2017 Oscar Nominations

The Oscar nominations were announced on Tuesday and, like every year, the nominees were fairly standard with only a couple of categories yielding surprises.

I wrote about my Oscar nomination predictions on Monday and ended up doing all right. The biggest surprise, as far as I’m concerned, was Amy Adams missing out on a Best Actress nomination for Arrival. The film itself picked up Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Cinematography nods, with a few more technical noms as well, but Adams herself missed out due to the annual Meryl Streep nomination and the inclusion of both Isabelle Huppert and Ruth Negga. It’s unfortunate because Adams is the crux of the entire film and she helps make this sci-fi film with huge implications feel deeply personal. Also, she just needs a damn Oscar already.

Another big surprise was Michael Shannon getting a nomination for Nocturnal Animals. This was a good surprise though. Shannon is the kind of actor who deserves a nomination for every one of his performances, in my opinion, so I couldn’t be happier about it. Now, moving on to some opinions about the nominations as a whole:

The Good

There were nine best picture nominees this year and it’s a very solid list. I could only really argue about one or two of the picks and there’s only one film that I dislike. It’s definitely a strong category. La La Land managed to pick up a record-tying 14 nominations in total, which is great news for director Damien Chazelle in particular, this only being his sophomore effort. The beautiful, heartbreaking Moonlight also managed to pick up a bunch of much-deserved nominations and, along with Hidden Figures, Lion, and Fences, shows the power and importance of hearing a wide-variety of voices in the Academy.

I’d also like to specifically single out the Best Original Screenplay nomination for The Lobster, a movie that was criminally under-seen, and I’m glad it wasn’t totally forgotten.

The Bad

The most controversial nominations this year are the Best Actor nomination for Casey Affleck and Best Director nomination for Mel Gibson. Affleck has been accused of sexual harassment and Gibson, well… I’m sure you know all about Mel Gibson. It’s a real “one step forward, two steps back” kind of situation with the Academy. Even if their argument is that they separate the art from the artist — which is really only useful when individually appraising a piece of art, not when you’re literally celebrating the artist — it’s a bad one. Nate Parker’s road to the Oscars ended early when the rape charges against him resurfaced. The Academy, and Hollywood as a whole, can be very selective when they choose to be.

The Weird

Academy Award Nominee Suicide Squad.

Complete List of Nominees

Best Picture

Arrival

Fences

Hacksaw Ridge

Hell or High Water

Hidden Figures

La La Land

Lion

Manchester by the Sea

Moonlight

Best Director

Denis Villeneuve, Arrival

Mel Gibson, Hacksaw Ridge

Damien Chazelle, La La Land

Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea

Barry Jenkins, Moonlight

Best Actor

Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea

Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge

Ryan Gosling, La La Land

Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic

Denzel Washington, Fences

Best Actress

Isabelle Huppert, Elle

Ruth Negga, Loving

Natalie Portman, Jackie

Emma Stone, La La Land

Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins

Best Supporting Actor

Mahershala Ali, Moonlight

Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water

Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea

Dev Patel, Lion

Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals

Best Supporting Actress

Viola Davis, Fences

Naomie Harris, Moonlight

Nicole Kidman, Lion

Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures

Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea

Best Original Screenplay

Hell or High Water

La La Land

The Lobster

Manchester by the Sea

20th Century Women

Best Adapted Screenplay

Arrival

Fences

Hidden Figures

Lion

Moonlight

Best Cinematography

Arrival

La La Land

Lion

Moonlight

Silence

Best Film Editing

Arrival

Hacksaw Ridge

Hell or High Water

La La Land

Moonlight

Best Visual Effects

Deepwater Horizon

Doctor Strange

The Jungle Book

Kubo and the Two Strings

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Best Production Design

Arrival

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Hail, Caesar!

La La Land

Passengers

Best Costume Design

Allied

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Florence Foster Jenkins

Jackie

La La Land

Best Makeup & Hairstyling

A Man Called Ove

Star Trek Beyond

Suicide Squad

Best Original Score

Jackie

La La Land

Lion

Moonlight

Passengers

Best Original Song

“Audition (The Fools Who Dream),” La La Land

“Can’t Stop the Feeling,” Trolls

“City of Stars,” La La Land

“The Empty Chair,” Jim: The James Foley Story

“How Far I’ll Go,” Moana

Best Sound Editing

Arrival

Deepwater Horizon

Hacksaw Ridge

La La Land

Sully

Best Sound Mixing

Arrival

Hacksaw Ridge

La La Land

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

Best Animated Feature

Kubo and the Two Strings

Moana

My Life as a Zucchini

The Red Turtle

Zootopia

Best Documentary

Fire at Sea

I Am Not Your Negro

Life, Animated

O.J.: Made in America

13th

Best Foreign Language Film

Land of Mine

A Man Called Ove

The Salesman

Tanna

Toni Erdmann

Best Documentary Short Subject

Extremis

4.1 Miles

Joe’s Violin

Watani: My Homeland

The White Helmets

Best Live Action Short

Ennemis Entreniers

La Femme et le TGV

Silent Nights

Sing

Timecode

Best Animated Short

Blind Vaysha

Borrowed Time

Pear Cider and Cigarettes

Pearl

Piper

Expect to see more articles about the 89th Academy Awards as we get closer to the date, including my predictions for the winners. The ceremony airs Sunday, February 26.