As we approach the 87th annual Academy Awards, and as we distance
ourselves from 2014 and acclimate to the new year, I thought it would be
beneficial to mention five films from 2014 that had no chance of being Interstellars, American Snipers or Birdmen. Not
because they are lesser films, but because they sink below the global
cinematic surface and are overshadowed by the towering titans.
It is no secret that the Oscars often have a bias toward formulaic,
traditional narratives and scene-stealing performances (hence the phrase
“Oscar-bait”), but the Academy also tends to overlook films that don’t
have large advertising budgets and/or word-of-mouth hype. Rarely do we
get the opportunity to champion a nominee that is truly an independent
underdog. Some years have their exceptions; a few years back, Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012) surprised me as a nominee for Best Picture of 2012. So it happens, but those years seem to be more and more infrequent.
In an attempt to stifle my desire to criticize the Oscars for their
blind spots and politics, I will move on to the five films I’ve chosen
to share with you.
