Not Quite Snubbed: The Alt-Oscars
Well, here we are again, the Oscars are upon us. This fact, along with a discussion between myself and fellow TFS writer, Manish Mathur, got me thinking about the whole process from a film lover’s perspective. Generally speaking, if you look around the internet, you will find other people’s choices for the awards (not limited by the Academy’s choices). Despite that, there still seems to be a consensus. Many of the films on the Academy’s official ballot, along with some obvious snubs, seem to make everyone’s short list. And I wondered why that was. Are these films just objectively that good? Or does the awards machine, helped by film festival rollouts, just limit the conversation? The answer, as usual is probably a little of both.
The purpose of this article is to shine a light on deserving films that are not being recognized in the Oscar narrative. There are many reasons for this, ranging from a lack of financial backing to genres that tend to not be seen as “Oscar worthy.” So, I decided to challenge myself. The goal here is to spotlight movies from 2019 in the Big Eight categories that not only weren’t nominated, but were also rarely discussed as snubs or in the lead up to nominations. As a note, this is not to say that the actual films that were nominated are bad. As a matter of fact, many of those are in my personal favorites of the year. But enough pomp and circumstance, let’s get to the movies!
We will begin with the two screenplay awards. First, the original screenplays, wholly singular ideas sprung from the heads of their authors.
Best Original Screenplay
Issa Lopez - Tigers Are Not Afraid
Mati Diop and Olivier Demangel - Atlantics
Pedro Almodovar - Pain and Glory
Joanna Hogg - The Souvenir
Joe Talbot and Rob Richert - The Last Black Man in San Francisco
One pattern that you may begin to notice is that there are a lot more women and people of color on these lists. Honestly, the Oscars makes that easy with how many white people they nominate. The other great thing about these choices is that they are pretty much all available on streaming services. And the variety here is really enjoyable, it covers everything some genuinely unnerving horror (Tigers Are Not Afraid) to the troubled life of an artist (Pain and Glory, The Souvenir). Adding to this we also have tales of gentrification and the myth of home ownership (The Last Black Man In San Francisco) and a surprise paranormal, yet wholly human, story (Atlantics).
There are so many wonderful options, but like any award, there is only one winner. Pedro Almodovar, especially in terms of story construction, built an amazing film, even in comparison to his already incredible filmography. The way the script comes together and completes an experience in the third act truly places it head and shoulders above the rest of 2019.
Winner: Pedro Almodovar
Best Adapted Screenplay
Mike Flanagan - Doctor Sleep
Murilo Hauser, Ines Bortagaray, and Karim Ainouz - Invisible Life
Lorene Scafaria - Hustlers
Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster - A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Edward Norton - Motherless Brooklyn
In many cases, these screenplays are taken from novels, and there are a few here. But two of our five are adapted from magazine articles (A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood, Hustlers) and incredible work was done to build out and create a meaningful narrative. That is not to take away from the work from novels. Motherless Brooklyn was completely changed from the novel and even placed in a different time period and Invisible Life does the difficult work of placing us, as an audience with separated siblings who make difficult choices to attempt a reunification. And Doctor Sleep had the unenviable task of pleasing fans of the book and film version of its prequel The Shining.
This was a horrific choice (as many of these are), but the work on Doctor Sleep to somehow connect these disparate sources truly is like watching a minor miracle. At this point, I would trust whatever Flanagan wants to do.
Winner: Mike Flanagan
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Baykali Ganambarr - The Nightingale
Asier Etxeandia - Pain and Glory
Tom Burke - The Souvenir
Zack Gottsagen - The Peanut Butter Falcon
Noah Jupe - Honey Boy
In many of these cases, the supporting characters serve as the heart. Also, a couple of these could be considered leads. But, if the Academy allows category fraud, I do too. In both The Peanut Butter Falcon and Honey Boy, Gottsagen and Jupe are really the driving force behind the narrative. In both cases, Shia LaBeouf is the star, but these two young actors both meet him head on and play off of him in different and interesting ways that make us care. Tom Burke is delightfully toxic in The Souvenir, and although he is terrible for our lead, most of us do get why the connection is there. And Etxeandia, largely unheralded in Pain and Glory due to Banderas’ career best performance is both a light and a darkness in the semi-autobiographical story. Finally, Baykali Ganambarr, in a movie that was always going to be too rough for awards season, provides an honorable, strong, empathetic performance that should be forgotten.
Although these are all good performances, one definitely stood apart as far as an emotional journey. Baykali Ganambarr, previously unknown to me, delivers a stark, heart-wrenching performance that must be seen to be believed.
Winner: Baykali Ganambarr
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Dakota Johnson - The Peanut Butter Falcon
Rebecca Ferguson - Doctor Sleep
Lorraine Toussaint - Fast Color
Isabelle Huppert - Greta
Kristen Stewart - Charlie’s Angels
This was a surprising year for these supporting performances. I certainly never imagined a comedic role would make this list (Kristen Stewart), but it was such a delightful change and role in general. Every time I think about it, I immediately grin. The oft discussed Isabelle Huppert really dove in to a genre film and had so much glee, it is hard not get swept up in it. Plus, Dakota Johnson, an actress I am not overly fond of, truly delivered in a pure supporting role, split between a burgeoning romance and professional obligation to do the supposed right thing. Rebecca Ferguson and Lorraine Toussaint both appeared in roles that easily could have been silly, but leant a gravity and in some cases, terror that was wildly unexpected.
But Rebecca Ferguson, who infused both sexuality and danger into a role that should have been nothing more than a cackling madwoman absolutely stunned me. I would gladly watch many prequels about Rose The Hat and The Knot, purely to let her dive in and attack the role again.
Winner: Rebecca Ferguson
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Brad Pitt - Ad Astra
Viviek Kalra - Blinded by the Light
Ewan McGregor - Doctor Sleep
Matthias Schönaerts - The Mustang
Matthew Rhys - A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Can you tell I really like Doctor Sleep? Look, McGregor kills it in essentially two different roles. Both the wallowing alcoholic and the recovering man haunted by his past work because of his face, his eyes, and his quavering voice. Viviek Kalra, likely unknown to many possesses a joy (without being obnoxious) that is absolutely infectious, even if, like me, you’re not a big Springsteen fan. Both Matthew Rhys and Matthias Schoenarts show off an impressive ability to display pain and withholding until it explodes that is legitimately painful to experience. And Pitt, what can you say? The man had one hell of a year. And though his other performance is a wonderful movie star showing, his role in Ad Astra is the opposite. It is rare that we see a star perform in a way that is nearly impotent in his abilities to change his circumstances.
But Schoenarts does some work here that is awe inspiring. He looks and moves completely unlike himself and inhabits a role that is at once full of never quite unleashed rage and a reachable softness that you cannot help but be moved by.
Winner: Matthias Schönaerts
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Noemie Merlant - Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Aisling Franciosi - The Nightingale
Mama Bineta Sane - Atlantics
Paola Lara - Tigers Are Not Afraid
Hong Chau - Driveways
This is another one of those embarrassment of riches categories. Merlant is utterly fantastic (as is everything in her film) in both a restrained and passionate role. Hong Chau delivers yet another performance that makes me wonder why she isn’t in absolutely everything. Aisling Franciosi and Mama Bineta Sane in essentially their first feature film performances show no signs of immaturity or inexperience in complex performances. And finally, Paola Lara delivers in a wildly difficult film both about real lived experiences and folk tales.
Noemie Merlant honestly gives one of the best performances of the decade, let alone the year in Portrait of a Lady On Fire. Her reserve, that hides a passion, whether it be sexual or artistic, is like watching a masterclass in subtlety. It was a great crop of performances, but this is nearly unfair.
Winner: Noemie Merlant
Best Director
Celine Sciamma - Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Mati Diop - Atlantics
Alma Har’el - Honey Boy
Joanna Hogg - The Souvenir
Rian Johnson - Knives Out
I’m sure people look at this like, “one of these things is not like the other,” but Johnson balanced an incredibly talented cast, a difficult screenplay, and provided fantastic visuals that made for one of the most fun theater experiences of the year. Joanna Hogg literally jumped behind the camera to put her pain and growth on display, but her staging and blocking is why she deserves some serious accolades, it is just about picture perfect. Mati Diop, in her first full length feature crafts a meticulous blend of mood, paranormal twists, and romance that shouldn’t work together, but absolutely does. In Honey Boy, Alma Har’el takes an intensely personal story from Shia LaBeouf and somehow makes it her own through stylistic choices that alter it from what could be a vanity project to a film that transcends his story and into a story for all who struggle. Celine Sciamma, who also wrote Portrait of a Lady on Fire, built that most rare thing, a period film unlimited by its time, a period film with true heartfelt passion.
If I’m being honest, I went back and forth between two choices, but ultimately, Alma Har’el, in my mind, gave the best direction of the year, both in terms of style and in garnering fabulous performances from her cast.
Winner: Alma Har’el
Best Picture
Atlantics
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
The Nightingale
The Souvenir
Tigers Are Not Afraid
Honey Boy
Doctor Sleep
The Mustang
Blow the Man Down
Greener Grass
Of course, many of these movies have other nominations earlier, so in the interest of saving your time, let’s focus on the two that have not. I’m just gonna say it, Greener Grass is intensely weird. It is very much not for everyone, but it has a certain Lynch/Burton quality that I bought into from the very beginning. Blow The Man Down, a movie not seen by many, but well worth your time. A mood induced movie, but also a murder, a mystery, and just one more excellent Margo Martindale role for her to chew on. The other eight movies listed, of course, are all fantastic as has been mentioned previously.
Look, I implore you to watch all of the movies, but you have to know what is coming. Portrait of a Lady on Fire will be an all time great. Sciamma, Merlant, and Haenel combine to make easily the best film of 2019, and this included everything that the Academy nominated as well.
Winner: Portrait of a Lady on Fire
So there you have it, a whole crop of movies and performances that the awards mostly missed. By my count, this is about 25 movies across 8 categories that will show what else is out there besides the standard awards fare. For me personally, this was an entertaining experiment to think outside of the box. I urge you all to do the same and tell us what you would pick instead!
