As the decades have gone on some of the films on the Oscar Challenge have become more violent as film-makers began to push the envelope. The 1970s in particular featured plenty of nominees that had a violent tone and often focused on those operating outside the law. The gangster genre was revived to an extent in the 1990s with two films focusing on mobsters with both being slightly different in tone.
The first was 1991 nominee Goodfellas, a film I'm ashamed to say I've never watched up until this point. The film covers 25 years in the life of Henry Hill who famously always wanted to be a gangster. The opening of the film sees Henry ingratiate himself into the gang and proves himself to them when he refuses to give them up when he first appears in court. Henry's main associate throughout the course of the film is the incredibly volatile Tommy DeVito, who even clashes with his friends on occasion. The other character who recurs throughout the film is the more senior Jimmy Conway who is seen as a gentleman by those who know him. The majority of the film's first half sees the glamorous life that Henry's new position has earned him especially after partaking in numerous robberies. At the same time Tommy's temper gets the trio in a lot of trouble and they end up trying to bury an important member of the mob who was trying to humiliate Tommy. In fact Tommy later kills a young bartender just for insulting him, this coming after he injured the boy's feet. As the years pass Henry find himself in jail, whilst his relationship with his wife Karen deteriorates when he takes on a mistress. The final third of the film deals with Henry's new line in drug-dealing, something he started in prison, and the gang's involvement in the Lufthansa Heist at JFK airport. These latter scenes strip away the glamour of the criminal life as Henry's associates are either murdered or jailed. Despite all that's happened to him Henry still longs for the glamorous life that he no longer has now he's in witness protection.
Goodfellas is often held up as one of the best films of all time but while I enjoyed it throughout there was nothing particularly remarkable about it. Narratively the film has issues as it is led by an expositional voiceover delivered by Ray Liotta as the adult Henry Hill. Voiceovers like this are one of my pet hates in visual storytelling as part of the film mantra is usually 'don't tell us, show us'. In fact Goodfellas really riled me up when it introduced a second voiceover by Lorraine Bracco who played Henry's wife Karen. Although it does have faults, the script moves along quite sharply so we get all of the key facts about Henry's life without every settling down for too long. Director Martin Scorsese really focuses on the opulent life the gangsters enjoy, both at home and in their social life at the Copacabana. I feel that both the art direction and the costume design deserved to be recognised at the Oscars with the latter brilliantly changing to indicate the style of the time. In the role of Henry, Ray Liotta was a dependable presence who really came alive in the latter scenes when his character started to develop a serious amount of paranoia. As we've seen him become a star name over the past couple of decades it's odd that Robert De Niro was used sparingly until the film's final third. I think it works quite well as Jimmy is an interesting character who is explored more as the film goes on. But obviously the most famous performance in the film, and the one that won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, was that of Joe Pesci as Tommy. From the moment he delivers his iconic 'Funny how?' speech you know you're in the presence of an actor at the top of his game. He employs a frantic energy which means you never know what Tommy will do next but at the same time he makes you sympathise with him when he unsuspectingly gets murdered on one of the happiest days of his life. Action-packed, well-shot and with a fantastic cast; Goodfellas is definitely a fun film to watch but I wouldn't add it to the list of my all-time favourites.
One of the films that I knew very little about before watching it was Barry Levinson's Bugsy which featured in the Best Picture line-up the next year. The film stars Warren Beatty as Ben Siegel who is known as Bugsy to everybody but doesn't like the nickname used in his presence. Bugsy looks at two aspects of Siegel's life both of which happen when he travels from New York to L.A. to sort outside business in the city's betting parlours. Almost instantly Ben falls in love with small-time actress Virginia Hill, who appears to really know how to play to a man's weaknesses. When they meet Ben is already married whilst Virginia is in a relationship with one of Bugsy's acquaintances. Despite that, after a night filled with banter, the two decide that they can't keep their hands off one another. The relationship between Virginia and Ben is rocky at best as he fails to get a divorce and he gets insanely jealous when she even looks at another man. Similarly Virginia is frightened of Ben's violent temper and occasionally he beats somebody up just because they annoy him in some small way. After being abandoned in the desert by Virginia, Ben realises that Las Vegas would be the perfect place to build a hotel and casino. Ben's mobster chums are less than thrilled by the prospect of ploughing a million dollars into a risky venture but they change their minds when they realise that gambling is legal in Nevada. While planning the hotel, Ben puts Virginia in charge of finances and so the project goes way over budget. Eventually Ben is facing problems from every side with his wife wanting a divorce and the mobsters needing a return on the money they've invested. Ultimately Ben's dream for hotel-filled Las Vegas survived but unfortunately he didn't.
Although both feature characters that essentially rob and murder for a living, Bugsy and Goodfellas are very different films. The main difference is that a lot of the violence in Bugsy takes place off-screen whilst Goodfellas is incredibly graphic from the word go. Although we do see Bugsy get physical on a fair few occasions the key murders in the piece are either only heard or performed a lot more subtly than they are in Goodfellas. Even though Goodfellas had the odd funny line, Bugsy is incredibly comedic at times with the dialogue spoken between Ben and Virginia being reminiscent of that of a screwball comedy. This central relationship forms the basis for a film which has a lot of great one-liners and plenty of energy throughout. Most of this energy is provided by Warren Beatty, who probably gives the best performance that I've seen during this challenge. Beatty makes you care about Bugsy and I couldn't help but be one over by his frantic movements and undying love for Virginia. Beatty plays brilliantly off Annette Bening, who one year later would become his wife, and the pair utilise their real life chemistry to great effect. Brilliant support is also provided by Ben Kingsley Ben's associate Meyer Lansky and by Harvey Keitel as the quick-talking Micky Cohen. Unlike Goodfellas, Bugsy also took home awards for its outstanding period costumes and art direction both of which helped to give the film a glamorous look. Again, like with Goodfellas, Bugsy isn't a film that's ever going to be one of my favourites but overall I found it entertaining and surprisingly funny. Additionally, as he was definitely the star of the show, I feel that Beatty should have won his Best Actor Oscar for Bugsy as it is a prize that has eluded him his entire career.
Next time we head to Italy for the two foreign language films that were nominated for Best Picture in the 1990s.
Showing posts with label Barry Levinson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barry Levinson. Show all posts
Wednesday, 4 June 2014
Tuesday, 11 March 2014
Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Days 268-270: Dustin does the Double
In the 1970s we saw Dustin Hoffman star in a diverse range of films and garner a couple of Best Actor nomination. But it was only during the ceremonies of the 1980s did he finally get rewarded for his fine body of work. In fact in two of the three films below he won Best Actor Oscars and, coincidentally, both films went on to win Best Picture awards.
Hoffman's success started early in the decade when appeared in Kramer Vs Kramer, the winner of Best Picture at the 1980 ceremony. The film saw him play harassed advertising executive Ted Kramer a man who spends a lot more time at work than he does at home. Ted's life changes dramatically one day when his wife Joanna walks out on him without giving him any notice at all. Ted is then forced to bring up the couple's son Billy single-handedly, a task that he finds more than a little difficult. Ted struggles to find the balance between handling a major account at his advertising firm and dealing with the kind of minute details that raising a seven year old brings. These problems are highlighted by the tantrums that Billy has as well as the accident that occurs when he falls off a climbing frame. But gradually the father/son bond grows and Billy becomes the most important thing in Ted's life. So events become even more complicated when, eighteen months later, Joanna returns claiming that she wants Billy to come and live with her. With the bond between Ted and Billy stronger than ever, Ted decides to fight her claim and the two enter a bitter court battle together. The case itself sees major dirt thrown on both sides and ultimately only one side comes out victorious. Just like the rest of the film, I found the ending to be sweet without being saccharine and more than anything it made a lot of sense.
In his script for Kramer Vs Kramer, Robert Benton creates characters who are supremely flawed but are ultimately capable of caring for one another. Ted Kramer is somewhat of a workaholic who we basically see become a proper father to his son over the course of the film. Though Ted makes mistakes, he appears to learn from them and the scene in which he rushes through traffic to get Billy to hospital is extremely moving. Similarly, Benton turns Joanna from the villain of the piece to somebody who we sympathise with due to her final decision in the film. Her actions may not always be right but, just like her ex-husband, she always does what she thinks is best. I have to say, I struggled to like Billy initially and felt that Benton had written him as just a precocious child but he also developed over the course of the film. His realisation that Joanna didn't leave because of him was well-handled and was another example of how true to life Benton had made his characters. In addition to providing some incredible characters, the film offers up some really thought-provoking situations about what it really means to be a parent as it dealt with the changing face of both fatherhood and motherhood. Benton also ended up directing the film after François Truffaut pulled out and it appears as if this was the right decision as he is able to see his words realised on screen. Truffaut's long time cinematographer Néstor Almendros adds some beauty to the piece and is great at capturing some of the silent moments between father and son. One of my favourite recurring motifs is the way that the pair's breakfasts together change over time and the routine they get into by the end of the film is somewhat magical.
I feel Hoffman's Oscar win was more than justified as he appears in nearly every scene of the film and is magnetic throughout. Here he is tasked with playing just a run-of-the-mill father and yet is able to make his character feel every inch a movie hero. Hoffman really communicates Ted's inner turmoil and the love he feels for Billy as the film goes on. Meryl Streep, here winning Best Supporting Actress, is great as Joanna and gives the film a real poignancy whenever she appears. Streep didn't overplay her role and instead brought a quiet fragility to the custody battle in which she and Hoffman both excel. Young Justin Henry was absolutely terrific as young Billy and was much more than just a token child. He made us believe that Billy had been forced to grow up quickly and the chemistry between he and Hoffman was just brilliant. At just over an hour and half, Kramer Vs Kramer never outstayed its welcome and was well-paced throughout. The result of this was a snappy film, with three incredible performances and an incredibly realistic script. Though you'll have to find out if I think it deserved to win Best Picture, I thought that Kramer Vs Kramer was a great film that explored the true meaning of the word family.
In between his two Oscar-winning turns, Hoffman starred in another Best Picture nominee, but this time mainly played it for laughs. In Tootsie, Hoffman played Michael Dorsey an actor who was frequently out of work due to the fact that often argued with directors about what his characters should be doing. Forced to take a job as a waiter, Michael is waiting to raise enough money to put on his flat mate Jeff's play. Informed by his agent that nobody in New York will hire him, Michael goes to extraordinary lengths to continue his career. After providing moral support at a soap audition for his friend Sandy, Michael later takes the drastic step of dressing up as a woman and auditioning for the role himself. The plan works and soon 'Dorothy Michaels' is playing Emily Kimberly, the new administrator on Southwest General. With Jeff and his agent the only two people in on the act, Michael must keep his new identity from Sandy and at the same time begins a relationship with her. But Michael is soon drawn to his new co-star Julie, a single mother who is currently in a disastrous relationship with the soap's awful director. To make things more complicated Julie's widowed father starts to develop feelings for 'Dorothy' and declares his intentions to begin a relationship with her. As Dorothy begins to get more famous, Michael realises that he has to end the charade one way or another. The way he chooses is completely ridiculous and I have to say that I was laughing all the way through this final scene.
In Tootsie, Hoffman really shows his diversity and brings an excellent comic timing to the role. Though we've seen him in comedy films in the past, most notably The Graduate, this is the first time he's been able to show off his comic timing. The script is great at parodying the life of a penniless actor as well as spoofing the ridiculous world of the soap opera. But, unlike most comedies, it is playing for more than just laughs and actually has something serious to say about gender identity. Julie in particular is a character who tells 'Dorothy' that she finds it hard being a woman in the 1980s especially seeing as she's trying to hold down a job and be the sole carer to a young child. The fact that Michael is only able to find fame once he plays an older woman also speaks volumes and I found that Hoffman was utterly convincing whenever he had to play Dorothy. One thing I would have like to have seen was Michael's first transformation into Dorothy and similarly I would have like to have seen more from him when he finally revealed his true identity. Another element of the film that I wasn't a fan of was the film's theme tune 'It Might be You', a generic 1980s number that feels shoehorned in to the movie. But those are just minor niggles in a film that had a lot to offer namely its ensemble cast led by the fantastic Hoffman in another Oscar nominated turn. Jessica Lange, who won the only one of ten awards Tootsie was nominated for, was great as the softly-spoken Julie and added a slice of realism to the film. I have to say though I preferred fellow Supporting Actress nominee Teri Garr as the quirky and paranoid Sandy. Charles Durning as Julie's father, Bill Murray as Jeff and Tootsie's director Sydney Pollack as Michael's agent were all excellent and Murray in particular added a deadpan feel to his character. Whilst Tootsie wasn't the greatest film ever, it was a comedy that had heart and a message while in addition it showed the vast repertoire of styles that Hoffman provided.
Of all the performances we've seen from his so far, Hoffman employed the most amount of method acting to play Raymond Babbitt in Rain Man. Raymond is a high-functioning autistic who has lived in an institute since he was young after his parents were afraid that he'd hurt his younger brother. Due to this his brother Charlie never knew he existed until after the death of their father who left all of his money to Raymond. A product of the 1980s, Charlie is a used car salesman with a beautiful European girlfriend and a fast-talking mouth. Following the death of his mother, he and his father had an incredibly strained relationship and barely talked until his death. Furious that he's been swindled out of his inheritance, Charlie essentially kidnaps Raymond from his house and takes him back to L.A. in an attempt to get half of his money. To add insult to injury, Raymond doesn't even understand the concept of money so Charlie's even more mad that he's now in possession of three million dollars. As Raymond hates to fly, Charlie is forced to drive cross country and along the way starts to learn more about his brother. Initially Raymond's outbursts annoy Charlie but he soon learns to cope with them and is later astonished to discover that his brother was his imaginary friend 'Rain Man' that helped him cope during his childhood. The trip climaxes in a trip to Las Vegas in which Charlie uses Raymond's extraordinary abilities with numbers to swindle a casino out of thousands of dollars. Ultimately the film comes down to whether a bond can develop between family members or if Charlie's greed will mean he's willing to put a price on his new-found relationship with Raymond.
Having seen Rain Man before, I knew what to expect and perhaps the reason that I found a lot of it quite over-the-top. I found the screenplay to be incredibly deliberate and the character of Raymond in particular was fairly over-bearing at times. Though I'm sure writers Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass did their research before creating the character, Raymond's autism feels like a plot device at times rather than something that is particularly well-drawn. Thankfully, Hoffman brings the character to life and this is the first time that we've seen him play a particularly middle-aged character. In the six years between Tootsie and Rain Man he appears to have aged significantly and the disparity between his ageing features and Raymond's childlike nature make for a great balance. But for all the plaudits that Hoffman received for the film, including the Best Actor Oscar, I felt that Tom Cruise gave the better performance as Charlie. At the time Cruise was a big movie star with films like Top Gun and Cocktail putting him on the map. But it was in Rain Man that we first saw that he could really hold his own against an acting great like Hoffman. Cruise is forced to turn Charlie from an arrogant salesman into a loving brother and he portrays the transformation beautifully. The chemistry between Cruise and Hoffman builds throughout Rain Man and in my opinion is one of the reasons for its success. I found that both John Seale's cinematography and Hans Zimmer's score to be the film's other positive attributes with the former capturing the American highway during the brothers' journey. Though it may be forced at times, Rain Man is certainly a very good film that is made better by the performances of both Cruise and Hoffman. Oddly, after all of his success in the last two decades, Hoffman wouldn't appear in another Best Picture nominee again for another sixteen years. But I feel that the three films above all demonstrate his terrific range and show why he's regarded as one of the best actors of his generation.
Next time we head out to Cambodia and follow the journey of an American reporter.
Hoffman's success started early in the decade when appeared in Kramer Vs Kramer, the winner of Best Picture at the 1980 ceremony. The film saw him play harassed advertising executive Ted Kramer a man who spends a lot more time at work than he does at home. Ted's life changes dramatically one day when his wife Joanna walks out on him without giving him any notice at all. Ted is then forced to bring up the couple's son Billy single-handedly, a task that he finds more than a little difficult. Ted struggles to find the balance between handling a major account at his advertising firm and dealing with the kind of minute details that raising a seven year old brings. These problems are highlighted by the tantrums that Billy has as well as the accident that occurs when he falls off a climbing frame. But gradually the father/son bond grows and Billy becomes the most important thing in Ted's life. So events become even more complicated when, eighteen months later, Joanna returns claiming that she wants Billy to come and live with her. With the bond between Ted and Billy stronger than ever, Ted decides to fight her claim and the two enter a bitter court battle together. The case itself sees major dirt thrown on both sides and ultimately only one side comes out victorious. Just like the rest of the film, I found the ending to be sweet without being saccharine and more than anything it made a lot of sense.
In his script for Kramer Vs Kramer, Robert Benton creates characters who are supremely flawed but are ultimately capable of caring for one another. Ted Kramer is somewhat of a workaholic who we basically see become a proper father to his son over the course of the film. Though Ted makes mistakes, he appears to learn from them and the scene in which he rushes through traffic to get Billy to hospital is extremely moving. Similarly, Benton turns Joanna from the villain of the piece to somebody who we sympathise with due to her final decision in the film. Her actions may not always be right but, just like her ex-husband, she always does what she thinks is best. I have to say, I struggled to like Billy initially and felt that Benton had written him as just a precocious child but he also developed over the course of the film. His realisation that Joanna didn't leave because of him was well-handled and was another example of how true to life Benton had made his characters. In addition to providing some incredible characters, the film offers up some really thought-provoking situations about what it really means to be a parent as it dealt with the changing face of both fatherhood and motherhood. Benton also ended up directing the film after François Truffaut pulled out and it appears as if this was the right decision as he is able to see his words realised on screen. Truffaut's long time cinematographer Néstor Almendros adds some beauty to the piece and is great at capturing some of the silent moments between father and son. One of my favourite recurring motifs is the way that the pair's breakfasts together change over time and the routine they get into by the end of the film is somewhat magical.
I feel Hoffman's Oscar win was more than justified as he appears in nearly every scene of the film and is magnetic throughout. Here he is tasked with playing just a run-of-the-mill father and yet is able to make his character feel every inch a movie hero. Hoffman really communicates Ted's inner turmoil and the love he feels for Billy as the film goes on. Meryl Streep, here winning Best Supporting Actress, is great as Joanna and gives the film a real poignancy whenever she appears. Streep didn't overplay her role and instead brought a quiet fragility to the custody battle in which she and Hoffman both excel. Young Justin Henry was absolutely terrific as young Billy and was much more than just a token child. He made us believe that Billy had been forced to grow up quickly and the chemistry between he and Hoffman was just brilliant. At just over an hour and half, Kramer Vs Kramer never outstayed its welcome and was well-paced throughout. The result of this was a snappy film, with three incredible performances and an incredibly realistic script. Though you'll have to find out if I think it deserved to win Best Picture, I thought that Kramer Vs Kramer was a great film that explored the true meaning of the word family.
In between his two Oscar-winning turns, Hoffman starred in another Best Picture nominee, but this time mainly played it for laughs. In Tootsie, Hoffman played Michael Dorsey an actor who was frequently out of work due to the fact that often argued with directors about what his characters should be doing. Forced to take a job as a waiter, Michael is waiting to raise enough money to put on his flat mate Jeff's play. Informed by his agent that nobody in New York will hire him, Michael goes to extraordinary lengths to continue his career. After providing moral support at a soap audition for his friend Sandy, Michael later takes the drastic step of dressing up as a woman and auditioning for the role himself. The plan works and soon 'Dorothy Michaels' is playing Emily Kimberly, the new administrator on Southwest General. With Jeff and his agent the only two people in on the act, Michael must keep his new identity from Sandy and at the same time begins a relationship with her. But Michael is soon drawn to his new co-star Julie, a single mother who is currently in a disastrous relationship with the soap's awful director. To make things more complicated Julie's widowed father starts to develop feelings for 'Dorothy' and declares his intentions to begin a relationship with her. As Dorothy begins to get more famous, Michael realises that he has to end the charade one way or another. The way he chooses is completely ridiculous and I have to say that I was laughing all the way through this final scene.
In Tootsie, Hoffman really shows his diversity and brings an excellent comic timing to the role. Though we've seen him in comedy films in the past, most notably The Graduate, this is the first time he's been able to show off his comic timing. The script is great at parodying the life of a penniless actor as well as spoofing the ridiculous world of the soap opera. But, unlike most comedies, it is playing for more than just laughs and actually has something serious to say about gender identity. Julie in particular is a character who tells 'Dorothy' that she finds it hard being a woman in the 1980s especially seeing as she's trying to hold down a job and be the sole carer to a young child. The fact that Michael is only able to find fame once he plays an older woman also speaks volumes and I found that Hoffman was utterly convincing whenever he had to play Dorothy. One thing I would have like to have seen was Michael's first transformation into Dorothy and similarly I would have like to have seen more from him when he finally revealed his true identity. Another element of the film that I wasn't a fan of was the film's theme tune 'It Might be You', a generic 1980s number that feels shoehorned in to the movie. But those are just minor niggles in a film that had a lot to offer namely its ensemble cast led by the fantastic Hoffman in another Oscar nominated turn. Jessica Lange, who won the only one of ten awards Tootsie was nominated for, was great as the softly-spoken Julie and added a slice of realism to the film. I have to say though I preferred fellow Supporting Actress nominee Teri Garr as the quirky and paranoid Sandy. Charles Durning as Julie's father, Bill Murray as Jeff and Tootsie's director Sydney Pollack as Michael's agent were all excellent and Murray in particular added a deadpan feel to his character. Whilst Tootsie wasn't the greatest film ever, it was a comedy that had heart and a message while in addition it showed the vast repertoire of styles that Hoffman provided.
Of all the performances we've seen from his so far, Hoffman employed the most amount of method acting to play Raymond Babbitt in Rain Man. Raymond is a high-functioning autistic who has lived in an institute since he was young after his parents were afraid that he'd hurt his younger brother. Due to this his brother Charlie never knew he existed until after the death of their father who left all of his money to Raymond. A product of the 1980s, Charlie is a used car salesman with a beautiful European girlfriend and a fast-talking mouth. Following the death of his mother, he and his father had an incredibly strained relationship and barely talked until his death. Furious that he's been swindled out of his inheritance, Charlie essentially kidnaps Raymond from his house and takes him back to L.A. in an attempt to get half of his money. To add insult to injury, Raymond doesn't even understand the concept of money so Charlie's even more mad that he's now in possession of three million dollars. As Raymond hates to fly, Charlie is forced to drive cross country and along the way starts to learn more about his brother. Initially Raymond's outbursts annoy Charlie but he soon learns to cope with them and is later astonished to discover that his brother was his imaginary friend 'Rain Man' that helped him cope during his childhood. The trip climaxes in a trip to Las Vegas in which Charlie uses Raymond's extraordinary abilities with numbers to swindle a casino out of thousands of dollars. Ultimately the film comes down to whether a bond can develop between family members or if Charlie's greed will mean he's willing to put a price on his new-found relationship with Raymond.
Having seen Rain Man before, I knew what to expect and perhaps the reason that I found a lot of it quite over-the-top. I found the screenplay to be incredibly deliberate and the character of Raymond in particular was fairly over-bearing at times. Though I'm sure writers Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass did their research before creating the character, Raymond's autism feels like a plot device at times rather than something that is particularly well-drawn. Thankfully, Hoffman brings the character to life and this is the first time that we've seen him play a particularly middle-aged character. In the six years between Tootsie and Rain Man he appears to have aged significantly and the disparity between his ageing features and Raymond's childlike nature make for a great balance. But for all the plaudits that Hoffman received for the film, including the Best Actor Oscar, I felt that Tom Cruise gave the better performance as Charlie. At the time Cruise was a big movie star with films like Top Gun and Cocktail putting him on the map. But it was in Rain Man that we first saw that he could really hold his own against an acting great like Hoffman. Cruise is forced to turn Charlie from an arrogant salesman into a loving brother and he portrays the transformation beautifully. The chemistry between Cruise and Hoffman builds throughout Rain Man and in my opinion is one of the reasons for its success. I found that both John Seale's cinematography and Hans Zimmer's score to be the film's other positive attributes with the former capturing the American highway during the brothers' journey. Though it may be forced at times, Rain Man is certainly a very good film that is made better by the performances of both Cruise and Hoffman. Oddly, after all of his success in the last two decades, Hoffman wouldn't appear in another Best Picture nominee again for another sixteen years. But I feel that the three films above all demonstrate his terrific range and show why he's regarded as one of the best actors of his generation.
Next time we head out to Cambodia and follow the journey of an American reporter.
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