Mini-Countdown: 6 Most Oscar-Nominated Films Not To Win An Award

Sometimes when it comes to awards, you'll often hear people saying "it's an honour to be nominated". Well, for these six films, that honour would have to be enough because, despite ten Oscar nominations or more, they all walked away from the ceremony empty-handed.

Each film was nominated for Best Picture, Best Production Design, and either Best Original or Best Adapted Screenplay in their respective year, as well as having at least one nod in one of the four acting categories. 

Note: in the entries below, any number followed by an asterisk- e.g. (6*)- denotes that the film won in an acting category for which two or more actors/actresses from the featured non-Oscar-winning film were nominated.

1. The Turning Point (1977)
dir. Herbert Ross, starring Anne Bancroft, Shirley MacLaine, Mikhail Baryshnikov

This family drama set in the ballet world, with Bancroft and MacLaine as estranged sisters, was tied with weighty holocaust drama Julia for the most nominations for the 50th Academy Awards: both films had 11 nods apiece. But when the ceremony rolled around, the film would walk away with no awards, with Annie Hall (4*), Julia (2), Star Wars (3) and Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (1) triumphing instead. 

2. The Color Purple (1985)
dir. Steven Spielberg, starring Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover

As with The Turning Point, The Color Purple (Spielberg's reverent adaptation of Alice Walker's novel) was tied for the most Oscar nominations at the 58th Academy Awards. Both it and romantic drama Out Of Africa both had 11 nods apiece. But again, once we get to the ceremony, it's again a zero win situation. Instead, Out Of Africa (5), The Trip To Bountiful (1), Prizzi's Honor (1*), Ran (1), Mask (1), and White Nights (1) winning out instead. 

3. Gangs Of New York (2002)
dir. Martin Scorsese, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Daniel Day-Lewis

With 10 nods, Scorsese's sweeping period crime drama had the second-highest number of nominations at the 75th Academy Awards [the highest number that year went to Chicago which got an impressive 13]. But, sadly, the film wouldn't win anything. Instead, Chicago (5), The Pianist (2), Road To Perdition (1), Talk To Her [Hable Con Ella] (1) and 8 Mile (1) won in its place. 

4. True Grit (2010)
dir. Joel & Ethan Coen, starring Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, Matt Damon

The Coen Brothers' remake of the 1969 Western True Grit had 10 nominations at the 83rd Academy Awards (second only to The King's Speech which had a round dozen). The original version was only nominated for two awards, but won John Wayne the Best Actor Oscar. Perhaps they were hoping the same would happen again for Jeff Bridges? Spoiler alert: it didn't. Instead, The King's Speech (3), Inception (3), Alice In Wonderland (2), The Social Network (1), and The Fighter (1) won in the categories for which True Grit had been nominated. 

5. American Hustle (2013)
dir. David O. Russell, starring Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence

With ten nods- including one each in the four acting categories for the second year in a row- American Hustle was the joint top nominated film at the 86th Academy Awards, with Gravity also getting 10 nominations. However, there was no love for David O. Russell's crime caper, with the Academy honouring 12 Years A Slave (2), Gravity (2), The Great Gatsby (2), Dallas Buyers Club (2), Her (1), and Blue Jasmine (1) in its place. 

6. The Irishman (2019)
dir. Martin Scorsese, starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci

Scorsese's epic crime drama was one of three films to garner 10 nods for the 92nd Academy Awards (along with 1917 and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood). But despite this, The Irishman was going home empty-handed, with Parasite (2), Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2*), 1917 (2), Jojo Rabbit (1), Little Women (1), and Ford V Ferrari [Le Mans '66] (1) winning instead. 

Review: Joy (UK Cert 12A)

Joy (Jennifer Lawrence) is a divorced mother of two, who has always wanted to create things. Her parents Rudy (Robert de Niro) and Terry (Virginia Madsen) are divorced and Rudy has just returned to Joy's home after finishing with his latest girlfriend, whilst Terry spends her days watching TV soaps. The only sane person in the house is grandmother Mimi (Diane Ladd) who encourages Joy to pursue her passion. Soon, Joy has a project- a self-wringing mop. Whilst this might not sound like the most gripping premise for a film ever, Joy transcends its traditional and predictable rags-to-riches storyline with a winning performance by the ever-dependable Lawrence in her third collaboration with director David O. Russell (after American Hustle and Silver Linings Playbook). 

Russell directed and wrote the script, rewriting a story from Annie Mumolo (Bridesmaids). The film is based in part on the story of Joy Mangaro, a housewife and inventor from Long Island, New York who invented the Miracle Mop. However, Joy's surname is never given in the film and the Miracle Mop is never named as such (except on the QVC screen). So it's not a biopic of Mangaro per se, more a film inspired by her life and story. 

Jennifer Lawrence's central performance as Joy is the best thing in the film. She's an unflappable lynchpin against the more outlandish excesses of some of the other characters who are trying to appear quirky but come across as irritating (Madsen especially, who is a terrific actress but has been given a bum role here). And whilst the film follows the tried and true pathway of rags-to-riches- plucky outsider has an idea and succeeds against the odds despite attempts to derail them- Lawrence is never less than watchable, whether negotiating in the boardroom for a shot at getting her mop advertised or dealing with her crazy family. She's been getting some awards recognition which is well deserved.

Robert de Niro's performance is broad but good, and he gets one of the most memorable wedding toasts ever seen on film. Diane Ladd is great in her supporting role as Joy's grandmother and film's narrator. There's a nice supporting turn by Bradley Cooper as QVC executive Neil Walker whom Joy meets whilst trying to get the mop marketed. What's also nice is the temptation is resisted to have Neil as a love interest for Joy. It's made clear very early on that Joy doesn't need a handsome prince to save her.

The script is quite uneven in places, relying on whimsy in place of anything concrete; the soap angle could quite easily be excised from the film with no major structural issues. There's some interesting use of flashback- you see the entire relationship of Joy and Tony's (Edgar Ramirez) relationship from first meeting to signing the divorce papers in about ten minutes flat- but there are elements of telling, not showing which is irking. 

Generally speaking, the film is decent enough but it can't decide what it wants to be. It could have been a much more straightforward biopic and been better for it. Still, Lawrence's performance saves it from being totally mediocre.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Tez

Review: Silver Linings Playbook (UK Cert 15)

Adapted from the 2008 novel by Matthew Quick, David O. Russell's follow-up to The Fighter is a combination of romance, comedy and drama which won the People's Choice Award at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival and has been a major presence during this year's awards season. Not an easy watch in places, due to subject matter, but it's full of heart and warmth.

After eight months in a Baltimore mental health institution, Pat Solitano Jr (Bradley Cooper) is released to the care of his parents (Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver) in Philadelphia. Pat's recent diagnosis of bipolar disorder following a violent attack on his wife's lover led to his admission. Now he's out and determined to get better so he can get back with his wife. As he tries to find the silver linings, he meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a girl with troubles of her own. Soon a pact is made; Tiffany will deliver a letter to Pat's wife if Pat will take part in a dance competition with her.

Silver Linings Playbook is the first film in over thirty years to garner an Oscar nomination in each of the four acting categories and that's certainly no fluke. All four main actors- Cooper, Lawrence, de Niro, and Weaver- give naturalistic performances. It's very easy sometimes, especially when dealing with issues like mental illness, for the performances to be very showy, for the actor to almost play up to the cameras as they emote. I didn't feel like there was any of that here.

Cooper shows that he can do more than be a pretty face as his determination to get his wife back and his burgeoning friendship with Tiffany show some real acting chops. Lawrence's performance is mesmerising as the unapologetic but equally as messed-up Tiffany; bizarrely, there is an age difference of nearly fifteen years between Cooper and Lawrence but such is the maturity of her performance that it is not noticeable. De Niro is great as the Philadelphia Eagles obsessed Pat Sr, full of supersititons and borderline OCD whilst Weaver is a warm and engaging presence as the rock who holds things together.

There are other great performances by John Ortiz as Pat Jr's friend Ronnie, Anupam Kher as Pat Jr's counsellor Dr Patel and- I'm surprised to even write these words- a lovely turn by Chris Tucker as Danny, Pat's friend from Baltimore. Usually, Tucker has me gritting my teeth as soon as he opens his mouth but here he's more than bearable and actually kind of likeable. 

The portrayal of mental illness is sensitively done but unflinching in their power; they're certainly not sugar-coated or sanitised. Pat Jr's manic episodes are played straight down the line; they're not trivialised or played for laughs which is to the film's credit. Some scenes are difficult to watch, most notably when Pat Jr is looking for his wedding video. The script is decent (Russell adapting Quick's novel himself) with moments of humour subtly weaved in. My only bugbear is the occasional lacklustre direction which lets things down.

You don't need to be a fan of American football to enjoy the film, nor do you need any passion for dancing. Ultimately, it's a touching and occasionally funny film about two damaged souls finding a connection and it's well worth two hours of your time.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Tez