James Gray's The Immigrant first premiered in front of an audience way back in May 2013 at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. Since then the film has schlepped around to different film festivals but never received an Oscar qualifying release until the spring of this year, which means if the film is to receive any Academy Award nominations, it won't be until almost a full two years after its initial premiere. The weird politics of studio release scheduling aside, the reality is, despite a fine cast that includes the likes of Joaquin Phoenix, Marion Cotillard, and Jeremy Renner, The Immigrant is not going to be a major Oscar contender. However, fans of the film that want The Immigrant to receive some sort of awards recognition should not despair, for the 1920's period piece may very well find love in a category where all period pieces usually find love: Best Costume Design. There are a number of buzz-heavy WWII-set films, such as Fury, The Imitation Game, and Unbroken, that could challenge The Immigrant for the "historical costume" slots usually reserved in this category, but the drab designs of that era will not likely catch the eyes of costumer designers as much as the wears of the Roaring Twenties. Then there are the flashy, other-worldliness costume designs of the myriad of fantasy films released this year that could bedazzle the costumers to forget the difficulties of historical accuracy. More than its competition though, the biggest hurdle The Immigrant will likely face is itself and its lack of awards attention. However, the costume branch is no stranger to nominating obscure films, so don't be shocked if The Immigrant pulls off a surprise nod.
A film fanatic at a very young age, starting with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movies and gradually moving up to more sophisticated fare, at around the age of ten he became inexplicably obsessed with all things Oscar. With the incredibly trivial power of being able to chronologically name every Best Picture winner from memory, his lifelong goal is to see every Oscar nominated film, in every major category, in the history of the Academy Awards.
