Over the past couple of weeks, weâve taken a look at the awards prospects of The Muppets and Bridesmaids; two films that, while critically and commercially successful, arenât necessarily your typical awards season fare. Today we thought weâd consider the awards status of another impressive film from 2011: Drive. Director Nicolas Winding Refnâs violent genre pic premiered as a little independent film at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. The movie blew audiences away, and Refn nabbed the Best Director prize.The film finally opened to general audiences this past September with plenty of advanced buzz and stellar reviews. While Drive didnât exactly break box office records, critics and cinephiles fell in love with the peculiar drama, and now the film is headed into a very crowded awards stretch. Hit the jump to see our take on how Drive will fare during this yearâs awards season.With regards to the Oscars, it seems like Drive has one nomination almost on lock: Albert Brooks for Best Supporting Actor. The writer-director had been absent from the big screen for almost six years and his return was almost unrecognizable. Brooksâ inherent sense of levity lulls the audience into thinking heâs a relatively tame villain, but the characterâs explosions of violence give us a glimpse at the monster underneath. Itâs a bone-chilling performance, and Brooks is positively superb.Justly, Brooks started picking up awards recognition pretty early on. Heâs already nabbed the Best Supporting Actor prize from the New York Film Critics, San Francisco Film Critics, Boston Film Critics, and New York Film Critics Online. Furthermore, heâs landed a nomination in the category from the Broadcast Film Critics Association, the Independent Spirit Awards, and most recently the Golden Globes. His inexplicable snub by the Screen Actors Guild (who loaded up on the snubs this year) took many by surprise, but his recent Globe nomination solidifies his frontrunner status heading into the Academy Awards. Furthermore, he's the favorite to take home the Best Supporting Actor trophy at the Golden Globes as well.As for the film itself, Drive is certainly worthy of a Best Picture nomination but the nod is becoming less likely by the day. So far the only major organizations to recognize Drive as one of the best pictures of the year have been the National Board of Review, the Broadcast Film Critics Association, and the Independent Spirit Awards. While those are definitely worth being proud of, the film is gonna have to pick up a considerable amount of steam in order to land among the Academyâs best films of the year.Working against Driveâs chances for a Best Picture nomination are its less than stellar box office performance and the fact that itâs essentially a genre picture. The Academy doesnât normally respond to âstrangeâ ultra-violent pics (unless theyâre directed by Martin Scorsese), and Refnâs masterwork is essentially a bloody, dialogue-light John Hughes movie; thatâs what makes it great, and thatâs why the Academy will more than likely leave it off their shortlist of the âbestâ films of 2011.The low box office numbers for Drive donât help itâs chances either. The Departed was a bona fide commercial hit and became Scorseseâs most successful film to date. Even the Coen brothersâ relatively violent No Country for Old Men took in over $150 million. While Driveâs $67 million take is nothing to balk at (especially given the filmâs meager budget), itâs not exactly noteworthy to Oscar voters. While itâs not unheard of for low-grossing films to be nominated for Best Picture (The Hurt Locker is the lowest-grossing winner to date at just under $50 million), Driveâs mediocre box office draw combined with its absence on many criticsâ year-end lists doesnât inspire much confidence.The film also stands a chance at a Best Original Score nomination for Cliff Martinezâs fantastically synth-infused score, but the Academy is notoriously nitpicky when it comes to eligibility so Iâm not 100% sure if Martinezâs work will make the cut. I donât know enough about the category to say whether or not the Drive score meets the Academyâs qualifications, but itâs definitely worthy of a nod.Overall, it looks like Driveâs best shot at the Oscars is Albert Brooks. Heâs righteously earning recognition for his brilliantly nasty performance, and we should expect to hear his name called once the nominations are announced. With 9 wins so far in his category (tied for the most wins in the Awards race so far with The Artist) Brooks is currently the frontrunner to take home the trophy. Weâre still a little ways off from the ceremony so things could certainly change, but Iâm hoping he pulls the win come Oscar night not only because he deserves it, but also because he's sure to deliver one of the more entertaining acceptance speeches. While Drive may end up being deemed too âgenreâ, âweirdâ, or âviolentâ for the Academyâs taste, a lack of major Oscar nominations will in no way demean the quality of the film. Refn crafted a masterfully dramatic (and cool) film jam-packed with extraordinary performances, and Drive is sure to stand the test of time as a movie that won't soon be forgotten.
What Awards Can DRIVE Actually Win?
What Awards Can DRIVE Actually Win? We look at the Oscar chances of Nicolas Winding Refn's drama Drive, starring Ryan Gosling and Albert Brooks.