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Theres one hallowed awards-season tradition I treasure above all others.
Choosing an Oscar villain takes commitment.
Tastes being what they are, everyones Oscar villain might be different.
If youre from Ireland, your Oscar villain may beThe Banshees of Inisherinfor deploying the hoariest Irish stereotypes.
Or maybe they simply had the bad luck toget caught in a psychological restagingof a contentious presidential election.
The unpredictability is part of the fun!
Together, they form a case study in the myriad ways a film can become an Oscar villain.
One was the preseason favorite that stumbled down the stretch.
One is positively vintage, a classic of the form.
And one has innovated a totally new method of villainy that will be studied for years to come.
(Full disclosure: That last one was me.)
It wasnt just snobby critics who disliked it either.
The plan worked, sort of though reviews weremixed, the film performed decently at the box office.
However,The Whalenever became the undeniable Oscar player it might have seemed in September.
Can you really be the Oscar villain if even the Academy thinks youre not very good?
Elvis
AsThe Whalefaded, a good old-fashioned Oscar villain emerged in its stead.
Baz LuhrmannsElviswas not automatically exalted as a potential Oscar player upon its debut at Cannes.
(Tellingly, Warner Bros. did not mount much of a campaign for Tom Hanks as supporting actor.)
Box-office success earnedElvissome preseason traction, but its place was always provisional.
Once therealOscar movies came out, Luhrmanns film was surely going to fall off.
Except ostensible contenders likeGlass OnionandBabyloncaused less conversation than anticipated, whileElviskept showing up.
But its the ghost of another 2018 villain,Green Book, that lendsElvisits Oscar-villain cred.
This sunny vision of rock history has not worked for everyone.
So why hasnt the sizable backlash that greetedGreen BookandBohemian RhapsodystruckElvis?
It could be a matter of timing.
The filmhad already been out for half a year before it became a bona fide awards player.
By the time anti-Elvisforces realized what they were dealing with, it was already a Best Picture nominee.
(The films two likeliest wins, Actor and Costume Design, are its two least-garish elements.)
Astoundingly, it worked: On nomination morning, the English actress cracked the Oscar lineup.
Amid the uproar, the Academy announced, without naming names, that it was investigating theTo Lesliecampaign.
In the end, the Academy uncovered tactics that raised concern but did not rescind Riseboroughs nomination.
But theres a difference between a villain and a punch line.
To that end, are we heading into Oscar night with no Oscar villains?
If so, I cant help thinking thats a loss for the Academy.
But its simply much less fun to root for something without also knowing what youre rooting against.
