Deny-minated

Best Actor

WEEKEND’s snub: Ryan Gosling (“Drive”)

In the year of Ryan Gosling, his most impressive performance was not even acknowledged with a nomination. Playing the role of the nameless driver in the thriller “Drive,” Gosling shows his maturity through his character’s growth. Transitioning from reserved to violent, Gosling unhinges on screen, convincing the audience of the justification of his vengeful behavior. The depth of Gosling’s emotion captivates and bewilders despite his minimal dialogue and ambiguous identity in the film.
    — Bridget Ameche

Best Actress

WEEKEND’s snub: Elizabeth Olsen (“Martha Marcy May Marlene”)

The hands-down best leading female in film in 2011 wasn’t even nominated. Relative newcomer and lesser-known Olsen sister Elizabeth is virtuosic in her turn as the title character in Sean Durkin’s “Martha Marcy May Marlene.” As an escapee from an abusive cult, she is fragile and fractured but brilliant in displaying the strength this ordeal would necessarily bring out in a person. Performances by legacy actresses such as Meryl Streep and Glenn Close look painfully old guard when compared to the on-screen bravery of Olsen.
    — Brad Sanders

Best Supporting Actor

WEEKEND’s snub: Alan Rickman (“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2”)

It’s not common for an actor to possess the ability to seamlessly translate an iconic character from page to screen. However, Alan Rickman rose to this challenge in his performance as Severus Snape in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2,” bringing a disturbing level of humanity to a character that has drawn the ire of audiences for nearly a decade. Despite being denied an Oscar nomination, his depiction of the reviled professor will live on in a series destined to become a classic. Perhaps the inevitable endurance of Rickman’s performance is a more compelling indication of acting achievement than recognition from the Academy. In the words of Professor Snape himself, “Tut, tut — fame clearly isn’t everything.”
    — Lauren Kreiser

Best Supporting Actress

WEEKEND’s snub: Shailene Woodley (“The Descendants”)

Perhaps being a TV star robbed Shailene Woodley of a much-deserved nomination for her work in “The Descendants.” Woodley’s resolve and control as an actress prevents her character from slipping into a caricature of an addict or hateful teen daughter. She skillfully releases her emotions underneath the surface, quite literally in the heartbreaking scene in which she cries underwater at the news of her mother’s illness. Nomination or not, she’s a gorgeous, burgeoning film star.
    — Brian Welk