If last year’s Gotham Award nominations were unusually Oscar-friendly – with Birdman and Boyhood leading the pack with both organizations – this year’s tell a very different story. Most of the 2015 Oscar contenders, including Steve Jobs, Joy, Bridge of Spies, The Revenant, Inside Out, The Martian, The Hateful Eight and Black Mass, are studio-backed, leaving little room for overlap between the first (Gotham) and last (Oscar) organizations to weigh in on the year in film.
Spotlight, Tom McCarthy’s earnest investigative drama, is perhaps the strongest indie contender at this year’s Oscars; the Gotham committee honored it accordingly, with nominations for Best Picture and Screenplay, and a special prize for its cast. (Gotham has no supporting acting categories, which all of Spotlight’s actors would compete in.) Carol, Todd Haynes’ critically adored melodrama, is considered on the bubble with the Academy, and it too fared very well today. Cate Blanchett was nominated for Best Actress; the film also contends for Feature and Screenplay. These two should be considered the Gotham frontrunners, and the nominations for Carol boost its Oscar chances at least marginally.
The only films to perhaps take a hit were the other indies eligible here: The Danish Girl, Tom Hooper’s transgender drama, and Room, Lenny Abramson’s acclaimed, tightly-wound character study. (Brooklyn, foreign-backed, was ineligible.) The former played in Toronto to lukewarm reviews, but its performances – of Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander – earned raves, and were expected to contend here. The film was snubbed across-the-board, an indication of its diminishing buzz. Room was expected to be a much stronger Best Feature candidate, and thus its omission is a surprise. But Brie Larson, Gotham’s Best Actress champ in 2013 and a leading Oscar contender this year for Room, is nominated here. Interestingly, she and Blanchett will rematch after Larson pulled off a major upset two years ago, when she overtook Blanchett’s Oscar-winning Blue Jasmine work.
Mostly, though, this was a chance for movies that are likely to be ignored by Oscar to shine. And indeed, many did. Tangerine, Sean Baker’s electric and formally audacious film, was nominated for Best Feature – and its nonprofessional stars Mya Taylor and Kitana “Kiki” Rodriguez were nominated for Breakthrough Performance. Heaven Knows What, which cashed in less than 100K domestically, also snuck into the Feature field. And making the biggest splash of all, first feature The Diary of a Teenage Girl led all films with four nominations, including Best Feature, Screenplay and Actress. These movies are, unfortunately, going to have a very difficult time gaining traction in an especially muddled and competitive awards season. But their recognition here at a minimum shines light on some underappreciated artistic expressions, and at most might result in some awards chatter.
Plus, several worthy, under-the-radar contenders did get necessary boosts: Blythe Danner, so effortless and deep in I’ll See You in My Dreams; Michael Shannon, as good as he’s ever been (ergo, brilliant) in 99 Homes; Paul Dano, stunningly in-tune to Love and Mercy; Kristen Wiig, marvelously, implacably strange in Welcome to Me; Lily Tomlin, in her career-defining Grandma role. It was gratifying to see these performances – and perhaps even more importantly, these films – recognized. Certain performers like Danner, Shannon, Dano and Tomlin have a narrow path to a nomination, and this reminder of their work can only help. But even for those without a chance, like the Tangerine actresses, it’s hard to argue with the choices presented this year.
Our Oscar predictions will launch next week, in addition to a piece on the State of the Race.