Let's have it then,
dear Oscar...
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Oscar season is upon
us, and what an odd time it is indeed. I don't get this. Good films
come out all year long but most of the films with even a fighting
chance of getting an Oscar have only come out in the last couple of
months...
Mini-moan aside, I've
been fascinated by the Oscar's since the first time I saw Bugs Bunny
pick up his little gold statue and make his acceptance speech. Its
the only time of the year I will make the effort to sit and watch
films I wouldn't have otherwise bothered to see. I mean, I'd never
even have attempted to watch Lincoln had it not been nominated for
Best Picture and Best Director [Steven Spielberg's seventh
nomination. He's won twice before for Saving Private Ryan (1998) and
Schindler's List (1993)].
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As it happens, I didn't
manage to get through it. I normally love talky, heavily politics
laden films so I'm going put it down to the fact that I was tired
that I fell asleep around half way through. While critics have
praised the film and its performances, Tommy Lee Jones' very presence
was distracting for me – all I could think about was his character
from Men in Black and the more personal aspects of Lincoln's life,
for example his relationship with his elder son, just left me a
little cold. Like I say, I was tired and that's why I couldn't sit
through it, don't let me put you off if you're thinking about
watching it.
Of the
films in the Best Picture category I have attempted to watch 5 out of
the 10, and managed to sit all the way through three.
My
biggest Oscar disappointment by far – and I mean ever –
has been Les
Misérables. It's not often that I can't get to the end of a film
simply because it becomes unbearable to watch. Other noted examples,
often ending in a snooze, include Electra and the truly painful Nikos
the Impaler – during the latter of which, I willed myself to pass
out rather than sit through ano
ther minute of it.
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Running
time is 158 minutes. I managed just under half that before I couldn't
handle any more singing. I've never been a huge fan of musicals –
the few exceptions include Chicago and Oliver! The over-acting and
terribly saccharine lyrics are particularly hard to stomach in a lot
of them. And Les Misérables delivers plenty of all of that. The
appeal of it was in the very clever decision to make all the actors
sing live on set. The execution is quite impressive regardless of the
films other flaws – most notably pacing, set design and Russell
Crowe. Redeeming moments that made the first half tolerable were Anne
Hathaway's brief but memorable performance, climaxing with a
beautifully, yet simply shot, emotional delivery of I Dreamed a
Dream; and Sasha Baron Cohen and Helena Botham-Carter's version of
Master of the House, a fun performance with laugh-out-loud comic
timing. But I'd wait until clips of it are up on Youtube before
paying out actual money to see it. Movie critics have said that it's
not worth watching after about half way through so I'm in no rush to
attempt to see it in its entirety.
I
wouldn't be surprised if this film won Best Picture. I won't be happy
about it, but not surprised.
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Another
big contender for Best Picture is Amour. Its script is entirely in
French, and only one of nine nominations for a non-English language
film in the Best Picture category in the history of Oscar. If Amour
wins it would be an Oscar first. It's also up for Best Director, and
its easy to see why.
The direction is captivating. Though the dialogue isn't the most
enthralling its 127 minute running time passes quickly because of the
Hitchcock-ian-esk sense of claustrophobia the protagonist, played
heartbreakingly by Jean-Louis Trintignant (overlooked for a Best
Actor nomination), is slowly overwhelmed by. It's a beautiful film I
wouldn't have seen had my mother not insisted. A worthy winner,
though not my favourite in the category.
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Django
Unchained is the Best Picture nominee I would have seen with or
without Oscar's encouragement, because when director Quentin
Tarantino name is attached to any project, it's worth a look in.
Django Unchained has been marred by controversy, with many such as
director Spike Lee accusing it of 'glorifying slavery' before even
having seen the film. Most people who have seen the film would agree
that it does precisely the opposite, highlighting the great cruelty
and dehumanisation of slavery, and in one memorable scene, show the
utter stupidity and simple mindedness of the KKK. Though the middle
of the film slows down to a frustrating pace for some time, probably
done on purpose, its an immensely fun film about revenge and
friendship with great performances from Academy Award winning actor
Christoph Waltz and Jamie Foxx, who was disgracefully left out of the
Best Actor in a Leading Role category. It's upsetting at times, but
it didn't dampen my enjoyment of it. I'll be watching this one again
very soon.
Though
I'd love it to win Best Picture it's unlikely to happen. Quentin
Tarantino's missed out on a third Best Director nomination and
looking at Oscar's history, it's clear it's very rare for a film to
win Best Picture without at least a nomination in the Best Director
category – more often than not a film will win with both statuettes
in the bag.
Finally,
my favourite for Best Picture and Best Director is Ang Lee's
beautiful and hypnotising Life Of Pi. The story, the colours, the imagery .. I'd have to be nit-picking to find fault. I'll be singing this film's
praises when I'm an old woman, curled up on the sofa watching the
2063 Oscar's with my grand-babies. It's just too good. I've already
watched it twice. I'm not going to say any more – just go watch it.
Go, seriously. I'll even let you watch it in 3D if you really want to. Go.
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Also
nominated in the Best Picture category are critically acclaimed Argo,
Beasts of the Southern Wild, Silver Linings Playbook, and the
controversial
allegedly-and-most-likely-considering-its-director-made-the-pro-war-propaganda-fest-though-awesome-and-suspence-filled-The-Hurt-Locker-pro-torture
film Zero Dark Thirty.
