I notice that the Oscar nominations were announced earlier this week. Usually I don’t pay a great deal of attention to them — I haven’t actually watched the Oscars in years — but I would like to register my delight at seeing The Tree of Life nominated in three categories: Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Cinematography. It ought to be a shoo-in for that last award, though I gather it is considered something of a dark horse in the prestige categories. Well, as they say, it is an honour just to be nominated.
It is interesting that both Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain, Tree‘s lead actors, were nominated in the acting categories, but for their roles in other films! Pitt was nominated for Moneyball (which was entertaining but not really Oscar material, in my judgement) and Chastain for The Help (which I have not seen, and will in all probability never see). In Chastain’s case, especially, it seems a pity that her luminous performance in The Tree of Life was not nominated — although, to be fair, it is rather hard to know how much of her role’s impact was due to her acting and how much to the brilliant direction and cinematography.
Here’s to long shots!
January 26, 2012 at 3:12 pm
I’ve not seen The Help either, and likely will never do, but Ms. Chastain was very good in Take Shelter.
January 26, 2012 at 3:15 pm
I haven’t seen Take Shelter yet — I think the DVD comes out in a few weeks. I didn’t realize that she was in it. It’s been a good year for her!
January 31, 2012 at 12:04 pm
I ordered some of the DVDs you recommended, eg Take Low. I put them in my cart a while back, but just hit purchase because it is payday!
January 31, 2012 at 12:33 pm
I hope you meant Get Low! I cannot vouch for anything called Take Low. Today is also the date for the DVD release of The Mill and the Cross. I am eager to see it — and I wish the public library (or you) would buy it for me.
February 10, 2012 at 6:07 pm
In speaking of the Oscars, the only person in history to receive two consecutive Oscars (two years in a row) for Best Support actor was Jason Robards! Robards was a cousin of Colorado Journalist, H. Neal Glanville.
February 15, 2012 at 10:15 am
Thanks for that bit of trivia. I confess I’ve heard of neither Robards nor Glanville, cinema and journalism being areas of which my ignorance is truly capacious.