Quick, name the Best Picture Oscar winner of 1989. No, it wasn’tField of Dreams—although that was nominated. No it wasn’tDead Poets SocietyorBorn on the Fourth of Julyeither, although they too were nominated. It wasDriving Miss Daisy, a feel-good race-relations drama about a wealthy widowed white woman and her relationship with her black driver. The film won four Oscars in total—including Best Adapted Screenplay—and pretty much no one talks about it today. Except in relation to the other films it beat out for the Oscars’ top award.
Indeed,Driving Miss Daisyis one of a number of cases of the Oscars “getting it wrong”, but also serves as a reminder that when it comes to the Academy Awards, time ultimately shines a light on the films destined for greatness. Another hard-fought Best Picture battle came in 2010, whenDavid Fincher’s drama about power struggles in the 21st century,The Social Network, was up againstTom Hooper’s true-story period dramaThe King’s Speech, a film about a king overcoming a speech impediment.The King’s Speechwon Best Picture, Director, Actor, and Original Screenplay, and yet eight years later,The Social Networkis widely cited as one of the most essential films of the 21st century.The King’s Speech, meanwhile, is largely regarded as “that movie that beatThe Social Network.” Again, time has been kind not to the victor, but to the loser.
This is not to say the Oscars don’t matter, or that an Oscar win is arbitrary. Some Best Picture wins hold up remarkably well.No Country for Old Menremains one of the boldest, most challenging films to win the Academy’s top honor, andMoonlight’s win over the flashier, more commercialLa La Landwas a stunning upset in more ways than one. And while an Oscar win doesn’t “matter” in the general sense of the word, it can point audiences towards films that would be a hard sell otherwise. How many people were spurred to check outMoonlightbecause it won Best Picture? Quite a few, undoubtedly. And that in and of itself makes the Best Picture win worthwhile.
But in the wake ofGreen Book’s win for Best Picture—which was controversial to say the least—it’s important to keep in mind that quality films really do rise to the top over the course of time. WhetherGreen Bookwill be remembered in the ensuing years as a worthwhile pickorif it’ll be relegated to forgettable “trivia” status likeDriving Miss DaisyorCrash, it’s too early to say. But past Best Picture nominees likeSaving Private Ryan,The Sixth Sense,Brokeback Mountain, and evenBoyhoodare proof that you don’t have towinBest Picture in order to be remembered as an important piece of film history. If the quality is there, time will be good to you.
And that’s to say nothing of the films that weren’t even nominated for Best Picture, likeSingin’ in the Rain,Rear Window,Seven Samurai,2001: A Space Odyssey,Boogie Nights, andThe Dark Knight. All classics. All remembered. All without a Best Picture nomination.
So withGreen Book’s win, attempt to remember that time will ultimately tell whether its honor was deserved. No one’s looking back atCrashand saying it is objectively a great movie simply because it won Best Picture. Time has not been kind to the 2006 film, and it’s largely a footnote at this point.
Perhaps it’s most prudent to head back to the yearDriving Miss Daisywon Best Picture. Its fellow nominees were the aforementionedDead Poets Society,Field of Dreams, andBorn on the Fourth of July, as well asMy Left Foot. But the most iconic and relevant film from 1989 wasn’t even nominated for Best Picture. It wasDo the Right Thing, filmmakerSpike Lee’s searing, challenging film about race relations. Exactly 30 years later, Lee was back up against an old-fashioned race drama set inside a car, and once again his film—this timeBlacKkKlansman, and this timeactuallynominated for Best Picture—lost. And yet, three decades on,Do the Right Thingis being taught in film school, andDriving Miss Daisyis a punchline.
Time always tells. And sooner or later, quality always rises to the top.
