Oscar History: 2005

The 2005 Oscars showcased easily the biggest Best Picture upset since 1998 when Shakespeare in Love won out over Saving Private Ryan. This time around, Ang Lee’s cowboy romance Brokeback Mountain was widely expected to take the top prize.

However, at the end of the evening, it was Jack Nicholson reading the name of Paul Haggis’s Crash as the winner. Other nominees were Bennett Miller’s Capote, George Clooney’s Good Night, and Good Luck, and Steven Spielberg’s Munich.

The ensemble race relations drama Crash has since garnered the reputation of one of the most undeserving Best Pic recipients of all time. While I agree it wasn’t the year’s best, it’s a pretty damn good film in my estimation. Other flicks I would’ve considered: Woody Allen’s Match Point and Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins, which I rank as the greatest superhero flick of all time.

While Mountain was snubbed for the big prize, Ang Lee did take Best Director in a category where the nominated directors matched the pictures honored (this was rare before the Academy switched to five to ten nominees in 2009). Lee won out over Haggis, Miller, Clooney, and Spielberg.

The Best Actor category went as planned with Philip Seymour Hoffman winning for his spot-on portrayal of Capote. Other nominees: Terrence Howard in Hustle&Flow, Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain, Joaquin Phoenix for Walk the Line, and David Strathairn in Good Night, and Good Luck.

I might have considered Russell Crowe in Cinderella Man or Viggo Mortensen in A History of Violence. Of course, the Academy rarely honors comedy which left out someone else I would have thought about – Steve Carell for his terrific work in The 40 Yr. Old Virgin.

As June Carter Cash, Reese Witherspoon was victorious in the Best Actress category in Walk the Line, over Judi Dench for Mrs. Henderson Presents, Felicity Huffman in Transamerica, Keira Knightley in Pride&Prejudice, and Charlize Theron for North Country.

My list would have certainly included Scarlett Johannson in Match Point.

George Clooney won Supporting Actor for Syriana over Matt Dillon in Crash, Paul Giamatti in Cinderella Man, Jake Gyllenhall in Brokeback Mountain, and William Hurt in A History of Violence.

Clifton Collins Jr.’s fine work in Capote should have been included and, for an outside the box pick, Mickey Rourke in a memorable role in Sin City.

Rachel Weisz’s win for Supporting Actress in The Constant Gardener showcased a weak category that included Amy Adams in Junebug, Catherine Keener in Capote, Frances McDormand in North Country, and Michelle Williams in Brokeback Mountain.

Two performances jump out in my mind that I would’ve had: Maria Bello in A History of Violence and Taryn Manning in Hustle&Flow.

Ultimately the 2005 Oscars will be remembered for that Crash upset. This would also not be the last time where Ang Lee would take home Best Director without his project winning Best Picture. We’ll get to that in an Oscar History post in the future.