Oscar’s For Your COMMsideration- Emily Blunt Best Supporting Actress “Oppenheimer”

There’s no second thought to believing that Christopher Nolan’s unlikely blockbuster “Oppenheimer” will be handsomely nominated at the Oscars.

It feels like a lock and even a front-runner in Best Picture and Best Director for Nolan. Cillian Murphy’s titular performance is unparalleled, and the Best Actor trophy likely already has his name etched into it.

So it may appear that “Oppenheimer" doesn't need any help campaigning as it’s seemingly the movie to beat. But in the discussions of the film's brilliance, the fear of the academy mistakenly overlooking more subtle aspects of “Oppenheimer” begins to form.

That being said, it would be heartbreaking if Emily Blunt’s name is not included on the list of nominees for Best Supporting Actress at the 96th Academy Awards.

Upon first viewing the film, it may feel like Nolan wasted an actress the caliber of Blunt in this movie, where she barely carried a scene on her own. But in the third act, Blunt shows that she was the only actress who could pull off what “Oppenheimer” needed from this role in the allotted time.

Blunt didn’t need even a sixth of the three-hour runtime to drum up buzz for an Oscar nomination. Her performance is beyond impactful, and it would diminish the credibility of the academy to ignore Blunt solely based on her lack of screen time.

Many Oscar winners have had far less time on screen and still won for their performances.

Anne Hathaway took home this very award for only 15 minutes in “Les Misérables,” which is longer than “Oppenheimer” by 8 minutes.

Blunt portrays Kitty Oppenheimer, the wife of the iconic physicist. With only 26 minutes of screen time, she delivers one of the most powerful performances in a film filled to the brim with them.

Her delivery of one of the film’s final lines, “You think because you let them tar and feather you that the world will forgive you? They won’t.” is essential to conveying the movie's entire message. An honest question that leaves the brilliant scientist that always has a retort speechless.

But the scene between Kitty Oppenheimer and the cross-examiner exemplifies Blunt’s ability to command a scene and had viewers talking long after the movie.

Portraying a drunk who utilizes her charm and the board's preconception to outwit them and, in some capacity, lessen the punishment her husband was set up to receive.

It speaks to Nolan's brilliance to keep the audience similarly unaware of Kitty Oppenheimer’s intelligence, so in this scene, filmgoers are just as stunned as the cross-examiners.

Watching “Oppenheimer,” it feels impossible to live in a future where Blunt is snubbed from a nomination. But the actress is no stranger to not receiving proper praise regarding her work.

Blunt is one of two actors in history to win a Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance and not get nominated by the Oscars.

This performance in “A Quiet Place” was a feat of acting, but the Academy has well-established bias against the horror genre likely resulted in this snub.

“Oppenheimer” is exactly the kind of vehicle to launch Blunt to an overdue Oscar nomination. Whether or not she wins or legitimately deserves the Best Supporting Actress trophy will depend on the other nominees.

But with Lily Gladstone campaigning her performance from “Killers of the Flower Moon” in the best actress category and America Ferrera’s “Barbie” performance being more comedic than typically appreciated by the Oscars, Blunt may have the most hype in this category.

Blunt is one of the best actresses currently working, and she has been for a while. Her work in “Oppenheimer” is astounding and is more than deserving of a nomination.

If the Oscars will praise “Oppenheimer,” which they should, Blunt should be included in this celebration of the masterpiece for her paramount contribution to what made it so perfect.

Sophia D’Ovidio is a third-year majoring in digital and print journalism. To contact her, email sgd5184@psu.edu.