Tilda Swinton said she did not expect an Academy Award nomination for her performance in the 2011 psychological drama We Need to Talk About Kevin, so its absence did not disappoint her. The role required her to portray a mother confronting the consequences of her son’s violence, and her comments underline how demanding, bleak performances can be celebrated critically without fitting conventional awards expectations.

Swinton played Eva Khatchadourian in Lynne Ramsay’s adaptation of Lionel Shriver’s novel. Although the film and Swinton’s performance were widely praised, she was not nominated for Best Actress at the 2012 Oscars; she had previously won the award for Michael Clayton.