Glenn Close Gets Oscar, Razzie Nom For Same Role In Hillbilly Elegy

The recently announced 93rd Academy Awards nominations have something surprising in common with last week's list of Golden Raspberry Awards nominations: They've both included Glenn Close's performance in Hillbilly Elegy to be in the running for their highest honor extended to supporting actresses.

On both lists, Hillbilly Elegy appears twice for Oscar noms (Actress in a Supporting Role and Makeup and Hairstyling) and three times for Razzies (Worst Supporting Actress, Worst Director, and Worst Screenplay). As The Hollywood Reporter has helpfully pointed and also diligently listed out, this situation isn't entirely unusual--there have been other award seasons where an actor has been simultaneously honored for both their best and worst performances in the same year. What is unusual about Hillbilly Elegy, however, is the same actor receiving both nominations for the same role--which may be further support for the belief that the only aim for art should be for it to cause a reaction, period.

Hillbilly Elegy, a drama co-starring Glenn Close and Amy Adams (Arrival, The Fighter), was released on Netflix back in November. Directed by Ron Howard and adapted from a 2016 memoir of the same name by J.D. Vance, the movie is an exploration of the American Dream through three generations of an Appalachian family in Ohio.

Despite Hillbilly Elegy's impressive pedigree--in addition to the names mentioned above, the adaptation was written by The Shape of Water's co-writer, Vanessa Taylor--and it touching on pandemic-lifted relevant themes like concerns over societal collapse, the film was not well received with audiences or critics. According to Metacritic, which calculated a weighted average score of 38 out of 100 based on 43 critics, the film received "generally unfavorable reviews."