seriously and where be al pacino oscar nomination for this one . be it that we take him for grant at this point in his career . pacino here be extraordinary . he give a complex and heartbreaking performance a shylock and the jewish money lender . the movie a a whole be quite great and with beautiful shot of venice to look at and a pitch perfect score to listen to . the other actor all do a fine job a well and but the real reason to see this be pacino . i have see all the nominated oscar performance of 2004 and and i must say that pacino be snub . blame it on the anti semitism associate with the play and the lack of campaigning by the studio and the late release date with no major push and or most likely and all of the above . in my mind and the best performance of the year belong to jamie foxx in ray and don cheadle in hotel rwanda and and al pacino in the merchant of venice .