Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Days 401-402: A Musical Revival

Back on Day 290 of the Oscar Challenge I looked at the last live action musical that was nominated for an Academy Award, that being All that Jazz. Since then the only musical film to bother the Best Picture category has been the animated Disney classic Beauty and The Beast. However, in the early 21st Century, the musical suddenly became cool again although the first entry into this double bill would hardly be recognisable to fans of the classic movie musical.

That film was Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge which received eight nominations at the 2002 Academy Awards. It's no surprise that Moulin Rouge's two wins were in the production and costume design categories as it's a film that's been styled within an inch of its life. Lurhmann's aim was to recreate what it felt like to be in the titular French venue during the late 1890s. To do so he used a cavalcade of contemporary pop tunes and framed the majority of the film's numbers so they looked like music videos. With a variety of recognisable songs littered throughout Moulin Rouge, Lurhmann spent almost two years securing the rights to the soundtrack which included a tango version of The Police's 'Roxanne' and a high-kicking musical imagining of Madonna's 'Like a Virgin'. As with the majority of the musicals I've covered on this blog, Moulin Rouge's story is very slight indeed. It's told from the point-of-view of penniless writer Christian who is reflecting on his brief romance with the Moulin Rouge's star turn Satine. Satine and Christian fall in love over one night as he convinces her to star in a musical which is very much based around their own story. Standing in the way of the young couple's romance is a pompous duke who wishes to be Satine in order to give the Moulin Rouge's owner Howard Zidler the funding to turn his club into a theatre. Although it features plenty of plush musical scenes, the content of Moulin Rouge is quite dark as it deals with themes of prostitution, rape and terminal illness. The final twenty minutes, all based around the show within a show, are a dazzling treat for both the ears and the eyes and sort of distract from the film's many minor problems.

Moulin Rouge is definitely an enjoyable movie and you can't help but like a film that plays around with the very idea of the musical itself. Every scene, costume and character is well-designed with Donald M. McAlpine's cinematography varying throughout the piece. Nicole Kidman's performance as Satine was the only turn in the film to be nominated for an Oscar and I think it was more than deserved. Kidman's balanced Satine's on-stage persona brilliantly with the more fragile elements of the character's personality and she really made me care about her deteriorating health. As Harold Zidler, I found Jim Broadbent to be utterly magnificent as at times his character was very dark and at other times provided some great comic moments. Similarly great was John Leguizamo as Toulouse-Letrec; the character who the 1950s film version of Moulin Rouge was based upon. On the other hand I didn't think Ewan McGregor had the requisite amount of passion to play Christian and I don't believe he and Kidman sparkled on screen as much as they could. The biggest issue though was the character of The Count who felt like something out of a pantomime whilst actor Richard Roxbrough didn't just chew the scenery but devoured it as a three course meal. However I don't think this ultimately mattered in a film that is so joyous and basically reintroduced the musical for a modern audience. If Moulin Rouge hadn't been as successful as it was I don't believe that recent film musicals would've made such a big impact at the box office. But thankfully Luhrmann's vision struck a chord with movie-going audiences around the world and this montage of music videos strung together by a loose plot became one of the best films of the year.

Even with Moulin Rouge's success I don't think many would've predicted that a musical would win Best Picture the following year. Rather than another film crafted in the same postmodern style of Moulin Rouge, it was a rather traditional musical that ended up claiming the big prize at the 2003 awards. The film in question was a screen adaptation of popular Broadway show Chicago; which was actually the show that Roy Scheider's director was working on in All that Jazz. Though it's structure is very much in the style of an old-fashioned musical, Chicago does share similarities with Moulin Rouge in the way that it lays out it's numbers. Each performance is laid out as if the characters were singing directly to an audience and are strung together by introductions by Taye Diggs' piano player. In fact Diggs' supporting turn put me in mind of Joel Grey's Emcee in Cabaret as both serve a similar purpose. However, each performance in the film is intertwined with characters acting out the plot whether it be a press conference or a murder trial. The basic plot of Chicago revolves around Roxie Hart; a naive Chicago residence who dreams of being a star and who kills her lover after he insults her lack of talent. Roxie's subsequent arrest puts her in Cook County Prison alongside her idol and fellow murderess Velma Kelly. The rest of the film then becomes a power struggle between Roxie and Velma as both try to garner the interest of the press ahead of their respective trials. Playing both women against each other is slick lawyer Billy Flynn, whose titular 'Razzle Dazzle' style is the focus of one of the musical's more famous tunes. Just like Moulin Rouge, Chicago uses its stylish musical numbers to cover up rather dark subject matter in this case infidelity and murder. However, in my opinion, Chicago doesn't really warm the heart in the way that Moulin Rouge does.

I feel part of the reason for this is due to Renee Zellweger's central turn as Roxie as I never really cared about her in the way I did Kidman's Satine. In fact Chicago suffers from a lack of sympathetic characters with the only person who deserved any sort of sympathy being Roxie's cuckolded husband Amos. The ubiquitous John C Reilly was absolutely great as the almost invisible Amos and particularly shone during his character's 'Mr. Cellophane' number. Earning the Best Supporting Actress award for her performance in the film, Catherine Zeta-Jones gave a deliberately over-the-top turn as the pampered Velma. Zeta-Jones at least went for it full throttle though in a way that I don't think Zellweger ever did. Meanwhile Queen Latifah added a bit of musical depth as Cook County's matron Mama Morton and Richard Gere looked like he was enjoying himself as Billy Flynn. Whilst some of the musical numbers most notably 'The Cell Block Tango' and the finale hit the mark others did nothing for me. I did however like the way that each number was introduced and found that director Rob Marshall laid everything out perfectly. But Chicago's ultimate problem was that there wasn't a lot going on beneath the surface and this was a film whose only purpose seemed to be to entertain. I certainly don't think the film has taken on classic status since its release and it never screamed out Best Picture winner to me when I watched it at the cinema the first time round. That's not a knock against a very fun and enjoyable musical but instead against the Academy who felt that this was more deserving of the big prize than some of the better films that were released in the same year.

Next time we look at a film which contains one of the most famous movie twists of all time.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 325: When Irish Eyes Aren't Smiling

Throughout the course of these 1990s entries I've been commenting on my awareness of the majority of the films that were nominated for Best Picture throughout the decade. The only thing I really knew about The Crying Game before watching it was the big twist which at the time really made headlines. In fact I even remember it being referenced in at least one episode of The Simpsons and it was brought up during Billy Crystal's opening song at that year's Oscar ceremony. Even though it's over twenty years since The Crying Game was released I still don't want to spoil the surprise for those of you who haven't watched it. What I was surprised about was how little said shock influenced the overall movie and how much the focus was on Stephen Rea's IRA volunteer Fergus rather than Jaye Davidson's hairdresser Dill. In fact Davidson doesn't appear until the second half of the film and instead the first section focuses on Fergus' group of IRA terrorists capturing English soldier Jody. After a member of their group Jude seduces Jody at a fun fair they hold him hostage promising to release him if their demands are met. During that time Jody and Fergus become close as they discuss cricket and learn more about one another. But ultimately it's decided that Jody has to be killed and that Fergus will be the one to do it. Despite running from Fergus, Jody still dies and Fergus heads to London to inform his girlfriend Dill. Fergus is almost instantly drawn to Dill and instead of telling her about his involvement in Jody's death pursues her himself. However once he finds out her aforementioned secret he is shocked and distances himself from her but eventually realises that she's put some sort of spell on him. But when Jude finally catches up with him he realises he'll have to choose between his old life and his new relationship with Dill.

The Crying Game is almost a film that is split into two halves with the scenes in Northern Ireland and those in London feeling incredibly different. I wasn't a massive fan of the Northern Ireland scenes as they were fairly dull and mainly consisted of conversations between Jody and Fergus. It was only when Jody was killed that things started to get interesting and Fergus' trip to London was certainly a surprising one. Ian Wilson's cinematography really captured the vibrant London that Dill and her friends inhabit which is why I think I enjoyed these scenes a lot more. Jaye Davidson's first appearance on screen also makes the film a little more glamorous and her live performance of the film's title track is probably The Crying Game's most iconic scene. Neil Jordan's script deals perfectly with the themes of sexuality as Fergus struggles to comprehend his feelings towards Dill. I felt that Stephen Rea perfectly conveyed these feelings and it was his performance that perfectly brought both parts of the film together. In addition to the focus on sexuality, The Crying Game deals with the racial tension especially when the character of Jody is on screen. I felt that Forest Whitaker put in a memorable turn as the soldier and felt his English accent was utterly convincing. Miranda Richardson also provided great support as the aggressive femme fatale Jude who is able to ensnare Jody in the film's opening scene. The problem I had with The Crying Game as a whole was that it never really grabbed me either narratively or visually. I think I've been spoilt by the last couple of films I've watched which have been visually superb and as a result The Crying Game came off a little short in comparison. That being said it wasn't without its charm as it was an easy to watch film with a number of fine performances and had a lot to say about sexuality and race. Despite initially just getting a UK release, the controversial film was later picked up by production company Miramax and was one of the first movies the group launched in the USA. As a result of Miramax's support, The Crying Game picked up six Oscar nominations and this certainly would be the last example of Harvey Weinstein's production company influencing the academy awards.

Next time I focus on the first two Best Picture nominees that I ever watched at the cinema.