Film fans were reacting with bemusement to the Killers of the Flower Moon<\/a> star\u2019s absolutely baffling omission from the Leading Actress shortlist \u2013 a category in which she had been seen as not only a lock for a nomination but a potential frontrunner for the win.<\/p>\n And fans were quite right to voice their shock and disappointment: the decision not to give her a nod must go down as one of the most egregious awards snubs in recent memory. Gladstone turns in a sublime performance as Mollie Burkhart in Martin Scorsese\u2019s riveting epic, a nuanced, powerful, and endlessly compelling portrayal of a woman going through a horrifyingly tragic ordeal. She\u2019s brilliant in ways both subtle and overt \u2013 and one haunting scene that shows her devastating, grief-stricken reaction to the news her sister\u2019s house has been blown up is practically worthy of a nomination on its own.<\/p>\n Now, all this is not to decry any of the actresses that did get nominated. Carey Mulligan, for example, provides an extremely moving performance as Felicia Montealegre in Bradley Cooper\u2019s Leonard Bernstein biopic Maestro<\/a>, while Anatomy of a Fall<\/a> star Sandra H\u00fcller \u2013 who was also nominated in the Supporting Actress category for her role in The Zone of Interest \u2013 is exemplary in a complex, multilingual role.<\/p> Meanwhile, it\u2019s also refreshing to see a surprise nod for Vivian Oparah, who was such a magnetic presence in Raine Allen Miller\u2019s immensely likeable rom-com Rye Lane<\/a> \u2013 itself a notable omission in the Best British Debut category. (Although perhaps it\u2019s worth wondering if Oparah might have been a better fit for the EE Rising Star Award<\/a> category, in favour of one of the more established stars who found themselves nominated for that prize.)<\/p>\n But despite the merits of the other performers, Gladstone can feel extremely aggrieved not to make the list, and it begs the question of what this might mean for her chances of picking up an Oscar.<\/p>\n Up until now, the Best Actress category at the Academy Awards has been pretty much looked at as a two-horse race between Gladstone and Emma Stone, whose electrifying and unique performance as Bella Baxter in Poor Things<\/a> has rightly won her plentiful plaudits.<\/p>\n For what it\u2019s worth, if pushed, I would find it almost impossible to separate those two perceived frontrunners \u2013 they are such wildly contrasting performances in such vastly different films, and both of them more or less flawlessly achieve what they set out to do. But Gladstone\u2019s snub here must surely make Stone the clear favourite to pick up her second golden statuette in March \u2013 seven years after her previous Oscar win for La La Land<\/a>.<\/p>\n That said, Gladstone can take heart from the fact that although it\u2019s rare for the eventual Oscar winner to not even pick up a nomination at the BAFTAs, it\u2019s by no means without precedent \u2013 indeed, you need only go back two years to find the last example of that very thing happening, when Jessica Chastain was honoured by the Academy for her leading role in The Eyes of Tammy Faye. (Before then, you\u2019d have to go back to Sandra Bullock\u2019s 2009 win for The Blind Side, and before then to 2004 when Hillary Swank was awarded for Million Dollar Baby).<\/p>\n So, while this undoubtedly harms her chances of the Oscar win, it by no means removes her from the conversation, especially when we consider she already has the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture \u2013 Drama to her name.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also worth noting that Gladstone\u2019s omission was symptomatic of a disappointing afternoon for Killers of the Flower Moon more generally. Indeed, even though it managed nine nominations \u2013 the joint third-highest total \u2013 there are several other categories where its absence is conspicuous. Perhaps most notably, Scorsese somehow failed to secure a nod in the Best Director category, with the likes of Bradley Cooper and Alexander Payne surprisingly chosen ahead of him.<\/p>\n![\"Emma](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/01\/Emma-Stone-as-Bella-Baxter-in-Poor-Things-1-297caae.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C412\" "\\"Emma")
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