Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 354: Keeping it Hush-Hush

As I've commented in previous posts, by the 1990s many films that were nominated for Best Picture were set in the past. This is certainly true of the next film on our list, Curtis Hanson's L.A. Confidential, which concentrated on 1950s Los Angeles. The film was adapted by Hanson and Brian Helgeland from the novel by James Elroy, with the pair boiling down a lot of the story to focus on three prominent characters. Those characters were Police Officers Jack Vincennes, Bud White and Ed Exley all of whom initially come into contact with one another during a Christmas brawl at the police station. Each man has a fatal flaw to his personality that makes it impossible for the audience to truly warm to them. Exley is incredibly ambitious, White flies off the handle too easily and the smooth Vincennes is more interested in the fame that his job allows. In fact Vincennes often aides magazine editor Sid Hudgens to track down exclusives for his tabloid rag 'Hush-Hush' and also offers advice on cop show 'Badge of Honor'. All three men are later involved in investigating the Nite Owl Killings which resulted in the death of six people at a local restaurant. Initially thought to be the work of a group of low-level criminals, further digging exposes prominent members of the Los Angeles community. The investigation also leads to a relationship between White and prostitute Lynn Bracken, who is one of many sex-workers who have been made over to look like famous movie stars. Through her relationship with White, Bracken hopes to be seen more as herself and less like somebody who looks like Veronica Lake. Hanson and Helgeland certainly craft an interesting story which has plenty of twists and turns along the way. But more than that they make you care about a trio of men who initially come across as unlikeable but are vindicated later when they decide to expose the truth. I did feel that the ending of the film was a little drawn out but nevertheless L.A. Confidential was a satisfying watch and harked back to plenty of films from the time. 

I certainly do feel that Hanson's inspiration for the film was the noir films of the 1940s as well as later offerings to the genre, most notably the L.A.-based Chinatown. Just like with Roman Polanski's film, L.A. Confidential makes the titular film the star of the show as Dante Spinotti's cinematography beautifully captures the Californian scenery of the time. The film's production design is excellent as it convincingly takes you back to a world of both sumptuous glamour and sleazy undertones. Jerry Goldsmith's fantastic score perfectly complements the film's storytelling with its jazzy notes evoking memories of the era. The film is bolstered with a trio of fine central performances, two of which came from men who were relative unknowns in North America at the time. Australian Guy Pearce had made his name on TV soap Neighbours before graduating to films courtesy of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of The Desert. But his role as Ed Exley was certainly his big break as he captured the spirit of a man who was looking to climb the ladder of the police force by any means necessary. Pearce's clean-cut features, which were perfectly offset by a pair of glasses, made him the perfect poster boy for the police force but his facial expression also made the audience constantly mistrust his motives. New Zealander Russell Crowe had achieved similar success to Pearce in Australia with his role in Romper Stomper convincing Hanson that he'd be perfect as the brutish Bud White. Crowe demonstrated a certain intensity throughout the film but was similarly convincing at displaying Bud's more intelligent side. I'm not surprised that his enigmatic turn in this film propelled Crowe into the mainstream and as a result made him one of the biggest movie stars of the new millennium. The more famous Kevin Spacey was perfectly utilised as the charming Vincennes as he gave a charismatic turn as the celebrity policeman. The only Oscar nominee, and eventual winner, among the cast was Kim Basinger who gave a sensitive turn as faded beauty Lynn. Brilliant support was provided by Danny DeVito as the sleazy magazine editor and James Cromwell as the mighty Captain Dudley Smith. 

I'm not surprised that L.A. Confidential was nominated for an Oscar as it provided the perfect nostalgia trip for the Academy members. But at the same time Hanson's film didn't wallow in 1950s nostalgia and instead presented L.A. as a scandalous city in which anybody could be manipulated. The film was rightfully rewarded with a Best Screenplay Oscar and was the early favourite to win Best Picture before a certain ship steam-rolled its way to victory. But L.A. Confidential is definitely a well-rounded film which is great to look at, boasts an incredible cast and has an involving story from beginning to end. 

Next time we watch two films featuring an actor who finally won the Oscar he should rightfully have received in the 1970s. 

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Days 279-281: Jack's Back!

Arguably one of the largest presences throughout the last decade was Jack Nicholson, who won the Best Actor prize for his role in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and was nominated numerous times elsewhere. Like many of the stars of the 1970s, Jack's success continued into the eighties but oddly he took a backseat in a lot of his roles. In two of the three Best Picture nominees he appeared in he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor twice before being back to playing the lead in the final film of the trio.

In a way I feel that Nicholson's role as a supporting performer allowed him to improve his repertoire and demonstrated the range that he had. A case in point is his turn in Warren Beatty's Reds in which Nicholson plays playwright Eugene O'Neill, an acquaintance of Beatty's journalist turned revolutionary John Reed. Reds was Beatty's epic retelling of the build-up and response to Reed's 'Ten Days That Shook the World' which chronicled his first-hand experiences of the Russian revolution. The first half of the film is dedicated to Reed's life in New York and his relationship with journalist Louise Bryant who is initially presented as a big fan of his. Reed and Bryant get married but their relationship is fraught to say the least as they split-up and reconcile several time throughout the film. At the same time, Bryant starts an affair with O'Neill which is born out of the fact that he doesn't see her as a particularly decent performer in one of his plays. O'Neill pops up throughout the film and is presented as somebody who observes life rather than somebody who actually does something about it. In fact he's almost the polar opposite to Reed whose political views become more radical after his time in Russia and he tries to make some changes to the Socialist Party in America. The final third of the film looks at political identity in Russia and sees Louise try to find John after he goes missing in Finland. The couple's final reunion is beautifully played although it did take a hell of a long time getting there.

It was clear with Reds that Beatty was influenced by the grand epics of past decades, most of which have been featured in this blog. At over three hours long, Reds achieved epic status but at the same time the film felt awfully modern. As with other epics, Reds had some excellent cinematography as well as some great early 20th century period detail and costumes. But what really made Reds unique was the use of 'witnesses', talking heads who appeared throughout the film to discuss their experiences with Reed and Bryant. I felt that these witnesses really made Reds feel like a documentary and their presence bolstered the film from average melodrama to important historical epic. I found Nicholson's performance in Reds to be rather understated and if anything he was the least passionate of all of the characters. To me it took a while to adjust to Jack Nicholson not playing a version of himself but I felt that he was effective in the handful of scenes he appeared in the film. Conversely, Beatty brought the passion both in front and behind the camera to create an idealistic character who was definitely very flawed. Beatty and Diane Keaton had some great chemistry and made us believe in John and Louise's fiery marriage. In fact, Keaton stole the show for me and I enjoyed her performance in Reds more so than her Oscar winning turn in Annie Hall. Oddly, of the four actors nominated for the film it's Maureen Stapleton as Reed's good friend Emma Goldman. There's nothing particularly wrong with Stapleton's performance I just don't feel she's on-screen long enough to warrant the win. Stapleton's only shining moment came towards the end of the film when she delivered a monologue about the changing face of Russian politics. Beatty was awarded with a Best Director prize for Reds, which truly felt like his passion project, whilst a third Oscar was given for the stunning cinematography employed throughout. Ultimately, Reds was a little baggy in places but no more so than other epics and I feel it really benefited from the real life witnesses interviewed throughout. Meanwhile Nicholson delivered an out-of-character performance which demonstrated the range of the actor.

This range continued into a film in which Nicholson won the award for Best Supporting Actor for playing an alcoholic former spaceman who romances his next door neighbour. The film was Terms of Endearment, which itself would go on to win the Best Picture Award that year, and the next door neighbour was Shirely Maclaine's Aurora whose life is chronicled throughout the movie. Over the course of a number of years, we follow the widowed Aurora and her daughter Emma as they fall out and make up numerous times. Aurora is sceptical about Emma's husband Flap, who she believes isn't good enough for her beloved daughter and eventually decides not to attend the woman. This decision puts a wedge between the pair and it takes a while for wounds to be healed and for everybody to move on. When Emma, Flap and their young son move away from Huston things start to unravel as Emma gets pregnant twice more. With Flap never around, Emma is forced to take on the responsibilities of mothering three children with her eldest son beginning to resent her. Throughout the film both Flap and Emma conduct affairs whilst the previously celibate Aurora starts a relationship with Nicholson's Garrett Breedlove, who previously only dated much younger women. The romance between Garrett and Aurora is an interesting one as he is always trying to provoke her whilst she's unsure if he's the right man for her. But a tragic diagnosis puts everything into perspective for the mother and daughter pair who are forced to reconcile for the last time.

As it covers a number of years in our protagonists' lives, I found Terms of Endearment to be incredibly episodic. With its focus on relationships, illness and family bonds I thought that James L Brooks' script suited a soap opera more than it did a Best Picture winner. Indeed, upon watching this film I found little to suggest that it should have been awarded the top prize at that year's Oscars. There were very few likeable characters in the main cast with Aurora being presented as somebody who was realistic to the point of hatred whilst Emma could be quite bratty at times. The only person I had any real sympathy for was Sam, a married bank manager with whom Emma conducts an affair. Michael Gore's Oscar-nominated score was incredibly overpowering and really did nothing for the overall feel of the film. I personally felt that Terms of Endearment's only saving grace were its performances and that's possibly why it went on to win two of the four acting awards at the Oscars. As Aurora, Shirley MacLaine won best actress and I think this was fair enough as she added a slight tenderness to a character who could've been even more detestable in the hands of a lesser actress. However I felt that Maclaine's co-star, and fellow nominee, Debra Winger was more deserving of the Oscar as she definitely turned in the better performance as the tragic Emma. John Lithgow, Jeff Daniels and Danny DeVito lent fine support even if DeVito really didn't have a lot to do as one of Aurora's suitors. But to me it was Nicholson who stole the show as Garrett, a man whose best years are behind him and who is living off one of his previous accomplishments. Nicholson's turn as the man who has to come to terms with the ageing process seemed incredibly real and it almost felt as Garrett's transition marked Nicholson's move to the next stage of his career. Despite him already attaining lead man status, his Supporting Actor Oscar here was more than deserved as he really gave Terms of Endearment the realism is sorely needed.

But, two years later, Nicholson was back where he belonged, in the lead role, as we saw him portray Charley Partanna in Prizzi's Honor. The film is an incredibly darkly comic saga focusing on the Prizzi crime dynasty for whom Charley works as one of their top hitmen. Charley almost married into the family before, conducting a relationship with the Don's grandaughter Maerose, but it ultimately didn't pan out. The film opens at a Prizzi family wedding where Charley spots a beautiful blond woman and wonders who she is. He later runs into this woman at the wedding reception but she quickly disappears before he can ask her name. She later contacts him and reveals herself to be Irene Walker however its only later that Charley discovers that Irene is another contractor for the Prizzi family. In addition, Irene is involved in a casino heist in which she is thought to have stolen a large amount of money from the Prizzis. The film then moves along at a pace as everybody seems to be double crossing one another in order to get money and power. But Irene and Charley's relationship seems to be the only real element of the whole film as they decide to get married. Although the big question is whether two hired killers can ever live together in wedded bliss especially considering all that has gone on up to this point.

Prizzi's Honor was an interesting film in that I never quite knew exactly where it was going. Richard Condon and Janet Roach's script gives us a cast full of characters who really can't be trusted due to the profession that they're all in. In fact the only reliable character is Charley himself who, despite being a contractor, is actually a fairly decent and down-to-Earth guy. You get the impression that, if Charley hadn't been born into this world, then he would just be doing a normal job. At times Prizzi's Honor feels like its spoofing films such as The Godfather especially with its opening wedding scenes which mirror the start of Coppola's classic gangster yarn. The relationship between Charley and Irene also has the feel of a screwball comedy pairing as both are trying to act like the powerful member of the couple. But at times I felt that this comic element made for an imbalance in tone and at times it was hard to decide how seriously Prizzi's Honor was actually taking itself. However John Huston's slick direction made for an incredibly stylish affair which was bolstered by a trio of fine performances. Of all of the performances I've seen of his so far, Prizzi's Honor was the one in which Nicholson played his most down-to-Earth character yet. Nicholson was incredibly restrained as the hitman with a heart who really struggled to know where his allegiance's lay. However Nicholson was eclipsed by his two-female co-stars most notably Kathleen Turner who lent her femme fatale style to the role of Irene. Turner and Nicholson's chemistry was fantastic and I was a little shocked to learn that she didn't receive any recognition from the Oscars. The same cannot be said for Huston's granddaughter Anjelica who won the Best Supporting Actress award for playing the scheming Maerose Prizzi. I though Huston was fantastic throughout the film and really appeared to be having tons of fun playing Maerose. Ultimately Prizzi's Honor was an imbalanced by enjoyable gangster comedy however it wasn't a film that I ever found particularly memorable or engrossing.

Next time we have another Oscar winning performance from an actor who we've seen many times already during this blog.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Days 223-225: The Jack Pack

It's a rare feat for an actor to win three Oscars in his lifetime and indeed only three men have accomplished this. One of these is Jack Nicholson who has two Best Actor wins under his belt and a third for Best Supporting Actor. Nicholson's rise to prominence really started with Easy Rider, for which he was nominated for a Supporting Actor Award, while the next year he starred in Five Easy Pieces - arguably his first memorable leading role. This post will look at the three Best Picture nominees that Nicholson starred in during the 1970s and each also saw him give an Oscar-nominated performance.

We'll start with Five Easy Pieces in which Nicholson plays oil worker Bobby Dupea who spends most of his free time with ditzy waitress girlfriend Rayette or drinking with best buddy Elton. Though Bobby is initially portrayed as a slacker, we later learn that he is a talented pianist and comes from a family of eccentric musicians. After learning that his father is incredibly ill, Bobby returns home and is forced to take Rayette with him after she threatens suicide. Feeling that Rayette is too common for his family, he leaves her in a nearby motel and journey's to his childhood home. Here he meets and falls in love with his brother Carl's fiancée Catherine, a young pianist who is wowed by Bobby's playing abilities. As time goes on, we begin to realise why Bobby left home in the first place and why he's never been back. The house is full of intellectuals and people who he feels talk a lot of nonsense. Meanwhile Bobby's father is incredibly ill and he's unsure whether or not he can actually be heard when he lays a few home truths to his dear old dad. Eventually, Rayette appears at the house and her arrival isn't welcomed by Bobby who is still intent on chasing Catherine. Like all three of the films in the post, Five Easy Pieces doesn't have a particularly happy ending as we get an ambiguous conclusion for Bobby.

Five Easy Pieces is the only one of the three Nicholson films in this post that I haven't previously seen. It definitely has the feel of an early 1970s experimental piece as the first thirty minutes passes without much incident. Instead all of the first third of the film is intent on presenting Bobby as sort of a working class man who loves bowling, drinking and having sex. It's only after the revelation of his musical ability that the film opens itself a bit more as we meet the quirky members of the Dupea family. The role of Bobby is perfect for Nicholson and sort of saw his transition from supporting player to leading man. He excels playing the quiet and brooding Bobby, who every so often snaps at those around him. Ultimately he is presented as a man who is unable to feel passionate about the music he plays or the people around him. Nicholson earned his first ever Best Actor nomination for his role in the film and I feel that it's more than deserved. For her portrayal of Rayette, Karen Black also received a Supporting Actress nod and again I really enjoyed her turn here. Rayette's unrefined persona was the complete antithesis of the characters that frequented Bobby's family home and this mismatch provided some of the film's best moments. Black made Rayette a memorable character and one who was much more than just a dumb bimbo. Unfortunately, the day I watched the film was the same day that Black tragically passed away which puts a downer on my whole memory of the film. Despite only being 96 minutes long, I did find that Five Easy Pieces dragged occasionally, most notably during Bobby and Rayette's journey to his family home where they pick up a couple of hitch-hikers. Overall though this was 1970s film-making at its most raw and was an interesting exploration of Nicholson's early acting career.

Four years later, Nicholson appeared in another Oscar-nominated film which arguably saw his transition from character actor to leading man. The film was Chinatown, a film noir set in the early 1930s and very reminiscent of movies such as Scarlet Street and Double Indemnity. Here Nicholson starred as Jake Gittes, a former cop turned private detective who is initially tasked with exploring the infidelity of Hollis Mulwray, chief engineer for the LA Department of Water and Power. Little does Gittes know that the woman who has paid him to investigate the case is not Mulwray's wife and he is soon being sued by his real wife Evelyn for deformation of character. Soon Hollis turns up dead and Evelyn asks him to investigate the murder while Evelyn's father Noah Cross, who was also Mulwray's business partner, doubles Evelyn's fee to get him to find Hollis' unnamed young lover. Gittes starts to see how the story of Mulwray and Cross plays into the drought that LA is currently experiencing and he starts to play a dangerous game with some very influential people. Though Gittes does solve the murder, not everybody comes out of the case and unscathed, meaning that we don't quite get our happy ending once again.

Similarly to Rebecca, I found the title of Chinatown fairly misleading as only really the final scenes of the movie take place in the district. What Chinatown did have was one of the best screenplays of all time, written by Robert Towne. Towne was originally asked to adapt The Great Gatsby, but declined the offer instead creating this original piece of great storytelling. Towne plays the audience perfectly as the pieces begin to fit together gradually building to that famous final scene in Chinatown. Oddly, it was director Roman Polanski who decided on the melancholy final scene with Towne wanting something a little bit more upbeat. Towne was rewarded for his work with a Best Screenplay Oscar, which was the only Oscar the film won. Nicholson's performance here was a lot more captivating as he played the smart, everyman who wanted to make it clear that he was just trying to earn an honest living. Nicholson initially plays Gittes as someone who doesn't let their emotions get in the way of the job, however gradually his feelings for Evelyn cloud his judgement. Faye Dunaway is perfectly cast as the classic noir heroine - a mixture of femme fatale and damsel in distress, who goes from being a fairly emotionless character to someone who acts in the heat of the moment in order to keep a loved one safe. John Huston adds fantastic support as the seedy Noah Cross while Jerry Goldsmith's score enhances the period vibe of the whole piece. I find it's a shame that Chinatown was nominated in such a strong year, as it does feel like a film that in any other year would be a Best Picture winner. Despite this the film has lived on due to the outstanding script and infamous scenes which mean that, unlike Gittes, we will never forget Chinatown.

Thankfully, Nicholson didn't have to wait long to win his first Best Actor Oscar, as the next year he starred in a film which became one of only three films to win the 'Big Five' Oscars. That film was One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest which went onto win Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Director and Best Screenplay. Here, Nicholson stars as Randle McMurphy, a low-rent convict who has been serving time on a prison farm for statuary rape. McMurphy has been admitted to a mental asylum for evaluation, while he hopes that his time there will be an easy ride where he will avoid going back to prison. However, McMurphy didn't factor in the cold and calm Nurse Ratched, who runs the ward and who manages her patients through a strict diet of medication and humiliation. It's clear that Ratched doesn't like the affect that McMurphy has on the patients as he tries to lift their spirits by taking them on fishing trips and organising card games between them. After learning that he could be staying at the asylum longer than he first thought, McMurphy decides to escape however his attachment to one of his fellow patients means that he ends up making the ultimate sacrifice. This is the third film in a row not to have a happy ending for Nicholson's character, but at least the conclusion does provide a moment of hope for one of the asylum's long-term residents.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a film that has stayed with me for a long time and is one that I have written essays about in the past. I personally feel that this film is a masterpiece and perfectly combines well-rounded characters, a confined setting and a brilliant set of performances. Milos Forman's direction gives you a sense of place almost instantly as the white walls of the asylum gives you a real claustrophobic feel for this particular institution. The creepy music that plays during medication time and the awkward group sessions also stick in the mind and add to the feeling that this is a place of routine. Of the three films, Nicholson gives his biggest performance here as the slightly unhinged and worldly-wise McMurphy. Nicholson plays Randle as somebody whose personality is infectious and he's easily implanted as the leader of the group. Nicholson's Oscar was well-deserved especially in the latter scenes in which McMurphy chooses to stick up for young, nervous Billy rather than escaping from the asylum. Nurse Ratched, who I believe to be one of cinema's greatest villains, is beautifully written and expertly played by Louise Fletcher. What makes Ratched so chilling is that she never raises her voice and we know nothing of her apart from her job in the asylum. The film is fleshed out by a whole group of memorable supporting characters as all of the patients on the ward are given very different identities. Among the most famous are William Redfield's cultured Harding, Christopher Lloyd's deranged Taber and Danny DeVito's delusional Martini. Best of all is Brad Dourif as the tragic Billy, who was nominated but never won the Best Supporting Actor Award. If you've never seen One Flew, I can't recommend it enough and it really is film-making at its very best.

That isn't the end for Nicholson who'll pop up throughout the remaining decades, winning two more Oscars along the way. But next up is a focus on an actress who herself one two Oscars, both of them in the 1970s.