Where are nominations for Janelle Monae, Denzel Washington and Annette Bening?
As always, congratulations to all the Oscar nominees this morning. But isn’t it more fun to dwell on the snubs? Here’s some of the most egregiously overlooked.
— Annette Bening gave what some consider the performance of her career as a 1970s single mother in “20th Century Women.” Alas; Oscar didn’t notice. Also deserving-but-neglected in the best actress category: Amy Adams in “Arrival,” Taraji P. Henson in “Hidden Figures.” Guess it was a better-than-average year for female roles?
— Denzel Washington, who directed and starred in “Fences,” must be of two minds this morning: He was nominated for lead actor, but not for director; presumably Mel Gibson edged him out.
— I was really, really looking forward to Hugh Grant having some delightful things to say during his post-nomination press tour. But despite his note-perfect work as Meryl Streep’s supportive partner in “Florence Foster Jenkins,” he didn’t make the final list, depriving all of us of what would surely have been this morning’s best reaction speech.
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— The year’s most appalling omission, to my mind: “The Handmaiden,” which should have dominated the design categories (production and costume design, as well as cinematography) and ended up with no nominations at all.
— Martin Scorsese’s “Silence,” figured at one point to be an Oscar contender (as Scorsese’s movies usually are) may simply have been shown to viewers too late. Despite strong reviews, it received only one nomination, for cinematography.
— Janelle Monae was terrific in two very different supporting roles, both in movies that got a lot of Oscar love this morning: “Moonlight” and “Hidden Figures.” Unfortunately, those two roles may have split voters, resulting in no recognition for her.
— OK, why the heck wasn’t “Finding Dory,” Pixar’s enchanting sequel to “Finding Nemo,” not nominated for best animated film? Just keep swimming, indeed.