A Redo of the 2011 Oscars
Since we’re in the thick of Oscar season I wanted to do something, I’ve thought about for a while. Yes, I think about the Oscars way too much. In any matter, the Academy is known for getting things wrong more than they get right. It’s not surprising when you realize the Academy are just a group of nearly 10,000 industry people who vote for the movies, they like best.
So, what I would like to do is take a look at a specific Oscar year and redo their nominations and wins. This might be a once-a-year type exercise, just during the Oscar season. I’m not sure where this will take me, but I knew I wanted to start with 2011.
It is considered one of the worst Academy years. How do I know that? Well, in my journey to watch every Best Picture nominee and winner I wanted to know what some of the best and worst Oscar line-ups are. So, I used my beloved spreadsheets to keep track of all the Best Picture nominees I saw.
Then I assigned each film a rating out of five stars. Once I’ve seen every Best Picture Nominee in a given year, I add up each film’s score out of five and divided by the number of films, which gives me an average rating out of five stars.
Example: In 2011 there were nine films nominated for Best Picture. The films ratings were 3, 3.5, 1.5, 2.5, 4.5, 3, 4.5, 5, and 3.5. You add these ratings up and get 31. Then divide by nine which equals 3.4. So, 2011’s overall best picture rating was a 3.4 out of 5.
That is not the worst, only because it is saved by Hugo, Moneyball, & The Tree of Life. Which I gave 4.5 stars to two and a 5-star rating to The Tree of Life. 2011 is the worst rated best picture year in my book, since the Academy went back to nominating more than five movies for best picture in 2009.
From 2009 to present the 2011 Best Picture line-up is the worst by far. Since the new millennium the only year that comes close to that bad is 2004 which has an overall rating of 3.4 as well. So, yeah, 2011 was a bad Oscar year. However, it was a great year in film.
So, let’s look at what the Oscars should nominated. In bold are what/who won and what/who should’ve won. I am going to stick to the above the line categories ending with the two screenplay awards. Mainly to avoid this write-up going on for too long.
Best Picture
As I said before, one of the worst Best Picture line ups of all time, it’s up there with the 2nd and 4th Academy Awards. I would only keep three of their nominees; Hugo, Moneyball, and The Tree of Life. I also did ten nominees instead of their nine.
The Tree of Life is one of the best films of the 21st century, so it was no contest on what film should have won Best Picture.
What Was Nominated:
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse
What Should’ve Been Nominated:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Moneyball
Margin Call
Meek’s Cutoff
Melancholia
Shame
Take Shelter
The Tree of Life
Warrior
Best Director
I’m actually keeping 40% of the directors here. I’m adding Jeff Nichols for the brilliant Take Shelter, Bennett Miller for making one of the best sports films, and Steve McQueen for making a perfect film. Terrence Malick is my personal winner because The Tree of Life is one of the best films of this century and it is Malick’s best film.
Who Was Nominated:
Michael Hazanavicius – The Artist
Alexander Payne – The Descendants
Martin Scorsese – Hugo
Woody Allen – Midnight in Paris
Terrence Malick – The Tree of Life
Who Should’ve Been Nominated:
Martin Scorsese - Hugo
Bennett Miller – Moneyball
Steve McQueen – Shame
Jeff Nichols – Take Shelter
Terrence Malick – The Tree of Life
Best Actor
A complete new five in my book. Gosling had a great 2011 with Drive, Crazy, Stupid, Love, and The Ides of March. I went with his Performance in The Ides of March because it encompasses everything great from all three of his 2011 performances. Charming, brooding, the full range of emotions.
Woody is terrifying in Rampart, even if he was way better than his film. Fassbender is subtly brilliant in Shame. Warrior was done dirty as a whole at this year’s Oscars. Tom Hardy truly deserved a best actor nomination.
My personal winner here is Michael Shannon. Some might say it is for the most acting. But if he ever deserved to win it if for his haunting performance in Take Shelter.
Who Was Nominated:
Jean DuJardin – The Artist
Damian Bichir – A Better Life
George Clooney – The Descendants
Gary Oldman – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt – Moneyball
Who Should’ve Been Nominated:
Ryan Gosling – The Ides of March
Woody Harrelson – Rampart
Michael Fassbender – Shame
Michael Shannon – Take Shelter
Tom Hardy – Warrior
Best Actress
I only kept one nominee here: Rooney Mara. Not sure what was in the water in 2011, and I love Glenn Close, but this nomination for Albert Nobbs was so weird. Sorry Viola, but I really do not like The Help.
The Iron Lady is bad, even if Meryl is good, but she is always good. Michelle Williams is good in My Week with Marilyn, but there were other performances I liked better.
Tilda Swinton was nominated at all four major precursors: Critics Choice, SAG, Golden Globes, BAFTA. I guess it’s only because The Academy has an aversion to horror. She deserved to be here.
Kirsten Dunst should’ve had her first nomination here for Melancholia. I’ve never seen a better portrayal of depression on screen. She is my winner here. Elizabeth Olsen portrays PTSD eerily in Martha Marcy May Marlene.
I love Chastain in The Tree of Life. She represents light, it may seem like a blank performance. But I think there is complexity within her performance. She has to exude peace while maintaining control over her family.
Who Was Nominated:
Glenn Close – Albert Nobbs
Rooney Mara – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Viola Davis – The Help
Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams – My Week with Marilyn
Who Should’ve Been Nominated:
Rooney Mara – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Elizabeth Olsen - Martha Marcy May Marlene
Kirsten Dunst - Melancholia
Jessica Chastain – The Tree of Life
Tilda Swinton – We Need to Talk About Kevin
Best Supporting Actor
Almost a brand new five nominees here. The only hold over being Nick Nolte for Warrior, who I have winning in this category. Yes, he and Plummer were overdue for an Oscar, but I think Nolte gave the more powerful performance.
Albert Brooks was snubbed for Drive. Drive was a film I wasn’t that big on, but Brooks was uncharacteristically evil in that performance. Paul Bettany in Margin Call is where I finally realized he was a great actor. In a film a great supporting performance he stands above the rest.
Dan Fogler gives one of the funniest performances in one of the most underrated films ever. Brad Pitt had a good 2011 with The Tree of Life and Moneyball. I think he is great in Moneyball, but I think he is even better in The Tree of Life being the darkness to Chastain’s light.
Who Was Nominated:
Christopher Plummer – Beginners
Max Von Sydow – Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Jonah Hill – Moneyball
Kenneth Brannagh – My Week with Marilyn
Nick Nolte – Warrior
Who Should’ve Been Nominated:
Albert Brooks - Drive
Paul Bettany – Margin Call
Don Fogler – Take Me Home Tonight
Brad Pitt – The Tree of Life
Nick Nolte - Warrior
Best Supporting Actress
Another category with two hold overs. Melissa McCarthy in Bridesmaids and Octavia Spencer in The Help. Melissa’s comedic performance cannot be denied. And Octavia is good in a not-so-great movie.
Maybe it is category fraud putting Michelle Williams here for Meek’s Cutoff. I think of the film as more of an ensemble film. As you can tell I like Von Trier’s Melancholia a lot, Charlotte Gainsbourg, who has never been nominated, should’ve gotten in here playing Kirsten Dunst’s sister.
Lastly, if you need to know why I nominated Carey Mulligan in Shame, just watch the scene where she sings “New York, New York”. I am giving Carey the win here because it’s such an understated but powerful performance.
Who Was Nominated:
Janet McTeer – Albert Nobbs
Berenice Bejo – The Artist
Melissa McCarthy – Bridesmaids
Jessica Chastain – The Help
Octavia Spencer – The Help
Who Should’ve Been Nominated:
Melissa McCarthy - Bridesmaids
Octavia Spencer – The Help
Michelle Williams – Meek’s Cutoff
Charlotte Gainsbourg - Melancholia
Carey Mulligan – Shame
Unsurprisingly the screenplay categories are where they got it right for the most part. The Academy uses the screenplay categories to reward the cool films they don’t want to nominate in other places.
Best Adapted Screenplay
I am actually nominating four of the five that the Academy nominated in Adapted Screenplay. Apparently, I am making Steve Zallian a double nominee this year, for Moneyball and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I am also giving Mr. Zallian and Aaron Sorkin the Oscar for Moneyball.
Who Should’ve Won:
The Descendants – Alexander Payne, Jim Rash, & Nate Faxon
Hugo – John Logan
The Ides of March – George Clooney, Grant Heslov, & Beau Willimon
Moneyball – Steve Zallian & Aaron Sorkin
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Bridget O’Connor and Peter Straughn
Who Should’ve Been Nominated:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Steve Zallian
Hugo – John Logan
The Ides of March – George Clooney, Grant Heslov, & Beau Willimon
Moneyball – Steve Zallian & Aaron Sorkin
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Bridget O’Connor and Peter Straughn
Best Original Screenplay
I am only keeping three of the five in this category. Wiig and Mumolo for Bridesmaids. Chandor for Margin Call, and Farhadi for A Separation. Farhadi’s nomination is a cool one, now that the Academy has expanded, we’re seeing more foreign language films in the screenplay categories.
I am adding Johnathan Raymond for Meek’s Cutoff, a great modern western directed by one of my favorite directors Kelly Reichardt. Also, Steve McQueen and Abi Morgan for Shame, which is just a brilliant film.
J. C. Chandor is such a good script. It’s smart without dumbing itself down to explain its substance. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more riveting film where people are just talking in board rooms for 100 minutes.
Who Was Nominated:
The Artist - Michael Hazanavicius
Bridesmaids - Kristen Wiig & Annie Mumolo
Margin Call – J. C. Chandor
Midnight in Paris – Woody Allen
A Separation - Asghar Farhadi
Who Should’ve Been Nominated:
Bridesmaids – Kristen Wiig & Annie Mumolo
Margin Call – J. C. Chandor
Meek’s Cutoff – Johnathan Raymond
A Separation – Asghar Farhadi
Shame – Steve McQueen & Abi Morgan
That’s it, this is my revisionist Oscar history for the 2011 year. Apologies to the below the line categories, I do not think of them as lesser, but this write-up is already almost 2,000 words. Just trying to keep this somewhat tolerable.
