not Gary Oldman.
Elizabeth Moss - One of the last movies I got to see in theaters was the note perfect action thriller, The Invisible Man. More than just a potboiler, it was a serious meditation on the nature and trauma of abuse. And at its center was Moss, delivering what has become another one of her trademark unhinged performances. Say what you will about Moss' off-screen persona, she's rapidly become one of the most exciting leading women in movies, and this hit showed off the full range of what she can do. If only genre movies warranted real consideration by the awards community!
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