It happens every year. The defacto choice in a category becomes mirage-like, shimmering in the distance and we wonder, briefly, if it is really as solid as we think it is. Even the most secure winner can look like a mirage at times, which is sort of how this revelation from Kris Tapley at InContention comes off; I appreciate that he saw Man on Wire first and the other docs second, which could account for the replacement of feeling. On the other hand, as he points out, this is very likely how the other voters will be seeing things:
I have a lot of respect for “Man on Wire.” I think it’s blend of energetic interviews with Philippe Petit and stock footage of his daring high-wire act is at times quite beautiful. The score is magistrial, a lullaby throughout. Yet overall, I can’t imagine the film would have the same emotional resonance if it weren’t a sort of ghost story, given the fate of the twin towers. And I can’t help but marvel at the innovation of the other contenders more so than the piecing together of older material and manifestation of scenes to push “Wire”’s story forward.
And I doubt I’m the only one. I don’t have any insight into the voting committee of this year’s documentary contenders. I haven’t made any calls to find out who’s voting for what. So this is purely a speculative piece. But we must keep in mind that, while most of the other categories can allow for a voter to choose without having seen this or that contender (thereby allowing the groupthink to sway opinion in some instances), members of the Academy who wish to vote in the documentary field must watch each of the nominees in order to have a say. And when you stack up the competition, “Man on Wire” seems a bit flat.
It is unfortunate that the docs, the foreign films and the shorts I think are the only categories where voters have to seen all five contenders (seeing them should be mandatory for all Academy members, in my fascist opinion) to vote. This is usually why weird shit goes down at the Oscars that no one sees coming. I think Kris dismisses the idea of the ghost story, though, too quickly; those are some pretty powerful ghosts. But I’ll reserve judgment until I see them all.