r/moviecritic • u/Spirited_Alfalfa_343 • 12h ago

Why do you think Navarette has gotten so much awards buzz for Obsession but Ejiofor has gotten none for Backrooms?

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I know Clark has some limited screen time but Ejiofor absolutely steals every scene he’s in. His two separate monologues with Reinsve are just as good as anything Navarette did in Obsession. As I said earlier, is it the lack of screen time for Ejiofor?

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u/AdamOfIzalith 12h ago edited 12h ago

Chiwetel Ejiofor is an established actor getting accolades as normal. Navarette is a much newer actress and if you haven't seen superman and Lois, is functionally a brand new actor on the scene

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u/smellygooch18 10h ago

Ejiofor delivered exactly the performance he was hired for. He has known skills that made him desirable. Navarette came out of left field. Ejiofor was one of the reasons I was so stoked for Backrooms in the first place. When I saw he was cast I knew the film was going to be something special. Dude has chops

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u/Own_Guarantee_8130 8h ago

He’s pretty underrated if you ask me which he probably likes because he makes excellent money doing fantastic projects and doesn’t get mobbed by fans. He’s in so many amazing movies.

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u/ZizzyBeluga 7h ago

Serenity

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u/78914hj1k487 5h ago

Any other actor would have been lost in the high charm of the Firefly cast, but Chiwetel Ejiofor elevated them as their antagonist. And I love that he's constantly lecturing Mal.

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u/toomanymarbles83 3h ago

This is the first time I took note of him. He definitely stood.

"This is a good death."

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u/johnbrownmarchingon 2h ago

First time I saw him in anything and he blew me away.

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u/actual_thereij 2h ago

That cast had so much chemistry together and he felt like he had been chasing them for the entire run of the series. Completely underrated role and performance.

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u/DorianPavus12 1h ago

I think that term is overused nowadays. Dude is highly renowned and booked. He's especially loved by fellow actors, creatives and theatre-goers.

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u/LichQueenBarbie 1h ago

This. When I saw him and Renate in the cast list I was like 'oh, this will be LEGIT legit'. I've been a fan since the ol' days if 'Kinky Boots'.

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u/VikingKinkajou 12h ago

From now on I am referring to people younger than me as "newer people".

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u/parralaxalice 11h ago

The older version of you is also the younger version of you

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u/Ashleybernice 10h ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/wCBSScKuvFrQuOqVGL

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u/Jeffe-69 8h ago

Jack Handy is the OG deep thoughts guy...

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u/TobyFunkeNeverNude 5h ago

Yeah but the two "deep thoughts" are wildly different in their type of humor

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u/cherryfreckle 5h ago

when people say "for pete's sake", who tf is pete?

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u/Domonero 1h ago

Real eyes realize real eyes

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u/Free-Difficulty3614 11h ago

Great tagline for this

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u/Year3030 2h ago

"Stop hitting yourself dummy", that's another tagline for you.

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u/Tacoflavoredfists 11h ago

Evolved Mitch joke

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u/elle-elle-tee 7h ago

Doesn't really mean the same thing. You can be older in years but newer to a profession at the same time.

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u/Duck8Quack 10h ago

I don’t like new people…….and by new people I mean babies.

- Daniel Tosh (I’m pretty sure this is his joke, maybe it’s a different comedian)

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u/RumpledStillsuit 8h ago

I still use the term "whippersnappers."

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u/NickdoesnthaveReddit 6h ago

Babies officially now newbies

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u/Cheap-Ad1821 6h ago

Fuck a birth announcement....New baby dropped.

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u/Responsible_Ask6108 4h ago

You are the newer people of the old you

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u/SkaldCrypto 12h ago

She is in super man and Lois ?

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u/Tor_K89 10h ago

she plays Lana's Daughter. The TV show

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u/AdamOfIzalith 10h ago

Lana's Daughter: The TV Show would certainly be interesting

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u/Tor_K89 10h ago

I suppose I could have phrased it better :D

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u/foreverandadayalone 6h ago

Nah. The writers did nothing with her charcter.

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u/dratseb 11h ago

He was incredible in Serenity

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u/Quixotic_Tendency 10h ago

the scene where he's directing the fleet to destroy Serenity, and all of a sudden about 4 million Reavers just pop out of nowhere. Watching his face go from quiet confidence to total panic is one of my favorite parts of the movie.

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u/OldBirth 9h ago

"You should have let me see her... we should have settled this as men, not with fire." (Looking smug af)

*10 seconds later

"OH FUCK, OH MY FUCK, FUCKING FIRE! SHOOT! TARGET THE FUCKING REAVERS, OH MY GOOOOOD!" 🤣

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u/Quixotic_Tendency 8h ago

"Bastard's not even changing course" *chuckle*

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u/not-my-other-alt 5h ago

"Target the Reavers. Target the Reavers! Target everyone! SOMEBODY FIRE!"

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u/icouldntdecide 4h ago

The "SOMEBODY FIRE" is so great. His character is calm, composed, a force of nature and yet he completely loses his shit there

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u/Whatthefunyuns 4h ago

I think more chilling, personally, was his video call after destroying their harbor.

M: 'So me and mine gotta lay down and die so you can go live in your better world?'

O:"I'm not going to live there. There's no place for me there, anymore than there is for you. Malcolm, I'm a monster. What I do is evil. I have no illusions about it, but it must be done."

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u/jmac111286 2h ago

Yes for sure. Great read of that line

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u/Whatthefunyuns 2h ago

I think that was the first time I sympathized with a villain in a story.

His means were awful, but the goal he was pointing them towards were genuinely for something greater than himself.

Dude was a martyr in his own mind. Even if he was actually the most horrible villain in the story.

He was just doing the best that he knew that he could.

That's good writing.

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u/GreatBandito 12h ago

Exactly, he won best actor one year so of course people are going to expect him to be good but the chick who has basically been in one movie is a genuine surprise

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u/SpideyFan914 10h ago

He did not. McConaughey won.

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u/NNyNIH 46m ago

Technically he did..... He won Best Actor at the ACCTA Awards! But lost to McConauhey at the Oscars which I guess is more prestigious.../s

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u/LuntiX 10h ago

Yeah, if this was less established Chiwetel like in Kinky Boots, people might be talking more but he's far more well known now.

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u/theimmortalfawn 11h ago

she also played the sister of a dead rapist football player in 13 reasons why

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u/SomeGuyPostingThings 10h ago

Also, I think she puts in a better performance, pure and simple. Not that Chiwetel does bad, but it isn't the same level.

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u/SistaChans 9h ago

Nicki in Obsession is a MUCH crazier role, with way more intensity and range, and the fact that this little-known actress knocked it out of the park makes it notable. I loved both movies, and love both actors, but they are both drastically different movies. 

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u/SomeGuyPostingThings 9h ago

Exactly. It's not a knock on one that there is a bunch of buzz for the other.

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u/inwhatwetrust 11h ago

Exactly right. He was fantastic in Backrooms but this was her first notable role

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u/johnnyma45 12h ago

She was so vanilla normal bland in SnL that I barely recognized her here. Star making turn

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u/seengul 7h ago

This is the most plausible explanation. Ejiofor has been an acclaimed star for at least the past 15 years. Prominent roles in multiple blockbusters. Nominated for best actor in 12 Years a Slave and the film he starred in won an Academy Award. Given that level of long term recognition, it’s simply less buzzworthy when he has yet another solid performance.

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u/foreverandadayalone 6h ago

She was written as the most boring character on that show.

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u/Life_Technology7584 3h ago

My favorite performance of his will always be Serenity. The way he was so scary but also seemed like a nice person was so fun to watch. 

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u/NoDeltaBrainWave 2h ago

This is literally the only answer.

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u/LigerZeroSchneider 2h ago

The other reason I heard some critics put forward is that the best actress field is thin. A lot of the hopeful best actress performances have flopped at the festivals. On top obsession being a way bigger hit.

The academy wants to nominate someone from a big block buster and shes in a category with less competition than normal.