Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Days 315-316: Hitting all the Right Notes

Welcome to another post with two films that similarly have little in common but are linked by a number of factors. The most obvious common theme running throughout Shine and The Piano are that both of its protagonists play the titular instrument. However the themes run deeper as both films are set in Australasia, both feature central characters with a disability and both saw their lead performers collect awards at that year's Oscars.
The Piano takes us to New Zealand of the mid-19th century as we see Scottish Ada McGrath and her young daughter Flora travel from Scotland. Ada has been mute since she was a child but has been promised in marriage to frontierman Alisdair Stewart. Early on in Jane Campion's film its established that Ada's piano is the most important thing to her and she uses it to let out her emotions. So it's a bitter blow to Ada when Alisdair decides that the instrument is too heavy to carry and too big for his small house. Eventually Ada's piano is bought by Baines, a man who is sometime in Aisdair's employ and who is seemingly torn between the area's white population and the Maori natives. Baines claims he wants piano lessons but this is later revealed a simple rouse to bribe Ada into giving her piano back. It's made clear that Baines is sexually frustrated and often walks round nude in front of Ada or gets her to pitch her skirt up. Somehow Baines' presence in her life has a positive effect on Ada and she misses him watching her when she finally gets the piano back. The stage is then set for somewhat of a love triangle as Alisdair soon learns of the relationship tht has started between Baines and his wife. Alisdair later takes some very bloody revenge against Ada which I found to be a very shocking yet memorable moment. Eventually Ada is able to decide who she truly wants to be with even though she is forced to loose her piano in the process.

Other than being a film that won a few Oscars, I knew very little about The Piano prior to watching it. I did find it hard to get into the film partly due to the fact that the main character didn't speak however this later became one of The Piano's most positive features. My previous experiences with Jane Campion's work had been incredibly poor as I didn't warm to her 2009 biopic Bright Star or the TV miniseries Top of the Lake. However the artistic direction added to the overall feel of the film with Stuart Dryburgh's cinematography perfectly capturing the Kiwi exteriors and adding to The Piano's period feel. Although we're into the mid-1990s by this point, Jane Campion's nomination for Best Director was the only second time that a woman had received recognition in that category something I find hard to believe. The Piano was a film that featured strong female characters both behind and in front of the camera so I'm glad that Campion won an award for her original screenplay. Holly Hunter's performance as Ada was truly captivating and she managed to communicate her character's feelings beautifully without ever opening her mouth. Although I felt that Hunter should have won Best Actress for her turn in Broadcast News her win for The Piano was more than deserved. The film's third Oscar went to young Anna Paquin who, in her debut performance, more than held her own opposite much more experienced co-stars. Paquin shared great chemistry with Hunter and you could really believe that the pair were mother and daughter. For a child star, Paquin was never annoying and at times was my favourite thing about the film. I was less keen on the male performances with Sam Neill being lumbered with the thankless part of Alisdair and Harvey Keitel struggling to settle on an accent for Baines. One of the film's most memorable attributes was Michael Nyman's haunting score, which was stuck in my head for days after watching The Piano, so I was shocked to learn that he didn't win an Oscar for it. Overall, The Piano was beautifully filmed and included two fantastic performances but still felt a little uneven for me to truly enjoy every minute of it.
As we know by now Oscar loves a biopic and therefore Shine's inclusion in the Best Picture category was a given. Shine is a very straightforward retelling of the life of pianist David Helfgott whose incredible talent was almost wasted due to his mental issues. Part of David's issues were due to his strict upbringing by a father who always felt he knew best and was very sceptical about outside interference. The first example of this is when a music teacher spots David at a competition and offers to train him on the piano. A teenage David is later offered the chance to study music in America but the dream is snatched away by his father. Thanks to his friendship with a local novelist, David soon picks up the courage to confront his father and take a scholarship in London. It's while in London that David's mental state starts to deteriorate as he attempts to learn a difficult piece of music for an upcoming competition. Although David wins the competition the practise drives him insane forcing him into an institution. Shunned by his father, David spends years in an asylum before being rescued by a volunteer who recognises his talents. But she eventually abandons him and leaves him in a hotel where his destructive tendencies appear once again. It's only through his friendship with a restaurant owner, who lets David play the piano there, does he start to rejoin society. David even finds love and makes a comeback at the end of the film.

Interestingly Shine met with controversy over two of the film's main plot points. The first was David's mother's claims that her husband was never abusive towards his children. Shine's director Scott Hicks denies these allegations claiming that he'd had contact with David's siblings who corroborate the film's version of events. Secondly there have been claims that David's comeback performances weren't as brilliant as the film was suggest and that he definitely lost some of his early talent during his later years. Even after learning about these issues, neither really bothered me although I did have other reservations about Shine. Coming into the film, the only thing I really knew about it was the fact that Geoffrey Rush won a Best Actor Oscar for his role in Shine. Because of this I had high expectations about Rush's turn in the film and I'm sad to say they weren't met. Part of the reason for this is that Rush only plays David in the latter stages of Shine and the character is first portrayed by Alex Rafalowicz and then by Noah Taylor. Rush's performance put me in mind of Dustin Hoffman's portrayal in Rain Man as both played characters who have mental health problems. Just like Hoffman, I felt that Rush overdid that aspect of his character a little bit and his performance was a little over-the-top. It did almost seem as if the Academy had honoured the three actors playing the character but given the award to Rush who started and finished the film as David. In fact I personally preferred Taylor's interpretation of the character as a teenager and felt he particularly excelled in showcasing David's descent into madness. Armin Mueller-Stahl was similarly strong as David's overbearing father whilst the scenes depicting David's piano playing were well-shot and choreographed. Ultimately, I was a little disappointed with the film as a whole as it petered out towards the end. While individual elements of it should be applauded, Shine really wasn't as excellent as I thought it would be and I think that's a real shame.

Next time we catch up with a familiar screen star as he reunites with one of his favourite directors

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Days 266-267: Do You Really Want to Hurt Me Part Two

All of the films we've seen William Hurt appear in up to this point have seem him portray fairly intelligent characters. But that all changed when he appeared as a man with little intelligence, Tom Grunick, in 1988 nominee Broadcast News. It also takes a long time for Tom to appear on screen as we firstly follow up-and-coming producer Jane Craig and her best friend, reporter Aaron Altman. Though incredibly intelligent, Aaron isn't particularly suited to anchoring the news as he lacks a certain charisma. Indeed, when one of Jane and Aaron's pieces garners maximum praise it's she who gets all of the credit from the network's famous anchor Bill Rorish. Aaron then takes an instant dislike to Tom based on the fact that he knows little about current affairs but he proves himself eager to learn from both Aaron and James. When a story breaks during the weekend of a party that the trio attends, it's Tom that's selected to present the news over Aaron. His story about Libya sees Jane executive produce the segment and both see their careers advance as a result. In addition to professional jealousy, Aaron hates the fact that Jane is attracted to Tom as he has had feelings for her for years. Aaron is later informed that he may be fired during the station's latest series of cutbacks and he implores his boss to let him anchor the news. Unfortunately, Aaron has to call on Tom for tips about connecting with the audience and looking his best on screen. As the film reaches its conclusion, and many of the station's staff are let go, we see the trio go their separate way for various reasons. Director and writer James L Brooks then decides to flash the action seven years into the future where we discover how far the characters' careers have come since we first met them. 

Broadcast News was definitely one of the films I was anticipating the most when I started this decade as it appeared to have a lot in common with Network. On one hand it did have a lot to offer, Brooks had definitely done his research and the scenes at the station looked incredibly realistic. I enjoyed all of the scenes involving the reporting of the news and the intricate nature of each segment. In addition Brooks' key theme of charisma versus real news was well-explored and perfectly exemplified through the characters of Tom and Aaron. However, I personally feel as if the film lagged in portions and took a great deal of time to actually get going. I wasn't a fan of the personal lives of the trio and in particular the romantic triangle which didn't seem to get enough time devoted to it. In fact it appears as if Brooks himself wasn't a fan of the romantic angle but had to include as another hook to draw in a certain audience. Thankfully, in what is becoming something of a recurring theme, Broadcast News was improved by three impressive performances. Hurt again prove his versatility as an actor with his performance as a man who knows his limitations but tries to work with what he's got. He realises his charm and good looks will get him further than someone like Aaron even if he knows less than him. Holly Hunter was excellent as the powerful yet vulnerable woman who is prone to outbursts of tears for no apparent reason. Hunter proves herself to be an incredibly warm screen presence and makes Jane somebody you want to root for. Meanwhile, Albert Brooks makes Aaron the film's moral compass as he provides a combination of comic neurosis and charm. All three were nominated for well-deserved Oscar nominations and to me the combination of Hurt, Hunter and Brooks was the secret of the film's success. Aside from the trio, Broadcast News had a fantastic supporting cast including Joan Cusack as the ditzy assistant and Jack Nicholson as the network's famous anchor. Ultimately, Broadcast News had a lot to say and assembled a great cast to say it; I just feel it would've been a lot better had twenty minutes been cut from the overall running time. 

Hurt added to his repertoire of characters in the last of the five films, The Accidental Tourist, as he played a fairly withdrawn character. Hurt's travel writer Macon Leary was an emotionless man who wrote the titular series of books aimed at businessmen who didn't particularly want to travel. When we meet him, he's recently suffered an emotional tragedy as his son has recently died when he was caught in the crossfire during a hold-up at a burger restaurant. Shortly after the event his wife Sarah moves out of their home and he's forced to live alone in their house with only his temperamental dog for company.  It's due to his dog that he meets the incredibly lively Muriel Pritchett, who works at the local kennels and is an expert dog trainer. After learning that they're both divorcees Muriel tries to coax Macon into the world of the living and eventually convinces him to train his dog. At the same time Macon is forced to move back into the house he grew up and live with his quirky siblings, all of whom are in a permanent state of arrested development. Eventually Macon and Muriel start a relationship with Macon also bonding with her son Alexander, a sickly boy who is allergic to everything after being born prematurely. Muriel helps Macon come out of himself and gradually he learns to live a lot more than he ever has done. But events start to become complicated once again when he reunites with Sarah at his sister's wedding. He's then torn over whether to reconcile with Sarah or continue to stay with the woman who brings out the best in him. 

The Accidental Tourist sees Hurt reunite with Lawrence Kasdan, who we previously saw direct him in The Big Chill. Unfortunately I found myself enjoying this a lot less than I did the college reunion comedy drama and I felt that Kasdan didn't employ the same amount of discipline that he did with The Big Chill. It may have something to do with the fact that The Accidental Tourist is an adaptation of the book by Anne Tyler, but I found it to have some large narrative flaws. For example I wasn't a fan of the way Muriel initially pursued Macon and instead felt that their relationship could've grown a lot more organically. Similarly I didn't like the fact that Sarah just presumed that Macon would return to her or that he ditched Muriel so quickly. The fact that both Macon and Sarah were primarily so withdrawn made it hard to warm to their characters and at times I found them both unlikeable. Equally I thought Muriel was a little overbearing and at times was too kooky for me to find her at all realistic. The parts of the film I enjoyed the most were those involving Macon's siblings and his sister Rose's romance with his publisher Julian. Of all the characters I thought the Leary siblings were the most endearing and Rose in particular was a joy to watch. In addition, I felt that the exerts from Macon's Accidental Tourist guide books were inventive and provided a little dry humour that was sorely needed. Despite not enjoying her character, I felt that Geena Davis delivered the best performance and I wasn't surprised to learn that she took home the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. Hurt did what was required of him and I thought he did well to play a character with very little personality. Ultimately, The Accidental Tourist was a film I found off-putting due to its lack of realistic characters and I felt that Hurt's performance was the weakest of the five I've seen. Though I've enjoyed following his career throughout the 1980s I'm looking forward to watch a film that doesn't feature him in a lead role. 

So next time we return to looking at stars of the past decade with a man who won two Best Actor Oscars in the 1980s both of which came from his performances in Best Picture winners.