MovieChat Forums > The Reader (2009) Discussion > Worst recent oscar best picture nominee?

Worst recent oscar best picture nominee?


I haven't actually seen this but at 62% on rotten tomatoes and 58 on metacritic it definitley seems like the least loved of all recent best picture nominees. It's curious that some subjects like the holocast are loved by the Oscars. I also notice despite the lukewarm response to the film as a whole Kate Winslet's performance has been acclaimed as superb. Perhaps the Oscars have difficulty viewing a great performance seperatley from an entire film. Anyway this film wasn't even the most acclaimed starring Winslet in 2008, that was revolutionary road. Pesonally I am one of the group that thought Dark Knight was robbed of a nomination that year, despite it's comic book roots it is also a grim dark drama but I realise that certain types of films rarely get a look in. I'm surprised the Wrestler didn't get nominated that year, it got universal acclaim but I am not arguing its case as I think it's quite overrated. As I said, I haven't seen the reader but even if I watched it and personally thought it was brilliant the oscar love would still surprise me given the lack of critic love. I loved Benjamin Button but I was surprised by its oscar nomination as it also had a relatively high percentage of critics who weren't so keen on it. My expectation of what will get oscar nominated doesn't come from my opinions about films but what the critics say.

reply

Actually I realise that The Blind Side got a lower metacritic score (53) although it got a higher rotten tomato score. Interestingly that was another film that was anchored by a best actress performance.

reply

A lot of reviewers hate the film because it sugarcoats the holocaust, which is a pretty fair assessment.

reply

[deleted]

Your take on the film is the same as mine. It's not about the holocaust but about the relationship between the guilty war generation and the post war generation.

But the negative reviews do have a point. The big problem with the film is that a lot of (intelligent) people do come away saying 'it made a nazi sympathetic' etc. and that common attitude is the fault of the film's.

As a crass comparison, it's like an anti war film which a lot of people enjoy because of the great action.

reply

[deleted]

I loved this film and i was glad it got nominated, people just looked this film in the wrong way it wasn't about the holocaust at all it was about the two main characters guilt and redemption it really didn't matter that she was a nazi, by the way i think the film that robbed the dark knight's or wall-e's spot was frost/nixon

reply

Well said, lily19.

I can kill again. You gave me a reason to live. -Commander Arvid Harbinger

reply

It's not that I didn't get it, it's not that this movie is "deeper" that I am (though it probably has something to do with me being 16). This movie was *beep* boring. There I said it. Something can have some sort of profound meaning and still be boring.

~ I'm a farmer, who's ever heard of a fatalistic farmer? ~

reply

[deleted]

"Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" was a far worse nominee, in my book.

reply

[deleted]

I think it's questionable. I would have no problem placing Synecdoche, New York, The Wrestler and WALL-E ahead of The Dark Knight. Once you are out of your twenties The Dark Knight isn't all that, and most Academy voters are over 40 so they're not really going to have juvenile tastes.

reply

[deleted]

I think 2008 was pretty strong in retrospect. I named three high quality American films just off the top of my head and there are probably more. The Reader was bland and The Dark Knight was juvenile; neither belonged on a shortlist of the best films of 2008.

reply