My Oscar Thoughts

I completed my quest to see each of the five Best Picture nominees in the theater this past Thursday when I caught a showing of Milk as the second half of a double feature.  This is the third year in a row that I have seen every Best Picture nominee in the theater, and I suppose I will keep the quest going as long as I can.

I've been busy this week editing a random film some friends and I decided to make on President's Day.  Like I tend to do, I found plenty of ways to make the project more complicated (and hopefully more fun and interesting) than I had originally planned.  Thus, most of my free time this week has been spent on this project, and that explains why I am writing about the Oscars only hours before the winners will be announced.  Anyway, let's get to it.  

(In hindsight, I feel like what I've listed as a prediction isn't so much a prediction as it is my own personal choice).

Best Picture:

This has been a tough one for me to figure out.  There hasn't been a film to truly stand out above the others, no clear winner like last year's No Country for Old Men.  I'll just list my thoughts on each of the nominees.

• The Reader - of all the nominees this year, this is the weakest.  I still enjoyed the film, but I think a large part of my enjoyment and comprehension of the film was the result of having read the book before seeing the film.  The book and film go together very well, but without reading the book, I think I wouldn't have understood the characters' motives very well.  There are some interesting symbols in the narrative, and the film is shot well and the acting is pretty good, but overall, I don't think it should have been nominated.  There are at least three films I can think of that deserve the nomination more.

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - I wrote a rather large blog on my reaction to this movie, and my initial feelings still remain.  I really liked this movie in so many ways, but then some other things just didn't work for me.  Since watching it, I can't say that I have felt the desire to watch it again nor have I returned to it much in my thoughts.  Maybe that's not necessarily the best criteria for determining the best film of the year, but I happen to regard a film's success, so to speak, by the way it affects me, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.  This film did affect me on many levels, but mostly in a way I didn't wish to be affected, I suppose.  The film is deserving of its nomination though, and I'm glad its director, David Fincher, is getting some of the attention he deserves.
• Milk - I enjoyed this movie a lot.  Much of that is due to Sean Penn's performance as Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in the United States.  Penn creates a very likable, compelling character and carries the movie on his back.  It helped that I didn't know much about the story beforehand, so the history behind the narrative was intriguing and captured my attention.  The film could be favored by its political nature, but I'm not sure if the Academy will choose it because of the timely nature of its politics or not.  I don't feel like Milk was the Best Picture, but I do understand it being nominated.  There is nothing wrong with a filmmaker trying to convey a message, even a political one, through the medium of film.  I can support and applaud the effort.
• Frost/Nixon - Of this year's nominees, this film probably took me most by surprise.  I figured it would be entertaining enough, but I wasn't prepared for it to be so compelling.  The acting is superb all-around, with a couple powerhouse performances by Frank Langella and Michael Sheen - Langella is up for Best Actor but Sheen got completely snubbed and should have received a Best Supporting Actor nomination.  What surprised me most is how the film was able to use the character of Richard Nixon, make him frightening and cunning and aggressive, but then, in a matter of seconds, with just a few facial expressions, completely humanize the man.  Instead of vilifying him, the film made me feel genuinely sorry for the man.  He appeared as a broken man, tortured by his mistakes and resigned to the exile that awaited him.  I didn't see that one coming.
• Slumdog Millionaire - I remember first hearing about this film after it won some kind of award at the Toronto Film Festival, and I was immediately intrigued.  I have enjoyed all of Danny Boyle's various films, and I figured I would like this one.  Like it I did.  I really like the film's style, the way it looks (some interesting camera work), the way it uses music (great soundtrack), the acting (inspired casting of those kids), the narrative structure, and the happiness it left with me.  Of all the films nominated for Best Picture, Slumdog is the only one that could possibly be deemed a happy film.  It's a sort of modern fairy tale, quite Dickensian, and though it does show many terrible realities of life in the slums of India, it ends with hope.  And I liked that a lot.

My prediction for Best Picture:  Slumdog Millionaire.

Movies that should have been nominated:  WALL-E and The Wrestler.  WALL-E is still my favorite film of 2008.  I think it's time the whole animated film can't be nominated or considered for Best Picture prejudice goes away.  Seriously, it was such a stunning work of art.  And The Wrestler was pretty amazing as well.  I'll talk more about it when I get to Best Actor, but Mickey Rourke was amazing.  I know a lot of people think The Dark Knight should have been nominated for Best Picture, but I can't really say I feel the same way.  My nominations would probably include the following:  WALL-E, Slumdog Millionaire, Frost/Nixon, The Wrestler, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Best Director:

This usually seems to go to the director of the Best Picture, but I'm not sure if things will play out that way this year.  Each of the five Best Picture nominated films' directors were nominated, so I guess it will likely go to the winner of that award.  I have to say that the directing of The Reader and Frost/Nixon really wasn't spectacular by any means.  Gus Van Sant did a good job with Milk, but I don't think it was spectacular.  I'd have to say that it is going to come down to David Fincher for Benjamin Button and Danny Boyle for Slumdog.  Of those two, I'd say that I would go with Danny Boyle.  I feel like his direction was more integral to the overall success of his film.  That isn't to say that a director's hand has to be seen at every turn because I thought Fincher's direction was very understated but very efficient.  

My prediction for Best Director:  Danny Boyle.

Directors who should have been nominated:  Darren Aronofsky is an incredibly talented director, as each of his films attests.  The Wrestler was so different from his other highly-stylized films that I think he may have disappeared from people's minds, which is a tragedy.  He should have been nominated over Stephen Daldry and/or Ron Howard.  Once again, I know people think Christopher Nolan should have been nominated, and I would agree if it weren't for Christian Bale's Batman voice.  Seems like a stupid holdup, I know, but that was such a terrible decision as an actor and as a director.  Nolan, like Aronofsky, is too talented to keep getting snubbed.  He'll get a golden statue eventually, right Scorsese?  I know people (the Academy) don't want to think that the director of an animated film does the same job as the director of a live-action film, and to an extent that is true, but they are also very much responsible for every aspect of their film.  With that in mind, I think Andrew Stanton of Pixar is as worthy of a nomination as anyone. 

Best Cinematographer:

This is going to be a tough one for this year.  I am of the opinion that the Academy isn't a very credible group when it comes to this award, and I base that opinion solely on the fact that Children of Men didn't win the award when it was nominated.  I'm not sure enough of the Academy has a sufficient technical knowledge to vote correctly, not that I am saying I do, but I'll offer my prediction anyway.  

My prediction for Best Cinematography: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Best Actor:

This might be the toughest ballot of the entire evening.  I haven't seen The Visitor and can't comment on Richard Jenkins's performance, but the other four nominees are very deserving.  In my mind, it comes down to Sean Penn and Mickey Rourke.  Frank Langella was incredible as Richard Nixon, but other two completely dominated, in my opinion.  Sean Penn is a tremendous actor and somehow manages to completely lose himself in his role.  A small clip of the real Harvey Milk was shown in the credits of the film, and I could instantly see the mannerisms, gestures, etc. that Penn captured in his performance.  Just from that small clip I could tell that he really nailed the essence of that character.  Pretty incredible.  Mickey Rourke's performance in The Wrestler was just as incredible.  There is an incredible parallel between Rourke's personal history and the story of the film.  The more I think of his performance and that film, the more amazed I am.  During the film, I forgot that I was watching an incredible performance.  Rourke was that character, and it was remarkable, looking back now, at how completely his performance enraptured and moved me.  Rourke did upset a lot of the Hollywood establishment in his younger years, so who knows if they exercise a personal vendetta on him and go with the well-beloved Penn.

My prediction for Best Actor:  Mickey Rourke.

Best Supporting Actor:

This one isn't much of a contest, in my mind.  The award should go to Heath Ledger.  He owned the screen in every single scene he was in The Dark Knight.  I almost think he was too good, that his performance overshadowed everything else about the film.  I think the other nominees are deserving, but Michael Sheen should have been nominated for his role as David Frost in Frost/Nixon.  How he didn't get nominated is beyond me.  He was better than Josh Brolin in Milk and Robert Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder.  But yeah, I think this one is a no brainer.

My prediction for Best Supporting Actor:  Heath Ledger.

Best Actress:

(This is taking longer than I thought so I'll condense my remarks from this point forward).  The Academy dropped the ball by snubbing Sally Hawkins in Happy-Go-Lucky.  I thought her performance was really amazing.  That being said, I think the most impressive performance of the nominees was Anne Hathaway's in Rachel Getting Married.  I hope they don't give the award to Merryl Streep.  She was good in Doubt, but does anyone think it's hard for her to play the angry old lady anymore?  Hathaway's performance was revelatory - the girl really can act.  I fear the Academy might give the award to Kate Winslet, a remarkable actress, but her performance in The Reader was not even close to Hathaway's.

My prediction for Best Actress:  Anne Hathaway

Best Supporting Actress:

My guess is that the Academy will reward Penelope Cruz, though I'm not sure why.  I think the other nominees are all very good, but I would give the award to Marisa Tomei for her role in The Wrestler.  I thought she was fantastic.

My prediction for Best Actress: Marisa Tomei.

From here on out, I'm just going to list the category and my choice for winner.

Best Animated Feature:  WALL-E, no contest.

Best Art Direction:  Changeling

Best Costume Design: The Duchess, those 17th or 18th century costume dramas always win.

Best Documentary Feature: Man on Wire

Best Documentary Short: I really have no idea...Smile Pinki

Best Film Editing: The Dark Knight

Best Foreign Language Film: The Class

Best Makeup: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Score: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Music (Song): "Down to Earth" (WALL-E)

Best Short Film (Animated): "Presto"

Best Short Films (Live Action): "New Boy"

Best Sound Editing: The Dark Knight

Best Sound Mixing: The Dark Knight

Best Visual Effects: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay): Slumdog Millionaire

Best Writing (Original Screenplay)Milk

Well, I think that is everything.  I hate trying to reconcile what I think is the best and what I think the Academy will choose because to do well at guessing you have to think like the Academy and not like yourself.  Anyway, I've mostly stayed true to what I think should win.  It will be interesting to see how things turn out.  This is all.