BEST PICTURE: Drive
THE ACTUAL NOMINEES:
- The Artist
- The Descendants
- Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
- The Help
- Hugo
- Midnight in Paris
- Moneyball
- The Tree of Life
- War Horse
WHY IT DIDN'T GET NOMINATED: Because, like Pulp Fiction, it was far too violent? But, then again, that didn't stop the Academy from rewarding No Country for Old Men.
WHY IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN: While the majority of this year's nominees remained in neutral, fueled on either nostalgia or our feel-good weepie fetish, Drive kept its foot firmly on the gas, pushing viewers to uncharted gears with its frothy, full-throttle fearlessness.
Like the cars Ryan Gosling both rules and wrecks over the course of the film, it is a well-oiled machine, featuring stunning, L.A-set cinematography, an expertly off-setting new wave soundtrack, a simple yet stabbing script and honestly, the most compelling Gosling performance to date. Sure, it veers off in two, completely opposing directions (overwrought romance and relentless gore), but, it handles both with remarkable ease. Sometimes even simultaneously. (Take for example the which I described in my TIFF review back in September.)
BEST ACTRESS: Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene
THE ACTUAL NOMINEES:
- Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
- Viola Davis, The Help
- Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
- Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
- Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn
WHY SHE DIDN'T GET NOMINATED: She's technically an Olsen sister? Honestly though, you'd think that would make her performance seem even more impressive.
WHY SHE SHOULD HAVE: Quite simply, she's phenomenal. Playing a runaway cult member haunted by her former "family" and their inhumane rituals, the youngest Olsen digs herself into a deep, dark terrifying hole you don't even want to imagine. We never see the light at the end of the tunnel because she drags us down with her, never letting us see beyond her character's god-awful truth, which could only haunt her forever.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Patton Oswalt, Young Adult
THE ACTUAL NOMINEES:
- Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn
- Jonah Hill, Moneyball
- Nick Nolte, Warrior
- Christopher Plummer, Beginners
- Max Von Sydow, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
WHY HE DIDN'T GET NOMINATED: Young Adult didn't get the buzz it deserved, with many critics hating on the movie for its repulsively regressive main character and lack of humour, usually a staple of Diablo Cody (Juno, Jennifer's Body) scripts.
WHY HE SHOULD HAVE: Oswalt throws his comedic cap to the floor and stomps on it playing Matt, a sad sack of a man boy who has been kicked into the ground by hate's hulking handymen (quarterbacks and their douchebag followers) and their cold-hearted cheerleaders. To quote my review of the film, which I admittedly loved for my own, fucked reasons, "he sucks you in with his droopy eyes, which carry his bullied, garage boozing baggage around day in and day out and keeps you hanging on until the way-bitter end."
