Nominations are everything in Hollywood. Nominations mean much more than they appear. Some nominations are bullshit (Casey Affleck, Emma Stone, Armie Hammer, Jared Leto, Linda Hunt, How Green Was My Valley, and Memoirs of a Geisha anyone?) while some are well deserved. However, quite often there are the films and actors that we believe should have been nominated, but were not, for whatever reason or another. Here are some surprising snubs.
Best Supporting ActressMolly Shannon - Other People (2016)Often times, actors get offered little variety in their roles. There are very rarely any times we get to see them step outside their comfort zone and tackle something serious only to be laughed at for attempting to stray from their wholesome roles (Elizabeth Berkley in Showgirls anyone?). Molly Shannon broke that trend with her emotional performance in Other People, based on the true story of Chris Kelly and his family. Shannon plays a terminally ill mother dealing with the struggles and hardships of cancer while her son tries to hold everything together. (No, seriously, bring the tissues. This is not an easy film to watch) Although Jesse Plemons is the main protagonist, it is Shannon that provides the film with an emotional core, and it is she, like the fragile character that she plays, that holds the film together. Shannon got snubbed for Best Supporting Actress, with the award going to Viola Davis for her powerful performance in Fences. She did however win the Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress at the 2017 Independent Spirit Awards.
Best Supporting ActorCollin Farrell - Saving Mr. Banks (2013)So,
nomorefrostbite would slap me if I didn't include this. Collin Farrell's performance as P.L. Travers' father Travers Goff was criminally underlooked. Goff was an alcoholic and an unsuccessful banker, with a suicidal wife, raising his family with love and storytelling, the best he could in Australia in the mid 1900's, tragically succumbing to his own inner demons. Goff would become the inspiration for Mr. Banks in Mary Poppins. Saving Mr Banks takes some liberties with the material (showing a stunt at a fair with a tipsy Goff being the inspiration for the Fidelity Fiduciary number, as well as Travers sobbing at the film's premiere thinking of her father, rather than being mortified at what she perceived as an ill fated hatchet job on her beloved book. While not a major character entirely, Farrell brings a warmth to the role that unfortunately was passed by, as fuckface rapist Jared Leto won that year for Dallas Buyers Club, and if you aren't emotionally dead inside after seeing Farrell's performance, you have no soul.
Best ActressIsabelle Huppert - The Piano Teacher (2001)You didn't think I wasn't
not going to include her did you? Before Emma Stone stole her Oscar, Huppert was overlooked for her role in the erotic psychological thriller The Piano Teacher. Based on the French novel of the same name, The Piano Teacher is about a repressed and horny piano teacher living with her shrewish mother in Vienna. One of her conservatory students decides to seduce her, and the two begin a torrid love affair that spirals out of control. Erika is into S&M, so you can guess where this goes, and yes, it is
incredibly fucked up. This, like Other People, is not an easy film to get through, though for vastly different reasons; Fifty Shades this is not, although, interestingly enough a year later we would get Secretary, starring Maggie Gyllenhaal and James Spader. Huppert's performance is raw and powerful, and it has been cited by both Nicole Kidman and Jessica Chastain as being an influence on both of their work as actresses.
Best ActorJake Gyllenhaal - Nightcrawler (2014)For all the Jake fans out there. Many
many cried fowl when Jake Gyllenhaal was snubbed for his role in the American thriller Nightcrawler, which is not to be confused with the comic book character of the same name. As a creepy voyeur-esque cameraman who prowls the streets filming in nocturne, he is equal parts terrifying as fuck and eerie as hell. The film is also a welcome return for Rene Russo, after she got a raw deal as Thor's mother in the Marvel film series of the same name. Gylleenhaal's performance is said to be one of the best of his career, surpassing Brokeback Mountain and Donnie Darko for some. It makes sense he would get a nomination, no? Sadly the Academy was on something, because the only nomination Nightcrawler ever got was for Best Original Screenplay.
Best Foreign FilmThe Handmaiden (2016)Before Thelma came along, The Handmaiden was the favorite lesbian film of the decade, right
mammary_glands? Park Chan-Wook's adaptation of The Fingersmith was met with so many alocades, it was gaurenteed for an Academy Award. Until it wasn't....Korea decided not to submit it. The film is a beautiful love story of two women trapped in a class society with some uncomfortable moments (from the men), but it is a beautiful tale with fabulous costumes and scenery. The sex scenes are not gratuitous in any way, and, unlike Blue is the Warmest Color, Chan-Wook made sure that the scenes were filmed on a closed set with only female staff present, something that should be done every time, but isn't, because sexism. Personally I would have liked a written adaptation to accompany the film, a rewrite of The Fingersmith but as The Handmaiden, but the film is fantastic enough itself, and its a shame this film wasn't nominated, with the award deservedly going to The Salesman.
Best Costume DesignBelle (2014)The one I am most upset about is Belle. Before San Junipero, Gugu Mbatha-Raw was best known for her performance in this criminally underrated period drama. Belle was snubbed for everything. Screenplay, costume design, best actress for Gugu Mbatha-Raw, need I continue? This story, about Dido Elizabeth Belle, the multiracial daughter of an aristocrat in 18th century England, comes complete with extravagant costumes and jewelry. Gugu gives one of the best performances she's ever done, and I would have liked to have seen a nomination for her. But the costumes...
oh my god the costumes. I cannot stress enough how fabulous they are. The award went to Mad Max: Fury Road, which is okay, but honestly....it should have gone to Belle.
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Source 4What would you nominate for an Academy Award?