It was a relatively stacked pack at the Academy Awards this year, so some films were bound to go underappreciated. Not everyone can win, so it’s best not to stake your hopes and dreams on your favorite’s victory. And yet… there is still the pang that comes from defeat. This year’s big shutout happened to Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird, which garnered five major nominations with zero wins. While it’s nearly impossible to begrudge talented auteurs like Guillermo del Toro and Jordan Peele their victories, one would have hoped that one of the best-reviewed films in Rotten Tomato history would have gotten something.
Lady Bird‘s subtle yet effective performances and compassionate storytelling resonated with a lot of people, particularly with young women about how they relate to their mothers. It’s an often delicate and complicated bond, and Gerwig, along with actors Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf, managed to imbue that fraught relationship with believable, genuine emotion.
After the final Oscar was handed out, many took to Twitter to express their sadness over the apparent snub.
The biggest disappointment of the night is that #LadyBird didn't win any #Oscars. pic.twitter.com/zXzrfBixxV
— Ramin Setoodeh (@RaminSetoodeh) March 5, 2018
https://twitter.com/saoirsercnans/status/970542160918523904
https://twitter.com/rednavylime/status/970522395206389760
Every character in Lady Bird was amazing and timeless and someone you absolutely know in real life.
Absolutely none of you know any of the characters in the fish sex movie.
— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) March 5, 2018
Lady Bird was the best-reviewed film of the year.
Lady Bird was the best-reviewed film of the year.
Lady Bird was the best-reviewed film of the year.
Lady Bird was the best-reviewed film of the year.
Lady Bird was the best-reviewed film of the year.#Oscars— Charlotte Clymer 🇺🇦 (@cmclymer) March 5, 2018
“Lady Bird” captures the mother-teen daughter relationship so well. Maybe the best picture or best director winner would’ve reflected that if more Oscar voters were women.
— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) March 5, 2018
https://twitter.com/RoryOMalley/status/970522599804432387
https://twitter.com/rachsyme/status/970527079241568256
LADY BIRD is the best movie ever to win zero #Oscars. pic.twitter.com/DaJo4D2bnw
— The Ringer (@ringer) March 5, 2018
Lady Bird got into NYU, she doesn't need you fuckers.
— Guy Branum (@guybranum) March 5, 2018
https://twitter.com/presidentgay/status/970522314218639360
It didn’t win anything, but I think, based on the clippage, Lady Bird will be the movie that most people will want to see after tonight, and I will simply die if I don’t one day meet Greta
— Sober Sister Casey “Cici” Cooper (@soneall89) March 5, 2018
https://twitter.com/rebelsfinn/status/970528746162630656
mood is happy greta gerwig mouthing "I love him" to herself for Guillermo del toro even after she won no awards
— fern diaz (@ferndiaz) March 5, 2018
https://twitter.com/RealAdamRose/status/970523244007628800
“We’re so inspired right now. Saoirse and I were watching Greta and thinking, ‘we could do this.’ And women I know from college are saying after seeing the movie, “oh my gosh, I need to direct.’ It makes me quite emotional.” Beanie Feldstein, of “Lady Bird.” #Oscars pic.twitter.com/YaBMEHsK9c
— Cara Buckley (@caraNYT) March 4, 2018
Ultimately, shouting into the void about golden statues is a futile and pointless gesture, but we do it each year all the same. Gerwig, Ronan, and Metcalf will surely be back at the Academy Awards in the future, so hopefully their hard work will be rewarded at a later date.
