Another year, another round of Academy Award nominations are announced for the March 4 ceremony in ever-glamorous Hollywood. The contenders? Whatever films you were least likely to have seen in theaters this year.
Well, save for “Coco,” “Get Out,” or “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.”
It’s a time-tested routine with few surprises by the time we reach Oscar season. A handful of films shock and awe at niche film festivals around the world, run the gamut at the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards, and then land at the Oscars to the surprise of American audiences. The movies folks at home on the sofa recognize get some faint applause for financially carrying the industry through yet another year (i.e. “Star Wars” and “Wonder Woman”) and then Best Picture prize goes to whatever film is quirkiest and signals the most virtue.
Let’s face it, the most interesting thing to happen at the Oscars in recent memory was the mixup between “La La Land” and “Moonlight” for Best Picture.
All that being said, the 2018 Academy Award nominees are a surprisingly eclectic bunch that present a few opportunities for an upset in a topsy-turvy year for culture and politics in Hollywood.
Sexual harassment “revelations” in Hollywood surrounding famed producer Harvey Weinstein brought the world to a halt, opening up conversations about abuse and gender inequity in the form of the #MeToo movement. Between this paradigm shift and one year of Donald Trump in the White House, Hollywood has been stressed out to say the least. The arch-liberals of Tinseltown are desperate to make some statements, and the 2018 Academy Awards will be where they do so by delivering firebrand speeches and handing out Oscars to films that entertain and enlighten, just like in years past. You only have so much time and a few extra dollars in your bank account thanks to tax cuts, so what movies should you see before March?
Nominated for the top awards are: “The Shape of Water,” “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” “Dunkirk,” “The Darkest Hour,” “Lady Bird,” “Call Me By Your Name,” “Phantom Thread,” “The Post,” and “Get Out.”
Some of these are serious contenders and others are not.
“The Shape of Water,” directed by Guillermo del Toro, is a deserving film. It’s a beautifully written love story between a mute Baltimore woman and a swamp thing. Yes, you read that correctly. Set in 1962 with the backdrop of the Cold War, Soviet spies, and the Civil Rights movement, “The Shape of Water” hits all the right notes for a win in 2018. It’s a story about overcoming fear of the other and “love is love,” a thinly veiled commentary on a culture that Hollywood still sees as discriminatory despite an overwhelming shift in attitudes about issues like gay marriage and rights in the last 20 years. It has Russians, tackles racial discrimination, LGBTQ discrimination, and has a #MeToo subplot to boot.
To be clear, it really is a magical movie and you should see it. The sets and cinematography are magical, continuing a trend in film back towards practical special effects and costume design over CGI. The score is whimsical and with the exception of an uncomfortable romantic scene between actress Sally Hawkins and the swamp creature, “The Shape of Water” is just a fun movie. It currently leads the way in nominations, but lost to “Three Billboards” at the Golden Globes. We’ll see how the politics of the Oscars pan out.
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” is a powerhouse with dramatic performances that have captured awards left and right this awards season. Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, and Sam Rockwell are all most likely to take home Best Actor and Best Actress awards, but “Three Billboards” isn’t right for Best Picture. Despite being a pulse-pounding crime drama featuring a courageous female lead, it’s been derided by corners of the entertainment press for its problematic law enforcement character, portrayed by Sam Rockwell, who finds some redemption.
Apparently, bad guys seeing the light isn’t the social ideal anymore. Like “Zero Dark Thirty” and “La La Land,” it’s a top-tier film but doesn’t speak to the politics of the moment. This is a film worth seeing, and it deserves whatever accolade it manages to not be snubbed for.
“Get Out” is the wild card that could upset all the more traditional contenders for Best Picture. The directorial debut by Jordan Peele, popularly known for the sketch comedy “Key and Peele” on Comedy Central, is a racially charged, genre-bending thriller that injects some much-needed diversity into the leading contenders. I don’t necessarily mean racial diversity, which the Oscars do need, but stylistic diversity as well. “Get Out” fluctuates between classic horror film, complete with campy synthesizer music and shrieking strings, to stoic drama, and then to mainstream comedy.
The premise is chilling. A white girl brings her black boyfriend (Daniel Kaluuya) home to meet the family and spend the weekend getting to know her liberal, Obama-loving kin that are almost overly excited with who she brought home. The young man’s suspicion turns out to be correct when he discovers the family kidnaps, tortures, and auctions off the bodies of black men for affluent whites to inhabit. It’s utterly twisted, genuinely scary, and entertaining. From its music to the eerie performances, social message, and incredible tension, “Get Out” has something for everyone. What’s also remarkable is how the film grossed $175 million domestically, building off word of mouth and social media hype that gave “Get Out” unusual reach for a movie on its way to the Oscars.
Fans of World War II flicks have something to look forward to in this year’s ceremony, but don’t count on them clinching the top prize. “Dunkirk” and “The Darkest Hour” are both up for Best Picture, and Gary Oldman is on his way to securing Best Actor for his portrayal of Winston Churchill. Go see these movies if you haven’t already.
“Lady Bird” starring Saoirse Ronan is a really heartfelt coming of age movie about a bratty teenage girl duking it out with her loving parents. Good movie, but it’s not going to win Best Picture.
“Call Me By Your Name” is another coming of age film about a 17-year-old boy in Italy coming to grips with his homosexuality and being seduced by an adult man. Really, it’s Hollywood’s favorite kind of film. But, in the #MeToo era and after the Kevin Spacey debacle, this movie has no chance.
It’s also unbelievably boring, like “Phantom Thread” starring Daniel Day-Lewis. So there’s that.
“The Post,” starring Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, is the type of movie the Academy adores. It lionizes the press, distorts history, and was marketed as a movie for the #resist crowd. If “Spotlight” hadn’t won Best Picture in 2016, another movie about tough decisions made in editorial boardrooms, “The Post” would be a serious contender.
But there is something about the movie that is just disingenuous and out of touch. A more interesting movie would be about how the Washington Post’s prestigious reporting managed to take down Richard Nixon, but 2017 had so squandered the trust of the public that their involvement couldn’t undo a child molester running for the U.S. Senate in Alabama.
It could never happen in real life, of course, but I’d see that movie.
You still have some time to get out there and see some of these worthwhile films before the Academy Awards on March 4. If you can make it through the grandstanding speeches and political pageantry of the evening, you’ll see some exceedingly worthy performers, directors, and movies take home an Oscar.
Stephen Kent (@Stephen_Kent89) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is the spokesperson for Young Voices and host of Beltway Banthas, a “Star Wars” & politics podcast in D.C.
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