The list of the
2005 Oscar nominees that was unveiled yesterday contained few surprises, several of them pleasant, like Catalina Sandino Moreno's nomination for
Maria Full of Grace. Yet there were, in my opinion, several egregious omissions. The deserving
Sideways was nominated for five Oscars, and that's great, but how could the Academy overlook Paul Giamatti, perhaps the most worthy member of that film's cast and crew?
Yet Giamatti's snub pales in comparison to what happened to
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Yes, Charlie Kaufman and Kate Winslet got nods, but the fact that Michel Gondry, Jim Carrey and the film's producers were overlooked for Best Director, Best Actor and Best Picture, respectively, is unconscionable. The film is a groundbreaking, near-flawless work, and a stunning example of how technical know-how (which Gondry's got in spades) and nonlinear storytelling can inform and enhance -- not obscure, as is so often the case -- emotional and narrative clarity. And Carrey is a revelation in a performance that is at once understated and heartbreaking.
Eternal was also shut out of all the technical achievement categories. Oh well.
# posted by Matthew Ross @ 1/26/2005 01:08:00 PM
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