Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 283-284: Peter's Pictures

Throughout this challenge I have encountered some directors that I've previously been unaware of in the past. This is usually because these directors aren't particularly big names and don't get the same publicity as the likes of Spielberg and Scorsese. One of these directors is British Peter Yates who, by the 1980s, had already helmed a diverse range of films from the Cliff Richard classic Summer Holiday to the iconic Steve McQueen picture Bullitt. But it wasn't till the 1980s that his films began to get nominated for Best Picture, with two very different offerings up for the big prize.

The first film is an incredibly American piece of cinema, so much so that it's hard to imagine that it's been directed by a Brit. Breaking Away focuses on four nineteen-year-old men living in the college town of Bloomington, Indiana none of whom have elected to take on higher education. Dave, Mike, Cyril and Moocher have instead decided to take a year off from doing anything in particular much to the chagrin of Dave's second-hand car dealer father. Dave's big passion in cycling and in particular he has a love from everything Italian from the music to the language. Posing as an Italian exchange student, Dave captures the eye of college attendee Kath and the two begin a relationship. Meanwhile, Dave is excited when a group of Italian racers come to town, primarily as he is eager to compete against them. However, the experience at the race leaves him disenfranchised with life in general and he drops the Italian fascination altogether. Meanwhile Mike, sick of being disparaged by the college students, is eager for the group to participate in the 'Little 500' a bike ride that is traditionally only open to the members of the institution. This forces a dejected Dave to put his life in order and build a proper relationship with a father that he has more in common with than he first thought.

Breaking Away definitely feels like it's been influenced by coming-of-age films like The Last Picture Show and American Graffiti. But, whereas those films were stuck in the past, Breaking Away still feels relevant almost thirty-five years after it was released. There's just something relatable about the four central protagonists who haven't quite decided want they want to do with their lives and are under pressure to find their place in life. Steve Tesich's script is incredibly well-observed as the four protagonists talk to each other as young men would and each has a clearly defined character. The cycling motif of Breaking Away forms some of the film's best set pieces namely the end race which has plenty of time devoted to it. But Breaking Away is more than just a cycling film and is an exploration of both friendship and the bond between a father and a son. I'm not afraid to admit that I got emotional at least once during the last twenty minutes of the film as Dave's dad finally opened up to his son. The whole film is enhanced by the use of the Italian classical music which gives Breaking Away its own identity and sets it apart from other coming-of-age movies. In terms of performances the film really belongs to Dennis Christopher as Dave as he delivers an incredibly captivating turn throughout. Christopher won newcomer awards for his role here but oddly he's the only member of the cast who isn't a recognisable name. Instead Christopher's co-stars Daniel Stern, Jackie Earl Haley and especially Dennis Quaid have gone on to have bigger success further down the line. If I have one criticism of the film then it's that Stern's Cyril really doesn't have a lot to do save a couple of overtly comic moments. But that's a minor quibble in a film that I enjoyed incredibly as it combined emotional, realistic drama with some genuinely funny lines.

To an extent the same can be said for Yates' other offering from the 1980s, The Dresser but it differs in every other way. Based on the 1980 play by Ronald Harwood, The Dresser follows a struggling Shakespearian company who continue to put on productions despite the Blitz being in full effect. The company has been cut quite dramatically due to the war and is ruled over by its often dictatorial star simply known here as 'Sir'. The majority of the film centres around the company's production of King Lear during which 'Sir' is set to play the lead role. However, the day of the performance, he has a breakdown in the street and is hospitalised leading us to believe the he is suffering from senility. The majority of the cast and crew feel that the show should be cancelled and that 'Sir' is in no fit state to be on the stage. The only person who wants the show to go on is our leading man's 'dresser' Norman, an effeminate Northerner who has devoted his life to looking after his idol. Norman is essentially the Smithers to Sir's Mr Burns and is jealous of the affection that he gets from others. He also hates it when people are mean towards 'Sir', often believing him to be past his sell-by-date and living-in-the-past. This is especially true of Oxenby, a younger actor feels he should be part of the group. Over the course of the film we see King Lear played out with 'Sir' dishing out some home truths and Norman hoping his idol can light up the stage one more time. For me, the major problem with the film is the ending, which I felt was a little too over-the-top however there's not much that Yates could do if that's how the play ended.

As is the case with a lot of plays that become films, The Dresser isn't overly cinematic seeing as its primarily set in a theatre. There are some early exterior scenes, including a great set piece at a train station, but once 'Sir' returns from hospital then everything else is indoors. With Ronald Harwood adapting his own play, the script is incredibly tight and really showcases the backstage politics in local theatre. Harwood's main strength is in the creation of the two characters of 'Sir' and Norman both of whom feel incredibly human. Despite both appearing to be difficult to deal with, Harwood ensures we have a huge amount of sympathy for each of them. As we can see he's suffering from senility, 'Sir' is somebody who goes from grand posturing on stage to behaving like a scared child in his dressing room. Meanwhile Norman is somebody who cares for the theatre so much that sometimes he can get incredibly nasty. What made the film for me though was the performances from Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay who sparkle as 'Sir' and Norman respectively. Finney is incredibly convincing as the ageing actor, he was only in his forties at the time, and his sensitive portrayal of the actor's dementia is incredibly moving. Courtenay has the harder role but is absolutely astounding, instantly portraying Norman's role as we see him by Finney's side. Both Finney and Courtenay were nominated for Best Actor but lost out to the deserving Robert Duvall, however Courtenay did tie with Duvall for the prize at the Golden Globes. Though I found it funny and moving at times, I thought The Dresser didn't really showcase Peter Yates' directorial skills as much as some of his other features. This was obviously a labour of love for Yates and he did create a memorable film with two magnificent performances however it was never a film that astounded me visually.

Continuing along the British theme next time we have an Oscar-winning film that proved that the British were definitely coming.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 262: Sibling Rivalry

Continuing our look at stars of the 1970s progression into the new decade, we come to the man who won Best Director at the 1978 ceremony. Nine years later he was nominated in the same category again whilst winning Best Original Screenplay as well as a further two awards going to his fellow cast members. The man in question is Woody Allen and the film is Hannah and her Sisters, which starred his then wife Mia Farrow in the titular role and Allen as her ex-husband. When the film begins, Hannah is seemingly in a happy marriage to second husband Elliot but he is secretly harbouring feelings for her younger sister Lee. The film plots the course of their lives over two years in which Elliot and Lee begin an affair before ending it when he can't seem to end his marriage. Hannah's other sister Holly is the most flighty of the trio; a former drug addict she can't seem to hold down any type of career. At times an actress, caterer and finally a writer, Holly's story is one of failed relationships and doomed business ventures. Allen's Mickey also has his own story in which he fears he may have a brain tumour after losing hearing in one hear. Mickey feels that he should have religion in his life but struggles to make sense of anything. Eventually he relents and tries to enjoy life, or as much as any character that Allen plays can. Oddly, for a Woody Allen film, everybody has a fairly happy ending with all three sisters finding love and marriage in some way or another. 

Whilst Annie Hall was definitely Woody Allen's most-respected work I think that Hannah and Her Sisters is a lot more disciplined. I did find Annie Hall to work like a sketch show at times as it was a number of disjointed scenes thrown together with a loose narrative. Hannah and Her Sisters is much more solid and the stories involving the three sisters were incredibly compelling. The love triangle between Hannah, Elliot and Lee was very well-written and all of the twists and turns along the way made sense. Similarly, Holly's struggles to find something to occupy her time and her difficulty to find a man provided a different sort of story to the romantic complications of the main plot. The scenes between the three sisters, in particular one in which they all set down to dine at a restaurant, rang the most true for me as their feelings for each other finally came out. In fact the only part of the plot that I wasn't a fan of was the story involving Mickey, which for the most part acted completely outside of what was happening to Holly, Hannah and Lee. I did seem that Mickey's troubles were just an excuse for Allen to work in some of his material about religion and existence and it wasn't until the last twenty minutes that the character really became part of the plot. In fact, up to this point, I didn't feel the film particularly needed Mickey and would've worked a lot better without him. 

The tradition of the academy awarding actors for starring in Woody Allen films is a long-standing tradition that still exists today, as we saw with Cate Blanchett's win at the weekend. In terms of Hannah and Her Sisters, Dianne Wiest won Best Supporting Actress for her dazzling turn as the ditzy and unhappy Holly. Similarly impressive was fellow Oscar winner Michael Caine as the depressed Elliot who realised that the grass wasn't greener on the other side. Mia Farrow and Barbara Hershey, as Hannah and Lee, added their own energy to proceedings and the chemistry between the three sisters was perfectly realised. Although I didn't think much of his performance, Allen's script for Hannah and Her Sisters was well-constructed and well-paced. I particularly enjoyed the fact that we heard the inner thoughts of the main players and this narrative structure meant that we learnt more about them than we would have done had their thoughts solely been expressed through dialogue. Allen's win for Best Screenplay would be his last for twenty-five years and Hannah and Her Sisters would be his last appearance in the Best Picture category for the same amount of time. But performers in his films would be more successful even though Allen himself often refused to appear at the ceremony preferring instead to play jazz music at a local bar. 

Changing pace, the next two posts will focus on a newcomer who appeared in no less than five Best Picture nominees over the 1980s and garnered three Best Actor nods during that time.