West Side Snubbery: The 2022 Oscars

Why do I care about the Oscars? With each passing year over the last decade, the number of people tuning in to watch the Oscars has dipped lower and lower. While this is the case with all live TV, this phenomenon combined with the decline of theatrical moviegoing has me feeling a little existential about the place that movies hold in the culture. There is a lot of merit to the increased accessibility of films through streaming, and the studio diversification has led to an increased diversity of filmmakers getting to tell increasingly diverse stories in increasingly diverse ways; this is a wonderful thing. However, fewer and fewer films hold any staying power - even the franchise entries - and for less and less time.

The Oscars provide an extra stamp for movies to last beyond their theatrical or streaming windows; “was it nominated, did it win, and should it have” becomes yet another way to engage with movies, and allows us to further attach ourselves and our taste to the entertainment that matters most to each of us. I first discovered some of my favorite movies because they were nominated, and in some cases infamously lost, at the Academy Awards. As our culture has become further decentralized to mirror individual taste, it’s helpful to have an institution whose selections we agree with or reject. What we really can’t afford is for it to disappear entirely, which only happens when we stop paying attention to it.

Let’s see what they screwed up this year.

Best Picture:

• The Nominees.

  • Belfast

  • CODA

  • Don't Look Up

  • Drive My Car

  • Dune

  • King Richard

  • Licorice Pizza

  • Nightmare Alley

  • The Power of the Dog

  • West Side Story

• The Snubs.

  • The French Dispatch

  • The Green Knight

  • The Tragedy of MacBeth

• The Worst Inclusion.

  • Don’t Look Up | I think this film is quite alright, overhyped, and far from one of the 10 best of the year.

• The Personal Favorite.

  • Licorice Pizza | Yet another masterpiece from a master filmmaker that is thought-provoking, beautiful, yet above all else deeply funny and enjoyable.

Best Director:

• The Nominees.

  • Kenneth Branagh, Belfast

  • Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Drive My Car

  • Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza

  • Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog

  • Steven Spielberg, West Side Story

• The Snubs.

  • Denis Villenueve, Dune

  • Joel Coen, The Tragedy of MacBeth

  • Rebecca Hall, Passing

• The Worst Inclusion.

  • Kenneth Branagh, Belfast | Well, it had to be someone, and this was the movie I loved the least; I have yet to track down Drive My Car but it’s being hailed as a masterpiece so I doubt it'll be Hamaguchi.

• The Personal Favorite.

  • Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza | My man has yet to win an Oscar, even for writing. I hope that changes.

Best Actor:

• The Nominees.

  • Javier Bardem, Being the Ricardos

  • Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog

  • Andrew Garfield, Tick, Tick... Boom!

  • Will Smith, King Richard

  • Denzel Washington, The Tragedy of Macbeth

• The Snubs.

  • Dev Patel, The Green Knight

  • Oscar Isaac, The Card Counter

  • Nicolas Cage, Pig

• The Worst Inclusion.

  • Javier Bardem, Being the Ricardos | I love me some Bardem, and think he should be a two-time winner instead of a one-time winner at this point (having won the second for his work in Skyfall), and this performance is fine, but I thought this movie was only ok.

• The Personal Favorite.

  • Will Smith, King Richard | GET THAT OSCAR WILL! DON’T SAY ANY MORE WEIRD STUFF IN INTERVIEWS!

Best Actress:

• The Nominees.

  • Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye

  • Olivia Colman, The Lost Daughter

  • Penelope Cruz, Parallel Mothers

  • Nicole Kidman, Being the Ricardos

  • Kristen Stewart, Spencer

• The Snubs.

  • Jodie Comer, The Last Duel

  • Lady Gaga, House of Gucci – it’s not perfect, but it sure is fun

  • Alana Haim, Licorice Pizza

  • Rachel Zegler, West Side Story

• The Worst Inclusion.

  • Nicole Kidman, Being the Ricardos | See above.

• The Personal Favorite.

• Olivia Colman, The Lost Daughter | Stewart’s performance in Spencer was quite strong, but Colman’s work as the more quietly complex Leda takes the cake for me.

Best Supporting Actor:

• The Nominees.

  • Ciaran Hinds, Belfast

  • Troy Kotsur, CODA

  • Jesse Plemons, The Power of the Dog

  • J.K. Simmons, Being the Ricardos

  • Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Power of the Dog

• The Snubs.

  • Mike Faist, West Side Story

  • David Alvarez, West Side Story

  • Jeffrey Wright, The French Dispatch

  • Bradley Cooper, Licorice Pizza

  • Ben Affleck, The Last Duel OR The Tender Bar

• The Worst Inclusion.

  • J.K. Simmons, Being the Ricardos | Notice the trend yet?

• The Personal Favorite.

  • Kodi Smith-McPhee | He’s about to lasso himself up some gold.

Best Supporting Actress:

• The Nominees.

  • Jessie Buckley, The Lost Daughter

  • Ariana DeBose, West Side Story

  • Judi Dench, Belfast

  • Kirsten Dunst, The Power of the Dog

  • Aunjanue Ellis, King Richard

• The Snubs.

  • Ruth Negga, Passing

  • Rita Moreno, West Side Story

  • Frances McDormand, The Tragedy of MacBeth

  • Kathryn Hunter, The Tragedy of MacBeth

• The Worst Inclusion.

  • Judi Dench, Belfast | She's fine, the movie's not bad, but she is the weakest performance in the weakest movie in a stacked category.

• The Personal Favorite.

  • Ariana DeBose, West Side Story | DeBose steals every scene she's in, which is quite a feat considering her competition.

Best Original Screenplay:

• The Nominees.

  • Belfast

  • Don't Look Up

  • King Richard

  • Licorice Pizza

  • The Worst Person in the World

• The Snubs.

  • The French Dispatch

  • The Card Counter

  • No Sudden Move

• The Worst Inclusion.

  • Don’t Look Up | This movie’s problems really do start at the foundation.

• The Personal Favorite.

  • Licorice Pizza | This movie’s greatness really does start at the foundation.

Best Adapted Screenplay:

• The Nominees.

  • CODA

  • Drive My Car

  • Dune

  • The Lost Daughter

  • The Power of the Dog

• The Snubs.

  • The Tragedy of MacBeth

  • The Green Knight

  • Passing

• The Worst Inclusion.

  • CODA | There’s no bad nominee here – I really, really like CODA but the other films edge it out (TBD on Drive My Car)

• The Personal Favorite.

  • The Lost Daughter | This film’s brave examinations of the ugly side of parenthood start with a bold screenplay running directly at the novel’s themes, and the film’s past/present structure adds to the story as opposed to subtracting from it.

Under-Nominated Films:

• The French Dispatch

  • Nominated for: Nothing. At all.

  • Should have been: Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor (Jeffrey Wright), Best Editing, Best Production Design

• The Last Duel

  • Nominated for: Nothing

  • Should have been: Best Actress (Comer), Best Supporting Actor (Ben Affleck if we’re having fun), Best Production Design, Best Sound

• The Green Knight

  • Nominated for: Nothing – it’s probably a little too weird and way to bold

  • Should have been: Best Picture, Best Actor (Dev Patel), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design

• House of Gucci

  • Nominated for: Best Makeup and Hairstyling

  • Should have been: Best Picture (if we’re being wild), Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor (Leto OR Pacino to be fun), Best Costumes (duh)

• Licorice Pizza

  • Nominated for: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay – time to get greedy.

  • Should have been: Best Actress (Haim), Best Supporting Actor (Cooper), Best Cinematography, Best Editing

• The Tragedy of MacBeth

  • Nominated for: Best Actor (Washington), Best Production Design, Best Cinematography

  • Should have been: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Costumes