Reflections on Oscar Nominations for 2013

Well, the list of Oscar nominations has been released, and now the Oscar buzz really begins. As usual, I was happy and disappointed by the choices. Happy that so many good films are being recognized. Disappointed that such a good one as Lee Daniels’ The Butler didn’t make the cut for “Best Picture,” or that the Saudi Arabian Wadjda and British-South African Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom were not honored. I suspect that we still are living in a time when the inclusion of a “black” film is a token gesture, so that there is room for just one such film on the list.

The Academy’s list differs greatly from my Top Ten List for Visual Parables because their criteria are centered more on aesthetics and box office success than spiritual or moral content. To see the list and also reviews of the various films available on visualparables.org click onto the title.

David O. Russell’s “based on a true story” film features some wonderful performances, but the subject of the rise and fall of scam artists isn’t nearly as important as that of several of the other films on the list.

This is a good parable of courage and resourcefulness, with another fine performance by Tom Hanks. Another plus factor is the all too brief depiction of the plight of the Somali peasants who are forced by world economic circumstances beyond their control (or understanding) to choose between starving or stealing. I find it remarkable that the Academy members seem to understand this by nominating the nonprofessional Barkhad Abdi for a “Best Supporting Actor” award for his excellent performance as the pirate leader.

It is no surprise that Matthew McConaughey was nominated as “Best Actor” in this character transformation film. We move from intense disapproval of his philandering, gay bashing, and drug ingesting early in the film to a grudging admiration for the way he emerges from total self-absorption to championing the underdog gay community later on. That the film is based on a “true story” makes it even moe compelling.

  

Technically perhaps the most complicated of the films, and aesthetically perhaps the most beautiful, this tale of pluck and survival certainly deserves to be on the list, even though I did not include it on Visual Parables Top Ten list. Beyond the mere technical aspect is Sandra Bullock’s great performance as the heroine for whom our daughters can look up to.

This reversal of the Prodigal Son parable confirms that Alexander Payne is one of the best directors in Hollywood. Seldom has unconditional love been presented as effectively as in what the son does for his father through the course of their trip from Montana to Nebraska and back.

Both a social problem film (the mistreatment of out of wedlock mothers by the Irish Catholic Church) and a personal memoir, this is a moving story of a woman of faith so strong that she can forgive the nuns who sorely abused her 50 years earlier.

I think this “true story” is way too over the top to be on this list, as entertaining as it is. It is the name of its director Martin Scorsese and the performances of Leonardo De Caprio and Jonah Hill that swayed the Academy voters to nominate the film.

This is my favorite candidate both because of the light it sheds on our dark past and the skill of  director Steve McQueen and Chiwetel Ejiofor’s truly magnificent performance as the runaway who moves from total despair to acceptance to hope. I believe that it would be good for the country if this film were so honored, hopefully convincing more people to go and see it. Already the possibility of it being nominated has moved the studio to re-release it. I hope those who have seen the film will talk it up, maybe organizing a discussion group to explore the film’s relevance for today.

Very good as a guy who scams the gullible, yet who still has a touch of decency so that he tries to protect a good-hearted politician who unwisely attempts to use underhanded means to achieve public good.

This may be the last chance that this fine second tier actor for this award, so I would be happy if it he is chosen, even though my favorite is the star of 12 Years a Slave.

One of our finest actors, but I think this should not be his year in a film that is not as important as some others.

He is deserving of the title because of the incredible preparation involving weight loss, as well as his on-screen performance. He convincingly moves us from repulsion to acceptance.

Both because of the importance of the film and because of his on-screen performance, I hope he wins. When I watched that scene at the slave cemetery wherein we see his face change from despair to hope as his friends sang “Roll, Jordan Roll,” I felt that he had at least a nomination clenched, if not the award itself.

A very good performance to place along the one in Blindside.

Meryl Streep, August: Osage County

Still another great performance by this phenomenal actress, I would not be too disappointed if she noses out Ms. Dench. What a portrait of a woman so shaped by her own sad childhood that she is making everyone else as miserable as herself!

This probably enough for now, though I do want to add that I have seen but one of the foreign films nominated–part of the penalty for living in “fly over country” is that we often are weeks or months late in seeing films available much earlier on the West and East coasts. Still, because of the great way that the themes of unjust persecution and reconciliation are tied in with the celebration of the Nativity, I am rooting for The Hunt.

Other nominations worth thinking about, but not now:

Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips

Bradley Cooper, American Hustle

Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave

Jonah Hill, The Wolf of Wall Street

Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine

Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle

Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave

Julia Roberts, August: Osage County

June Squibb, Nebraska

Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity

Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave

Alexander Payne, Nebraska

David O. Russell, American Hustle

Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street