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Oscar Reflections
I know, I know, the awards were ages ago. I’ve been busy, whaddya want? Despite the various changes that took place, I enjoyed the Oscars ceremony. The absence of a host did not adversely affect things, although the opening speech from Maya Rudolph, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler suggested that any or all of these comedians would make excellent hosts in the future.
Other presenters were also entertaining, and it was especially pleasing to see the acting winners of last year presenting the awards for this year in pairs, Gary Oldman and Alison Janney presenting Leading Actor to Rami Malek for Bohemian Rhapsody while Francis McDormand and Sam Rockwell presented Leading Actress to Olivia Colman for The Favourite, whose acceptance speech was one of the most moving.
Alfonso Cuarón spent a lot of time on the stage, winning three awards personally for Roma, Foreign Language Film, Cinematography and Directing, the last of which was affectionately presented to him by his friend and last year’s winner, Guillermo Del Toro.
Performance highlights included the various nominees for Original Song, especially the eventual winner of this award, ‘Shallow’ (from A Star Is Born) performed by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. Melissa McCarthy and Brian Tyree Henry appeared in hilarious costumes that incorporated elements of all the nominees for Costume Design, was another highlight.
Some of the most significant speeches came from the newcomers, especially those in the Short Film categories. For their winning Documentary (Short), Period. End of Sentence, Rayka Zehtabchi and Melissa Berton gave an impassioned and empowering speech about women’s rights and the need for films like theirs to get this kind of attention. Similarly, Domee Shi and Becky Neiman-Cobb were inspiring as they received the award for Short Film (Animated) for their charming Bao. And with his first competitive Oscar win, Spike Lee gave a jubilant celebration alongside his co-winners Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott, seeming to climb up the much longer form of his friend Samuel L. Jackson to receive a congratulatory embrace.
As is often the case, however, the Oscars are dogged with as much controversy as glamour. The most heated debate has been around Best Picture, and with good reason. In a year when such unusual fare as Roma and The Favourite and such provocative offerings as BlacKkKlansman were in contention, for the Academy to reward Green Book feels like a conservative cop-out. I don’t think Green Book is a bad film, but it seems remarkably unremarkable. Little in its subject matter or film style stood out, especially in comparison to the distinctive style and unusual content of the films mentioned above.
As is so often the case, the suspected politics of the Oscars are illuminating. Green Book presents a very simplistic view of US race relations, and it has been described disparagingly as Driving Miss Daisy with the racist in the front. Green Book charts the resolution of racism through a tale of one white man shaking off his prejudices, and in doing so saves a black man with companionship. It’s a white saviour story, where the journey of the white saviour is more prominent than that of the black man who is ‘saved’. It is therefore easy to see why Green Book’s victory annoyed Spike Lee as well as others. I won’t say I’m angry, but I am disappointed that after radical and surprising choices in recent years, Green Book feels like a Best Picture winner from earlier, safer times. Wackier choices next time, I hope.
Ten Films for Ten Days – Day Four
Almost inevitably, listing ten important films will include one’s favourite, so anyone familiar with me or this blog will have known this was coming. It is probably the most significant film I ever saw, because it was literally life-changing although I did not know it at the time. When I first saw Heat in early 1996, it essentially x-rayed me. As the credits rolled, I felt what can best be described as a wave of energy complete its journey through my body, leaving me profoundly affected. To all intents and purposes, it was a transcendent experience. As a direct result of seeing Heat, I gained a new appreciation of what film is and what film can do, started studying it seriously and, after a few years, decided I wanted to be a film doctor. Heat drew me to Michael Mann and he was the subject of my PhD and subsequent monograph. While my interests have broadened since then, Mann in general and Heat in particular remain of great importance to me.
Why do I love Heat so much? Several reasons. Firstly, it works on every level – plot, character, performance, theme, setting, production design, editing, cinematography, sound, music, direction, location – all are harmonised with utter perfection. Secondly, every time I watch it I find something new, whether it is noticing a lingering shot in a room left empty, spotting a bottle on a table, even identifying a stunt performer. Thirdly, it works on multiple levels and therefore I can watch it as a crystalline piece of cinematic craftwork, or as a gripping crime story, a sociological examination of post-industrial America, a modern urban tragedy, a philosophical investigation into hyperbolic masculinity, and the film rewards all these readings and more. If that’s not reason enough to love a film, I don’t know what is.
Oscar Reflections
The Oscars are said and done for another year, and overall I am very pleased with the results. I can agree with the winners, I applaud many of the speeches and the show was a delight to watch.
Most importantly, how did I do? I made predictions in 19 of the 24 categories, and as the show started I did very well, racking up correct prediction after correct prediction. This was pleasing if a little predictable, but as things continued surprises started to appear, such as Get Out winning Original Screenplay and Dunkirk picking up Editing. Overall, I correctly predicted the winners in 15 out of my 19 picks, which at 78% is pretty good going. I’m no gambler, but every year I am tempted.
| Picture | Correctly Predicted? | Directing | Correctly Predicted? |
| The Shape of Water | No | Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water | Yes |
| Call Me by Your Name | Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk | ||
| Darkest Hour | Jordan Peele, Get Out | ||
| Dunkirk | Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird | ||
| Get Out | Paul Thomas Anderson, Phantom Thread | ||
| Lady Bird | |||
| Phantom Thread | Makeup and Hairstyling | ||
| The Post | Darkest Hour | Yes | |
| Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri | Victoria & Abdul | ||
| Wonder | |||
| Actor | Actress | ||
| Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour | Yes | Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri | Yes |
| Timothée Chalamet, Call Me by Your Name | Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water | ||
| Daniel Day,Lewis, Phantom Thread | Margot Robbie, I, Tonya | ||
| Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out | Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird | ||
| Denzel Washington, Roman J. Israel, Esq. | Meryl Streep, The Post | ||
| Supporting Actor | Supporting Actress | ||
| Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri | Yes | Allison Janney, I, Tonya | Yes |
| Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project | Mary J. Blige, Mudbound | ||
| Woody Harrelson, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri | Lesley Manville, Phantom Thread | ||
| Richard Jenkins, The Shape of Water | Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird | ||
| Christopher Plummer, All the Money in the World | Octavia Spencer, The Shape of Water | ||
| Adapted Screenplay | Original Screenplay | ||
| Call Me by Your Name | Yes | Get Out | No |
| The Disaster Artist | The Big Sick | ||
| Logan | Lady Bird | ||
| Molly’s Game | The Shape of Water | ||
| Mudbound | Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri | ||
| Original Score | Original Song | ||
| The Shape of Water | Yes | ‘Remember Me’ from Coco | No |
| Dunkirk | “Mighty River” from Mudbound | ||
| Phantom Thread | “Mystery of Love” from Call Me by Your Name | ||
| Star Wars: The Last Jedi | “Stand Up for Something” from Marshall | ||
| Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri | “This Is Me” from The Greatest Showman | ||
| Sound Editing | Sound Mixing | ||
| Dunkirk | Yes | Dunkirk | Yes |
| Baby Driver | Baby Driver | ||
| Blade Runner 2049 | Blade Runner 2049 | ||
| The Shape of Water | The Shape of Water | ||
| Star Wars: The Last Jedi | Star Wars: The Last Jedi | ||
| Production Design | Visual Effects | ||
| The Shape of Water | Yes | Blade Runner 2049 | Yes |
| Beauty and the Beast | Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 | ||
| Blade Runner 2049 | Kong: Skull Island | ||
| Darkest Hour | Star Wars: The Last Jedi | ||
| Dunkirk | War for the Planet of the Apes | ||
| Costume Design | Cinematography | ||
| Phantom Thread | Yes | Blade Runner 2049 | Yes |
| Beauty and the Beast | Darkest Hour | ||
| Darkest Hour | Dunkirk | ||
| The Shape of Water | Mudbound | ||
| Victoria & Abdul | The Shape of Water | ||
| Film Editing | Animated Feature | ||
| Dunkirk | No | Coco | Yes |
| Baby Driver | The Boss Baby | ||
| I, Tonya | The Breadwinner | ||
| The Shape of Water | Ferdinand | ||
| Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri | Loving Vincent |
The biggest delights for me personally were one predicted winner and one unexpected though desired victory. When Roger Deakins was announced as the winner of Best Cinematography, I applauded from my sofa. After 14 nominations and such fantastic work in The Shawshank Redemption, The Man Who Wasn’t There, No Country For Old Men, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Skyfall, Sicario and many more, it was an absolute delight to see Deakins finally honoured for the extraordinary visuals of Blade Runner 2049. Well shot sir, well shot.
I wanted The Shape of Water to win Best Picture but expected that award to go to Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Over the course of the show, deviations from my expectations made that less likely, beginning with Get Out winning Original Screenplay. In recent years, Best Picture has also won Screenplay, Editing or Directing (making The Departed a quintessential winner for 2006). Since Martin McDonagh was not nominated for Directing, a likely win for him and the film was Original Screenplay. Without that, and with Editing going to Dunkirk, Picture became more open. And once Guillermo Del Toro won Directing, The Shape of Water seemed ever more likely. But in my scepticism, I did not see the members of AMPAS voting for a fantasy film. When Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty announced the winner, I applauded again. For a fantasy/monster/sci fi movie to win Best Picture shows that the Academy members are not as conservative as they used to be, embracing more radical and surprising choices.
The show as a whole was very well done. Jimmy Kimmell hosted with great humour, wryness and affection. I especially like Kimmell’s gag of bringing in audiences, a move he and his team pioneered last year by arranging a tour group to come into the Kodak Theater, and built on this year by taking several movie stars into a nearby screening of A Wrinkle in Time. Had I been in that cinema, my mind would have been blown by epic proportions with the sudden arrival of Guillermo Del Toro, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Margot Robbie, Ansel Elgort, Mark Hamill and the rest. Plus a hotdog cannon!
Perhaps the strongest legacy of this year’s Oscars, however, will be the politics. After a few years of controversy over all white acting nominees, the recent scandals over harassment and the subsequent #MeToo and #TimesUp campaigns prompted debate and resistance. Kimmel named and shamed Harvey Weinstein as only the second person to be expelled from AMPAS; actresses received greater prominence as various winners of the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role presented major awards. Last year’s Best Actress Emma Stone presented Directing to Guillermo Del Toro, and two pairs of Oscar winners presented this year’s Best Actor and Best Actress awards: Jane Fonda and Helen Mirren to Gary Oldman for Darkest Hour and Jodie Foster and Jennifer Lawrence to Frances McDormand for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, respectively. McDormand made perhaps the most impassioned speech of the night when she encouraged all the female nominees to stand up, be counted and be counted.
Some might complain about this political element, either arguing that the Oscars are about art which is not political, or that the Oscars are entertainment and too frivolous or commercial to engage in politics. I reject both these positions because art is and always has been political, and with its extraordinary reach it would be a terrible waste if cinema were not political. The Academy recognised this through a retrospective on war cinema, dedicated to the men and women of the armed forces and introduced touchingly by actor and Vietnam veteran Wes Studi. Secondly, entertainment expresses social and political concerns purely by its production within particular contexts – the dominance of men in the film industry and cinematic output is a political reality and one that is long overdue a challenge. As recent films have demonstrated, you can have hugely successful films with female directors and leads, and the studios apparently taking such risks demonstrates that the only risk is to conservative ideology. For certain, time is up, and my heartiest applause to every presenter and winner at the 90th Annual Academy Awards who used that grandest stage and widest audience to highlight the state of their industry and to call for change.
90th Oscar Predictions Part Five: Shoot It, Cut It
Cinematography
Roger Deakins, Roger Deakins, Roger Deakins, Roger Deakins. I actually think it will happen this year. Previously, despite his astonishing work, Deakins has been up against exceptional competition, especially with 3D cinematography. This year, however, the nominees in this category are working within similar parameters. Hoyte van Hoytema’s work for Dunkirk is remarkable, not least his aerial work with IMAX cameras attached to Spitfires. But every frame of Blade Runner 2049 is a breathtaking work of art that you could frame on your wall, and this is Deakins’ time. Not only do I want him to win, I predict that he will.
Blade Runner 2049, Roger Deakins (preferred and predicted winner)
Mudbound, Rachel Morrison
The Shape of Water, Dan Laustsen
Film Editing
Editing is sometimes tied to Best Picture – note that three of the nominees this year are also up for the Academy’s highest award. However, in this case I suspect that the film cut so closely to music it might as well be a musical will pick up the Oscar. I wasn’t a huge fan of Baby Driver, but I anticipate it will be a winner. That said, personally I’d pick Dunkirk, for its smart editing between different timeframes that never confused or befuddled me.
Baby Driver, Jonathan Amos, Paul Machliss (predicted winner)
Dunkirk, Lee Smith (preferred winner)
I, Tonya, Tatiana S. Riegel
The Shape of Water, Sidney Wolinsky
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Jon Gregory
89th Annual Academy Awards – Final Predictions
With the Academy Awards now hours away, it’s time for final predictions. I’ve given my detailed views on some of the categories already, but now it’s time for the full list, including what I think will win, and what I would vote for were I a member of AMPAS (none of this ‘should win’ nonsense on my blog, thank you!).
- Arrival
- Fences
- Hacksaw Ridge
- Hell or High Water
- Hidden Figures
- La La Land
- Lion
- Manchester by the Sea
- Moonlight
Predicted winner: La La Land
Preferred winner: Arrival
- Damien Chazelle, La La Land
- Mel Gibson, Hacksaw Ridge
- Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
- Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea
- Denis Villeneuve, Arrival
Predicted winner: Damien Chazelle
Preferred winner: Denis Villeneuve
With all its plaudits and despite its naysayers, La La Land looks set to pick up the big awards. I enjoyed the film fine, but do feel that others, including Manchester by the Sea and Hidden Figures, and especially Arrival, warrant as much if not more attention. So while I see La La Land dancing its way to Best Picture and Directing, my heart belongs to Arrival.
- Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
- Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge
- Ryan Gosling, La La Land
- Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic
- Denzel Washington, Fences
Predicted winner: Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
Preferred winner: Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
- Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
- Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water
- Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea
- Dev Patel, Lion
- Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals
Predicted winner: Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
Preferred winner: Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals
- Isabelle Huppert, Elle
- Ruth Negga, Loving
- Natalie Portman, Jackie
- Emma Stone, La La Land
- Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins
Predicted winner: Emma Stone, La La Land
Preferred winner: Emma Stone, La La Land (only one I’ve seen!)
- Viola Davis, Fences
- Naomie Harris, Moonlight
- Nicole Kidman, Lion
- Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures
- Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea
Predicted winner: Viola Davis, Fences
Preferred winner: Viola Davis, Fences
All the acting nominees I’ve seen were impressive, and I’d be happy with most of them winning. But it would make me very happy if Nocturnal Animals could pick up something.
- Arrival
- Fences
- Hidden Figures
- Lion
- Moonlight
Predicted winner: Moonlight
Preferred winner: Arrival
- Hell or High Water
- La La Land
- The Lobster
- Manchester by the Sea
- 20th Century Women
Predicted winner: Manchester by the Sea
Preferred winner: Hell or High Water
Tricky ones, but I think I’ve said my piece.
CINEMATOGRAPHY
- Arrival
- La La Land
- Lion
- Moonlight
- Silence
Predicted winner: La La Land
Preferred winner: Arrival
It is always tough to determine if this award will follow patterns, or rely solely on the skill of the Director of Photography nominated. In this case, much as I love Arrival and would like it to win, I anticipate the long takes and crane shots on location in La La Land will shimmy the film to another award.
COSTUME DESIGN
- Allied
- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
- Florence Foster Jenkins
- Jackie
- La La Land
Predicted winner: Jackie
Preferred winner: Jackie
This award typically goes to period films, for good reason, and all but one of these nominees is exactly that. For La La Land to win here would be a bit odd, colourful as the costumes in that film are. After its victories at BAFTA, the Awards Circuit Community Awards and the Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards, Jackie seems like a safe bet here.
FILM EDITING
- Arrival
- Hacksaw Ridge
- Hell or High Water
- La La Land
- Moonlight
Predicted winner: Arrival
Preferred winner: Arrival
This is an interesting one, as Hacksaw Ridge won the BAFTA but Arrival the Eddie (from the American Cinema Editors). I loved Arrival and found Hacksaw Ridge pretty good, and the potential overlap between the various institutions means this could go either way. But maybe Arrival will be this year’s Mad Max: Fury Road, picking up various post-production awards if none of the ‘major awards’. For that reason, I would like to see Arrival walk away with this award, and I believe it will.
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
- A Man Called Ove
- Star Trek Beyond
- Suicide Squad
Predicted winner: Star Trek Beyond
Preferred winner: Suicide Squad
I know nothing about A Man Called Ove, and the sheer range of weird and wonderful make up designs in Star Trek Beyond make it a likely winner. That said, I would like Suicide Squad to win, because I think the negativity this film received was excessive and it would greatly amuse me if the naysayers have to admit to the existence of ‘the Oscar-winning Suicide Squad’.
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
- Jackie
- La La Land
- Lion
- Moonlight
- Passengers
Predicted winner: La La Land
Preferred winner: La La Land
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
- ‘Audition (The Fools Who Dream),’ La La Land
- ‘Can’t Stop the Feeling,’ Trolls
- ‘City of Stars,’ La La Land
- ‘The Empty Chair,’ Jim: The James Foley Story
- ‘How Far I’ll Go, ‘ Moana
Predicted winner: ‘Audition (The Fools Who Dream),’ La La Land
Preferred winner: ‘Audition (The Fools Who Dream),’ La La Land
As a musical, it would be rather odd if La La Land did not win in these two categories. While I’m not the biggest fan of La La Land, I did find the solo ‘Audition’ to be very stirring (being one of those fools myself), and I would be happy to see that pick up an award.
PRODUCTION DESIGN
- Arrival
- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
- Hail, Caesar!
- La La Land
- Passengers
Predicted winner: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Preferred winner: Arrival
An interesting collection here, with two science fiction films, one contemporary (and very colourful) musical, along with two period films, one which features fantasy elements and the other, like the musical, is about Hollywood. Due to its BAFTA victory, I see this going to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, although the nostalgia and self-love of La La Land and Hail Caesar! might bring them success. For me, the production design of Arrival was a key element to its eerie alienness, and something I would like to see rewarded.
SOUND EDITING
- Arrival
- Deepwater Horizon
- Hacksaw Ridge
- La La Land
- Sully
Predicted winner: Arrival
Preferred winner: Arrival
Back in 2013, there was a tie for this award between Skyfall and Zero Dark Thirty. Both were favourite films of mine, and Arrival was my top film of last year. So maybe the pattern will continue. I would also like my top film to win something, hence my pick.
SOUND MIXING
- Arrival
- Hacksaw Ridge
- La La Land
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
- 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
Predicted winner: Arrival
Preferred winner: Arrival
Since Arrival is unlikely to win anything else, I can see it picking up both Sound awards. And I want it to, so there.
VISUAL EFFECTS
- Deepwater Horizon
- Doctor Strange
- The Jungle Book
- Kubo and the Two Strings
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Predicted winner: The Jungle Book
Preferred winner: Doctor Strange
After winning the BAFTA as well as an Annie Award and the Awards Circuit Community Award (as well as others), The Jungle Book looks set to pick up the Oscar as well. Much as the animals and landscapes impressed me in The Jungle Book though, the inventiveness and outright trippiness of the visual effects in Doctor Strange had me (sorry) spellbound, and it gets my vote for most impressive visual effects of last year.
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
- Kubo and the Two Strings
- Moana
- My Life as a Zucchini
- The Red Turtle
- Zootopia
Predicted winner: Kubo and the Two Strings
Preferred winner: Zootopia
Kubo and the Two Strings has done very well at previous award ceremonies such as BAFTA and multiple Critics associations, but Zootopia/Zootropolis was one of my favourites of last year, so it gets my vote. It did win the Golden Globe, so maybe Disney’s delightful comedy about prejudice and tolerance might just strike a chord with the Academy members, in this time of strife and division.
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
- Land of Mine, Denmark
- A Man Called Ove, Sweden
- The Salesman,Iran
- Tanna, Australia
- Toni Erdmann, Germany
Predicted winner: The Salesman, Iran
Preferred winner: The Salesman, Iran
The director of The Salesman, Asqhar Farhadi, has stated that he will not attend the Oscar ceremony in protest of President Trump’s policies. Whether Farhadi attends or not, as an act of defiance I hope that the Academy rewards the film, and I would too.
DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)
- Fire at Sea
- I Am Not Your Negro
- Life, Animated
- OJ: Made In America
- 13th
Predicted winner: 13th
Preferred winner: Life, Animated
DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT)
- Extremis
- 1 Miles
- Joe’s Violin
- Watani: My Homeland
- The White Helmets
SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
- Blind Vaysha
- Borrowed Time
- Pear Cider and Cigarettes
- Pearl
- Piper
SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
- Ennemis Interieurs
- La Femme Et Le TGV
- Silent Nights
- Sing
- Timecode
Pass – I know nothing about these films.
Top Ten Directors – Part Four I
Regulars at this blog (if there are any) may recall that some years ago I started posting about my favourite film directors. I posted about three of them – Steven Spielberg, James Cameron and Christopher Nolan – and then I got caught up in reviewing every new release I saw. But I thought it time to get back to my top ten, with the caveat that to credit the director as being solely responsible for any film is to utterly misunderstand the filmmaking process. So here we go…
For me, Michael Mann is probably the single most important filmmaker I have ever encountered. It was in early 1996 that I first saw Heat (1996), a film that had a profound effect on me and set me on the course of becoming a film scholar and critic. I had seen The Last of the Mohicans (1992) beforehand, but Heat was my major introduction to Mann’s work. Subsequently I sought out The Last of the Mohicans again and made sure to see The Insider (1999) when it came out. Then I gathered the video tapes (and later DVDs) of Thief (1981), Manhunter (1986), The Keep (1983), The Jericho Mile (1979)and L. A. Takedown (1989). When Ali (2001) came out I made the effort to see it, by which time I had decided that I would do a PhD in film studies focused on Michael Mann (as you do). Collateral (2004) and Miami Vice (2006) were released while I was researching my doctorate, and in the week of my graduation, Public Enemies (2009) came to British cinemas, before very briefly in 2015, Blackhat. I saw them all, think about them at length, and have written and published at least something about all of them.
Due to my research, I have a very particular view of Mann that may not communicate well to others, but here goes. Mann is a holistic filmmaker whose work demonstrates precise interaction of the various cinematic elements. Working as writer and director on most of his films, Mann has spoken in interviews of the ‘harmonics’ in his work, and indeed the various elements are harmonised to an extraordinary degree. Script, performance, cinematography, production design, editing, sound, music – all resonate in a very specific and distinct way across Mann’s oeuvre. These harmonics are what create the relentlessly lyrical movement in The Last of the Mohicans, the sleek and almost ephemeral stream of Collateral, Miami Vice and Blackhat as well as the distorted mental and physical worlds of Manhunter, the state and industrial containments in The Jericho Mile and Thief, the confusing disjointedness of Ali and Public Enemies and the expressionism of The Keep.
From within this extraordinary oeuvre, what really stands out as Mann’s best film, and what is the best introduction to his work? All will be revealed in my next post…
Oscar Reflections – Part One
The Oscars are wrapped for another year. Once again, I stayed up all night to watch the whole ceremony, and it was TOTALLY worth it! It was a great show with significant surprises, some wonderful performances and interesting acceptance speeches.
I made 21 predictions for the Academy Awards, and was only correct in 13 categories. This is largely down to the remarkable success of Mad Max: Fury Road, which was not only a radical Best Picture nominee, but the biggest winner of the night, picking up awards for Costume Design, Production Design, Hair and Make-Up, Editing, Sound Mixing and Sound Editing. I was surprised but pleased that such a purely cinematic film was rewarded for some of its key cinematic elements. It was also amusing that every time a winner thanked director George Miller we got a reaction shot of him, as though the director of the ceremony knew Miller would not get a chance to speak himself!
Other predictable results included Cinematography, Score and Animated Feature. Emmanuel Lubezki made history with his third consecutive win for The Revenant, following previous wins for Gravity and Birdman. One day, Roger Deakins, one day. Ennio Morricone’s win for The Hateful Eight made him the oldest Oscar winner ever, and the standing ovation as he stepped up to receive his award was testament to the adulation in which this great maestro is held. Ex Machina was a surprise winner of Visual Effects, but a very welcome one. And my favourite film of last year, Inside Out, took home the Oscar for Animated Feature, which made me happy.
I also correctly predicted the winners for Achievement in Directing as well as the Writing Awards. After his Golden Globe and DGA awards, Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s win for The Revenant was in no way surprising. The Big Short‘s win for Adapted Screenplay was also expected, as was Spotlight‘s win for Original Screenplay. But like many people, I was flabbergasted when Morgan Freeman announced Spotlight as the winner of Best Picture. The success of The Revenant up to that point appeared to make it a dead cert for Best Picture, but instead, the true story of crusading journalists within an insular community picked up Hollywood’s highest award. Although this was a big surprise (and a possible indicator of Michael Keaton being a lucky charm), it does demonstrate the pattern that Best Picture winners also win one or more of Directing, Editing or Screenplay. But winning ‘only’ Picture and Original Screenplay places Spotlight in a weird category of being a numerically low Best Picture. 12 Years A Slave, Argo and Crash are Best Picture winners that received only three awards (all won Screenplay, interestingly, Adapted for the first, Original for the other two; Argo and Crash also won Editing), but the last Best Picture to win so few was The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), which also won the Oscar for Best Story.
This in no way diminishes the achievement of Spotlight, which is a very fine film and impressed me more than The Revenant. Along with the six awards for Mad Max: Fury Road, the 88th Academy Awards proved a surprising and somewhat radical bunch of winners. Long may such challenges to convention continue.
88th Annual Academy Award Predictions
It’s been a road of some indeterminate length, and I’ve given my views on some of the categories. But at long(ish) last, here are my picks for the 88th Annual Academy Awards. As before, these are both what I believe will win, and what I would vote for were I a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (which is not the same as “should win” – I’m not that arrogant).
Disclaimer: I may change some of these after I see Brooklyn. Also, I am changing my Supporting Actress prediction, so don’t bother pointing it out.
Brooklyn
Room
Predicted winner – The Revenant
My preference – Room
Director
Lenny Abrahamson – Room
Alejandro G. Iñárritu – The Revenant
Tom McCarthy – Spotlight
Adam McKay – The Big Short
George Miller – Mad Max: Fury Road
Predicted winner – Alejandro G. Iñárritu – The Revenant
My preference – Lenny Abrahamson – Room
Actor
Bryan Cranston – Trumbo
Matt Damon – The Martian
Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant
Michael Fassbender – Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne – The Danish Girl
Predicted winner – Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant
My preference – Michael Fassbender – Steve Jobs
Actress
Brie Larson – Room
Jennifer Lawrence – Joy
Charlotte Rampling – 45 Years
Saoirse Ronan – Brooklyn
Predicted winner – Brie Larson – Room
My preference – Brie Larson – Room
Supporting Actor
Christian Bale – The Big Short
Tom Hardy – The Revenant
Mark Ruffalo – Spotlight
Mark Rylance – Bridge of Spies
Sylvester Stallone – Creed
Predicted winner – Mark Rylance – Bridge of Spies
My preference – Mark Ruffalo – Spotlight
Supporting Actress
Jennifer Jason Leigh – The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara – Carol
Rachel McAdams – Spotlight
Alicia Vikander – The Danish Girl
Kate Winslet – Steve Jobs
Predicted winner – Alicia Vikander – The Danish Girl
My preference – Kate Winslet – Steve Jobs
Adapted Screenplay
The Big Short
Brooklyn
Carol
The Martian
Room
Predicted winner – The Big Short
My preference – Room
Original Screenplay
Bridge of Spies
Spotlight
Straight Outta Compton
Predicted winner – Spotlight
My preference – Spotlight
Cinematography
Carol
The Hateful Eight
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Predicted winner – The Revenant
My preference – Sicario
Costume Design
Carol
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Predicted winner – Mad Max: Fury Road
My preference – Cinderella
Editing
The Big Short
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Spotlight
Predicted winner – Mad Max: Fury Road
My preference – Spotlight
Make-Up and Hair
Mad Max: Fury Road
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared
The Revenant
Predicted winner – The Revenant
My preference – The Revenant
Score
Bridge of Spies
Carol
The Hateful Eight
Sicario
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Predicted winner – The Hateful Eight
My preference – Carol
Original Song
Earned It, The Weeknd – Fifty Shades of Grey
Manta Ray, J Ralph & Antony – Racing Extinction
Simple Song #3, Sumi Jo – Youth
Til It Happens To You, Lady Gaga – The Hunting Ground
Writing’s On the Wall, Sam Smith – Spectre
Predicted winner – Til It Happens To You, Lady Gaga – The Hunting Ground
My preference – Writing’s On the Wall, Sam Smith – Spectre
Production Design
Bridge of Spies
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Predicted winner – The Revenant
My preference – The Revenant
Sound Editing
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Sicario
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Predicted winner – Mad Max: Fury Road
My preference – Sicario
Sound Mixing
Bridge of Spies
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Predicted winner – The Revenant
My preference – Mad Max: Fury Road
Visual Effects
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Predicted winner – Star Wars: The Force Awakens
My preference – Ex Machina
Animated Film
Anomalisa
Boy and the World
Shaun the Sheep Movie
When Marnie Was There
Predicted winner – Inside Out
My preference – Inside Out
Foreign Language Film
Embrace of the Serpent – Colombia
Mustang – France
Son of Saul – Hungary
Theeb – Jordan
A War – Denmark
Predicted winner – Theeb (complete guess and as I have not seen any, I have no preference.)
Documentary Feature
Amy
Cartel Land
The Look of Silence
What Happened, Miss Simone?
Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom
Predicted winner – The Look of Silence (complete guess and as I have not seen any, I have no preference.)
Animated and Live Action Shorts – I have no knowledge of these so no predictions or preferences.
Oscar Views – Part Three
With the other award ceremonies done and dusted, the likely winners at the Oscars are now clearer than before. Few categories seem less certain than Achievement in Directing. The Revenant director Alejandro G. Iñárritu has now won the Golden Globe, the DGA award and the BAFTA for Directing, and looks set to become the third back-to-back Oscar winning director, joining John Ford and Joseph L. Mankiewicz. This is a remarkable achievement considering Iñárritu is not a prolific filmmaker, having directed only seven features including his debut Amores Perros. Yet each have had a distinctive style and, noticeably, each of his films perform interesting experiments with the cinematic form. Amores Perros, 21 Grams and Babel are all network narratives that utilise editing to distort and confuse chronology, using the harmonics of image and emotion rather than strict narrative logic to progress the film. Birdman drew great praise for its (trick) single take that consists of most of the film, and despite being acerbically critical of celebrity culture, manages this critique without being mean-spirited or cruel. The Revenant is similarly an impressive formal experiment, with many long takes and a remarkable use of light. Iñárritu has said “We shot at the end of the day every day, at dusk time, which I always say is the time when God speaks.” This lighting and shot composition adds to the ethereal quality of the film, and explains why the various electorates of the award-giving institutions would credit this work. While the work of the other nominated directors is distinctive and effective, The Revenant is the film that stands out as being distinctly “directed.” This might suggest an emphasis on the artifice of the film that could be distancing, and yet the film also has a feeling of organic unity to it, clearly carefully designed yet feeling immediate and vibrant, its themes of survival, revenge, regret and even love exquisitely expressed through image and sound over the course of a fairly simple story (note, The Revenant is not nominated for Screenplay). Of course credit is also due to cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, who looks set to pick up his third consecutive Oscar after Gravity and Birdman. Much as in those earlier films, Lubezki draws the viewer into these complex visual assemblies, the engulfing landscape of The Revenant as immersive as the 3D work in Gravity and the twisting corridors of Birdman’s theatre. Were I a member of AMPAS, I would pick these fine cinematic poets to receive awards for Directing and Cinematography, as they are fine practitioners and experimentalists of the cinematic medium, continually pushing it in exciting and engaging directions.
Predictions and Preferences: Perspective on Oscar Nominations Part Three
The sharp-eyed among you, and possibly the impatient, may have noticed that my previous posts on the Oscars neglected to give any verdict on the actual nominees for this year’s Academy Awards. Now that I’ve actually seen more of them, that will be rectified, just in time too. What I am NOT going to do, however, is declare that I know better than the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and that they should obviously have nominated Pride over American Sniper, or that Michael Keaton should win because he is clearly so much better than Eddie Redmayne, and that if Julianne Moore doesn’t win it will be a travesty, etc. I hate it when individuals insist that their own singular opinions are more valid than the democratically voted Academy nominees and winners. You may disagree with the results of these votes, but that does not make you right, better or superior. I therefore offer my prediction of what I believe will win and what I would vote for if I were a member of AMPAS. If I have not seen enough of the nominees, I offer no opinion.
Picture
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Based purely on content, the films most likely to win Best Picture are The Imitation Game and The Theory of Everything. The former is a true story about an important figure of the twentieth century, largely set during World War II. The latter is a true story about an important figure of the twentieth century who overcame great adversity. The adversity is significant here – The Theory of Everything presents Stephen Hawking’s story as one of triumph and the power of love, whereas The Imitation Game balances triumph with tragedy, as Alan Turing may have cracked the Enigma Code but submitted to chemical castration before committing suicide (according to the film). It is a sad fact that the Academy’s conservatism is likely to block The Imitation Game from Best Picture, as it is a film focused upon a homosexual. While such films have previously been nominated, such as Brokeback Mountain, Capote (both 2005) and The Kids are All Right (2010), they are yet to win Best Picture.
American Sniper shares elements with 2009’s Best Picture winner The Hurt Locker with its attention to the minutiae of combat, and has the added bonus of being a true story. Selma is also a true story, about major events in American history and one of the most significant activists of the 20th century. Both these films have generated controversy, American Sniper for its (according to some) pro-war presentation of the Iraq conflict and Selma for the Academy’s failure to nominate Ava DuVernay for Best Director or David Oyelowo for Best Actor. The Academy rarely rewards controversial films, and it is a sad truth that “black” films are also seldom rewarded, 12 Years A Slave being the first “black film” to win Best Picture.
Of the fictional tales, The Grand Budapest Hotel is a long shot as comedies very rarely win; Whiplash speaks to an artistic sensibility that chimes with the Academy’s love for triumphing over adversity. The admiration for Richard Linklater’s twelve-year labour of love has continued since the Golden Globes and shows no signs of abating. While I was more impressed by Birdman’s visually thrilling attack on contemporary culture, I predict that the Academy will go for the American charm that Boyhood valorises.
Predicted winner: Boyhood
Preferred winner: Birdman
Director
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher
Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game
Richard Linklater’s extraordinary commitment to Boyhood’s twelve-year production is reason enough for the Academy to reward him. Furthermore, he is a well-established and respected figure in Hollywood (and apparently Ethan Hawke’s best mate) whose films have captivated many over the years. It seems to be his time. However, Alejandro González Iñárritu picked up the Directors’ Guild of America award, which is frequently followed by the Oscar, so it is a very close race. I preferred Iñárritu’s swift, relentless and visceral direction of Birdman, which is a sharp contrast to Linklater’s more fluid, blink-and-you’ll-miss-that-we’ve-jumped-forward-three-years approach. I still think Linklater will win, but I would be over the moon if this award went to Iñárritu.
Predicted winner: Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Preferred winner: Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman
Actor
Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper, American Sniper
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
Physical transformation and playing a historical figure are what the Academy love, and Eddie Redmayne has already picked up multiple awards. While the Academy also loves a comeback like that of Michael Keaton, such performances don’t always win (see John Travolta for Pulp Fiction and Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler). I would love Keaton to win, not least because he is never likely to do a better performance, but I think it unlikely.
Predicted winner: Eddie Redmayne
Preferred winner: Michael Keaton
Actress
Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild
I have only seen two of these nominees, Rosamund Pike and Felicity Jones. I enjoyed both films and consider Jones to be the best thing in The Theory of Everything, but of the two I would pick Pike. However, it looks like this will be the year of five-time nominee Julianne Moore. I wish her well, and look forward to seeing Still Alice.
Predicted winner: Julianne Moore
Supporting Actor
Robert Duvall, The Judge
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
J. K. Simmons, Whiplash
Aside from Robert Duvall, I have seen all of these and they are a great bunch (film fans in search of great acting should check out Best Supporting Actor nominees). J K. Simmons has picked up all the awards so far, and will almost certainly pick up the Oscar too. While I was less than enamoured with Whiplash as a whole, I have no problem with his performance.
Predicted and preferred winner: J. K. Simmons
Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Laura Dern, Wild
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Emma Stone, Birdman
Meryl Streep, Into the Woods
I was impressed by Patricia Arquette, Keira Knightley and Emma Stone, and am somewhat bemused that Meryl Streep has yet another nomination to add to her collection (I have seen neither Into the Woods nor Wild). As Arquette has won everything so far, there is no reason to suspect she will not continue. And I pick her too, not least because she reminds me of my own mother.
Predicted and preferred winner: Patricia Arquette
Best Original Screenplay
Birdman
Boyhood
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Nightcrawler
I’ve seen all of these other than Nightcrawler, and with Writers Guild Awards as well as a BAFTA, the witty and wacky script of The Grand Budapest Hotel is a safe bet. But as in the Best Picture category, I prefer the scathing, mad energy of Birdman.
Predicted winner: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Preferred winner: Birdman
Best Adapted Screenplay
American Sniper
The Imitation Game
Inherent Vice
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash
A mixed bag here, one based on a novel, three on biographies and one on a short film. The battle here is between the Writers’ Guild Award winner The Imitation Game and the BAFTA-winning The Theory of Everything. I like both films and it could go either way, but on the night I believe the Academy will follow the practice of the guild. I’m OK with that.
Predicted and preferred winner: The Imitation Game
Animated Feature Film
Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Song of the Sea
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
Predicted winner: How to Train Your Dragon 2 (the only nominee I’ve seen as well)
Foreign Language Film
Ida
Leviathan
Tangerines
Timbuktu
Wild Tales
Predicted winner: Leviathan (complete guess)
Documentary, Feature
Citizenfour
Finding Vivian Maier
Last Days in Vietnam
The Salt of the Earth
Virunga
What will win: Virunga (not seen any, so a complete guess)
Original Score
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Mr. Turner
The Theory of Everything
I’ve seen all of these but confess I barely remember the scores from all but one, and as a huge fan of Hans Zimmer in general and his score for Interstellar especially, I would like him to win. But Alexandre Desplat is receiving his seventh and eighth nominations simultaneously, and I think it is his time. For which film? Since Desplat picked up the BAFTA for The Grand Budapest Hotel, this seems likely. But then again, Jóhann Jóhannsson won the Golden Globe for his score for The Theory of Everything, so this race has a far from obvious winner.
Predicted winner: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Preferred winner: Interstellar
Film Editing
American Sniper
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Whiplash
There’s a simple reason Birdman will not win Best Picture, which is that it is not nominated for Editing. Historically speaking, Editing and Picture frequently go together, at least in terms of nominations. If Best Director and Original Screenplay were certain to go to Boyhood, I would predict differently. But as Birdman could pick up Director and The Grand Budapest Hotel is more likely for Screenplay, as a Best Picture winner Boyhood will also pick up Editing. That said, I found the more intricate cutting of The Imitation Game to be more involving and absorbing.
Predicted winner: Boyhood
Preferred winner: The Imitation Game
Visual Effects
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
X-Men: Days of Future Past
What could be known as the blockbuster award, this is the one bone that is regularly thrown to the box office champions, where artists and technicians make wildly popular cinematic marvels, for films that are consistently ignored for other awards. I imagine Interstellar’s spacescapes will be rewarded here, but personally I was even more taken by the extraordinary performance capture and digital rendering of ape armies.
Predicted winner: Interstellar
Preferred winner: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Sound Editing
American Sniper
Birdman
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Interstellar
Unbroken
War films typically make great use of sound, and American Sniper is no exception. But the brilliant interchanges of sound and silence in Interstellar might just snag it, if I have my way.
Predicted winner: American Sniper
Preferred winner: Interstellar
Sound Mixing
American Sniper
Birdman
Interstellar
Unbroken
Whiplash
Again, I was captivated by the sound of Interstellar, but I cannot help but be impressed by Whiplash’s soundscape of music, voices and more indistinct noises.
Predicted winner: Whiplash
Preferred winner: Interstellar
Production Design
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Into the Woods
Mr. Turner
The Grand Budapest Hotel is an exquisitely designed film and it seems unlikely that the Academy members will ignore this.
Predicted and preferred winner: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Cinematography
Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ida
Mr. Turner
Unbroken
An astonishing level of artistic and technical brilliance is performed by Emmanuel Lubezki in Birdman, making this award a sure thing.
Predicted and preferred winner: Birdman
Makeup and Hairstyling
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy
The makeup and hairstyling of The Grand Budapest Hotel is a work of art in itself, and is exactly the type of work that tends to win this award.
Predicted and preferred winner: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Costume Design
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Inherent Vice
Into the Woods
Maleficent
Mr. Turner
Much the same as Makeup and Hairstyling.
Predicted and preferred winner: The Grand Budapest Hotel
In the other categories, I do not know enough to guess.
Documentary – Short Subject
Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1
Joanna
Our Curse
The Reaper (La Parka)
White Earth
No idea.
Live Action Short Film
Aya
Boogaloo and Graham
Butter Lamp (La Lampe au beurre de yak)
Parvaneh
The Phone Call
No idea.
Animated Short Film
The Bigger Picture
The Dam Keeper
Feast
Me and My Moulton
A Single Life
No idea.
Original Song
“Everything Is Awesome” from The Lego Movie
“Glory” from Selma
“Grateful” from Beyond the Lights
“I’m Not Gonna Miss You” from Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me
“Lost Stars” from Begin Again
No idea.
Check back soon for my reactions to the winners and the show as a whole! I predict it will be legen – wait for it – DARY!
Vincent's Views 