Oscars 2020: Netflix and Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman Shut Out at Academy Awards

High hopes for The Irishman went unfulfilled at last night’s Oscars 2020 presentation. Martin Scorsese‘s latest film, which was distributed by Netflix, earned 10 Academy Awards nominations but didn’t win a single award despite an aggressive awards season campaign. The Irishman now joins a small club of films that earned double-digit nominations but no wins from the Oscars. Herbert Ross’ The Turning Point in 1977 and Steven Spielberg’s The Color Purple in 1985 each earned 11 nominations and no wins. Scorsese’s Gangs of New York in 2002, the Coen brothers’ True Grit in 2010, and David O. Russell’s American Hustle in 2013 were all nominated for 10 awards each and walked away with no wins.

The Irishman‘s 10 nominations came in the categories for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor for Al Pacino and Joe Pesci, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Production Design, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, and Best Visual Effects.

Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci starred in The Irishman, with Scorsese directing. The film is three-and-a-half hours long and is billed as “an epic saga of organized crime in post-war America told through the eyes of World War II veteran Frank Sheeran, a hustler and hitman who worked alongside some of the most notorious figures of the 20th century.” Based on the 2004 book I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt, The Irishman takes place over decades, with its lead character being digitally de-aged to play younger versions of their character. The film focuses on the great unsolved mystery of the disappearance of union boss Jimmy Hoffa, exposing the inner workings and tension of organized crime and its connections to politics. The also features Ray Romano, Bobby Cannavale, Anna Paquin, Stephen Graham, Stephanie Kurtzuba, Jesse Plemons, and Harvey Keitel

ComciBook.com Patrick Cavanaugh gave The Irishman a 5-out-of-5 review, writing “While some audiences might see the credits involved with The Irishman and jump to conclusions about the film’s merits, what we’re given is so much more. Its narrative follows some of the expected tropes for a film about gangsters, but what it says about humanity is far more powerful than any of the misgivings the characters partake in, hopefully inspiring viewers to fully appreciate whatever life they have and those they’re lucky enough to share it with, because when our time comes, nothing we did or didn’t accomplish will matter. The Irishman will hopefully you can take comfort in having had a positive impact on those around you and allow you to take pride in having led a life worth living.”

What do you think of The Irishman getting shut out at the Oscars? Let us know in the comments.