A Promising Oscars Falls Short

One week has passed since the 90th Academy Awards have passed, and, at the risk of sounding harsh, you’d be forgiven if you’ve already forgotten it happened.

Last year, our Oscar recap piece came a week after the fact because it took that much time to even process what all had taken place. One of the most entertaining, well-realized, and inspirational ceremonies had culminated in a shocking gaffe and stunning upset for the Best Picture. The 2018 edition of cinema’s biggest night required a week for a writeup because, truthfully, it was difficult to know what to even say about it. Sharp-eyed readers will recognize this article’s title as familiar; and indeed, like this year’s Grammys, the Academy Awards were a night full of unfulfilled potential, mostly flat musical performances, and eventual succumbing to predictable results.

I do not intend this writeup to be all doom and gloom— the Oscars are always worth watching, and this year was no different. Jimmy Kimmel returned as host, and though that was not an original choice by the Academy, it was a welcome return. Kimmel’s night last year, of course, ended with confusion and awkwardness, but his turn at hosting was filled with comic banter, hilarious pre-taped segments, and fresh Matt Damon jokes. This year’s ceremony began with one of the only pre-taped bits of the night; the fake old-timer Academy Award intro wasn’t laugh-out-loud funny, but clever enough to keep a smile plastered to one’s face. As for Kimmel’s performance in general? Both better and worse than last year’s outing. The jokes weren’t quite as steady, and bits like the ‘jet ski reward for the shortest speech’ and getting multiple celebrities to surprise local moviegoers were both good ideas that went on far too long. However, Kimmel himself seemed considerably more at ease this time around, and also brought a much more explicitly political theme to his trademark cynical humor. Ripping apart the President, the men in Hollywood, who had necessitated the #MeToo movement, and mocking the Academy for its poor history of recognizing diversity, the host pulled no punches, and yet endeared himself to viewers and attendees alike.

In terms of the awards themselves, it was Dunkirk that heard its name the most early on, establishing itself as the 2018 version of Mad Max: Fury Road (the Best Picture-nominated film that nearly sweeps all the technical awards). The summer blockbuster claimed Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Film Editing in the early going.

Interspersed throughout the awards, per usual, were the live performances of each song nominated for Best Original Song. This is a staple of the show that I always look forward to, and even more so this year: I saw 3 of the 5 films nominated for Best Song (a rarity), and one of them featured one of my favorite artists, Sufjan Stevens. Sadly, this was another disappointing category across the board. Not only did Stevens’ “Mystery Of Love” (Call Me By Your Name), the clear best of the nominees, lose out to the admittedly delightful “Remember Me” (Coco), but his and all nominees’ performances seemed besotted by nerves. Mary J. Blige, Gael Garcia Bernal, Stevens, Audra Day and Keala Settle all, to varying degrees, didn’t sing as strongly and/or as in tune as all are capable of.

When it came to the major awards, not too many surprises were expected, and not any surprised came to fruition. The same actors and actresses had won their respective categories almost universally within the awards circuit, and those same winners heard their name called last week. One of the only uncertainties was Best Supporting Actor, where many theorized that backlash to Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and backlash to his character’s arc, specifically, might allow someone to upset favorite Sam Rockwell. Undeterred, the Academy also picked Rockwell, a deserved win if I say so myself, and a victory that led to one of the more entertaining acceptance speeches of the night. Rockwell’s castmate Frances McDormand also withstood her film’s controversy to keep her rock solid grip on the Best Actress award; and if you thought Rockwell’s speech was good, McDormand’s was, as Jimmy Kimmel later said, Emmy Award-worthy television. Elsewhere, veterans Allison Janney and Gary Oldman won for I, Tonya and Darkest Hour, respectively, in what were two of the safest bets of the night. I say two “of the” because another candidate for safest bet was Guillermo Del Toro’s crowning of Best Director. Our preview of why his film The Shape Of Water was a contender for Best Picture touched on the power of Del Toro’s reputation and legacy in this race, and sure enough, he finally won his Academy Award.

Indeed, one of the only minor surprises of the night was also unquestionably the highlight of the award results, and that was Jordan Peele’s win for Best Original Screenplay (Get Out). Many had predicted Peele’s victory may indeed come, but this was one of the most loaded categories of the night. The delightfully heartfelt screenplay from The Big Sick, and three powerhouse Best Picture nominees (Lady Bird, Shape Of Water, and Three Billboards) were Peele’s opponents in the field. Yet, the first-time writer and director scored the victory, and thank goodness he did. Get Out was a revelation in cinema, and its air-tight screenplay one of the most brilliant features of an astounding debut.

Which brings us to the main event of the night: Best Picture. Despite varied belief that an upset was brewing, and the words from multiple outlets that Get Out specifically was gaining large amounts of momentum, the biggest award kept with the theme of the night and went chalk, with frontrunner The Shape Of Water took home the prize. This was only the 2nd Best Director-Best Picture sweep (a trend that used to be very common) since 2011, and unfortunately, I’m not sure that level of dominance was deserved. Shape Of Water is not a bad winner by any stretch of the imagination, but like Bruno Mars’ triumph at the Grammys, its Best Picture win feels like both a surprisingly safe choice and an embodiment of a missed opportunity to recognize more daring, groundbreaking, and diverse work.