Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 190: The Swingin' Sixties

One of the reasons for me conducting this project was to see how much the films of a certain decade drew influence from their surroundings. To me it seems that a lot of the movies from the 1960s go back to the past rather than deal with issues in the present. That's why I found Darling rather refreshing as it gave a portrait of the Swingin' Sixties era of London as seen through the eyes of its protagonist Diana Scott. When we first meet Scott she is a bored young model trapped in a loveless marriage. Luckily she soon meets journalist Robert Gould and the two begin an affair leading to them becoming a trendy couple. Robert and Diana are soon part of London's fashionable elite however nothing is ever enough for Diana and she soon ends up in the bed of advertising executive Miles Glass. As Miles helps Diana's career soar, Robert becomes increasingly jealous and leaves Diana after she returns from a trip to Paris with Miles. Robert's rejection results in Diana questioning her life and considers becoming more religious during a trip to Rome. As Diana's star rises she decides to abandon her career and move to Italy for good as she takes one character up on their offer of marriage. However it remains to be seen if Diana can truly ever be happy. 

I personally found Darling to be a great snapshot of life in London during the 1960s while Diana Scott was the perfect embodiment of that time. Here's a pretty girl who is often exploited by men and then wonders why she is never truly happy. In a lot of ways Darling felt a little bit like Alfie, as both are narrated by their lead characters and both end on a bit of a downer. The cinematography of Kenneth Higins and the editing of James Clark both contribute to portray a London where everything is constantly moving forward. Though the film is seemingly a collection of scenes, rather than a completed movie, I feel that John Schlesinger still packs in enough memorable moments to make the film stand out. However I feel Darling will mostly be remembered for the brilliant performance from Julie Christie who is able to portray a woman whose life is never as perfect as she makes out. Christie's Diana is someone who always believes that things will turn out okay and when they don't she wonders why. Christie, who won a Best Actress Award for her role, is ably supported by Dirk Bogarde as her loyal partner and Laurence Harvey as the smarmy advertising executive. While Darling is quite a light film I still enjoyed it thanks mostly to the lead performances and Schlesinger's assured direction. It also perfectly encapsulated the carefree mood of the 1960s and the dangers that lay beneath the surface. 

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 188: The Trouble with Texans

The one gripe a lot of us have about the Oscars in 2013 is that there is a lot of lobbying going on and often the least-deserving films get a Best Picture nod. Lobbying isn't a particularly new idea though and in 1961 John Wayne did plenty of it for his pet project The Alamo. Indeed The Alamo ended up getting a Best Picture nomination over more deserving films such as Psycho and Spartacus. Wayne, who acted as director as well as star and producer, obviously thought the tale of The Alamo was one worth telling but after seeing the film I'm not entirely sure why. As you can imagine from the title, the film essentially tells the story of the lead up to the battle of The Alamo. The three men in charge of the mission have different philosophies and this also plays into the film's narrative. Firstly there's William Travis a fairly stoic soul who wants things done the proper way and wants his men to learn to fight rather than drink and be merry. Then there's the alcoholic Jim Bowie who resents Travis' nature and believes himself to be the more experienced official. Finally there's legendary Davy Crockett, played by Wayne, who arrives at The Alamo to bring his men to fight alongside the Texans. The plot sees the three men attempt to bond and formulate a strategy to try and take down the Mexican forces. The final part of the film sees the battle itself and watches the three men in action as the Mexicans attempt to overpower them and take The Alamo.

I wasn't surprised when I learnt that The Alamo didn't recoup the money that was spent on it as to me it was a fairly dreary film. At over two and a half hours I really didn't feel that it was well-paced and there were far too many scenes of men in rooms just talking to each other. I feel that part of the failure of the film is Wayne's direction which isn't particularly exciting which means that The Alamo pales in comparison to some of Wayne's earlier westerns. In fact the only memorable scenes in the entire film are in the final act where we get to see the actual Battle of The Alamo itself. I believe that these would be the scenes that audiences at the time would've come to see though I reckon they would've resented having to sit through two hours of talking in order to get that far. In terms of casting the only one of the three leads that brings anything to the table is Laurence Harvey as the professional Travis. Harvey was recruited by Wayne after Room at the Top and this was his first major vehicle as a star. Wayne meanwhile is miscast as Crockett as it really is hard to buy him as a leader of men especially at this late stage of his career. The only acting nomination the film received was for Chill Wills who plays Beekeeper who is the comic relief of the film. It's plain to see that the only reason The Alamo would get a Best Picture nod is through heavy lobbying and that's obviously what's happened. It's just a shame that some of the other films released in the same year didn't qualify because John Wayne through his weight around and got awarded for it.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 186: Northern Charm

In the last post I looked at three Peter O'Toole films which obviously all demonstrated one side of British cinema of the period. The lavish costume drama was all the rage and the likes of O'Toole's historical epics stole a lot of nominations during the 1960s. However British Realism was also well-represented during this period as we've already seen with Alfie and also my latest entry Room at the Top. The film stars then unknown Lawrence Harvey as Joe Lampton a small town boy who travels to the Metropolitan Yorkshire town of Warley to secure a fairly well-paid job. Joe immediately falls for the charming Susan however he is stopped in his quest by Susan's father who is one of the area's wealthiest gents. Susan also has a fairly domineering boyfriend who talks down to the more common Joe and undermines him wherever possible. To be close to Susan, Joe joins the local amateur dramatics society where he also attracts the attention of the older foreign beauty Alice. When Susan's father realises how close his daughter is getting to the unsuitable Joe, he sends her away which in turn sees Joe seek solace in the arms of Alice. Joe and Alice enjoy a happy relationship however the fact that they are both fiery characters means that they also have many fights. It is during one of these fights that Susan returns to Warley and when she reunites with Joe he is finally able to seduce her. Though Joe returns to Alice after his dalliance with Susan it later transpires that he has got Susan pregnant and may well be forced into a marriage with the mother of his child. However Alice won't let her new man go that easy and Joe is torn between duty and love.

Room at the Top is a very interesting film that looks at class and status while also exploring an age-gap romance. The character of Joe is an intriguing one as he always feels slightly inadequate due to his humble beginnings and therefore is fairly defensive. I believe this is why he finds solace in the arms of Alice who is also afraid of growing old. Room at the Top is a very believable film and I can really feel that I'm in a thriving Yorkshire community of the 1950s. In fact while watching the film I was surprised that The Academy actually gave as many nominations to Room at the Top as it did. I think one of the major factors of its awards success was its only star name - leading lady Simone Signoret. In fact Signoret actually won the Best Actress award at the 1960 ceremony for her tender portrayal of this aging beauty. Personally I still think Signoret was incredibly attractive at the time and it was easy to see why Joe fell in love with her. Lawerence Harvey, who was also Oscar-nominated, gave a star-making performance as the flawed Joe who you could easily describe as the anti-hero of the film. The lack of any sort of happy ending was a refreshing change from a lot of the Oscar-films of today and added to the realistic feel of the film. Overall I thought Room at the Top was a decent example of British Realism cinema and one that utterly deserved its Best Picture nomination.