Oscar History: 2000

The 21st century kicked off with an undeserving Best Picture winner in my view and my favorite picture of 2000 was left out of the Top Five.

I have always felt that Ridley Scott’s megahit Gladiator is overrated, but it managed to win Best Picture. It’s not that I didn’t like the movie, but I maintain that it simply isn’t the awards juggernaut that it turned out to be.

Gladiator would win out over two Steven Soderbergh movies, Traffic and Erin Brockovich, as well as Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Lasse Hallstrom’s Chocolat.

My vote would have gone to Cameron Crowe’s marvelous Almost Famous, which shouldn’t have been left off the nominees. It’s certainly my favorite pic of that year.

I also would’ve given serious consideration to Darren Aronofsky’s terrific drug drama Requiem for a Dream, as well as Mary Harron’s American Psycho.

While Picture and Director usually match, this wasn’t the case this time around. Soderbergh would win that category for Traffic. He was also nominated for Brockovich. The other nominees: Ridley Scott, Ang Lee, and Stephen Daldry for Billy Elliot.

Once again, I would’ve included Cameron Crowe and Darren Aronofsky, for sure. It’s worth noting that Traffic is probably my second favorite movie of 2000 after Famous.

Russell Crowe would win Best Actor for Gladiator. A fine performance to be sure, even though I think Crowe was more deserving of a win for Michael Mann’s The Insider, which came out the year before. He was nominated, but Kevin Spacey in American Beauty took home the gold. Other nominees: Javier Bardem in Before Night Falls, Tom Hanks in Cast Away, Ed Harris in Pollock, and Geoffrey Rush for Quills.

Some other names for consideration: Denzel Washington in Remember the Titans and Michael Douglas for Traffic or Wonder Boys. And I unquestionably would’ve included the brilliant work of Christian Bale in American Psycho.

The Best Actress race wasn’t much of a competition. Julia Roberts was the frontrunner from the get-go for Erin Brockovich. She would win out over Joan Allen in The Contender, Juliette Binoche in Chocolat, Ellen Burstyn in Requiem for a Dream, and Laura Linney in You Can Count on Me.

I’m a big fan of Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides and would’ve nominated Kirsten Dunst for her work in that picture. Other considerations: Michelle Rodriguez in Girlfight and Cate Blanchett for The Gift.

Benicio Del Toro would win Supporting Actor for his solid work in Traffic, beating out Jeff Bridges in The Contender, Willem Dafoe in Shadow of the Vampire, Albert Finney for Erin Brockovich, and Joaquin Phoenix for Gladiator.

I didn’t feel The Contender was a very good film, but I definitely would’ve nominated Gary Oldman instead of Jeff Bridges in this category for that movie. I also would’ve considered Will Patton for his understated and effective performance in Remember the Titans.

Marcia Gay Harden was a surprise winner for Supporting Actress for her work in Pollock. The favorite was Kate Hudson in Almost Famous. She should have won. Other nominees: Judi Dench in Chocolat, Frances McDormand for Almost Famous, and Julie Walters for Billy Elliot.

Erika Christensen was terrific as Michael Douglas’s drug-addicted daughter in Traffic, yet she was snubbed. And, as always, I like to shout out some comedic performers who are pretty much always ignored. For 2000, how about Amanda Peet’s breakout performance as a dental assistant/aspiring hitman in The Whole Nine Yards?

In summary, Gladiator managed to win in a year that had much better nominees and the Academy got it wrong in my opinion to start out the new century.