Feb. 24 marked the end of the award season, which was altogether skittish and indecisive, splitting the riches all over the board of the year’s best movies. At the 85th “Oscars” ceremony, everyone expected Lincoln to sweep the gold, after being nominated for 12 categories. Lincoln only won two Oscars, being beat out by “Life of Pi” and “Argo”, which were both nominated for less categories yet brought home more Oscars.
However, Lincoln was awarded the Best Actor for Daniel Day Lewis’ performance. Although it seemed that Ben Affleck was robbed of his nomination under the Best Director category at the Oscars, his film “Argo” took home the Best Picture award. “Life of Pi” won Best Director and Best Score, while “Amour” was announced to be Best Foreign Film. “Silver Linings Playbook” also took home winnings, as Jennifer Lawrence was recognized as Best Actress in a Leading Role. “Les Miserables” was awarded with Best Supporting Actress for Anne Hathaway and a couple of production design awards. “Django” star Christopher Waltz took home Best Supporting Actor, and Quentin Tarantino won Best Original Screenplay.
The 85th ceremony played tribute to the greatest movie scores, the 50th anniversary of James Bond on the big screen and featured live performances from the casts of “Chicago”, Jennifer Hudson from “Dream Girls” and an ensemble from “Les Miserables”.
A great year of movies deserves a great host, or so one would think. Many critics would argue that Seth Macfarlane, creator of “Family Guy,” was sporadic in pacing and poor in execution. He may have earned some points back for his velvety Sinatra singing voice or for making out with Sally Field in the evening’s intro reel.
Those who spoke for longer than their acceptance speech quota were greeted with the staggering theme from “Jaws.” Jennifer Lawrence lost her balance on her way to claim the Best Actress in a Leading Role award, having tripped over her cloud-like gown. Daniel Radcliffe, better known as ‘boy-wizard’ Harry Potter, sang and danced on stage with Seth Macfarlane and Joseph Gordon Levitt.
“Argo”, has been the most predominant success of the awards season, having won Best Picture at “The Golden Globes,” “The British Academy of Film and Television Awards,” and at the “Oscars”. Chris Terrio, who won Best Adapted Screenplay for “Argo” said, “I want to dedicate this to people all over the world in the US, in Cananda, and Iran who use creativity and intelligence to solve a problem non-violently.”
When presenting the award for Best Picture, First Lady Michelle Obama said, “[Films] are especially important for our young people. Every day, their engagement in the arts, our children learn to open their imaginations, to dream just a little bigger, and to strive every day to reach those dreams. I want to thank all of you here tonight, for your part that vitally important work,” she said.
The First Lady’s message rings true with the evolution of Ben Affleck’s career, of which he thanked the academy for teaching him to “work harder than you think you possibly can. You can’t hold grudges, and it doesn’t matter how you get knocked down in life, it’s going to happen. All that matters is that you’ve got to get up.”