When Fox Searchlight nabbed the rights to distribute Terrence Malick's "A Hidden Life" for $13 Million, eyebrows were raised. It is a film so perplexing that even at the "high-brow" Cannes Film Festival there were hundreds of walkouts, you figured they’s go for Oscar. All this, despite the mixed reviews.. The film itself is problematic — you can read my review of it here.
As mentioned by yours truly when the Fox Searchlight deal went down:
“Regardless, this shows Fox must be in don’t-give-a-damn mode when it comes to buying, in other words, a now-or-never attitude towards nabbing a few Oscars before they are officially Disney property next year. However, Malick's latest film might not do it for them.”
Today comes the news that Malick’s latest opus will be released on December 13th. As Oscar-ready a release date as it gets. And yet, I cannot see “A Hidden Life” getting any Oscar noms, beyond maybe Score and Cinematography.