Oscar's relationship with Joel and Ethan Coen has been an odd one to say the least. The past two decades have seen the brothers garner one Best Picture nod for Fargo and a win for No Country for Old Men. However, with the Best Picture category opening up to ten, the Coens found themselves with back to back nominations in the first two ceremonies of the 2010s.
I've talked recently about how changing the number of nominations from five meant the Academy made some questionable choices and I would say one of those picks applied to the first film in this post. A Serious Man was the Coens' second film after No Country For Old Men, the first being the overtly comic Burn After Reading. While those two films fit neatly into specific genres, I couldn't quite tell you what A Serious Man wanted to be. At times I found it was too clever for its own good especially seeing as it contained an opening sequence that bore no relevance to the rest of the film. The movie's protagonist is Larry Gopnik, a physics professor who leaves what he believes to be a quiet life. The film sees Larry's life fall apart firstly when his wife reveals she's leaving him and then when she kicks him out of the house in favour of her new lover. Additionally Larry is having to support his brother, who participates in several illegal gambling endeavours, and deal with the fact that a student is attempting to bribe him in order to get a passing grade on his course. Aside from the story of Larry, the Coens appear to be filling time by including a subplot involving Larry's son Danny's addiction to pot and how it effects his upcoming bar mitzvah. I have to say that Danny's story is especially weak and only partially plays into the ambiguous ending. I feel the point of the film is to feel sorry for Larry as he experiences problem after problem even owing money to a record club that he never joined in the first place. However it's very hard to sympathise with a man who's attempts to let life pass him buy have finally caught up with him.
More than anything else I found A Serious Man to be a rather annoying film and there wasn't one character that I particularly warmed to. Although Larry seemed like a nice enough fellow, I think the Coens repeated the same formula too many times especially in reference to the character's constant outburst of 'I didn't do anything'. At times it feels as if A Serious Man is attempting to be a comedy and I will admit that I did laugh twice during the film. However, A Serious Man elicited little emotion in me as it progressed and it just left me cold. On the plus side, I do feel the casting of unrecognisable faces helped to add a realistic tone to the film. Particular praise must go to Michael Stuhlbarg for his portrayal of the intelligent but not wholly perceptive Larry. To his credit, Stuhlbarg tries to make the audience root for his character, but I couldn't help but think that a lot of his problems were caused by his apathy. Possibly the most recognisable member of A Serious Man's ensemble is Richard Kind as Larry's needy brother Arthur. As I know Kind primarily as a comedy actor his larger-than-life persona was too much for the downbeat tone of the film. Of all the performances I felt that Fred Melamed probably did best as the slightly sleazy Si Ableman, who's attempts to plot Larry's downfall were quite transparent. Overall I really didn't know what to make of A Serious Man, a film that doesn't really show its hand and one that I never felt I could properly relax into. I was surprised to learn that the film came from the usually reliable Coens who obviously felt like they could deliver a movie which worked for them if not for a wider audience. I can't explain why exactly A Serious Man received an Oscar nomination but I do feel that, had there been less than ten nominees, then it wouldn't have featured in the Best Picture race at all.
Thankfully the Coens were back to their best a year later with their adaptation of True Grit, a novel that had previously been turned into a film back in 1969. That film was most famous for John Wayne's performance as Rooster Cogburn, a part for which he won his only Oscar. Here Cogburn is played by Jeff Bridges, who puts in a suitably gruff turn as the self-serving US Marshall. However I think the film's main strength is the then thirteen-year-old Hailee Steinfeld's performance as the formidable Mattie Ross. For those unfamiliar with the story, it concerns Mattie's quest to track down Tom Chaney, a former employee of her family's who had shot and killed her father. After much persuasion, Mattie convinces Rooster to lead a manhunt for Chaney promising him a handsome reward if he was successful in his mission. Joining Mattie and Rooster on their hunt is Texas Ranger LaBouef; a man who is presented as the opposite to the Marshall in almost every way. It's clear that, unlike the 1969 film, the Coens wanted to put Mattie front and centre as she appears in almost every scene. The odd couple trio of Mattie, Rooster and LaBouef is what makes the film work for me as we see the teenager lose her innocence as she witnesses several murders during the trek. Unlike with A Serious Man, the Coens make you engage with all three of the lead characters meaning that you care about them in the final third of the film when they find themselves in deadly peril. The scene in which Mattie was attacked by a snake was a particular edge-of-your-seat moment for yours truly and I think that demonstrated just how much I'd grown to care about the youngster throughout the course of the film. One issue I did have is that the Coens didn't seem to know how to finish the film and the epilogue involving the older incarnation of Mattie felt a little flat after what had come before.
However, that's a minor niggle in a film which I found to be an utter treat from beginning to end. Although I'm not a massive fan of the western, I do have certain favourites from the genre and this remake of True Grit is the latest addition to that list. The film was primarily shot in New Mexico and the Coens utilise their vast scenery to full effect. True Grit saw the Coens' latest collaboration with Roger Deakins who was unsuccessful yet again in his quest to win the Best Cinematography Oscar. I do feel that Deakins should have won the award for a film in which his shots of the landscape really helped enhance the story of the film. Another worthy winner would've been Hailee Steinfeld who I found utterly captivating from the first moment she appeared on screen. For a first time performance, Steinfeld's turn as Mattie was an absolute joy to watch and she more than held her own against more experienced stars. Steinfeld is able to convey both Mattie's headstrong nature and the fact that at heart she is a simply a teenage girl. Not only did Oscar make one mistake in not giving her an award in made another in putting her in the Supporting rather than Leading Actress category. Why a young woman who appears in almost every scene in the film should be considered a supporting artist boggles the mind but I've long stopped trying to figure out the Academy's logic. Jeff Bridges also deserved the Best Actor award for his performance as Cogburn than he did the previous year as the washed-up singer in Crazy Heart. True Grit was nominated for ten Oscars altogether but ultimately won none thanks to the success of both The King's Speech and Inception. However I think the Coens can be proud of a film that betters the original True Grit in almost every aspect and especially in the casting of Steinfeld who was simply dazzling as Mattie Ross.
From the Wild West we turn to the mystical east for a CGI-heavy fantasy film.
Showing posts with label Matt Damon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Matt Damon. Show all posts
Wednesday, 13 May 2015
Sunday, 15 March 2015
Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Days 395-397: Marty & Leo Go for Gold
It's fair to say that Martin Scorsese and Oscar have had a pretty good relationship as he's found one of his films in the Best Picture category in the last three decades. These films; Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Goodfellas, all starred the great Robert De Niro and propelled the actor to stardom. In the early 21st Century, Scorsese all but ditched De Niro in favour of another star; Leonardo DiCaprio. We first met DiCaprio as a young actor who just happened to be cast in the lead role in one of the biggest films of all time; Titanic. Although the film itself was visually spectacular, I didn't really rate DiCaprio's performance and found him a little immature. However, as the noughties rolled on it appeared as if Scorsese and DiCaprio brought out the best in each other and their partnership finally saw the former pick up his well-deserved Best Director Oscar.
Scorsese's first collaboration with DiCaprio was Gangs of New York a film that the director had been working on for several decades. Based loosely on Herbert Asbury's non-fiction work of the same name Gangs of New York looks at the 19th century conflict between Irish immigrants and American natives as they fought for supremacy over several decades. I found that Scorsese dragged you into the picture kicking and screaming with an opening fight between Irish Priest Vallon's Dead Rabbits and the merciless Bill 'The Butcher' Cutting's Natives. This opening fight scene ultimately sees Vallon murdered by Cutting and his son Amsterdam being shipped off to an orphanage. DiCaprio then appears as the older incarnation of Amsterdam whose set on revenge against the man who killed his father. Instead of waging war against Cutting straight away, Amsterdam instead infiltrates his gang and at one point even saves his life. Cutting eventually begins to look upon Amsterdam as a son and therefore feels even more betrayed when he finally learns the truth. The film's third act sees Amsterdam's recovery from Bill's attack on him and his attempts to gain power in the city. It's in this third act that DiCaprio comes alive as Amsterdam empowers his Irish brethren and in doing so appoints one of his father's old allies as the town's sheriff. The film ends with another incredibly engaging fight sequence as Amsterdam takes the place of his father in the new incarnation of The Dead Rabbits. However, this fight plays out slightly differently as it coincides with the New York City Draft Riots and means that Cutting and Amsterdam have to contend with another conflict going on behind them. I found that this final sequence was a fitting end to a film that was problematic but ultimately satisfying.
It's clear to see that Gangs of New York was a labour of love for Scorsese and it apparently took him several years to complete. Part of the reason for this was his struggle to make the piece as authentic as possible down to making sure that each character's accent was spot on. One of the most impressive elements of Gangs of New York was its production design, which shockingly didn't win the Oscar in that category. Production designer Dante Ferretti recreated over a mile of mid-nineteenth century buildings in Rome where the filming took place. Ferretti's design is eye-catching from the initial scene which focuses on Cutting and The Priest's battle for the Five Points. Everything about Gangs of New York is designed within an inch of its life from the outstanding costumes to the perfectly coiffed moustached of Daniel Day-Lewis, who plays Bill 'The Butcher' with great aplomb. In fact Day-Lewis holds the film together at times and his performance earned Gangs of New York its only acting Oscar. Day-Lewis dominates the screen and showed us glimpses of There Will be Blood's Daniel Plainview; a role that snatched him his second Best Actor Oscar five years after Gangs of New York. The decision to cast Cameron Diaz as Amsterdam's love interest Jenny was an interesting one and I personally felt she fell short of the mark. Meanwhile, I found DiCaprio's acting style to be rather petulant and didn't think he was a match for Day-Lewis' scenery chewing. At the same time there were hints that Scorsese was bringing the best out in DiCaprio as his performance was certainly more assured than when we saw him in Titanic. As a whole I found Gangs of New York to be overly long and there was at least half a dozen scenes that were surplus to requirements. But it's hard to knock a film to which the director has clearly devoted so much time to perfecting. The combination of exquisite production design, a fine supporting cast and Day-Lewis' turn as The Butcher means that Gangs of New York is an enthralling watch even if it isn't the masterpiece that Scorsese intended it to be.
Two years later, Scorsese found himself at the Oscars once again with his Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator being nominated for Best Picture. In contrast to Gangs of New York, The Aviator didn't start of as Scorsese's baby and instead had been an idea floating around Hollywood since the 1970s. The Hughes biopic finally gained legs in the late 1990s with DiCaprio signed on to star whilst Michael Mann was set to direct. However, Mann was later dropped by the studio and replaced by Scorsese; partially due to his prior working relationship with DiCaprio. It was certainly clear that in the two years since Gangs of New York DiCaprio had come on leaps and bounds as an actor. It was also evident that he'd done his research into Howard Hughes' OCD; a condition that made him unable to deal with germs of any kind. If I had a particular issue with The Aviator then it was with John Logan's screenplay which I felt was rather episodic. The first act dealt with Hughes' creation of Hells' Angels before going on to look at his relationship with Katherine Hepburn. It was the Hughes and Hepburn story that really captured my imagination, partially as I'd followed the latter's career throughout the course of this blog. The film then follows Hughes' continued problems with Pan-Am and his eventual trial by the Senate. I thought that this latter half of the film was a lot less interesting with the trial scenes feeling rather clichéd. Additionally, I believe that Ava Gardner wasn't as compelling a female lead as Hepburn had been during the film's earlier moments. However, at least Logan ended the film superbly with a small victory for Hughes being followed by the suggestion that his mental health may be at its worst.
If I remember correctly, The Aviator was the definite favourite to win the Best Picture prize going into the 2005 Oscars. Although it ultimately didn't triumph in that category, it did go on to pick up an impressive five statuettes on the night. Winners included cinematographer Robert Richardson and editor Thelma Schoonmaker both of whom made the aerial scenes absolutely stunning. Dante Farretti was also rewarded with an Oscar for his recreation of Hughes' many aircrafts as well as recreating classic Hollywood landmarks. Most deserving of all was Cate Blanchett who, in my humble opinion, stole the show as the feisty Katherine Hepburn. As somebody who has watched a large amount of Katherine Hepburn films in the last few years, I can say without a doubt that Blanchett captured the actress' key mannerisms to a tea. It's a telling sign of Blanchett's skill that after she leaves the film the quality dips with Kate Beckinsale's Ava Gardner being incredibly inferior in comparison. Alan Alda was given a Best Supporting Actor nod for his role as the corrupt Senator Brewster, who attempted to bring down Hughes in order to help his friend at Pan-Am airways. However, the most impressive turn came from DiCaprio himself who I felt perfectly anchored the film as the troubled Hughes. One of Logan's strengths was to gradually build up the theme of Hughes' OCD which was aided by Schoonmaker's editing of certain situations. DiCaprio was therefore able to hint at his character's downfall before he descended briefly into madness. Although DiCaprio lost that year's Best Actor award to Ray's Jamie Foxx he still demonstrated for the first time that he was capable of leading an epic such as The Aviator. Whilst I wasn't a fan of the film's episodic structure, Scorsese once again put together a classic Hollywood epic that looked fantastic. Unfortunately it was yet another film that failed to net him that elusive Best Director prize.
That prize would finally come his way two years later in yet another film that featured Leonardo DiCaprio in one of the lead roles. This time it was The Departed; an adaptation of the Korean Infernal Affairs series which saw the action transplanted to downtown Boston. As well as teaming up with DiCaprio for the third time, The Departed also saw Scorsese work with blog favourite Jack Nicholson in his most recent Oscar-nominated film to date. The film saw Nicholson play Boston mob boss Frank Costello, who was based on real-life Boston gangster Whitey Bulger. The early scenes of The Departed focus on Costello's mentoring of the impressionable Michael Sullivan who would later go on to become an officer in the Boston PD. Sullivan, played by Matt Damon, uses his new found position to feed information to Costello in order for him to evade detection. At the same time the Boston Police Chief enlists DiCaprio's police cadet Billy Costigan to go undercover in Costello's gang in order to feed them information. The film then follows Sullivan and Costigan's stories as they attempt to evade detection in the organisations that they've found themselves in. Another connection between the pair is police psychologist Madolyn Madden, who begins a relationship with Sullivan and eventually becomes his live-in girlfriend. At the same time Madden treats Costigan as a patient and the two begin an affair behind Sullivan's back. Like Gangs of New York and The Aviator before it, The Departed is a little overlong and like Scorsese's previous two Oscar contenders it clocks in at two and a half hours. However, after a slow start, The Departed finally gets going in its final hour where revelations are thrown out at an alarming speed. The finale is especially breathtaking and I remember being taken aback the first time I watched it over seven years ago.
When Scorsese won his Oscar for The Departed, which itself was that year's Best Picture winner, it was said that it was like him being awarded a Lifetime Achievement award for an inferior film. Although The Departed is far from Scorsese's most accomplished film it's still an interesting crime picture which has a lot to say about identity and what truly defines us. Screenwriter William Monahan's screenplay was definitely the strongest of the three films in this post and all of the major characters' motives are perfectly explained. Though it doesn't look as good as the two prior films, I believe that The Departed is Scorsese at his best as it's a grimy film that explores the underbelly of city life. Boston appears as a character in its own right thanks to Michael Ballhaus' fantastic cinematography. Meanwhile Leonardo DiCaprio shines once again as the conflicted Costigan who is constantly looking over his shoulder just in case he gets rumbled. Costigan is definitely the most interested role that DiCaprio has played up to this point although he wasn't awarded with a Best Actor nomination for this particular film. However DiCaprio did feature in that year's line-up for his turn in another film; Blood Diamond and I think this is possibly due to the fact that he and Matt Damon share equal screen time. I was also impressed by Damon's turn as the quick-witted Sullivan who ultimately destroys the man he work so hard to protect. Elsewhere Nicholson gives a scene-stealing turn as the terrifying Costello and Vera Farmiga held her own as Madolyn; the only woman to really feature strongly in the film. It was odd then that none of these performers earned an Oscar nod with The Departed's only acting nomination being given to Mark Wahlberg as the foul-mouthed Staff Sgt. Dignam. The Departed also utilised popular music well with The Rolling Stone's 'Gimme Shelter' and Dropkick Murphys' 'Shipping Up to Boston' being used several time throughout its run time. Ultimately, though not Scorsese's best work, The Departed deserved the plaudits it garnered thanks to its enthralling final act and a fine ensemble cast. It also proved that DiCaprio and Scorsese were a winning partnership and I think this post proved that they definitely brought out the best in one another.
That's not the end for Scorsese and DiCaprio whose partnership would result in another Oscar-nominated film in the following decade but that's another story. Next time however we look at a little British film that struck a chord with audiences and critics alike.
Scorsese's first collaboration with DiCaprio was Gangs of New York a film that the director had been working on for several decades. Based loosely on Herbert Asbury's non-fiction work of the same name Gangs of New York looks at the 19th century conflict between Irish immigrants and American natives as they fought for supremacy over several decades. I found that Scorsese dragged you into the picture kicking and screaming with an opening fight between Irish Priest Vallon's Dead Rabbits and the merciless Bill 'The Butcher' Cutting's Natives. This opening fight scene ultimately sees Vallon murdered by Cutting and his son Amsterdam being shipped off to an orphanage. DiCaprio then appears as the older incarnation of Amsterdam whose set on revenge against the man who killed his father. Instead of waging war against Cutting straight away, Amsterdam instead infiltrates his gang and at one point even saves his life. Cutting eventually begins to look upon Amsterdam as a son and therefore feels even more betrayed when he finally learns the truth. The film's third act sees Amsterdam's recovery from Bill's attack on him and his attempts to gain power in the city. It's in this third act that DiCaprio comes alive as Amsterdam empowers his Irish brethren and in doing so appoints one of his father's old allies as the town's sheriff. The film ends with another incredibly engaging fight sequence as Amsterdam takes the place of his father in the new incarnation of The Dead Rabbits. However, this fight plays out slightly differently as it coincides with the New York City Draft Riots and means that Cutting and Amsterdam have to contend with another conflict going on behind them. I found that this final sequence was a fitting end to a film that was problematic but ultimately satisfying.
It's clear to see that Gangs of New York was a labour of love for Scorsese and it apparently took him several years to complete. Part of the reason for this was his struggle to make the piece as authentic as possible down to making sure that each character's accent was spot on. One of the most impressive elements of Gangs of New York was its production design, which shockingly didn't win the Oscar in that category. Production designer Dante Ferretti recreated over a mile of mid-nineteenth century buildings in Rome where the filming took place. Ferretti's design is eye-catching from the initial scene which focuses on Cutting and The Priest's battle for the Five Points. Everything about Gangs of New York is designed within an inch of its life from the outstanding costumes to the perfectly coiffed moustached of Daniel Day-Lewis, who plays Bill 'The Butcher' with great aplomb. In fact Day-Lewis holds the film together at times and his performance earned Gangs of New York its only acting Oscar. Day-Lewis dominates the screen and showed us glimpses of There Will be Blood's Daniel Plainview; a role that snatched him his second Best Actor Oscar five years after Gangs of New York. The decision to cast Cameron Diaz as Amsterdam's love interest Jenny was an interesting one and I personally felt she fell short of the mark. Meanwhile, I found DiCaprio's acting style to be rather petulant and didn't think he was a match for Day-Lewis' scenery chewing. At the same time there were hints that Scorsese was bringing the best out in DiCaprio as his performance was certainly more assured than when we saw him in Titanic. As a whole I found Gangs of New York to be overly long and there was at least half a dozen scenes that were surplus to requirements. But it's hard to knock a film to which the director has clearly devoted so much time to perfecting. The combination of exquisite production design, a fine supporting cast and Day-Lewis' turn as The Butcher means that Gangs of New York is an enthralling watch even if it isn't the masterpiece that Scorsese intended it to be.
Two years later, Scorsese found himself at the Oscars once again with his Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator being nominated for Best Picture. In contrast to Gangs of New York, The Aviator didn't start of as Scorsese's baby and instead had been an idea floating around Hollywood since the 1970s. The Hughes biopic finally gained legs in the late 1990s with DiCaprio signed on to star whilst Michael Mann was set to direct. However, Mann was later dropped by the studio and replaced by Scorsese; partially due to his prior working relationship with DiCaprio. It was certainly clear that in the two years since Gangs of New York DiCaprio had come on leaps and bounds as an actor. It was also evident that he'd done his research into Howard Hughes' OCD; a condition that made him unable to deal with germs of any kind. If I had a particular issue with The Aviator then it was with John Logan's screenplay which I felt was rather episodic. The first act dealt with Hughes' creation of Hells' Angels before going on to look at his relationship with Katherine Hepburn. It was the Hughes and Hepburn story that really captured my imagination, partially as I'd followed the latter's career throughout the course of this blog. The film then follows Hughes' continued problems with Pan-Am and his eventual trial by the Senate. I thought that this latter half of the film was a lot less interesting with the trial scenes feeling rather clichéd. Additionally, I believe that Ava Gardner wasn't as compelling a female lead as Hepburn had been during the film's earlier moments. However, at least Logan ended the film superbly with a small victory for Hughes being followed by the suggestion that his mental health may be at its worst.
If I remember correctly, The Aviator was the definite favourite to win the Best Picture prize going into the 2005 Oscars. Although it ultimately didn't triumph in that category, it did go on to pick up an impressive five statuettes on the night. Winners included cinematographer Robert Richardson and editor Thelma Schoonmaker both of whom made the aerial scenes absolutely stunning. Dante Farretti was also rewarded with an Oscar for his recreation of Hughes' many aircrafts as well as recreating classic Hollywood landmarks. Most deserving of all was Cate Blanchett who, in my humble opinion, stole the show as the feisty Katherine Hepburn. As somebody who has watched a large amount of Katherine Hepburn films in the last few years, I can say without a doubt that Blanchett captured the actress' key mannerisms to a tea. It's a telling sign of Blanchett's skill that after she leaves the film the quality dips with Kate Beckinsale's Ava Gardner being incredibly inferior in comparison. Alan Alda was given a Best Supporting Actor nod for his role as the corrupt Senator Brewster, who attempted to bring down Hughes in order to help his friend at Pan-Am airways. However, the most impressive turn came from DiCaprio himself who I felt perfectly anchored the film as the troubled Hughes. One of Logan's strengths was to gradually build up the theme of Hughes' OCD which was aided by Schoonmaker's editing of certain situations. DiCaprio was therefore able to hint at his character's downfall before he descended briefly into madness. Although DiCaprio lost that year's Best Actor award to Ray's Jamie Foxx he still demonstrated for the first time that he was capable of leading an epic such as The Aviator. Whilst I wasn't a fan of the film's episodic structure, Scorsese once again put together a classic Hollywood epic that looked fantastic. Unfortunately it was yet another film that failed to net him that elusive Best Director prize.
That prize would finally come his way two years later in yet another film that featured Leonardo DiCaprio in one of the lead roles. This time it was The Departed; an adaptation of the Korean Infernal Affairs series which saw the action transplanted to downtown Boston. As well as teaming up with DiCaprio for the third time, The Departed also saw Scorsese work with blog favourite Jack Nicholson in his most recent Oscar-nominated film to date. The film saw Nicholson play Boston mob boss Frank Costello, who was based on real-life Boston gangster Whitey Bulger. The early scenes of The Departed focus on Costello's mentoring of the impressionable Michael Sullivan who would later go on to become an officer in the Boston PD. Sullivan, played by Matt Damon, uses his new found position to feed information to Costello in order for him to evade detection. At the same time the Boston Police Chief enlists DiCaprio's police cadet Billy Costigan to go undercover in Costello's gang in order to feed them information. The film then follows Sullivan and Costigan's stories as they attempt to evade detection in the organisations that they've found themselves in. Another connection between the pair is police psychologist Madolyn Madden, who begins a relationship with Sullivan and eventually becomes his live-in girlfriend. At the same time Madden treats Costigan as a patient and the two begin an affair behind Sullivan's back. Like Gangs of New York and The Aviator before it, The Departed is a little overlong and like Scorsese's previous two Oscar contenders it clocks in at two and a half hours. However, after a slow start, The Departed finally gets going in its final hour where revelations are thrown out at an alarming speed. The finale is especially breathtaking and I remember being taken aback the first time I watched it over seven years ago.
When Scorsese won his Oscar for The Departed, which itself was that year's Best Picture winner, it was said that it was like him being awarded a Lifetime Achievement award for an inferior film. Although The Departed is far from Scorsese's most accomplished film it's still an interesting crime picture which has a lot to say about identity and what truly defines us. Screenwriter William Monahan's screenplay was definitely the strongest of the three films in this post and all of the major characters' motives are perfectly explained. Though it doesn't look as good as the two prior films, I believe that The Departed is Scorsese at his best as it's a grimy film that explores the underbelly of city life. Boston appears as a character in its own right thanks to Michael Ballhaus' fantastic cinematography. Meanwhile Leonardo DiCaprio shines once again as the conflicted Costigan who is constantly looking over his shoulder just in case he gets rumbled. Costigan is definitely the most interested role that DiCaprio has played up to this point although he wasn't awarded with a Best Actor nomination for this particular film. However DiCaprio did feature in that year's line-up for his turn in another film; Blood Diamond and I think this is possibly due to the fact that he and Matt Damon share equal screen time. I was also impressed by Damon's turn as the quick-witted Sullivan who ultimately destroys the man he work so hard to protect. Elsewhere Nicholson gives a scene-stealing turn as the terrifying Costello and Vera Farmiga held her own as Madolyn; the only woman to really feature strongly in the film. It was odd then that none of these performers earned an Oscar nod with The Departed's only acting nomination being given to Mark Wahlberg as the foul-mouthed Staff Sgt. Dignam. The Departed also utilised popular music well with The Rolling Stone's 'Gimme Shelter' and Dropkick Murphys' 'Shipping Up to Boston' being used several time throughout its run time. Ultimately, though not Scorsese's best work, The Departed deserved the plaudits it garnered thanks to its enthralling final act and a fine ensemble cast. It also proved that DiCaprio and Scorsese were a winning partnership and I think this post proved that they definitely brought out the best in one another.
That's not the end for Scorsese and DiCaprio whose partnership would result in another Oscar-nominated film in the following decade but that's another story. Next time however we look at a little British film that struck a chord with audiences and critics alike.
Sunday, 20 July 2014
Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Days 351-353: Hanks for the Memories
We continue our look at some of the biggest stars of the decade with somebody who has maintained their star presence over time. Initially a sitcom star, Tom Hanks moved to the big screen with hits such as Splash!, Dragnet and Punchline. Hanks was nominated for his first of five Best Actor awards for his role in the mostly comedic Big but it was his progression into drama that really saw him thrive. He won his first Best Actor award for his role as an AIDs-sufferer in Philadelphia and followed this up with appearances in three more Oscar nominated pictures.
In fact Hanks' first appearance in an Oscar-nominated film went on to win both Best Picture and the star's second Best Actor award. The film in question was Forrest Gump, a movie in which Hanks plays the titular simpleton who becomes part of some of the twentieth century's most important events. As this was my first time watching Forrest Gump I was in two-minds as I'd heard differing things about the quality of the film. Whilst some cite it as their favourite film, others view it as far too saccharine for their tastes but I sat somewhere in the middle. I wasn't a fan of the narrative device of having Gump tell his life story to other people whilst they wait for various buses. However this may be due to the fact that I'm a regular user of public transport and hate it whenever a stranger starts a conversation with me. Although the exploration of Forrest's childhood was necessary, especially in regards to his relationship with Jenny, I felt the pace lagged significantly at the start. It was only during his time in Vietnam and the introduction of Bubba and Lieutenant Dan that I warmed to both the character and the film as a whole. Though I wasn't overly charmed by all of Forrest's accomplishments I thought that the film was well-paced and that no segment really outstayed its welcome. Personally I felt the film was its best in the sequences featuring Jenny as they featured some of Forrest Gump's darkest moments. It was this balance of light and shade that Forrest Gump lacked and this is partly because the lead character doesn't always understand social situations. I don't think the final scenes of Forrest Gump tugged on my heartstrings as much as they probably should have done but I still think that this is an accomplished bit of film-making.
I do think that Forrest Gump would have fared better in an earlier decade as Robert Zemeckis' film has more than an air of Frank Capra about it. Most of the film's success is due to Hanks' central turn as he never turns Forrest into a caricature and instead makes the audience believe in his character's naivety. One of Hanks' best attributes is charm and he utilises this to great effect in order to make Forrest seem as likeable as possible. Hanks deals well with Eric Roth's screenplay and makes you really care about the character as the film progresses. I personally felt that Robin Wright's turn as Jenny was equally impressive and she deserved to be Oscar-nominated for her role in the film. She plays Jenny as somebody who has never really found her place in the world and experiments with various activities during the episode. One of the film's most memorable scenes was Jenny's attempted suicide and Wright brilliantly executed this uneasy moment. Wright and Hanks bounced well off one another, with the latter able to demonstrate another side to Forrest namely the anger that he produced every time that Jenny was in trouble. Gary Sinise added a little bit of comedy to the film as the self-hating Lieutenant Dan, who isn't given the death he wants due to Forrest's intervention. Sinise's brilliant turn in the film earned him a Supporting Actor nomination and I for one felt that was well-deserved. One of Forrest Gump's most groundbreaking elements was its use of CGI to successfully implant Forrest in a number of historical settings. Forrest's interaction with many of America's presidents was almost seamlessly executed and the visual effects team won an Oscar for their excellent work. I also loved the film's soundtrack which brought together the best musical aspects from each year in which the movie is set. Ultimately I can see why Forrest Gump's nostalgia appealed to the elderly members of the Academy and I was rather charmed by certain elements of the film. But I feel that there were better films released in the same year and therefore I think that Forrest Gump's shouldn't have received that year's Best Picture award.
Alongside his charm, one of Hanks' other great qualities his ability to make many of the characters he play feel down-to-Earth. For example, in Apollo 13, Hanks makes you care about Astronaut Jim Lovell almost instantly as the opening scene follows him interacting with friends and family at a moon landing party. Here Hanks shows that Jim is a likeable guy, who really cares about his wife and is also incredibly passionate about his job. Ron Howard's film feels almost like a drama documentary as it recounts in detail the ill-fated trip that Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise took in the titular vessel. What makes the film special is the way in which William Broyles, Jr. and Al Reinert's screenplay allows us to get to know the characters before they embark on their mission. Particular time is taken in establishing the relationship between Jim and his wife Marilyn, who becomes the emotional centre of the film following her husband's perils in space. We also learn about Swigert's playboy lifestyle and are made to care about original Apollo 13 crew-member Ken Mattingly who is let go after fears that he may infect the rest of the team. After getting to know the characters, Howard and the writers then propel us right into the spacecraft as we feel every inch of the fear that the astronauts experience. I personally was gripped right from the infamous 'Houston we have a problem' line to the trio's landing safely on Earth. The cramped confines of the lunar module were brilliantly recreated by the film's excellent production design team and were effectively utilised to make us experience the claustrophobic nature of the voyage. Similarly well-produced was the mission control centre, which was constructed at Universal Studios, and felt very convincing from the first time we saw it on screen. Along the way the film comments on the meanings of family, friendship and survival as well as looking at how the media are only interested in the seedier aspects of life.
The characters in Apollo 13 were splendidly brought to life by the film's ensemble cast all of whom injected plenty of personality into their roles. Hanks made you understand just why people were so ready to follow Jim's word and just how much of a family man he was. Hanks brought a likeability to the role and demonstrated how Lovell's fame hadn't made him either arrogant or selfish. Oddly, Hanks wasn't Oscar-nominated for his role here although two fellow cast members ranked up nods in the Supporting categories. As Lovell's wife Marilyn, Kathleen Quinlan was superb at tugging on the audience's heartstrings and conveying just how worried any woman would be in her situation. Even the real Marilyn praised Quinlan's turn and commented on how she made he remember the feelings that she experienced at the time. Ed Harris was also nominated for his role as the mission's Flight Director Gene Krantz, a part in which he undertook a lot of training in order to understand every piece of technical dialogue. I personally enjoyed Gary Sinise's turn here more than I did in Forrest Gump as he was able to employ more emotion as dejected astronaut Ken Matitngly. Sinise did a good job at portraying Mattingly's loyalty to his fellow astronauts as he returned to mission control to help ease the voyage home. Bill Paxton and Kevin Bacon were similarly on form as the other two crew members with the latter being particularly impressive as the inexperienced playboy Swigert. The film's art direction and costume design were superb throughout whilst Dean Cundey's cinematography was incredibly involving and helped to capture the mood of the crew. Surprisingly Cundey's work on the film was one of the only categories in which Apollo 13 wasn't nominated. The film did win two awards, in the Sound and Editing categories, however I feel that it was deserving of more accolades. Although this was another Oscar nominee that harked back to the past, I felt that Apollo 13's honouring of recent history was well-executed. Indeed I feel that its combination of visual effects, character development and superb direction made it one of the best films of the decade and therefore a fitting Best Picture winner. Unfortunately this wasn't to be the case as another historical film would triumph at that year's ceremony.
Three years later, Hanks would star in another film set in the past in which he once again proved how he was a master at portraying normal men in extreme situations. His character in Saving Private Ryan, Captain John Miller, is revealed to be a smalltown teacher who wants to get back home to his loving wife. But, as we see throughout the film, Miller is reluctant to be seen as anything else than a Captain to a group of men who appear to thoroughly respect him. As the title would suggest, the film deals with the search for a Private Ryan, a young soldier who is due to return home after all of his brothers were killed in action. The film follows Miller's squad of men on a quest that some of them are sceptical about and question why they're putting their lives at risk to save one man. Joining Miller's squad is nervous cartographer Upham who is drafted in as an interpreter having previously never been in the field. As the film progresses, tensions fray as two members of the group are killed in very different circumstances. What I like about Robert Rodat's script is the way in which each of the squad members are given very different characteristics which in turn allows the audience to get to know them individually. I think this is especially rare for a war film as I've previously found that a lot of the supporting players are given very little development throughout. Whether it be the loyal Hovarth, the realist Reiben, the practical Wade or the wise-cracking 'Fish' everybody has their own unique style. When Ryan is finally tracked down he doesn't want to abandon his team and this sets up a truly memorable final battle scene as the American soldiers do their best to defend a bridge. What spoiled the film slightly for me was the opening and closing scenes in the military graveyard in which the elderly Ryan visits Miller's grave. These scenes felt a little out of place as they were a lot cornier than anything that had happened previously and put a blemish on the face of what was otherwise a masterful piece of film-making.
I first saw Saving Private Ryan at the cinema when I was fifteen and it completely blew me away. From the opening half-an-hour reconstruction of the D-Day Landings to the aforementioned final battle; Saving Private Ryan draws its audience in to the horrors of World War II. I found it to be incredibly realistic in is depiction of the soldiers all of whom were just doing what they could to survive. Their reactions to risking their lives to save one man made sense as did Reiben's later attempt to leave the mission altogether. Saving Private Ryan was also a stylish war film due to its use of saturated colours and the fact that some of it was shot using handheld cameras. Janusz Kamiński's excellent cinematography was rewarded with an Oscar and it's fair to say he earned it for the opening and closing scenes alone. The film's editing, sound editing and sound effects editing were similarly honoured and it's fair to say that Saving Private Ryan was a technical triumph. Meanwhile Steven Spielberg won his second Best Director Oscar for what I consider to be one of his best ever films. If I was to give one criticism then it would be that it was a little too focused on the American efforts in the war and almost left out the other allied forces entirely. This criticism puts me in mind of the first ever Best Picture winner Wings, which similarly focused on how the Americans were the heroes in the First World War. As I previously mentioned, all of the members of Miller's troop were given distinctive personalities and they were brought to life by a brilliant group of character actors. Tom Sizemore and Edward Burns were captivating as Horvath and Reiben respectively whilst Adam Goldberg was perfect as the wise-cracking 'Fish'. I really enjoyed Jeremy Davies' performance as the rookie Upham, who was often astounded by the brutality of war. Matt Damon made the audience really care about Ryan's wellbeing in the final battle and his appearance really bolstered the latter part of the film. But ultimately this was all about Tom Hanks and I feel it's an outrage that he didn't win his third Oscar for the film. From the first time he arrives on screen, Hanks is utterly believable as a man who is forced into a leadership role and who is currently trying to cope with an uncertain future. Along with Hanks' snub, the film itself missed out on a rightful Best Picture win as Private Ryan is ultimately a modern-day masterpiece which should have won every award going.
Next time we stay in the past with a murder mystery set in 1950s California.
In fact Hanks' first appearance in an Oscar-nominated film went on to win both Best Picture and the star's second Best Actor award. The film in question was Forrest Gump, a movie in which Hanks plays the titular simpleton who becomes part of some of the twentieth century's most important events. As this was my first time watching Forrest Gump I was in two-minds as I'd heard differing things about the quality of the film. Whilst some cite it as their favourite film, others view it as far too saccharine for their tastes but I sat somewhere in the middle. I wasn't a fan of the narrative device of having Gump tell his life story to other people whilst they wait for various buses. However this may be due to the fact that I'm a regular user of public transport and hate it whenever a stranger starts a conversation with me. Although the exploration of Forrest's childhood was necessary, especially in regards to his relationship with Jenny, I felt the pace lagged significantly at the start. It was only during his time in Vietnam and the introduction of Bubba and Lieutenant Dan that I warmed to both the character and the film as a whole. Though I wasn't overly charmed by all of Forrest's accomplishments I thought that the film was well-paced and that no segment really outstayed its welcome. Personally I felt the film was its best in the sequences featuring Jenny as they featured some of Forrest Gump's darkest moments. It was this balance of light and shade that Forrest Gump lacked and this is partly because the lead character doesn't always understand social situations. I don't think the final scenes of Forrest Gump tugged on my heartstrings as much as they probably should have done but I still think that this is an accomplished bit of film-making.
I do think that Forrest Gump would have fared better in an earlier decade as Robert Zemeckis' film has more than an air of Frank Capra about it. Most of the film's success is due to Hanks' central turn as he never turns Forrest into a caricature and instead makes the audience believe in his character's naivety. One of Hanks' best attributes is charm and he utilises this to great effect in order to make Forrest seem as likeable as possible. Hanks deals well with Eric Roth's screenplay and makes you really care about the character as the film progresses. I personally felt that Robin Wright's turn as Jenny was equally impressive and she deserved to be Oscar-nominated for her role in the film. She plays Jenny as somebody who has never really found her place in the world and experiments with various activities during the episode. One of the film's most memorable scenes was Jenny's attempted suicide and Wright brilliantly executed this uneasy moment. Wright and Hanks bounced well off one another, with the latter able to demonstrate another side to Forrest namely the anger that he produced every time that Jenny was in trouble. Gary Sinise added a little bit of comedy to the film as the self-hating Lieutenant Dan, who isn't given the death he wants due to Forrest's intervention. Sinise's brilliant turn in the film earned him a Supporting Actor nomination and I for one felt that was well-deserved. One of Forrest Gump's most groundbreaking elements was its use of CGI to successfully implant Forrest in a number of historical settings. Forrest's interaction with many of America's presidents was almost seamlessly executed and the visual effects team won an Oscar for their excellent work. I also loved the film's soundtrack which brought together the best musical aspects from each year in which the movie is set. Ultimately I can see why Forrest Gump's nostalgia appealed to the elderly members of the Academy and I was rather charmed by certain elements of the film. But I feel that there were better films released in the same year and therefore I think that Forrest Gump's shouldn't have received that year's Best Picture award.
Alongside his charm, one of Hanks' other great qualities his ability to make many of the characters he play feel down-to-Earth. For example, in Apollo 13, Hanks makes you care about Astronaut Jim Lovell almost instantly as the opening scene follows him interacting with friends and family at a moon landing party. Here Hanks shows that Jim is a likeable guy, who really cares about his wife and is also incredibly passionate about his job. Ron Howard's film feels almost like a drama documentary as it recounts in detail the ill-fated trip that Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise took in the titular vessel. What makes the film special is the way in which William Broyles, Jr. and Al Reinert's screenplay allows us to get to know the characters before they embark on their mission. Particular time is taken in establishing the relationship between Jim and his wife Marilyn, who becomes the emotional centre of the film following her husband's perils in space. We also learn about Swigert's playboy lifestyle and are made to care about original Apollo 13 crew-member Ken Mattingly who is let go after fears that he may infect the rest of the team. After getting to know the characters, Howard and the writers then propel us right into the spacecraft as we feel every inch of the fear that the astronauts experience. I personally was gripped right from the infamous 'Houston we have a problem' line to the trio's landing safely on Earth. The cramped confines of the lunar module were brilliantly recreated by the film's excellent production design team and were effectively utilised to make us experience the claustrophobic nature of the voyage. Similarly well-produced was the mission control centre, which was constructed at Universal Studios, and felt very convincing from the first time we saw it on screen. Along the way the film comments on the meanings of family, friendship and survival as well as looking at how the media are only interested in the seedier aspects of life.
The characters in Apollo 13 were splendidly brought to life by the film's ensemble cast all of whom injected plenty of personality into their roles. Hanks made you understand just why people were so ready to follow Jim's word and just how much of a family man he was. Hanks brought a likeability to the role and demonstrated how Lovell's fame hadn't made him either arrogant or selfish. Oddly, Hanks wasn't Oscar-nominated for his role here although two fellow cast members ranked up nods in the Supporting categories. As Lovell's wife Marilyn, Kathleen Quinlan was superb at tugging on the audience's heartstrings and conveying just how worried any woman would be in her situation. Even the real Marilyn praised Quinlan's turn and commented on how she made he remember the feelings that she experienced at the time. Ed Harris was also nominated for his role as the mission's Flight Director Gene Krantz, a part in which he undertook a lot of training in order to understand every piece of technical dialogue. I personally enjoyed Gary Sinise's turn here more than I did in Forrest Gump as he was able to employ more emotion as dejected astronaut Ken Matitngly. Sinise did a good job at portraying Mattingly's loyalty to his fellow astronauts as he returned to mission control to help ease the voyage home. Bill Paxton and Kevin Bacon were similarly on form as the other two crew members with the latter being particularly impressive as the inexperienced playboy Swigert. The film's art direction and costume design were superb throughout whilst Dean Cundey's cinematography was incredibly involving and helped to capture the mood of the crew. Surprisingly Cundey's work on the film was one of the only categories in which Apollo 13 wasn't nominated. The film did win two awards, in the Sound and Editing categories, however I feel that it was deserving of more accolades. Although this was another Oscar nominee that harked back to the past, I felt that Apollo 13's honouring of recent history was well-executed. Indeed I feel that its combination of visual effects, character development and superb direction made it one of the best films of the decade and therefore a fitting Best Picture winner. Unfortunately this wasn't to be the case as another historical film would triumph at that year's ceremony.
Three years later, Hanks would star in another film set in the past in which he once again proved how he was a master at portraying normal men in extreme situations. His character in Saving Private Ryan, Captain John Miller, is revealed to be a smalltown teacher who wants to get back home to his loving wife. But, as we see throughout the film, Miller is reluctant to be seen as anything else than a Captain to a group of men who appear to thoroughly respect him. As the title would suggest, the film deals with the search for a Private Ryan, a young soldier who is due to return home after all of his brothers were killed in action. The film follows Miller's squad of men on a quest that some of them are sceptical about and question why they're putting their lives at risk to save one man. Joining Miller's squad is nervous cartographer Upham who is drafted in as an interpreter having previously never been in the field. As the film progresses, tensions fray as two members of the group are killed in very different circumstances. What I like about Robert Rodat's script is the way in which each of the squad members are given very different characteristics which in turn allows the audience to get to know them individually. I think this is especially rare for a war film as I've previously found that a lot of the supporting players are given very little development throughout. Whether it be the loyal Hovarth, the realist Reiben, the practical Wade or the wise-cracking 'Fish' everybody has their own unique style. When Ryan is finally tracked down he doesn't want to abandon his team and this sets up a truly memorable final battle scene as the American soldiers do their best to defend a bridge. What spoiled the film slightly for me was the opening and closing scenes in the military graveyard in which the elderly Ryan visits Miller's grave. These scenes felt a little out of place as they were a lot cornier than anything that had happened previously and put a blemish on the face of what was otherwise a masterful piece of film-making.
I first saw Saving Private Ryan at the cinema when I was fifteen and it completely blew me away. From the opening half-an-hour reconstruction of the D-Day Landings to the aforementioned final battle; Saving Private Ryan draws its audience in to the horrors of World War II. I found it to be incredibly realistic in is depiction of the soldiers all of whom were just doing what they could to survive. Their reactions to risking their lives to save one man made sense as did Reiben's later attempt to leave the mission altogether. Saving Private Ryan was also a stylish war film due to its use of saturated colours and the fact that some of it was shot using handheld cameras. Janusz Kamiński's excellent cinematography was rewarded with an Oscar and it's fair to say he earned it for the opening and closing scenes alone. The film's editing, sound editing and sound effects editing were similarly honoured and it's fair to say that Saving Private Ryan was a technical triumph. Meanwhile Steven Spielberg won his second Best Director Oscar for what I consider to be one of his best ever films. If I was to give one criticism then it would be that it was a little too focused on the American efforts in the war and almost left out the other allied forces entirely. This criticism puts me in mind of the first ever Best Picture winner Wings, which similarly focused on how the Americans were the heroes in the First World War. As I previously mentioned, all of the members of Miller's troop were given distinctive personalities and they were brought to life by a brilliant group of character actors. Tom Sizemore and Edward Burns were captivating as Horvath and Reiben respectively whilst Adam Goldberg was perfect as the wise-cracking 'Fish'. I really enjoyed Jeremy Davies' performance as the rookie Upham, who was often astounded by the brutality of war. Matt Damon made the audience really care about Ryan's wellbeing in the final battle and his appearance really bolstered the latter part of the film. But ultimately this was all about Tom Hanks and I feel it's an outrage that he didn't win his third Oscar for the film. From the first time he arrives on screen, Hanks is utterly believable as a man who is forced into a leadership role and who is currently trying to cope with an uncertain future. Along with Hanks' snub, the film itself missed out on a rightful Best Picture win as Private Ryan is ultimately a modern-day masterpiece which should have won every award going.
Next time we stay in the past with a murder mystery set in 1950s California.
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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