Michael Keaton in Birdman
The Academy Awards have come and gone once again, and this time the dark comedy “Birdman” flew to the top with the Academy Award for best picture.
Directed by Mexican director Alejandro G. Inarritu, Birdman is the story of a washed-up former superhero actor who’s attempting an improbable comeback on Broadway. It ended up winning four Oscars across nine nominations including best director. This marked the second consecutive win in the best director category for a Mexican filmmaker. Acclaimed for looking like one continuous shot through a Broadway theater and mixing reality with fantasy, the movie, Inarritu said, came from learning to be fearless in filmmaking.
Eddie Redmayne in The Theory of Everything
Coming out of Britain, Eddie Redmayne won best actor with his multifaceted performance as physicist Stephen Hawking in “The Theory of Everything”, a category which also held Michael Keaton for his performance in Birdman.
Wes Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel
All of this year’s best picture nominees won at least one award, but the biggest surprise of the night in terms of was”Boyhood,” Richard Linklater’s opus filmed over 12 years to depict the basic story of a boy growing up while maintaining the same cast. Expected to do very well in voting, it only won one Oscar out of the six it was nominated for. Wes Anderson’s gorgeous “The Grand Budapest Hotel” was more popular among the 6,100 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that do the Oscar voting, and it won four awards across nine nominations. “Whiplash,” an independent film about an aspiring jazz drummer and his tough mentor that was directed by the young Damien Chazelle, won three Oscars.
The only true box office blockbuster among the nominations was the Iraq war drama “American Sniper”, directed by Clint Eastwood. After much hype and incredible box office returns, it only picked up one statue- for best sound editing.
Common & John Legend for Selma’s “Glory”
Controversy over the lack of diversity among this year’s nominees was one of this year’s hottest topics. Neil Patrick Harris in his first Oscars-hosting role opened the telecast with “Tonight we honor Hollywood’s best and whitest, sorry brightest.” But the racial theme resonated more deeply later, when Common and John Legend got their standing ovation with their performance of “Glory” from the 1960s civil rights drama “Selma.” Moving the audience to tears, it won best song- the only win for “Selma,” the film that stands at the center of the diversity debate. “‘Selma’ is now, because the struggle for justice is right now,” said Legend in the aftermath of recent protests & events in America.
The four awards for acting all went to first timers this year. Eddie Redmayne won critical acclaim for his honest portrayal of the various stages of disability endured by Stephen Hawking, the physicist & cosmologist who suffers from the motor neuron disease known as ALS. “I am fully aware that I am a lucky, lucky man,” Redmayne said. “This Oscar belongs to all of those people around the world battling ALS.”
Richard Linklater’s Boyhood Starring Patricia Arquette
Patricia Arquette made the big win for best supporting actress, winning for her role as a struggling single mother in “Boyhood” and making an appeal for equal pay and rights for American women in her acceptance speech. Five-time nominee Julianne Moore finally took home a statue for best actress, also for her portrayal of an illness- hers as a middle-aged woman suffering Alzheimer’s in “Still Alice.” J.K. Simmons, a beloved character actor for many years, won best supporting actor as an abusive music teacher in “Whiplash”.
As the single largest televised event that isn’t sports, the Academy strongly aimed to attract young viewers who may not care much about the films being featured but who would tune in for the musical acts. A bit of a bridge between younger and older audiences, pop diva Lady Gaga received a standing ovation for her medley of tunes from “The Sound of Music” before she introduced that film’s star, Julie Andrews.
Lady Gaga Performing “The Sound of Music” Medley
All in all, a great Academy Awards and a great show. Between Neil Patrick Harris’ performance as host and the night’s featured music, the 2015 Academy Awards proved to be one of the best in years. As Birdman says, stay weird!
