My Case of posts for the nine 2019 Best Picture nominees arrives at Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story. If you missed my first five entries, you can look them over at these links:
https://toddmthatcher.com/2020/01/14/oscars-2019-the-case-of-ford-v-ferrari/
https://toddmthatcher.com/2020/01/15/oscars-2019-the-case-of-the-irishman/
https://toddmthatcher.com/2020/01/17/oscars-2019-the-case-of-jojo-rabbit/
https://toddmthatcher.com/2020/01/18/oscars-2019-the-case-of-joker/
https://toddmthatcher.com/2020/01/18/oscars-2019-the-case-of-little-women/
Let’s look at the pros and cons for this particular story:
The Case for Marriage Story
This would be the acting showcase nominee. With three nods for Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, and Laura Dern, it has more performance nominations than anything else and Dern is seen as the front runner in Supporting Actress. The pic’s 95% Rotten Tomatoes score is certainly on the high end for the nine pictures recognized. Baumbach’s Oscar exposure previously consisted of a sole Original Screenplay nod for 2005’s The Squid and the Whale and this is his awards breakout.
The Case Against Marriage Story
The Netflix venture has yet to produce a signature victory at any of the major precursors. Baumbach was left out of the final five in Best Director and that’s almost always a troubling sign for a Best Picture victory. And there’s still the matter of potential Netflix bias from voters. Even if the streaming service doesn’t face opposition, Academy members will probably look at Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman instead.
The Verdict
Laura Dern could represent the film’s sole win on Oscar night. Baumbach could make a run at Original Screenplay with serious competition from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Parasite. A Best Picture win doesn’t appear to be in the cards.
Up next in my Case of posts… 1917!
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