The Oscar nominations have officially been announced, and it was a whirlwind, to say the least. While some of the nominations are justified and positively received, other Academy Awards nominations have taken many by surprise or even caused disappointment. There always have been and always will be Oscar snubs, but this year, some of the lists are genuinely questionable.
Particularly, the Academy Awards category of Best Actor in a Leading Role is missing a major name, and it truly is infuriating. Daniel Craig was completely shut out of the Oscars, despite his Oscar-worthy performance in Luca Guadagnino’s romantic movie Queer. Without further ado, let’s get into the disappointing Oscar snub.

Queer

Release Date

November 27, 2024

Runtime

135 Minutes

Writers

William S. Burroughs, Justin Kuritzkes

Read Our Review
The Best Actor Nominees for the Oscars Aren’t a Surprise

For the majority, the expectations regarding the Best Actor nominations at the Academy Awards in 2025 have been met. With all the other categories, lists and speculations were spreading across the internet as movie lovers discussed potential nominations and the reasoning behind them. There were four actors, in particular, who were expected to be nominated, and, lo and behold, expectations turned into reality.
Timothée Chalamet is one of the nominees due to his captivating performance as musical legend Bob Dylan in the biographical musical drama movie A Complete Unknown. Joining Chalamet’s side is Adrien Brody, who embodied the role of architect Lázsló Tóth in the epic period drama The Brutalist, and Ralph Fiennes, who portrayed the role of Cardinal Thomas Lawrence in the political thriller movie Conclave.

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Another obvious nominee is Colman Domingo since he mesmerized viewers with his transcendent performance as John “Divine G” Whitfield in the prison drama movie Sing Sing. The fifth and simultaneously the boldest nomination went to Sebastian Stan for his portrayal of Donald Trump in the biographical film The Apprentice. While there is no doubt that he is incredibly talented, Sebastian Stan’s Oscar nomination comes with a sour aftertaste, as the spot could also have been the one of Daniel Craig and his provocative performance in Queer.
Daniel Craig Deserved an Oscar Nomination

Luca Guadagnino received critical acclaim for his 2017 LGBTQ+ movie Call Me By Your Name, which delivered a powerful portrayal of the depths of first love and sensual experiences. While the movie starring Timothée Chalamet explores the love story between Elio and Oliver in a profound way, Guadagnino’s recent masterpiece, Queer, offers an even more transformative adventure. Since the storyline in Queer is rooted in truth, the connection formed between Lee, a lonely American of older age, and Eugene, a young ex-soldier, is significantly deeper and more twisted, and it is tied to the pain of unrequited love and the loneliness of being queer.
Drew Starkey as Eugene in Queer is everything and more anyone could have hoped for, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that Daniel Craig gathered all of his experience and tackled a challenging role with absolute ease. It’s inspiring how Craig managed to express the urge to numb emotional pain through the high of addiction while also revealing the character’s immense longing for closeness, love, and romanticism.

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Daniel Craig’s role in Queer is a combination of questionable behavior and questions of queerness. It’s a May-December romance evolving into a profound connection that goes beyond the realms of reality, but reality always finds its way back. Daniel Craig would have deserved an Oscar nomination, as Queer and Craig’s performance was one of the main topics of 2024, and the disappointment will be felt for a long time.
‘Queer’ Got Snubbed at the Oscars

Unfortunately, it is not just Daniel Craig, who didn’t receive the appropriate recognition for his Oscar-worthy performance in Queer, but it was also Luca Guadagnino’s movie itself. There is no doubt that the storyline of Queer picks up this incredibly important topic that is all too often forgotten or simply not talked about enough, and this alone should have been reason enough for an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. Apart from this, there are at least two more categories which Queer should have been a part of.
It is frankly shocking that Queer wasn’t nominated for best cinematography when it is quite literally Luca Guadagnino’s most experimental visual masterpiece to date. Lee and Eugene’s trip through the stunning scenery of the Mexican jungle, combined with the mystical highs of drug use tied to surrealism, is a mesmerizing journey that has the ability to draw viewers right in. Additionally, Queer has a captivating score, which effortlessly resonates with the mysterious depths of Lee and Eugene’s sensual trip and renders the heavy feelings of navigating love. Queer is available to rent on Prime Video, Apple TV, and Google Play.