The Oscar Race – In any other year…
In any other year, we wouldn’t be talking about The Dark Knight, Milk, WALL-E, and Slumdog Millionaire as serious Best Picture contenders. In any other year, the Best Actress trophy wouldn’t be a race between a classic icon and an icon in waiting. In any other year, performers playing a professional wrestler and a gay rights activist wouldn’t be the frontrunners for the Best Actor trophy. In any other year, the idea of a posthumous Oscar win for a late-twenties actor playing a super villain wouldn’t even be worth a laugh.
But this year isn’t any other year.
There’s plenty of quality to go around in a very small number of pictures. Unlike last year where quality didn’t mean ratings, the movies making waves are beloved works. Those Oscar pictures we usually see appear to be big bores by comparison. Is it art house exhaustion? Is it prestige fatigue? Or is it that in this year, unlike most years, the blockbusters and the feel-good movies hit the right cinematic notes while still appealing to a mass audience? Is this the new Hollywood?
There’s no doubt about it. This year’s race feels different. It’s not just because at this time of the year, we usually have an idea of which picture and players will eventually win Oscars. It’s also because of the types of films and performances that may win.
God, I love this race.
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