Snobbery: Oscar Edition
Before the awards are handed out tonight, before I see one of my favorite celebs Jon Stewart rise to the occasion or get torn down, I thought I'd write a few things about the past year's films and these awards.
I like the Oscars. I always have. I think they are more reputable awards than the Emmies and kick the crap out of the Grammies and the American Music Awards just upon merit. The Oscars don't favor box-office receipts and that's how awards should be given . . . on merit. Of course, Oscar gets them wrong once in a while. I wrote about that before—here and here.
The Oscars will never be perfect of course. And the list of nominees for tonight are exactly that . . . imperfect.
THE SNUBS:
Cinematography - Missing from this section of nominees is The Constant Gardener. (Of the nominees there, The New World should win, but will lose to lesser work from Brokeback or Memoirs.) Upon viewing the film, you will notice that the director and his D.P. worked hard to make their work be noticed. The director (coming from the visually stunning City of God) made a film where the camera itself, adds to the story. The camera is alive as you watch The Constant Gardener. There is artistry throughout, even for scenes with simply two people talking in a room. I was shocked that it was not acknowledged in this category. (I do hope it gets an award in the editing department b/c the editing is just as strong, but it won't. It'll lose to boring edited stuff.)
Actor - Missing from the nominees is Jeff Daniels for his outstanding performance in The Squid and the Whale. It was Daniels' best work as he played a character that made me, in the audience, despise him and laugh at him. He played a vicious human being that is more real to life than the other nominated characters based on dead celebrities. Daniels wouldn't have won the Oscar tonight anyway; he would've been up against the stupendous Phillip Seymour Hoffman, who should abso-frickin'-lutely win tonight.
Director - How Crash made it? I don't know. Must be a huge publicity machine. But The Squid and the Whale AND The Constant Gardener AND The New World had better direction than Crash. I even think the direction of the aforementioned films beats what's-his-face who did Munich. Capote should win here, but will lose to Ang Lee for Brokeback.
Supporting Actress - Missing here is Katie Holmes. Her work in the role of her lifetime as Tom Cruise's "love" has been phenomenal over the last year. Her pretending to be knocked up by him was extra special. Her devotion to this role by throwing her beliefs, her vow to wait until marriage, and her dignity out the window for this Scientologist nut shows that she sacrificed more than any of the other supporting actress nominees. Sorry Catherine Keener. No award for you.
MOST LIKELY DISAPPOINTMENTS:
Screenplay (Adapted) - Sure, Brokeback is a fine film, but Capote was better. People do forget that Brokeback is simply a love story. It's a story about two people in love. Capote is a love story too; it's about a man in love with himself and his work. The story unfolds carefully, and the audience finds themselves drawn to and appalled by the main character. Capote should win here. It really should.
Screenplay (Original) - In the famous words of Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher: "I have a bad feeling about this." The pronoun "this" refers to Crash winning this award. What I like about its script is its interweaving storylines. But upon further review, the storylines interweave so much that the coincidences of the film begin to look more contrived. Some characters are completely fleshed out, while others are not. The problem is, if you are trying to have multiple characters' stories told, they better be done equally, and this film doesn't have the balance. This award should go to a script that does not have these faults. For comparison's sake, Syriana does a much better job moving through its storylines and balancing its large cast of characters, making them "crash" more head on than Haggis' film. For Syriana, all the characters are connected, not by a theme, but by a plot. Haggis made his theme the plot. (By the way, the film that should win this award is The Squid and the Whale.)
I like the Oscars. I always have. I think they are more reputable awards than the Emmies and kick the crap out of the Grammies and the American Music Awards just upon merit. The Oscars don't favor box-office receipts and that's how awards should be given . . . on merit. Of course, Oscar gets them wrong once in a while. I wrote about that before—here and here.
The Oscars will never be perfect of course. And the list of nominees for tonight are exactly that . . . imperfect.
THE SNUBS:
Cinematography - Missing from this section of nominees is The Constant Gardener. (Of the nominees there, The New World should win, but will lose to lesser work from Brokeback or Memoirs.) Upon viewing the film, you will notice that the director and his D.P. worked hard to make their work be noticed. The director (coming from the visually stunning City of God) made a film where the camera itself, adds to the story. The camera is alive as you watch The Constant Gardener. There is artistry throughout, even for scenes with simply two people talking in a room. I was shocked that it was not acknowledged in this category. (I do hope it gets an award in the editing department b/c the editing is just as strong, but it won't. It'll lose to boring edited stuff.)
Actor - Missing from the nominees is Jeff Daniels for his outstanding performance in The Squid and the Whale. It was Daniels' best work as he played a character that made me, in the audience, despise him and laugh at him. He played a vicious human being that is more real to life than the other nominated characters based on dead celebrities. Daniels wouldn't have won the Oscar tonight anyway; he would've been up against the stupendous Phillip Seymour Hoffman, who should abso-frickin'-lutely win tonight.
Director - How Crash made it? I don't know. Must be a huge publicity machine. But The Squid and the Whale AND The Constant Gardener AND The New World had better direction than Crash. I even think the direction of the aforementioned films beats what's-his-face who did Munich. Capote should win here, but will lose to Ang Lee for Brokeback.
Supporting Actress - Missing here is Katie Holmes. Her work in the role of her lifetime as Tom Cruise's "love" has been phenomenal over the last year. Her pretending to be knocked up by him was extra special. Her devotion to this role by throwing her beliefs, her vow to wait until marriage, and her dignity out the window for this Scientologist nut shows that she sacrificed more than any of the other supporting actress nominees. Sorry Catherine Keener. No award for you.
MOST LIKELY DISAPPOINTMENTS:
Screenplay (Adapted) - Sure, Brokeback is a fine film, but Capote was better. People do forget that Brokeback is simply a love story. It's a story about two people in love. Capote is a love story too; it's about a man in love with himself and his work. The story unfolds carefully, and the audience finds themselves drawn to and appalled by the main character. Capote should win here. It really should.
Screenplay (Original) - In the famous words of Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher: "I have a bad feeling about this." The pronoun "this" refers to Crash winning this award. What I like about its script is its interweaving storylines. But upon further review, the storylines interweave so much that the coincidences of the film begin to look more contrived. Some characters are completely fleshed out, while others are not. The problem is, if you are trying to have multiple characters' stories told, they better be done equally, and this film doesn't have the balance. This award should go to a script that does not have these faults. For comparison's sake, Syriana does a much better job moving through its storylines and balancing its large cast of characters, making them "crash" more head on than Haggis' film. For Syriana, all the characters are connected, not by a theme, but by a plot. Haggis made his theme the plot. (By the way, the film that should win this award is The Squid and the Whale.)
posted by matty at 1:46 PM
1 Comments:
I gotta say, I pay a lot more attention to films and the movie business than I used to (you might have something to do with this). Still, I'm not aware of all the contenders tonight, though I have my opinions on who and what should win tonight.
Capote - definitely. Gotta win for screenplay AND for best actor. I did not want to see this movie yet I was completely drawn in and moved by it. It is the only movie I saw this year that truly took me out of the role of observer and engaged my emotions, so I agree with you on these two.
You know how I feel (or, rather, don't) about The New World, so I don't think that it should win, but I do agree about The Constant Gardener. It certainly enhanced a merely good story. The others struck me as simply pretty. Nice. And I don't think that's good enough.
Crash is way over-rated, in my view. Screenplay, acting, directing, cinematography. It's a completely manipulative piece of work, on all levels. Bleh.
And of course, The Squid and The Whale SHOULD win -- and who knows? Maybe Katie will star in her own, true life, version of this film in a couple of years. It could happen.
-the cnslr
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