Ms. Silver Screen: Drive Was Robbed… Big Time
On the morning of Tuesday, January 24th, the nominations for the 84th Annual Academy Awards were released. If you listened carefully, you likely heard the sound of mass disappointment. Not just regarding DRIVE, but for me, that was the big one. First of all, why 9 Best Picture nominees? Because they just HAD to get EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE in there? Well that’s pandering at its finest anyway. I haven’t read one good review for that movie. Matt Pais of the Chicago RedEye said that it was absolutely not worthy of Oscar noms.
On that same note, WHY was THE DESCENDANTS nominated for Best Picture? That movie was such a – for lack of a better term – hunk of shit. It was boring! WAR HORSE I can get on board with. It’s about war and the bond between a boy and his horse and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house afterwards. Surely there was room in there for DRIVE. But again, pandering. If you read my review of DRIVE then you know how I felt about it. The movie was dynamite, yet it sits with ONE nod? For Sound Editing? If it doesn’t win, I may have to rethink all of my Oscar love.
Here is a list of nominations that I think DRIVE deserved:
– Best Actor in a Leading Role: Ryan Gosling
– Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Albert Brooks
– Cinematography
– Costume Design (Come on, that scorpion jacket is fucking sweet.)
– Directing
– Film Editing
– Music (Original Score)
– Best Picture
– Writing
Yes. I think it deserved 10 nods. Even though Albert Brooks took the whole thing in stride saying “I got ROBBED. I don’t mean the Oscars, I mean literally. My pants and shoes have been stolen. And to the Academy: You don’t like me. You really don’t like me.” If the man had eyebrows, they may have been as furrowed as my own. I guess we’ll never know what his expression would have been. I’m just not as calm and collected about the whole thing. All I know is that he played that role like a champion and just messed everybody up.
The star of the show was Ryan Gosling who – handsome face aside – plays an incredible bad ass. The guy knocked this thing out of a park. What did George Clooney do in THE DESCENDANTS that was even close? He ran down a hill and it was funny. Ryan Gosling as Driver stomped a guy’s head in. In a scorpion jacket.
As far as Cinematography and Costume Design, really? Really no nods? DRIVE so perfectly captured a retro look while keeping things modern. The story is a simple but gripping one and the characters are perfect. The bad guys are really bad and the good guys are real human beings, and real heroes.
You know what, Academy? I no longer trust your judgement. You lost some real points here. And here’s what… if anything but THE ARTIST wins best picture, I may not be back next year. I’m a lifelong Cubs fan. I have all of the constant disappointment I need, thank you very much. I don’t need to worry every year from here on out that you’re going to suck, too.