My Weekend Crush

Sarah Polley was a very good actress who was probably too smart to stay an actress and now is largely writer and director of equally smart things who wears incredibly relatable pantsuits to major award shows. I first remember noticing her way back in 1997’s “The Sweet Hereafter,” a rather melancholy movie about the aftermath of a terrible school bus crash. Her 2007 directoral debut “Away From Her” was achingly beautiful. Last year she released her excellent “Women Talking,” which is riveting and intense despite being set mostly inside a barn.

So let’s be honest, that Sarah didn’t score a Best Director Oscar nomination for “Women Talking,” but did get a Best Picture nod is some straight-up sexist bullshit. As was the overlooking of "The Woman King" and Gina Prince-Bythewood and “Aftersun” director Charlotte Wells. But then, all this is to be expected because in its 95 years the Oscars have only ever awarded three women the Best Director statuette (Kathryn Bigelow for “The Hurt Locker: in 2010, Chloé Zhao for “Nomadland” in 2021 and Jane Campion for “Power of the Dog” in 2022.) I’m sure some ancient Academy voter somewhere thought, well, two wins in a row we don’t want to ladies to get too full of themselves.

Anyway, because past has been such precedent Sarah wasn’t even thinking Oscar on the day the nominations were announced (I mean, her movie is called “Women Talking, can you blame her for thinking the Academy might not notice?). Instead she was at the doctor’s office. I mean, truly, it’s amazing “Women Talking” made the cut at all. But, alas, it might be why “The Woman King” did not. I mean, the Academy can’t have two movies with women in the title now can they? Please, think of the men. Anyway, cheers to Sarah. A very smart actress, writer, director and all-around relatable person who I hope gets her Best Director nomination sometime soon. I already know I can’t wait to watch that movie. Happy weekend, all.