Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Days 474-475: 2015 Oscar Nominees Part One

As I'm somewhat of a completest I couldn't finish this blog without reviewing the eight films that were nominated for Best Picture this year. All of these reviews were written before the ceremony itself so all of the predictions are what I felt at the time. The last of these four posts will also include who I think should and will win Best Picture at the 2015 ceremony.

We start with a film that I believe will be at the bottom of my list for 2015 nominees, that being American Sniper. Directed by Clint Eastwood, American Sniper tells the story of Chris Kyle; the most deadliest marksman in U.S. military History. The film is based on the memoirs of Kyle, a sniper who had 160 of his kills confirmed by the department of defence. Jason Hall's adaptation of Kyle's book, which has been nominated for a screenplay Oscar, is a nuts and bolts affair from the offset. Although the opening shot is of Kyle in Iraq it soon flashes back to his childhood in which his father instructed him to be a sheepdog; a man who protects those weaker than him when the wolves attack. This ethos is one he carries with him during his military training and then in Iraq when we see him at work. The film also looks at Kyle's relationship with his Taya; from their first meeting to their wedding and the birth of his two children. I personally felt that the best scenes were those which featured both Chris and Taya, with the latter feeling that her husband wasn't mentally with her anymore. The scenes which looked at the impact that the war had had on Chris were definitely my favourite as it added a little context to a character who otherwise was simply a flawless American hero. Whilst former soldiers being haunted by the war is nothing new, this part of the film at least gave it an edge which it lacked elsewhere. In fact, if it didn't had this, then it would've been even more of a flag-waving endeavour which basically promotes the bible-bashing American soldiers and berates anyone who stands in their way.

One of American Sniper's key strengths is Eastwood's simplistic direction which lends itself well to the scenes in which we follow Kyle's movements in Iraq. I'm not surprised that the film picked up nods in the editing and sound categories as the use of gunfire effects is made especially effective. In fact the sound is so good that gunfire almost becomes a character in and of itself especially when the Iraqi sniper is trying to hunt down Kyle. I personally would've like to have seen more of this Iraqi sniper as it would've added an ambiguity that the single-minded American Sniper was sorely missing. Instead the Iraqis are presented as either terrorists or, in Kyle's own words, savages. One thing that did impress me in American Sniper was Bradley Cooper's Oscar-nominated turn as Kyle, primarily as he dialled down his usual manic nature. Cooper's chisel-jawed look perfectly suited the character of Kyle but he also conveyed his character's inner turmoil excellently. Sienna Miller was similarly impressive as, in the past, I've found her to be quite an inconsistent performer but here she added some heart to the movie as Chris's wife Taya. My early prediction is that American Sniper doesn't do to well at the Oscar but may pick up one of the two sound-based awards it's nominated for. Ultimately I felt that American Sniper didn't have anything new to say in terms of the horrors of war that we hadn't already seen in Coming Home, Apocalypse Now or more recently The Hurt Locker. Whilst Cooper's performance and Eastwood's direction was solid, the flag-waving patriotism was too much for me to take and I can definitely say that American Sniper isn't a film that I'll be rushing to see again in the near future.

Proving how eclectic this year's Best Picture nominees are is Birdman the latest film from Alejandro González Iñárritu. In the past, Iñárritu's films have often featured a multi-person narrative with films such as Babel and 21 Grams featuring interlocking plots. Birdman is completely different from these movies as it instead focuses on the first few performances of an adaptation of Raymond Carver's 'What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.' The performance has been funded by Riggan Thomson; an actor best known for his role as titular superhero Birdman, and someone who in recent years has fallen on hard times. The play is meant to be his comeback but he's battling with several problems not least of which is the fact that the Birdman character keeps speaking to him throughout the film. Meanwhile, his daughter Sam has just come out of rehab and isn't dealing well in her new role as his assistant. Riggan also has to deal with the fact that his co-star and girlfriend Laura may be pregnant, something he can't even comprehend at times. Elsewhere a late addition to the cast, method actor Mike, causes problems when he launches into a tirade during a performance and constantly bemoans Riggan for the lack of realism in his play. What I enjoyed about Birdman is the way it plays around with the narrative and how we start to see Riggan's sanity slip away from him as opening night commences. One of Birdman's other positive qualities is Emmanuel Lubezki's cinematography especially considering the fact that the movie is almost filmed as one constant shot. This means that we don't always see things from the character's point-of-view and to me this adds to the narrative; especially during the film's final two scenes. For this reason I do believe that Birdman will most likely pick up the Cinematography award at the Oscars.

At time of writing Birdman had just won the top award at the Producer's Guild making it the firm favourite to clinch Best Picture. Although I don't think the race is as clear cut as it has been in previous years I wouldn't be opposed to Birdman winning Best Picture. The other award the film has a good chance of winning is that of Best Actor thanks to Michael Keaton's stunning portrayal of Riggan. Oscar does love a comeback performance and Keaton's turn as a faded actor best known for portraying a superhero almost correlates with his own career. Keaton's manic movements and weary facial expressions add to our understanding of the character and I felt he was equally impressive at playing the Birdman part of Riggan's personality. Keaton isn't the only member of the cast nominated for an acting award as Edward Norton and Emma Stone have been recognised in the supporting categories. Norton's turn as the shifty method-acting Mike proved what a gifted comic performer he is and his scenes opposite Keaton were a joy to watch. Meanwhile, as Sam, Stone brought a bit of soul to the film and she made you believe why her character went off the rails. I do feel that the reason that Birdman has been awarded nine nominations is due to the fact that in some respects it feels very old-fashioned. The behind-the-scenes at a theatre story has been done to death and I feel that the older Academy voters would've drawn similarities between it and 1984 nominee The Dresser. At the same time, Iñárritu has made Birdman seem awfully modern with it's commentary on the fickle nature of fame and how movie stars struggle to make the transition to the stage. Whist it didn't hold my attention throughout its too hour running time, I ultimately found Birdman to be an utterly charming film. Brilliantly acted and shot but with a rather old-fashioned story behind it, Birdman definitely deserves to be recognised by the Academy and I believe it's one of two films that can realistically win the top prize.

Next time the only two Oscar nominees I'd seen prior to writing these posts.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Days 370-371: A Bit of Brad

It's fair to say that when he first appeared on the scene Brad Pitt was considered somewhat of a heartthrob. In an interview he once conducted, he claimed that it was hard for him to get serious roles due to the way he looked. But, as his career progressed, he appeared in a number of diverse films that demonstrated his considerable acting talent. By the end of the noughties; the Academy started to recognise Brad's efforts as two of the films he starred in were nominated for Best Picture. However, I would contend that neither film saw Brad at his best and in fact I found him rather unlikeable in the first part of this double bill. 

Brad and his on-screen wife Cate Blanchett were certainly the most recognisable faces in Babel, which consisted of a cast of largely unknown foreign actors. Pitt and Blanchett star as Richard and Susan Jones, an American couple trying to save their marriage by going on holiday in Morocco. I personally found both characters to be utterly unlikeable and, as their story was one of four interconnecting tales, they didn't really have long enough on screen to change my mind. Richard and Susan's lives are changed forever when the latter is shot by a stray bullet while the pair are travelling back to the hotel on their tour bus. This incident also changes the lives of Yusef and Ahmed; two young brothers whose jealousy of one another causes the former to shoot the bullet that injures Susan. Meanwhile, back in America, Richard and Susan's twin children Debbie and Mike are being cared for by their Mexican nanny Amelia who hopes for a day off to attend her son's wedding. When Richard is unable to arrange alternative childcare arrangements for his kids, Amelia decides to take the children across the border with the help of her reckless nephew Santiago. The film's bleak nature eventually engulfs this story as Amelia has trouble crossing back from Mexico to the US and puts Mike and Debbie in danger as a result. The fourth story was my personal favourite although its connection to the original shooting was definitely the most tenuous. It focused on deaf Japanese teenager Chieko; whose father originally owned the rifle used in the incident as she desperately sought acceptance from her peers. I found Chieko to be the most identifiable character amongst the global cast and the scenes in which she tried to come on to a young police officer were incredibly touching. 

Part of the reason for this is the tender performance given by Rinko Kikuchi, who was one of two of Babel's stars to be nominated for acting awards. Although sign language was used throughout the film, Kikuchi's strengths came in the form of her facial expressions which told the story of both her sexual frustration and her grief concerning her mother's suicide. I did feel that Kikuchi's turn was more deserving of the Best Supporting Actress prize than the eventual winner Jennifer Hudson; whose in-your-face performance in Dreamgirls was a million miles away from the Japanese actress' sensitive portrayal of a deaf character. Nominated alongside Kikuchi was Adrian Barraza who, as Amelia, gave a great portrayal of a woman who'd been a mother to plenty of American children even though she received very little praise from the families who employed her. Also worthy of praise are Boubker Ait El Caid and Said Tarchani who brilliantly portrayed the two Moroccan children whose actions became a catalyst for the rest of the film. Director Alejandro González Iñárritu's vision for the film is beautifully realised thanks to Rodrigo Prieto's excellent cinematography and Gustavo Santaolalla's Oscar-winning score. Visually I can't fault Babel with several scenes sticking in the mind long after the final credits rolled. One scene in particular, in which Chieko attends a disco, is especially memorable as the sound dips as we see things from both are point-of-view and hers. My major problem with Babel was its increasingly bleak story as Guillermo Arriaga's screenplay didn't give anybody a happy ending with the possible exception of Chieko. A lot of the characters are also poorly-drawn with Richard and Susan coming off as particularly miserable which is a shame as Pitt and Blanchett's talents are seemingly wasted as a result. However, I did enjoy Babel more than I thought I would and it's definitely deserving of its place among the five Best Picture contenders. 

Pitt and Blanchett would reunite two years later as they played the two leads in David Fincher's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Fincher's previous collaborations with Pitt; Seven and Fight Club, arguably contained two of the actor's best performances. Their successful partnership continued as Fincher led Pitt to his first Best Actor Award although I felt this was mainly to do with the character rather than the star's performance. Based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald; the film tells the life story of the titular protagonist who physically ages backwards as he grows up. After being abandoned by his father, Benjamin is cared for by kindly nursing home employee Queenie who he looks upon as a mother. Meanwhile, during his childhood, Benjamin first meets Daisy who is the granddaughter of one of the home's residents. The film first introduces us to Daisy in the present day as she's on her deathbed and her daughter is reading from a will written by Benjamin which luckily contains his entire life story. Although it contains tales of journeys on ferries and Benjamin's later connection with his birth father; the main concern of the film is his romance with Daisy. As he grows physically younger, the two finally begin a relationship which appears to be going swimmingly. However when she gets pregnant, with the daughter who is reading Benjamin's story, he realises that Daisy will have to find another man to act as a father. Despite feeling that Benjamin's story should have ended when, as a teenager, he discovers that Daisy has met another man and married it continues to see him finally die as a child. This final section of the film is just one of many parts that I feel could have been cut to slim down Benjamin Button's two and half hour running time. 

Although it was nominated for thirteen Oscars, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button won just three and two of them were certainly well deserved. The visual effects and make-up in the film really make Benjamin's ageing process appear realistic and without them I feel that it wouldn't have been as well regarded as it is. Although the film's Art Direction wasn't as prominent, it was still unique enough to earn an Academy Award. In fact, visually, Benjamin Button can't be faulted all that much as it mixes in sepia tones with a more modern flare to create an aesthetically pleasing piece. However, as I alluded to, Eric Roth's adaptation of Fitzgerald's story is long-winded and contains plenty of sections that I would've cut entirely. As the film's key focus is on the relationship between Benjamin and Daisy, I would've concentrated on these scenes and cut everything that happened on that bleeding tugboat. Maybe it's a controversial statement, but I don't believe that Pitt really deserved that Best Actor nod as I feel he's slightly overshadowed by the make-up he wears throughout the film. I believe that I've seen Pitt act a lot better than he did in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and certainly his performance wasn't one of the more remarkable elements of the film. In fact I believe that Cate Blanchett's turn as injured dancer Daisy had more depth to it and I found her performance to be more captivating on the whole. Whilst I admire Fincher as a director, I feel The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is one of his weaker films and seems to be his attempt to curry favour with the Academy. The film certainly has all the elements of an Oscar-film; from the early 20th century settings to the extended running time, however I felt that it came off as a poor man's Forrest Gump. Thankfully Pitt would go on to bigger and better things in the next decade, eventually earning an Oscar as a producer rather than as an actor. 

Next Time we return to the 1940s for three more Oscar nominated movies.