Now that the Academy Award nominations have been released, the focus is on which of the nine nominated films will garner the coveted best picture award. There were few surprises among the nominees for that award, other than that the Coen Brothers’ “Inside Llewyn Davis,” which was widely praised by critics, was shunned.
The nine films can be divided into three groups based on their likelihood of taking the big prize. The front runners are “Gravity,” “American Hustle,” and “12 Years a Slave.” The long shots are “Her,” “Nebraska,” and “The Wolf of Wall Street.” And those in the virtually-no-chance category are “Captain Phillips,” “Philomena,” and “Dallas Buyers Club.” Here are brief synopses of each:
“Gravity” – Directed by Alphonso Cuaron, who also is nominated for best director, this sci-fi thriller stars Sandra Bullock, who is also nominated for best actress. The film shows Ms. Bullock’s character struggling to survive after her space partners are killed when space debris crashes through their space station. The space scenes are amazing, especially when seen in 3-D. They, and the slight drama of whether and how Ms. Bullock’s character will survive, give the film its, um, gravitas.
“American Hustle” – Directed by David O. Russell (nominated for best director), and starring Christian Bale (best actor nominee), Amy Adams (best actress nominee), Bradley Cooper (best supporting actor nominee), and Jennifer Lawrence (best supporting actress nominee), the story fictionalizes an FBI operation that resulted in the exposure of criminal activity by Washington politicians. The screenplay (by Mr. Russell and Eric Warner Singer) has also been nominated, which gives the film a shot at winning all seven top awards.
“12 Years a Slave” – Directed by Steve McQueen (nominated), this film chronicles the plight of Solomon Northup, a free black man who was kidnapped in 1843 from his home in upstate New York. Sold into slavery, he suffered brutal treatment for 12 years. The film pulls no punches in depicting the brutality to which Solomon was subjected. It packs a wallop and is the kind of film the Academy often honors. Its star, Chiwetel Ejiofor, is also nominated for best actor, as is Luptia Nyong’o for supporting actress and John Ridley for his adapted screenplay.
“The Wolf of Wall Street” – Directed by Martin Scorsese (nominated) and starring Leonardo DiCaprio (nominated), this three-hour-long extravaganza chronicles the real-life escapades of stockbroker Jordan Belfort, who, in the 1990s, built a financial empire by scamming investors into bogus stock purchases. Terence Winter’s adapted screenplay (from Belfort’s memoirs) is also nominated as is supporting actor Jonah Hill.
“Her” – Perhaps the most inventive film of those nominated, it explores the love affair that a man (played by Joaquin Phoenix) has with his computer’s operating system (voiced by Scarlett Johansen). Spike Jonze, who directed, received a nomination for his original screenplay, but the film was otherwise shut out from the major awards despite excellent reviews and performances (especially by Mr. Phoenix).
“Nebraska” – Director Alexander Payne was nominated for this “small” film that features Bruce Dern (nominated) as an elderly man who insists on traveling to a distant city to collect a sweepstakes prize he mistakenly thinks he has won. The film also received nominations for its original screenplay (by Bob Nelson) and for supporting actress (84-year-old June Squibb as the old man’s wife).
“Captain Phillips” – This excellent accounting of the true-story pirating of an American cargo ship by Somalian pirates received a best adapted screenplay nomination (for writer Billy Ray), but amazingly did not receive nominations for Tom Hanks (brilliant as the title character) or for director Paul Greengrass. Barkhad Abdi, as the lead pirate, did receive a best supporting actor nomination.
“Philomena” – Judi Dench (nominated for best actress) gives a most impressive performance in this film as the birth mother of a man who was taken from her in his childhood when she was in a Catholic home for unwed mothers. The story (best adapted screenplay nomination for Steve Coogan, who also co-stars and co-produced, and Jeff Pope) details her efforts to find her son some forty years later.
“Dallas Buyers Club” – In this true story, Matthew McConaughey (nominated) stars as a homophobic AIDS victim who sells memberships in a club that gives its members access to illicit drugs that combat the disease. Jared Leto (nominated for best supporting actor) is a gay partner in the business. The film also received a nomination for best adapted screenplay (by Craig Borten and Melisa Wallach).
Those are the nominees. Watch for press reports of rumors on the voting as the March 2 ceremony approaches. For our money, “Dallas” is the only one that isn’t best-picture worthy.
I find it refreshing that 5 of 9 nominees are “based on a true story.” Well in the case of American Hustle it is more like: “some of this actually happened” a less restrictive foundation perhaps.
In all of these cases, truth is so much stranger than fiction, I doubt they would have been made at all if they were 100% fiction.