TMS Discussion: What the Heck Happened to 2022's Best Actress Race?

Well, it looks like I prematurely called Andrea Riseborough’s Oscar hype a flash-in-the-pan in my article last Saturday, and she was indeed given a Best Actress nomination for Michael Morris’ To Leslie this week. I did, however, correctly theorize someone just sending a group message to everyone’s agents to get the word out, so I guess my batting average is still somewhat strong. There was originally going to be a joke here about Andrea’s and Mary McCormack’s contact books never being more used than they were this past month. But it was reported last night the Academy are going to review whether Andrea’s campaign was ethical, so…congrats? Andrea is currently alongside Cate Blanchett for Todd Field’s Tár, Michelle Yeoh for the Daniels’ Everything, Everywhere, All at Once, Ana de Armas in Andrew Dominik’s Blonde and Michelle Williams in Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans for Best Actress of 2022….Whoosh. In a post-#oscarssowhite society, it’s jarring this season started as a race between Cate and Michelle Y. going for the big prize, with possibly Danielle Deadwyler for Chinonye Chukwu’s Till and Viola Davis for Gina Prince-Bythewood’s The Woman King filling two spots and the fifth nom up for grabs if the Academy chose to properly place Michelle W. in Supporting. Had Michelle correctly lobbied her placement, then I can imagine Andrea’s out of the blue appearance would have easily replaced her. Ana’s performance in Blonde received solid reception, but surely the Academy wouldn’t actually nominate an actor for the most offensive and hated movie of the year? Up until this past Tuesday, I thought if anyone was going to be this season’s Lady Gaga, it would probably be Ana. Welp.

(Momentum Pictures)

Both black contenders now snubbed for two white actresses, leaving Michelle Y. as the sole WOC in the category, is just tone deaf. Especially since some of the celebs hyping up Andrea, particularly actress Frances Fisher [remember Rose’s mom in James Cameron’s Titanic (1997)?], were claiming Viola and Danielle as sure locks. Now of course, all these famous people supporting Andrea with hashtags like #roomathetop and #roomforall have egg on their faces and are the subjects of the Academy’s reviewing. At this point I can’t decide if I’m more impressed or baffled how badly the committee fumbled this. I’m sure Andrea herself wasn’t expecting to be the bad guy at the end of the season and assumed she was either going to hurt Ana’s chances [as she only has a small, but loud, minority of supporters] or Michelle W.’s, who basically got her nom on name recognition. I can’t think of a more underwhelming Best Actress line-up in recent memory. This category isn’t the only perplexing result from the nomination announcements either. Fans called out the voters for not nominating any female directors after Chloé Zhao and Jane Campion won the past two Oscar seasons. Brett Morgen’s Moonage Daydream missing Best Documentary, Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis included in Best Editing, Damien Chazelle’s Babylon getting a Best Costume Design nom even though people complained about the anachronisms. Joseph Kosinski’s Top Gun: Maverick missing Best Cinematography despite being the frontrunner this whole month, and instead gaining, of all the categories, Best Adapted Screenplay?? Who the hell watched the Top Gun sequel for the script?

(A24 Films)

Look, I’m tired of Oscar bait and tacky campaigning as much as everyone, so let’s break this down. At first, I was surprised Everything, Everywhere was not only gaining momentum with nominations, but leading the race. But then I remembered I supported George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) re-opening the door for flashy action/adventure flicks to be considered just as Best Picture worthy as dramas. So if Michelle Y. wins [my current prediction], then good for her. There are a lot of lead performances in action movies that are legitimately great, and she is one of them. Cate is Cate. She has two Oscars already and is one of those acting legends like Meryl Streep and Daniel Day-Lewis, where critics and film fans enjoy her in basically everything. If Cate wins her third Oscar for Tár, then it wouldn’t be a surprise, but it wouldn’t be necessarily undeserved since she brings her A-game every time. Andrea’s rise to Oscar glory has happened to fast, I still haven’t seen To Leslie, but it at least sounds like she gives her all as a well-written female lead. Some critics and people in the indie film community did praise her back when the movie was released. I don’t know if I would be willing to risk my public image over a shameless tactic that is causing ridicule and might get me disqualified, but at least it sounds like she put in the work as a performer.

(Netflix)

Honestly, my biggest problems with the Best Actress category are Michelle W. and Ana. Michelle has no business lobbying for Best Actress when she’s undeniably portraying a supporting character in The Fabelmans. I can’t wait for the day category fraud is officially frowned upon and we stop allowing actors in the wrong category for a ‘better’ shot at winning. And truth be told, I’m just not that impressed with her acting lately and feel like I’m seeing Michelle more than her character. Maybe she did successfully capture Spielberg’s mother’s personality, but I’m too bothered by her refusal to be considered a supporting player to appreciate her accuracy. Then there’s Ana. All the crying, screaming, nudity and doe-eyed confusion paid off. My take on Ana’s nomination is still the same as it was in my original Blonde review, which remains my choice for worst film of 2022. Ana’s performance as Marilyn is limited to Dominik only allowing her two notes to work with for the bloated three-hour runtime. I’m most offended a movie that not only took the liberty to make Marilyn Monroe’s life extra tragic by giving her two rapes that never happened, and an equally fake abortion she is guilt-tripped for, is being rewarded an Oscar nomination. No, Ana’s talent does not make up for it and her effort is completely wasted on such a mean, disrespectful film to both Marilyn and women in general. I have to admit, Ana must be the luckiest person in this whole situation. All the ill-will she received from appearing in the movie and doubling down with ridiculous comments about Marilyn’s ghost during the promo are now obsolete; and she can now thank Andrea for taking the heat until Oscar night.

(United Artists)

I was ready to roll my eyes at all the older male fans of Ana claiming her nomination is proof Blonde is a ‘misunderstood masterpiece’ that will be “reevaluated in a decade,” and there is plenty of that going around. What I was not prepared for is people offended on Danielle’s and Viola’s behalf now forgiving Ana’s nomination and only blaming Andrea for messing everything up with Best Actress. People giving Ana and Michelle W. passes because they “campaigned correctly.” Did Michelle even do that? Outside of insisting she belongs in Lead, I have no idea what she’s been doing the past two months. Saying someone deserves an Oscar nomination because they played the game more than because the performance and film fit the bill is insane. If people enjoy the politics behind awards shows more than the actual quality of the movies, then literally what’s the point? What’s fun about that? Why couldn’t the Academy have just nominated a well-deserved performance like Danielle and saved us from all this? Why can’t I stop writing about awards season? Why is this so hard? Please…someone…I just want to enjoy new, good movies without extra drama…