The 91st Academy Awards came and went on Sunday, February 24. The show ran smoothly for the most part and ultimately benefited from not having a host as many other celebs were able to interject some hilarious comedy throughout the night (Melissa McCarthy, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, etc).
There were also some major triumphs that happened over the 3-hour ceremony. Spike Lee won his first ever Oscar, Hannah Beachler became the first African-American woman to win (and be nominated) the Oscar for Best Production Design for Black Panther and Lady Gaga scored Oscar gold for Best Original Song.
There were also heartwarming speeches made throughout, especially Regina King, who thanked the late author James Baldwin for being the inspiration for the movie If Beale Street Could Talk (he wrote the novel for it in 1974). The film secured her the award for Best Supporting Actress.
One moment, however, I’m livid by. F***ing livid. And that was Glenn Close not winning Best Actress for The Wife. No, Gaga didn’t win. I knew she wasn’t going to win as her momentum in this category stalled a while ago. The winner, as many of you know by now, was Olivia Colman for her work in The Favourite.
Glenn won every single major award going into Sunday night. Olivia won at the Golden Globes but that was for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical. This was Glenn’s year. There have been several years prior to this where it was her year (Fatal Attraction, Dangerous Liaisons), but I truly thought she would win this as her work in the film was beyond superb and kept me glued from the first moment she appeared on screen.
Olivia seemed shocked that she won. I was more focused on why in the hell she was wearing all that extra fabric on a Christmas-colored dress that only drew focus away from her speech as she kept moving it around. No shade… but shade. And there’s more coming from that.
I don’t, for the life of me, understand why The Academy consistently awards British period pieces. This has been an unfortunate pattern that has happened for years, and to me it makes the ceremony dreary and outdated. Was The Favourite great? Yes. Was Olivia funny? Sure. Did she deserve to win over Glenn or even Melissa McCarthy (Can You Ever Forgive Me) who has gotten zero award show love this season? No.
Glenn will have other chances in the future, no doubt, but it just seemed to be a big slap in the face to not give her the recognition that she’s deserved for decades in favor of a performance that lacked compared to hers.
This is the opinion of one contributing writer and not that of Instinct Magazine or other Contributing Writers.
The Oscar went to the one
The Oscar went to the one that was worthy of it. Just because Glenn Close did a film after how many years (or not) does not warrant her an Oscar. It went to the woman who was most deserved of the award as she gave a much better performance playing her quirky character. Get over it she lost and no amount of gay squealing will change that……
The only thing missing from
The only thing missing from Glenn's performance in THE WIFE was a Queen of England costume. That probably would have won her the award. Now, how many Queen of England moves have won best actress or have been released, period? I've lost count. The Favourite, The Queen, Elizabeth M, Elizabeth, Mrs Brown, Mary Queen of Scotts, Young Victoria, Victoria, Elizabeth the Golden Age, the Duchess, The Crown, and the list goes on ad nauseam. And now, Olivia Coleman is going to play Queen Elizabeth in "the Crown" on Netflix and that'll probably get her the EMMY. I don't know about you guys but I'm done with Queen of England Movies and TV. New material is needed! And Yes, Glenn Close was spectacular in The Wife, and was robbed and slapped in the face publicly by the Academy. Olivia Coleman's performance WAS NOT better than Glenn Close's.
Glenn Close gave a beautiful,
Glenn Close gave a beautiful, nuanced performance in The Wife, the equivalent of Vanessa Redgrave's lovely performance in Letters to Juliet. Both women do things with their bodies that speak volumes without dialogue. I thought Close would win because Geraldine Page won on her 7th nomination. Olivia Colman is lovely in The Favourite, a rich comedy that was shot at Hampton Court Palace, but Close is an outstanding actress who does remarkable research before any role she plays and it shows in her performance. This should have been her year. For one thing, she won every other award out there. I agree with those above who hope she doesn't just get a Life Achievement Award. After all, Peter O'Toole, who should have won for either The Ruling Class, The Lion in Winter or The Stunt Man, was given a Lifetime Achievement and then died. The Oscars can no longer be considered an important award. They're an industry award.
I recommend that people go to their library and check out Oscar Dearest by Peter H. Brown and Jim Pinkston. It explores the sins of the Academy, chief among them, breaking the fairy tale of how they started and the horrible people the studios treated people during the Blacklisting. It will open your eyes to this organization.
The only thing that's happening in the near future that's good is they're finally opening a Hollywood Museum so we should be able to see those things that Debbie Reynolds was talking about!
Given virtually no
Given virtually no description for The Favourite, my guess is that this writer has not seen it. It is not your run-of-the-mill period piece, it's odd but delectably vicious and all three central women playing queer characters are a lot more tremendously enjoyable to watch than The Wife.
Also, as far as precursors go, Olivia Colman had: A Golden Globe, a BFCA win, a BAFTA win, the LA Film Critics prize, the National Society of Film Critics prize, a bunch of regional critics where Glenn Close wasn't even mentioned in. The only award that Glenn won that Olivia didn't (and was eligible for) was SAG, but that voting body became hopelessly useless once they merged with AFTRA and it became a much wider field of voters who aren't necessarily even actors who understand the nuances of performance.
If we do away with giving great actors "lifetime achievement" prizes for mediocre work, I will be thrilled.
Really?!?…if you think
Really?!?…if you think Close's work in 'The Wife' was mediocre, then you don't know what great acting is, as far as I'm concerned. Sure, Colman gave a great performance…but Close's work was intimate, heartbreaking, full of emotional range, quite often expressing a world of feeling in her face without ever uttering a word….every bit as dynamic in its way as Colman's…in lots of ways, subtler, which is a neat trick, too! She richly deserved the honor in my book.
The record for most
The record for most nominations in the acting categories WITHOUT a win, is 8 by Peter O'Toole, followed by Richard Burton & Glenn Close with 7, and Deborah Kerr, Thelma Ritter & Amy Adams all with 6. Both O'Toole & Kerr did receive the Academy's Honorary Oscar. I hope Glenn is recognized for a performance, and not an honorary Oscar in the years ahead. She is hopeful about filming the musical version of "Sunset Boulevard", which garnered her a Tony award in 1994. Perhaps she will be recognized for her work in it.
From December 2018…
"As for the future, Close said progress is “inching closer and closer” on a big-screen adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Sunset Boulevard. Inspired by the classic Billy Wilder film, the musical goes into the shuttered life and home of Norma Desmond, a big-time silent-film star who remained larger than life — at least in her own mind. “It’s the pictures that got small,” Gloria Swanson intoned in the Desmond role in the 1950 classic. Close has portrayed Norma Desmond in two productions of the show, one in the 1990s, and then another in New York last year.
“The version we did in New York last year was quite different and it opened up a lot of people’s eyes, I think,” Close said. “The story is just brilliant. She’s one of the great characters ever written. If I have the privilege of doing that on film, that would be thrilling to me. I’m fascinated by the challenge of putting something on film that originated on the stage. It’s a tricky proposition.”
Close said the Sunset Boulevard project is still an unpaved road, but she hopes it gets the green light that would keep it moving toward reality.
“I don’t know if I even should be talking about it. But I think we have a great team forming, and I have my fingers crossed,” Close said. “I hope it happens. It’s just a delicious feast of a story.”"
I absolutely agree. We loved
I absolutely agree. We loved The Wife, and were so impressed by Glenn's skillful restraint. Another bravura performance.
sorry, but the best person
sorry, but the best person won. the movie wasnt great her performance good. she should have won for the bg chill. it is what it is. she is talented i feel like another role in her future will bring it to her.
I agree with ChrisGa..
I agree with ChrisGa…completely….Dangerous Liaisons was the role she should have won an Oscar.
Glenn Close wasn’t ROBBED ffs
Glenn Close wasn't ROBBED ffs. I like her, but frankly I'm glad the Academy decided not to award her a make-up/lifetime achievement Oscar for what was, ultimately, one of her lesser nominated performances(she should have won for Dangerous Liaisons, but alas…). And check your math–Olivia Volman won nearly a dozen precursor awards, including the BAFTA, so this wasn't the out-of-left-field win that half the internet is claiming it is. Geez….