And The Oscar Goes To…Heath Ledger Or Michael Shannon?

Since before it even hit theaters, there’s been quite a bit of buzz about Revolutionary Road, the film adaptation of Richard Yates’ novel about a young suburban couple in Connecticut who, while from the outside seems to live the perfect life, is desperately trying to break free from a miserable existence.

In a nutshell, Frank Wheeler (Leonardo DiCaprio) hates his office job in New York City, and his wife Alice (Kate Winslet) is being haunted by her old dreams of becoming an actress and her new “solution” of moving the family to Paris. Troubles in paradise ensue.

Oscar Frenzy once predicted, “This is the big one,” and upon first viewing the movie, Variety blogger Anne Thompson claimed, “The movie offers some possibility of hope for the rest of us.” On the flip side, however, rather than hope, Teri Berg of Mansfield’s The News Journal said, “Watching the movie in daunting 2009, though, you just get the sense she’s [Alice] selfish and snooty - and that’s the big failure here.”

Whatever the reason - and despite the fact the Oscars have several hours to go before the ceremony even commences - Berg was right. Revolutionary Road was indeed an overall Oscar failure. (Sure, the movie gained nominations for Art Direction and Costume Design, which is awesome for the art directors and costume designers, but doesn’t really mean much to most of the average movie-viewing public.)

The movie is up for squat, Leo’s up for squat, and Kate’s up against four others (Anne Hathaway, Angelina Jolie, Meryl Streep, and Melissa Leo) for Actress In A Leading Role for her role in The Reader.

Many folks are surprised. Others aren’t. (Boosh Magazine says, “Suck it, Revolutionary Road,” while Defamer says, “Good ******* riddance.” Yikes.)

One Revolutionary Road actor did, however, gain a significant movie-specific nomination. Michael Shannon is up for Actor In A Supporting Role for his portrayal of Revolutionary Road’s character John Givings, a man confined to a mental institution who has quite the knack for identifying and bluntly sharing the truth - both on screen and off, apparently.

From Mr. Givings’ blog (yes, he has a blog):

Micheal Shannon got the nod for best supporting actor. Part of me feels a sort of vindication in that alone, yet the other part which tends to speak a little louder says “whoop-d-*******-do!” It is a given that Heath Ledger will get the statue. Brilliant performance by poor ol’ Heath, but he is dead, is he not? Should’nt they at least give it to someone who can actually make the walk up on stage to give the damn acceptance speech? Now if Industrial Light and Magic could figure that one out, then maybe it would be a good pick, otherwise award it to someone with a pulse. Just my humble thoughts on the subject.

Time for my meds. Your thoughts?

Tough call, in my opinion (not about the meds - about who’s going to win). Ledger will most likely be the 2009 Oscar winner for Actor In A Supporting Role (let’s face it - his portrayal of the Joker was eerily fascinating). Yet, at the same time, Shannon’s John Givings was nothing to scoff at.

So, who’s it gonna be, readers? Who’s your pick?

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