Academy’s biggest snubs? Start with Albert Brooks and Michael Fassbender
By RICHARD ROEPER rroeper@suntimes.com January 24, 2012 10:32AM
Let’s start with the biggest snubs. After making nearly every other organization’s final five (and winning the Chicago Film Critics award), Albert Brooks wasn’t even get nominated for his brilliant work as a movie producer turned cold-blooded villain in “Drive.” Well, at least Brooks won’t have to sit there and smile grimly when Christopher Plummer’s name is announced.
Equally shocking was the absence of Michael Fassbender’s name for “Best Actor” for “Shame.” Not to demean Demian Bichir’s fine work in “A Better Life,” but raise your hand if you’ve seen Demian Bichir’s fine work in “A Better Life.” (Not that popularity should translate to awards, of course.)
I like Jonah Hill, but I’m not sure his work in “Moneyball” was more impressive than Ben Kingsley in “Hugo.” And how about that Melissa McCarthy getting a “Best Supporting Actress” nod for “Bridesmaids?” I’m thinking that’s the first time an actress was nominated for a performance that called for her to, um, relieve herself in a sink. But I’ll have to re-check Dame Judi Dench’s body of work.
Every half-decade or so, there’s a “Best Actress” performance that you know will resonate for generations. Meryl Streep in “Sophie’s Choice,” Kathy Bates in “Misery,” Hilary Swank in “Million Dollar Baby,” Halle Berry in “Monster’s Ball.”
Other “Best Actress” wins are more indicative of a performer’s overall popularity and a showcase role, e.g., Julia Roberts in “Erin Brockovich” or last year’s win for Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side.”
I thought the best performance by any actress in a lead role this year was Tilda Swinton in “We Need to Talk About Kevin.” As the mother of a son who seems destined to become a sociopath from the cradle, Swinton does searing, shattering work. It’s a difficult film to sit through as we anticipate the inevitable, but anyone who sees “We Need to Talk About Kevin” (opening this Friday in Chicago) won’t soon forget Swinton’s work.
Yet Swinton wasn’t even nominated. I have no idea how so many industry professionals could omit her name from the ballot.
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