Oscar Upsets/Mistakes: The Dark Knight A No Show For Best Picture (2008)

Christopher Nolan's film The Dark Knight is said to have changed the Best Picture category with its lack of a nomination, increasing the amount of films that can be nominated for Best Picture. Arguably one of the most influence films of this decade this crime thriller took audiences by storm and has continued to wow critics. Of course like any great film there is a select number of "haters" that will bash Nolan and this film at any chance, but it has nothing to prove to them. It holds a 94% on rotten tomatoes, it holds the 7th place on IMDB's top 250 and has been included in almost every top film list including Empires top 500 films of all time (In the top 15). The movie is a monument of epic scale with thought provoking and mature themes. Its not like any superhero film that has ever been made, and its changed the way people perceives films of that genre. If down the line a superhero film wins Best Picture they better thank The Dark Knight and Christopher Nolan, it would be the only reason they were taken seriously.

Looking at the competition

The winner of the big prize was the Danny Boyle film Slumdog Millionaire, which is no doubt a great film. One that I was high on when I saw but have never revisited since, because unfortunately it doesn't draw my attention anymore. Also nominated you have the David Fincher film The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, which is in my opinion a solid Fincher film that doesn't match up to the likes of Se7en or Fight Club. Its rather slow and I continued to fade out throughout its 165 minute run time. The other 3 films that were nominated I have never seen those being Milk, Frost/Nixon and The Reader. Looking at the reviews for each film the big one that sticks out is The Reader which holds a 61% on rotten tomatoes, a shocking number for a Best Picture nominee. The others range between 92-94% none of which exceeded the reviews that The Dark Knight received. The Reader did however boast an Oscar winning performance by Kate Winslet and Milk actor Sean Penn also received an award for his performance. To match that Heath Ledgers infamous and in some ways life threatening turn as The Joker also won him an award. You can say his death was the reason for his award but I firmly believe you would be wrong. It is one of the most commanding, enticing and impressive performances I have ever seen in a movie and it still shocks me today. The Dark Knight also boast a larger domestic and world wide gross than all 4 of the Best Picture nominees combined. Which may make the film to mainstream for the Academy to reward. (as ridiculous as that sounds)

Final Thoughts

This is one of the rare cases where a film that wasn't nominated holds up over time far better than any of the films that year. The Dark Knight not being at least nominated for Best Picture is wrong and the change by the Academy afterwards shows they know they screwed up. They have yet to make up for it by giving Christopher Nolan an award he deserves, it could also be a considered a mistake he wasn't nominated for Best Director for The Dark Knight or Inception. Either way its early in his career and an award will more than likely come at some point. In my opinion this film deserved to win Best Picture for kick starting a genre that was unappreciated and changing the way people perceive it. It is the only film in that group that is still relevant and will continue to hold up because its affect on the film community. Big budget film that is smart and boast a strong screenplay? Check.