Some thoughts on Oscar

I've finally tallied up my predictions, and, well, I had a better year last year. This year I guessed only 10 categories correctly and came (tied) for third among my less avid friends attending my Oscar Party. Congratulations to Scott, who guessed 13 correctly and was the winner among the guests! He'll be stoked.


I'm still in shock about the way the Oscars went down this year. It was all sort of surreal. From the way Jack Nicholson announced the winner, to the reaction of the cast and crew of Crash after hearing they've won, to the internet reaction of Brokeback and Crash fans, to the full page ad placed in Variety yesterday by Brokeback fans. It has been strange. I, too, find myself trying to make sense of everything--trying to understand how a film which swept precursor awards, including Best Picture from the Venice Film festival, BAFTA, the Golden Globes, the Independent Spirit Awards, Critics Choice (most notably New York, Los Angeles, London) could lose the coveted award.

Now, I'm not a Crash hater. As it stands, it was my #3 film of 2005, but I don't feel it's Best Picture quality. The more I think about the message and presentation of the movie, the more I'm unimpressed by the force-fed manipulation of Paul Haggis' Crash. And making Crash the BEST PICTURE winner of 2005 has propelled me to be more critical of the film, illuminating its flaws. I like Crash less now that's it won Best Picture than before, when I championed it long before there was Oscar buzz about it. Brokeback Mountain was the better choice (my #2 film of the year). But the Oscars rarely honor the BEST film of the year. This is the group, after all, that's awarded equally mediocre films as Best Picture: Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind, Chicago (just to name a few of the bad choices in the last five years).

Of course, the positive side to this result is that while Crash won't stand up to criticism over the years, Brokeback's legend has been born. Losing Best Picture might have been the best thing to happen to the film. It will live on, both timeless and definitive of this moment in history--a groundbreaking film told with sublime simplicity, beauty, and passion.