In this second look at the 2015 Best Picture Nominees I explore two films that I watched before Awards Seasons begun and have returned to them in order to compare them to the competition.
First up the movie that is currently just ahead of Birdman in the bookies' rankings to take the Best Picture prize. That film is Boyhood and is without a doubt the most ambitious of this year's nominees primarily as it took twelve years to complete. Director Richard Linklater's aim was to tell the story of a young boy and his parents from first grade all the way through to graduation. Rather than do this using a number of different actors; Linklater used the same actor to play Mason Evans Jr. from age six to age eighteen. The actor in question was Ellar Coltrane who thankfully was able to stay motivated enough to commit to a project that would loom heavy over the majority of his adolescence. Boyhood's other central players were Patricia Arquette, Linklater's daughter Lorelai and his regular contributor Ethan Hawke. It's achievement enough for Linklater to have completed this project but what makes Boyhood so special is the fact that it's a memorable film full of believable characters. With Mason's parents having separated before the film starts, he and his sister Samantha live with their mother Olivia whilst Mason Sr. appears sporadically throughout the story. Olivia's luck with men isn't great as she hooks up with her aggressive former professor and a similarly angry war veteran. Meanwhile we see Mason and Samantha grow up before our eyes with the former discovering a love of photography and finding love with his first high school girlfriend. One of Boyhood's strengths is that not every scene captures a big life event for Mason and instead some of the moments we witness are quite arbitrary. But at the same time it gives us a greater understanding of the character and as he grows up we see where he's got his inspiration from.
Although the dialogue in Boyhood isn't improvised, Linklater's discussions with the cast influenced his decisions of where to place certain scenes in order to ensure authenticity. The result is a film where you feel like you're eavesdropping on a family's life on a yearly basis. If I were to pick up an issue I have with Boyhood then it's in the performance of Coltrane himself who I found to be increasingly annoying as the film progressed. In the early part of the film Coltrane's natural innocence meant that Mason felt like any other boy and as a result you felt his pain during Olivia's marriage to the drunken professor. But as Coltrane became more aware of the camera I felt that his acting wasn't up to scratch and at some points I found Mason a little bit too whiny for his own good. Indeed, when his high school girlfriend split up with him I had very little sympathy for Mason due to the fact that Coltrane had done little to make me care for this older incarnation of the character. Luckily, Coltrane is backed up by brilliant on-screen parents; with both Hawke and Arquette nominated for Supporting Oscars. Hawke's manchild act totally lent itself to deadbeat dad Mason Sr. and I felt he and Coltrane brought out the best in one another. Meanwhile Arquette, currently favourite to scoop the Best Supporting Actress prize, gives a heartwarming portrayal of a woman just trying to do the best for her kids. As this is a Linklater film, the soundtrack is also incredible with each song summing up a different year perfectly. Linklater himself is more than likely to get the Best Director Oscar and with good reason as he deserves to be rewarded for pulling off this cinematic feat. Whilst I don't think Boyhood is as perfect as others do, it's an emotional rollecoaster that almost every audience member can relate to and it also brilliantly sums up what it's like to grow up in the early 21st century.
As I've basically watched every Oscar-nominated film now I feel that I know what sort of film the Academy normally go for. Therefore I was incredibly surprised when The Grand Budapest Hotel was one of the eight movies nominated for the 2015 prize. The film's director Wes Anderson is somebody whose films I've sometimes really liked and other times found overly quirky. Thankfully The Grand Budapest Hotel fell into the former category and is arguably Anderson's best film to date. I feel that the reason it may have found its way onto the Oscar shortlist is due to its caper-like plot and its 1930s setting. The focus is on Monsieur Gustave; a legendary consierge at the titular establishment who makes it his life's work to tend to his guests' every need. However he does overstep the mark sometimes and ends up bedding many of his wealthy, elderly clients. Told from the point-of-view of former lobby boy Zero, who in 1968 owns the hotel, we learn of what happens when one of these clients dies and leaves Gustave an expensive painting in her will. Gustave is soon charged with murder and art theft; eventually being incarcerated in the hellish Checkpoint 19 Interment Camp. Zero is then forced to use all of his skills, along with the help of his pastry chef love Agatha, to break Gustave out of jail. At the same time the greedy family's go-to assassin Jopling is on the hunt for anyone who may be suspicious of their motives and ends up bumping off several of the film's characters.
Like with most of Wes Anderson's films, The Grand Budapest Hotel is beautifully designed with the establishment itself feeling like more like a palace than a guest house. The characters are also designed to within an inch of their lives with every costume bringing out their distinctive personalities. From Gustave's resplendent purple attire to Jopling's evil leather get-up; every character has an outfit that suits their personality. Anderson's eye for detail also extended to the look of the film as each time period was awarded a different aspect ratio. Indeed the fact that Anderson wrote instructions to projectionists about the film was probably one of the reasons that he found favour with the old-fashioned members of the Academy. The Grand Budapest Hotel once again sees Anderson reunited with regular cast members Bill Murray, Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzmann. However these three all have minor roles as the film really begins to Ralph Fiennes as the wonderful Gustave. It's amazing what a comic talent Fiennes is and he deals with Anderson's dialogue beautifully meaning that the script never feels overly quirky. Praise must also go to relative newcomer Tony Revolori who proves to be a great foil to Fiennes a the loveable Zero. Great support is provided by an almost silent Willem Dafoe as the growling Jopling and by Saoirse Ronan as the charming Agatha. If there's one category that I feel that The Grand Budapest Hotel may prosper then its that of Best Original Screenplay as Anderson's dialogue is nearly always a joy to listen to. Offbeat films such as this often end up winning awards for their writing and I feel that Anderson's perfectly paced script deserves that honour. But overall I'm just glad that The Grand Budapest Hotel was nominated in so many categories as it demonstrates that the Academy are starting to recognise films that were previously outside of their comfort zone.
Having said that the next two films we'll discuss are both biopics dealing with the type of issues that the Academy always seem to love.
Showing posts with label Ethan Hawke. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ethan Hawke. Show all posts
Monday, 25 May 2015
Thursday, 12 June 2014
Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Days 318-320: Williams the Conqueror
When his career first started Robin Williams was best known for his role in sitcom Mork and Mindy as well as for his stand-up. Then he appeared in Good Morning Vietnam in which he used his comic skills and mixed them with a more dramatic side. He earned a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his role in the film and throughout the 1990s would feature in three more best picture nominees. He himself would find luck as well with another two Best Actor nominations and a win in the Best Supporting Actor category, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.
In Dead Poets Society, Williams still hasn't completely lost his comic roots but gives his most dramatic turn to date. The film sees him play John Keating, an unorthodox English teacher who shakes things up when he starts to teach at the stuffy Dalton Academy. Set in 1959, Dead Poets Society primarily focuses on a group of boys who Keating takes under his wing and who are all influenced by his words. The society of the title is a group that Keating himself set up when he was at Dalton and which the boys in his class resume upon meeting him. Keating's words about seizing the day speak to one of the boys, Neil, who decides to audition for a local play even though he knows his father wouldn't approve. Neil eventually wins a part but forges his father's signature on a consent form in order to take part. Meanwhile, new classmate Todd is struggling to live in the shadow of his academically gifted brother especially seeing as he's quite slow. Keating takes Todd out of his shell and allows him to express himself more freely. One of the other classmates, Knox, falls in love with a girl who is going out with a much more athletic guy from another school. Despite this Knox wins her over with his poetry and she agrees to go on a date with him. After a film that looks at coming-of-age and finding your way in the world, the final third of Dead Poets Society becomes increasingly dark. But there's a final heartwarming moment that anybody who has seen the film will remember.
I myself had previously seen Dead Poets Society at least once before and remember enjoy it immensely. On second viewing however I found that I didn't always believe in the characters and felt that Tom Schulman's Oscar winning screenplay was inconsistent. There's no denying that Williams' performance is the driving force of the film and definitely showcases that he's a fine dramatic performer. But in the classroom scenes I felt that Williams lapsed into his stand-up persona and goes for laughs over believable humour. Despite his Best Actor nod, I don't really consider Williams to be the star of the show as Keating is only on screen for a limited amount of time. Instead I think that Dead Poets Society is more about Neil, Todd, Knox and the other boys who are trying to find their way in the world. The stories about trying to find your way in the world, exploring your own identity and experiencing love for the first time all have universal appeal for audiences everywhere. Of the young actors, Ethan Hawke really lights up the screen as Todd as he gives a subtle portrayal of somebody who lacks confidence and feels inferior to his over-achieving brother. Hawke is able to convey emotion through facial expressions alone and I think he gives an incredible effort for one so young. Josh Charles puts in a spirited turn as the lovelorn Knox whilst Gale Hansen is full of energy as the rebellious Charlie. I was personally less impressed with Robert Sean Leonard's turn as the conflicted Neil and I didn't believe in him as much as I did the rest of the cast. Dead Poets Society was beautifully shot by John Teale and the period detail of the movie was well realised throughout. However, although I got the same goosebumps during the film's final scene, as a whole I believe that Dead Poets Society isn't as great as I remembered it to be.
Williams toned down his comedy routine completely in Awakenings to play a fairly withdrawn character albeit one who ends up doing miraculous work. In the film Williams plays Dr Malcolm Sayer who, in 1969, discovered that the catatonic patients in the hospital he worked in responded to certain stimulants. Director Penny Marshall is keen to portray Sayer as somebody who doesn't like human contact and he almost turns down the job at the hospital when he realises he'll have to work with patients. Although Sayer's superiors are sceptical of his findings he does have a supporter in Nurse Costello who tries to coax him out of his shell. After conducting a number of experiments, Sayer convinces his bosses to put one of the catatonic patients on a new drug to see if it will lull him out of his current state. The patient in question is Leonard Lowe a man who was just a child when he entered his current state and who has been communicating with Sayer via a Ouija Board. The drug is a success and Leonard eventually regains all his faculties much to the delight of his mother who had been faithfully attending to her son. However Leonard later opposes the fact that he's imprisoned in the hospital and wants to be free to do what he wants. These feelings are intensified when he meets Paula, the daughter of one of the patients, and falls in love. Meanwhile Sayer raises the funds to put all the former catatonic patients on the drug and they all experience similar recoveries to Leonard's. But not all of them are happy about their new awakening and one man in particular feels that he's been cheated by life. In the end it's revealed that the drugs are simply a quick fix and that most of the patients returned to their original state after a short while. Although this revelation his heartbreaking, the experience inspired Sayer to live his life a little bit more.
Of the three films in this post, Awakenings is the only one that I'd never seen before. It's also the only film of the trio that I never really relaxed into as I felt it contained Williams' weakest performance. I just feel that he's too reserved and that quality of Sayer's character makes it hard to care about anything he does. Although Sayer is an admirable character, I think that Williams doesn't make the most of the part and therefore I didn't really connect with the film whenever he was on screen. Despite this being the film in which Williams had the most screen time, it was Robert De Niro who was nominated for his role as Leonard. I think that De Niro's performance in the film demonstrates how much of a versatile actor he can be when given the chance. In comparison to the other film he starred in that year, Goodfellas, his performance as Leonard is a complete revelation. I completely believed in his childlike state and he brilliantly conveyed the innocent nature of Leonard coupled by his new adult feelings. Even in the scenes where we see Leonard in a catatonic state De Niro lights up the screen and gave one of the best performances of his I'd ever seen. Julie Kavner gives an incredibly sweet turn as Nurse Costello and makes you feel that her character could bring some life to the detached Sayer. Steve Zaillian's dramatisation of the film's events allows the supporting characters to really come alive and the majority of the catatonic patients are given their own identity. Zaillian adds enough factual material to make the film interesting while at the same time giving us characters that we care about. I personally found Marshall's direction quite safe and there was nothing visually stunning about Awakenings. At the end of the day Awakenings was a fairly standard tale about an extraordinary event which was completely unremarkable aside from De Niro's memorable turn.
From playing a teacher and then a doctor, Williams combines both to play lecturer and therapist Sean Maguire in Good Will Hunting. Although Williams receives top billing he is a definitely a supporting player down to the fact that he won Best Supporting Actor at that year's Oscars. Instead the film is all about Matt Damon's Will Hunting an angry young man with a superior intellect who frequents bars with his best friends including Ben Affleck's Chuckie. The film has become famous for launching the careers of Damon and Affleck, who co-wrote the film's screenplay and won an Oscar for their script. The films story sees Will gain notoriety after serving a particularly hard maths problem at the university where he works as a janitor. One of the professors at the institution agrees to bail him out of prison on assault charges along as he agrees to a number of conditions. Alongside regular lessons with Professor Lambeau, Will is forced into attending therapy with Sean being the only shrink who'll put up with his behaviour. Widower Sean had previously been a classmate of Lambeau's and the pair had fallen out over that time which makes their time with Will all the harder. Sean and Will's budding friendship is one of the film's key strengths as the therapist finally gets the youngster to open up about himself and in turn decides to start living his life again. Alongside this relationship is Will's romance with student Skylar who seemingly grows to love him over time. But Will's self-destructive nature seemingly ruins the relationship when he refuses to tell Skylar that he loves too. The final scenes of Good Will Hunting are a little mawkish but at the same time I can't help but sob every time I see Matt Damon drive off in that car and Elliot Smith playing over the end credits.
As you can probably tell from that statement, I've seen Good Will Hunting countless times before and I feel it's definitely a film that stands up to repeat viewings. The storyline is pretty predictable which probably demonstrates the immaturity of debut screenwriters Affleck and Damon. At the same time Good Will Hunting survives thanks to the well-observed scenes most of which feel true to life. Will and Chuckie's scenes in particular are realistically drawn and the banter between friends Affleck and Damon feels genuine. Similarly the relationship between Sean and Will isn't the same that John Keating had with the boys of Dead Poets Society and instead is a lot harder to take at times. You also believe in the romance between Will and Skylar and I always find their date in the joke shop to be a realistic scenario. Even the more emotional moments are well-handled and I still find Sean's 'it's not your fault' scene to be particularly moving. Though he doesn't appear until the half hour mark, Williams really steals the show as the down-to-Earth yet damaged Sean. His performance here is a brilliant combination of naturalistic humour and a lot of pathos which really helps in the final scenes. Damon leads the film ably and is a charismatic enough presence to make you want to care about Will throughout. Minnie Driver gives Skylar her own personality and makes sure that she's not just playing the stereotypical girlfriend role while Stellan Skarsgard is on fine form as Lambeau. Even Ben Affleck shines however I feel that the role was written specifically with him in mind and I don't think he had to work very hard to perfect the Bostonian accent. The music in the film is beautifully scored by Danny Elfman and the aforementioned original song by Elliot Smith was also Oscar nominated. Good Will Hunting is ultimately a very human film about finding your place in the world and for that reason I think most of us can relate to it.
Next time I look at an all-star war film from a director that I've never been a fan of.
In Dead Poets Society, Williams still hasn't completely lost his comic roots but gives his most dramatic turn to date. The film sees him play John Keating, an unorthodox English teacher who shakes things up when he starts to teach at the stuffy Dalton Academy. Set in 1959, Dead Poets Society primarily focuses on a group of boys who Keating takes under his wing and who are all influenced by his words. The society of the title is a group that Keating himself set up when he was at Dalton and which the boys in his class resume upon meeting him. Keating's words about seizing the day speak to one of the boys, Neil, who decides to audition for a local play even though he knows his father wouldn't approve. Neil eventually wins a part but forges his father's signature on a consent form in order to take part. Meanwhile, new classmate Todd is struggling to live in the shadow of his academically gifted brother especially seeing as he's quite slow. Keating takes Todd out of his shell and allows him to express himself more freely. One of the other classmates, Knox, falls in love with a girl who is going out with a much more athletic guy from another school. Despite this Knox wins her over with his poetry and she agrees to go on a date with him. After a film that looks at coming-of-age and finding your way in the world, the final third of Dead Poets Society becomes increasingly dark. But there's a final heartwarming moment that anybody who has seen the film will remember.
I myself had previously seen Dead Poets Society at least once before and remember enjoy it immensely. On second viewing however I found that I didn't always believe in the characters and felt that Tom Schulman's Oscar winning screenplay was inconsistent. There's no denying that Williams' performance is the driving force of the film and definitely showcases that he's a fine dramatic performer. But in the classroom scenes I felt that Williams lapsed into his stand-up persona and goes for laughs over believable humour. Despite his Best Actor nod, I don't really consider Williams to be the star of the show as Keating is only on screen for a limited amount of time. Instead I think that Dead Poets Society is more about Neil, Todd, Knox and the other boys who are trying to find their way in the world. The stories about trying to find your way in the world, exploring your own identity and experiencing love for the first time all have universal appeal for audiences everywhere. Of the young actors, Ethan Hawke really lights up the screen as Todd as he gives a subtle portrayal of somebody who lacks confidence and feels inferior to his over-achieving brother. Hawke is able to convey emotion through facial expressions alone and I think he gives an incredible effort for one so young. Josh Charles puts in a spirited turn as the lovelorn Knox whilst Gale Hansen is full of energy as the rebellious Charlie. I was personally less impressed with Robert Sean Leonard's turn as the conflicted Neil and I didn't believe in him as much as I did the rest of the cast. Dead Poets Society was beautifully shot by John Teale and the period detail of the movie was well realised throughout. However, although I got the same goosebumps during the film's final scene, as a whole I believe that Dead Poets Society isn't as great as I remembered it to be.
Williams toned down his comedy routine completely in Awakenings to play a fairly withdrawn character albeit one who ends up doing miraculous work. In the film Williams plays Dr Malcolm Sayer who, in 1969, discovered that the catatonic patients in the hospital he worked in responded to certain stimulants. Director Penny Marshall is keen to portray Sayer as somebody who doesn't like human contact and he almost turns down the job at the hospital when he realises he'll have to work with patients. Although Sayer's superiors are sceptical of his findings he does have a supporter in Nurse Costello who tries to coax him out of his shell. After conducting a number of experiments, Sayer convinces his bosses to put one of the catatonic patients on a new drug to see if it will lull him out of his current state. The patient in question is Leonard Lowe a man who was just a child when he entered his current state and who has been communicating with Sayer via a Ouija Board. The drug is a success and Leonard eventually regains all his faculties much to the delight of his mother who had been faithfully attending to her son. However Leonard later opposes the fact that he's imprisoned in the hospital and wants to be free to do what he wants. These feelings are intensified when he meets Paula, the daughter of one of the patients, and falls in love. Meanwhile Sayer raises the funds to put all the former catatonic patients on the drug and they all experience similar recoveries to Leonard's. But not all of them are happy about their new awakening and one man in particular feels that he's been cheated by life. In the end it's revealed that the drugs are simply a quick fix and that most of the patients returned to their original state after a short while. Although this revelation his heartbreaking, the experience inspired Sayer to live his life a little bit more.
Of the three films in this post, Awakenings is the only one that I'd never seen before. It's also the only film of the trio that I never really relaxed into as I felt it contained Williams' weakest performance. I just feel that he's too reserved and that quality of Sayer's character makes it hard to care about anything he does. Although Sayer is an admirable character, I think that Williams doesn't make the most of the part and therefore I didn't really connect with the film whenever he was on screen. Despite this being the film in which Williams had the most screen time, it was Robert De Niro who was nominated for his role as Leonard. I think that De Niro's performance in the film demonstrates how much of a versatile actor he can be when given the chance. In comparison to the other film he starred in that year, Goodfellas, his performance as Leonard is a complete revelation. I completely believed in his childlike state and he brilliantly conveyed the innocent nature of Leonard coupled by his new adult feelings. Even in the scenes where we see Leonard in a catatonic state De Niro lights up the screen and gave one of the best performances of his I'd ever seen. Julie Kavner gives an incredibly sweet turn as Nurse Costello and makes you feel that her character could bring some life to the detached Sayer. Steve Zaillian's dramatisation of the film's events allows the supporting characters to really come alive and the majority of the catatonic patients are given their own identity. Zaillian adds enough factual material to make the film interesting while at the same time giving us characters that we care about. I personally found Marshall's direction quite safe and there was nothing visually stunning about Awakenings. At the end of the day Awakenings was a fairly standard tale about an extraordinary event which was completely unremarkable aside from De Niro's memorable turn.
From playing a teacher and then a doctor, Williams combines both to play lecturer and therapist Sean Maguire in Good Will Hunting. Although Williams receives top billing he is a definitely a supporting player down to the fact that he won Best Supporting Actor at that year's Oscars. Instead the film is all about Matt Damon's Will Hunting an angry young man with a superior intellect who frequents bars with his best friends including Ben Affleck's Chuckie. The film has become famous for launching the careers of Damon and Affleck, who co-wrote the film's screenplay and won an Oscar for their script. The films story sees Will gain notoriety after serving a particularly hard maths problem at the university where he works as a janitor. One of the professors at the institution agrees to bail him out of prison on assault charges along as he agrees to a number of conditions. Alongside regular lessons with Professor Lambeau, Will is forced into attending therapy with Sean being the only shrink who'll put up with his behaviour. Widower Sean had previously been a classmate of Lambeau's and the pair had fallen out over that time which makes their time with Will all the harder. Sean and Will's budding friendship is one of the film's key strengths as the therapist finally gets the youngster to open up about himself and in turn decides to start living his life again. Alongside this relationship is Will's romance with student Skylar who seemingly grows to love him over time. But Will's self-destructive nature seemingly ruins the relationship when he refuses to tell Skylar that he loves too. The final scenes of Good Will Hunting are a little mawkish but at the same time I can't help but sob every time I see Matt Damon drive off in that car and Elliot Smith playing over the end credits.
As you can probably tell from that statement, I've seen Good Will Hunting countless times before and I feel it's definitely a film that stands up to repeat viewings. The storyline is pretty predictable which probably demonstrates the immaturity of debut screenwriters Affleck and Damon. At the same time Good Will Hunting survives thanks to the well-observed scenes most of which feel true to life. Will and Chuckie's scenes in particular are realistically drawn and the banter between friends Affleck and Damon feels genuine. Similarly the relationship between Sean and Will isn't the same that John Keating had with the boys of Dead Poets Society and instead is a lot harder to take at times. You also believe in the romance between Will and Skylar and I always find their date in the joke shop to be a realistic scenario. Even the more emotional moments are well-handled and I still find Sean's 'it's not your fault' scene to be particularly moving. Though he doesn't appear until the half hour mark, Williams really steals the show as the down-to-Earth yet damaged Sean. His performance here is a brilliant combination of naturalistic humour and a lot of pathos which really helps in the final scenes. Damon leads the film ably and is a charismatic enough presence to make you want to care about Will throughout. Minnie Driver gives Skylar her own personality and makes sure that she's not just playing the stereotypical girlfriend role while Stellan Skarsgard is on fine form as Lambeau. Even Ben Affleck shines however I feel that the role was written specifically with him in mind and I don't think he had to work very hard to perfect the Bostonian accent. The music in the film is beautifully scored by Danny Elfman and the aforementioned original song by Elliot Smith was also Oscar nominated. Good Will Hunting is ultimately a very human film about finding your place in the world and for that reason I think most of us can relate to it.
Next time I look at an all-star war film from a director that I've never been a fan of.
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