quel surprise

"The academy has long been accused of a provincialism woven with leaden taste, but its members proved this year that they will vote for what they perceive to be great work, regardless of its lineage or commercial impact." A.O. Scott, New York Times


Well, it was an interesting show …. Oscar seems to be moving a little out of the American mainstream—by becoming increasingly more international (or at least less "provincial")—and that may account in some part for the low ratings received by the show (the lowest since 1953). Perhaps fewer & fewer of us are watching the Oscars because it is rewarding films fewer & fewer of us want to see. Many of the winners were non-American. Indeed, for the first time since 1964, all the acting awards went to non-Americans: Daniel Day-Lewis from Ireland; Tilda Swinton from Scotland (I think, or is that England); Marion Cotillard (quel surprise!) from France; and Javier Bardem from Spain. Situated in New York—and like Woody Allen before them—the Coen Bros. too, I’m sure, see themselves as firmly outside the Hollywood mainstream—indeed, they looked a little embarrassed to be there. That their relatively daring film No Country for Old Men is the face of new Hollywood is a delicious irony to be savoured by hardcore film buffs and critics who have despaired of the Oscars or long ago written them off as little more than a crass commercial for "the industry." But in the words of David Carr, also writing in the New York Times, The Oscars are now in danger of becoming a way for industry types to demonstrate refinement and cultural ambition that doesn’t yield an economic dividend for the companies that finance them. It’s the kind of good taste that could leave a bad taste if they don’t watch out.