After exploring Brad Pitt's back catalogue in the early noughties it appears that the Academy's love affair with the movie star is continuing into the next decade. However, as Brad grows up, so does the films he stars in and this post deals with two very different dramas that he had a a hand in.
We commence with Moneyball, in which Pitt plays Billy Beane, the General Manager to the Oakland Athletics Baseball Team. The film follows the fortunes of Beane as he attempts to construct a new team on a small budget after the departure of his three top players. Instead of listening to his more experienced scouts, Billy decides to follow the advice of Peter Brand a young Yale graduate who he meets at one of the other clubs. Peter's philosophy involves looking at the runs that each player has acquired over a season and working out how each game should be played. As a result of Peter's theory, Billy finds a team for a budget he can afford even though each player has some major flaw whether it be a bad attitude, a lack of confidence or that they're just over-the-hill. Though Moneyball does follow the format of sports films I've watched it the past, what makes it work is its fast-paced script. Based on the book of the same name by Michael Lewis, Moneyball has been adapted by the master that is Aaron Sorkin alongside Steve Zaillian. Moneyball does include a lot of dialogue that is pure Sorkin, as Billy and Peter banter back and forth in expert style. Sorkin and Zaillian deftly weave the story of Oakland's 2002 season with Billy's back story in which we learn that he himself was a first draft pick. Unfortunately, Billy suffered from a lack of confidence and later decided that being a scout would be a better role for him than on the pitch. I feel that these flashback scenes make us sympathise more with the character of Billy and we're willing him to succeed as Oakland starts to make a comeback later in the season. If I have one qualm about the script then it's the quite clichéd relationship that Billy has with his twelve-year-old daughter which is basically a set up to the final scene in the film.
Alongside the fabulous script, Moneyball's other ace in the hole is Brad Pitt whose performance in the film is great. I believe that Moneyball ushers in a shift in the tone of Pitt's performances as he adds an extra layer of maturity to the character of Billy. This is best exemplified during the scenes in which Billy is listening to the games being played as he never attends the games mainly due to superstition. Pitt earned his second Best Actor nomination for Moneyball and I have to say that it was a lot more deserved than his previous nod for Benjamin Button. While in that film the make-up did most of the work, Moneyball's realistic feel allows Pitt to be front and centre. Also worthy of praise is Jonah Hill, who left the world of frat boy comedy behind to play the slightly nervous Peter Brand. Hill never played his role for laughs and instead his character formed an awkward relationship both with Billy and the players. Hill's Supporting Actor nomination should have been a turning point in his career but unfortunately he followed this up with the woeful comedy The Sitter. Despite him not having a major role as Oakland's manager Art, Philip Seymour Hoffman still gets to showcase his major skills in a number of scenes. I believe part of the reason Hoffman appears in the film is because it reunites him with Capote director Bennett Miller. Just like in Capote, Miller proves himself to be a solid director as he weaves an easy-to-follow narrative with some brilliant scenes of each individual game. Despite acquiring six nominations at that year's Oscar ceremony, Moneyball ultimately went home empty-handed which I feel is a shame especially for Sorkin and Zaillian. Although I have seen Moneyball before I definitely enjoyed it more this second time around and I feel that it's a solidly enjoyable drama which is bolstered by two fine performances by Hill and Pitt.
Two years later Pitt finally won his first Oscar but it was for his role as producer rather than actor. Pitt does have a small role in Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave but his character Samuel Bass only appears in the latter stages of the film. But it was Pitt's Plan B Production Company who financed the project that was first conceived by director McQueen and writer John Ridley. Both had wanted to create a movie about the slave trade and it was only when McQueen's partner read Solomon Northup's book of the same name. When the film begins, Northup is a free man living in proper society and making a living as a violinist. I got the impression that the film would spend more time focusing on Northup's life as a gentleman but instead he was sold into slavery quite early in the film. After being double-crossed by two men, Northup finds himself being sold to plantation owner William Ford. Ford is presented as quite a kindly man who grows fond of Northup, who now goes under the name of Platt, especially when he realises how educated he is. But Northup falls foul of Ford's overseer Tibeats and the two finally come to blows with the former almost being hung to death. The second half of the film is possibly the most memorable as Northup is sold to the tyrannical Edwin Epps, a man who views the slaves as his property. McQueen focuses on the vicious manner in which he punishes the slaves the don't pull their weight at his cotton-picking facility. Meanwhile, cinematographer Sean Bobbitt closes in on the scars that Solomon and his co-workers have following their punishment. Edwin's feelings for female slave Patsey are also described in great detail with his wife taking against her husband's desire for the girl. What follows are more brutal scenes as Edwin's wife takes out her frustrations on Patsey whilst the couple later involve Northup in their torture. It's only when Bass arrives in the final scenes that Solomon finally earns his freedom but McQueen is quick to inform us that the brutality continued for Patsey and her ilk.
In the past I've been a fan of McQueen's work and in particular his second film Shame which was perfectly shot throughout. McQueen's former career as an artist is definitely on show here as there are some brilliant sweeping shots of the New Orleans scenery. As I previously mentioned the cruelties inflicted on the slaves are captured in shocking detail and at times I found 12 Years a Slave hard to watch. The issue I have with a lot of true life tales is that you know how the story will end and that's certainly true of a movie that has the length of Solomon's hardship in its tale. The fact that the audience know that Solomon is a free man makes 12 Years a Slave a frustrating watch as our hero must fight adversity in order to get out of his predicament. As with a lot of 'issue-based' films, 12 Years a Slave occasionally feels overly preachy as McQueen and Ridley's message is a little overbearing. At the same time I think they do their best to avoid sentimentality and instead focus on a man who uses his intelligence to survive his unjust time as a slave. Part of the reason I was involved with the film as I was was due to the fantastic lead performance by Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon. From the first time Solomon finds himself in chains, Ejiofor is fantastic at using facial expressions to convey just how much his character is suffering inside. Due to the fact that Solomon has decided to keep his head down, Ejiofor doesn't have too many lines of dialogue but tells the story via his body language, which I feel is the mark of any true actor. McQueen's regular collaborator Michael Fassbender excels as the despicable Edwin Epps and is particularly great during the film's harshest moments. Although both Ejiofor and Fassbender were nominated for Oscars it was Lupita Nyong'o who triumphed winning Best Supporting Actress for her role as Patsey. However I wasn't blown away by Nyong'o's performance and I feel that the Academy mainly honoured her due to the suffering her character experiences throughout the film. Ultimately 12 Years a Slave was artistically directed and brilliantly shot while Ejiofor gave a fantastic central turn. But at the same time I don't think I was as emotionally invested in the film as I probably should have been and as much as I respected the film I wasn't ever moved by what happened to Solomon and his fellow slaves.
Next up we continue to evaluate the work of a pair of brothers who have made a major impact at the Academy Awards.
Showing posts with label Paul Giamatti. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paul Giamatti. Show all posts
Sunday, 10 May 2015
Monday, 23 February 2015
Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Days 382-384: The Rise of The Indie Comedy
So far of all the Best Picture Winners and nominees from the 21st century, only one has been set in the present day with all the others occurring either in the past or in a different realm altogether. I hope to redress this balance with the next three films on the list, all of which take place in present day America and feature quirky characters and bizarre premises. All three are archetypal examples of what has become to be known as 'indie comedy' films that don't feature big stars and are on the whole quite funny. All three impressed Oscar enough to garner a Best Picture nomination with their respective screenplays all garnering Academy Awards in the writing categories.
The first film in this unofficial trilogy is Sideways; director Alexander Payne's adaptation of Rex Pickett's book of the same name. The film follows former college roommates Miles and Jack as they journey to the San Fernando Wine Valley to celebrate the upcoming wedding of the latter. One of the best things about Sideways is the way in which it makes you care about two characters who aren't necessarily the most likeable of guys. For example an early scene sees Miles rock up at his mum's house with the sole intent of eating her food and stealing money from her bedroom. Meanwhile Jack's main intention of getting away from Christine seems to be so he can get his end away one last time. He does this quite quickly when he meets vineyard employee and single mother Stephanie; with the two participating in a whirlwind romance during the week over which the film is set. Meanwhile Jack tries to set up Miles with Maya; a prior acquaintance who works as a waitress at the local restaurant. As the week progresses, Jack leaves Miles on his own whilst he continues a relationship with Stephanie with it eventually ending abruptly after the predictable revelation of the upcoming wedding. Like all three films in this list, it was hard to guess just in what direction Sideways was heading and that's possibly one of its greatest strengths. Although I felt that Miles and Maya may hook up, things get muddied after she finds out about Jack's wedding and the reason the pair were in the wine valley in the first place.
It's been a while since I watched Sideways, although it's a film that I remember liking immensely when I first saw it. That feeling remained upon this most recent viewing and I feel like the film really deserved all of the Oscar nominations it got. Payne's win for Best Adapted Screenplay, which he shared with co-writer Jim Taylor, was an especially worthy win seeing as the script is one of Sideways' greatest attributes. Although I couldn't remember the film entirely, Maya's speech about why she loves wine has stuck with me over the past decade whilst some of the more comedic segments are equally well crafted. As Maya, Virginia Masden was awarded with a nomination in the Best Supporting Actress category, which I felt was more than deserved due to her measured and tender performance throughout the film. Thomas Hayden Church's madcap turn as Jack also saw him pop up in the supporting actor category and I found his performance to be the perfect balance of seriousness and slapstick. One glaring omission was Paul Giamatti's lead actor nod because, as Miles, I thought he was terrific; giving an engaging performance as a miserable middle-aged man who realised that he'd never achieve greatness. The academy realised their mistake by giving Giamatti a nomination the next year for playing Russell Crowe's boxing trainer in Cinderella Man. However, Sideways remains his most accomplished performance to date and it's a shame that Oscar didn't spot this at the time. Rolfe Kent's jazz-infused score and Phedon Papamichael's excellent shooting of the Californian wine region were other brilliant elements of this excellent film. Sideways main achievement though was to put Alexander Payne on the map, with his next two films also garnering Best Picture nods. Overall, Sideways was a witty and wry look at middle-age with a fantastic script and a quartet of fantastic excellent central performances.
Despite not getting any success in the acting categories at the Oscars; the four central players in Sideways shared that year's prize for Best Ensemble Cast at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Two years later the next film in this post, Little Miss Sunshine, won the same prize for its six primary cast members. I personally don't think I can be that objective in my review of Little Miss Sunshine; which I first fell in love with when I saw it at the Stoke-on-Trent Odeon on a Sunday morning back in 2006. At the time I went to see it I knew very little about it but afterwards I instantly wanted to see it again and multiple viewings occurred over the following year. Sitting down to rewatch it I feared that it may not be that good over eight years later but these fears were unwarranted and by the end I was laughing and crying just as I did the first time I saw it. Just like Sideways, Little Miss Sunshine doesn't have characters that are essentially likeable but by the end of the film you grow to love them. The essential plot sees the Hoover family travel from Albuquerque to California so that six-year-old daughter Olive can take part in the Little Miss Sunshine Beauty Pageant. The majority of Olive's family aren't the most identifiable of characters from her suicidal gay uncle Frank to her stroppy brother Dwight; who is currently in the throes of a silent protest. Her father Richard is possibly the most unlikeable of the bunch; a self-help guru who has poured all of the family's money into his scheme entitled 'the nine steps'. The family is completed by Richard's cantankerous drug addicted father Edwin and Hoover matriarch Cheryl who is most concerned with keeping the family unit in one piece. Over the course of the film everybody has their own realisation about their hopes, aspirations and futures but screenwriter Michael Arndt presents the script in such a way that it never becomes sentimental.
In fact Arndt's screenplay won one of Little Miss Sunshine's two Oscars with the film also taking home the Supporting Actor prize for Alan Arkin's turn as Grandpa Hoover. Almost forty years after his first nomination for The Russians are Coming; Arkin finally got to the podium for a broadly comic role that involved him shouting about sex and drug taking. However it was in Arkin's more tender moments that the performance really came alive and I'm so glad that he won the award over original favourite Eddie Murphy. As Olive, Abigail Breslin was also nominated for her performance and I felt she was another deserving nominee as she gave an innocent and mature turn for someone so young. More impressive performances were delivered by Steve Carell as the depressive Frank and Paul Dano; who role as Dwight meant that he had to be silent for the majority of the film. The quirky nature of the film is never overpowering and each character feels realistic which as a result makes you care for them even more. Another character of the film is the Hoover family's yellow VW Bus in which they make their cross-country journey. Over the course of the movie, the van breaks down causing the family to have push it along every time they need to get back on the road. These comic sequences are well executed however the majority of the laughs are reserved for Olive's final performance at the pageant itself. Uplifting, warm, witty and well put together, Little Miss Sunshine is a film that never overstays its welcome and is one that I'll never get tired of watching.
The third and final film on this list also contained a fine ensemble but oddly wasn't even nominated for that year's Screen Actors Guild Award. This is a shame as I think that the interactions between the quirky cast in Jason Reitman's Juno provided some of its finest moments. Written by former exotic dancer Diablo Cody, Juno focuses on the titular sixteen-year-old who discovers she's pregnant after a one night liaison with her best friend Paulie Bleeker. After backing out of having an abortion, Juno decides to give the baby away to a couple who really want a baby. This is certainly true of Vanessa who, along with husband Mark, are the couple Juno chooses as the adoptive parents. Cody's script then follows Juno's adventures over a year as she struggles with her pregnancy and her various relationships. One thing I like about Juno is the script is very focused with the two narrative strands focusing on our protagonist's feelings for Bleeker and her interactions with reluctant adoptive father Mark. At times you feel you know where the film is going, especially when Cody suggests that Mark and Juno are going to begin some sort of illicit affair, however she surprises you several times over. Of the three films in this post, Juno is the one that made me laugh out loud the most and it's a testament to both Cody and the comic timing of the ensemble cast. Cody's script was criticised at the time for not providing the teenage characters with realistic dialogue however I disagree with this assertion. Instead the offbeat nature of the dialogue adds another layer to the film's already unique style and makes the character of Juno stand out from other female leads.
The aforementioned unique style is evident from the offset as we follow an animated opening sequence that sees Juno head off to take her third pregnancy test, accompanied by an extra-large bottle of Sunny Delight. Reitman makes sure that each character has a specific look from Bleeker's extremely bright athletic kit to Mark and Vanessa's yuppie outfits and Juno's stepmother Bren's collection of homely knitwear. The music is similarly memorable with Mouldy Peaches front-woman Kimya Dawson's voice being present during several of the film's key moments. One of the film's cutest moments involves Juno and Bleeker performing a Mouldy Peaches number on the the latter's front porch. However, I feel that Juno wouldn't have been as well-received if it were not for the Oscar-nominated turn from lead actress Ellen Page. Despite having already been in an X-Men film at this point, Page was still a relatively unknown quantity and I felt she proved herself here by appearing in almost every scene. She made Cody's dialogue feel believable and balanced both Juno's sarcasm with her more vulnerable nature. Ellen Page also shared brilliant chemistry with Michael Cera as the nervous Bleeker; with the two making one of the cutest couples in recent cinema history. As Vanessa, Jennifer Garner was a revelation as, up to this point she had mainly featured in action films however Juno really let her demonstrate what she could do when playing a straight-laced character. Recent Oscar winner JK Simmons and Allison Janney were also on form as Juno's parents with the latter having a rather tender moment with Garner at the end of the film. Another film that is a firm favourite of mind; Juno blends a fantastic Oscar-winning screenplay with a fine central turn and a style which perfectly sums up the indie comedy genre to which all of these three films belong.
Next time we turn our attention to a film that is often considered one of the worst Best Picture winners of all time.
The first film in this unofficial trilogy is Sideways; director Alexander Payne's adaptation of Rex Pickett's book of the same name. The film follows former college roommates Miles and Jack as they journey to the San Fernando Wine Valley to celebrate the upcoming wedding of the latter. One of the best things about Sideways is the way in which it makes you care about two characters who aren't necessarily the most likeable of guys. For example an early scene sees Miles rock up at his mum's house with the sole intent of eating her food and stealing money from her bedroom. Meanwhile Jack's main intention of getting away from Christine seems to be so he can get his end away one last time. He does this quite quickly when he meets vineyard employee and single mother Stephanie; with the two participating in a whirlwind romance during the week over which the film is set. Meanwhile Jack tries to set up Miles with Maya; a prior acquaintance who works as a waitress at the local restaurant. As the week progresses, Jack leaves Miles on his own whilst he continues a relationship with Stephanie with it eventually ending abruptly after the predictable revelation of the upcoming wedding. Like all three films in this list, it was hard to guess just in what direction Sideways was heading and that's possibly one of its greatest strengths. Although I felt that Miles and Maya may hook up, things get muddied after she finds out about Jack's wedding and the reason the pair were in the wine valley in the first place.
It's been a while since I watched Sideways, although it's a film that I remember liking immensely when I first saw it. That feeling remained upon this most recent viewing and I feel like the film really deserved all of the Oscar nominations it got. Payne's win for Best Adapted Screenplay, which he shared with co-writer Jim Taylor, was an especially worthy win seeing as the script is one of Sideways' greatest attributes. Although I couldn't remember the film entirely, Maya's speech about why she loves wine has stuck with me over the past decade whilst some of the more comedic segments are equally well crafted. As Maya, Virginia Masden was awarded with a nomination in the Best Supporting Actress category, which I felt was more than deserved due to her measured and tender performance throughout the film. Thomas Hayden Church's madcap turn as Jack also saw him pop up in the supporting actor category and I found his performance to be the perfect balance of seriousness and slapstick. One glaring omission was Paul Giamatti's lead actor nod because, as Miles, I thought he was terrific; giving an engaging performance as a miserable middle-aged man who realised that he'd never achieve greatness. The academy realised their mistake by giving Giamatti a nomination the next year for playing Russell Crowe's boxing trainer in Cinderella Man. However, Sideways remains his most accomplished performance to date and it's a shame that Oscar didn't spot this at the time. Rolfe Kent's jazz-infused score and Phedon Papamichael's excellent shooting of the Californian wine region were other brilliant elements of this excellent film. Sideways main achievement though was to put Alexander Payne on the map, with his next two films also garnering Best Picture nods. Overall, Sideways was a witty and wry look at middle-age with a fantastic script and a quartet of fantastic excellent central performances.
Despite not getting any success in the acting categories at the Oscars; the four central players in Sideways shared that year's prize for Best Ensemble Cast at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Two years later the next film in this post, Little Miss Sunshine, won the same prize for its six primary cast members. I personally don't think I can be that objective in my review of Little Miss Sunshine; which I first fell in love with when I saw it at the Stoke-on-Trent Odeon on a Sunday morning back in 2006. At the time I went to see it I knew very little about it but afterwards I instantly wanted to see it again and multiple viewings occurred over the following year. Sitting down to rewatch it I feared that it may not be that good over eight years later but these fears were unwarranted and by the end I was laughing and crying just as I did the first time I saw it. Just like Sideways, Little Miss Sunshine doesn't have characters that are essentially likeable but by the end of the film you grow to love them. The essential plot sees the Hoover family travel from Albuquerque to California so that six-year-old daughter Olive can take part in the Little Miss Sunshine Beauty Pageant. The majority of Olive's family aren't the most identifiable of characters from her suicidal gay uncle Frank to her stroppy brother Dwight; who is currently in the throes of a silent protest. Her father Richard is possibly the most unlikeable of the bunch; a self-help guru who has poured all of the family's money into his scheme entitled 'the nine steps'. The family is completed by Richard's cantankerous drug addicted father Edwin and Hoover matriarch Cheryl who is most concerned with keeping the family unit in one piece. Over the course of the film everybody has their own realisation about their hopes, aspirations and futures but screenwriter Michael Arndt presents the script in such a way that it never becomes sentimental.
In fact Arndt's screenplay won one of Little Miss Sunshine's two Oscars with the film also taking home the Supporting Actor prize for Alan Arkin's turn as Grandpa Hoover. Almost forty years after his first nomination for The Russians are Coming; Arkin finally got to the podium for a broadly comic role that involved him shouting about sex and drug taking. However it was in Arkin's more tender moments that the performance really came alive and I'm so glad that he won the award over original favourite Eddie Murphy. As Olive, Abigail Breslin was also nominated for her performance and I felt she was another deserving nominee as she gave an innocent and mature turn for someone so young. More impressive performances were delivered by Steve Carell as the depressive Frank and Paul Dano; who role as Dwight meant that he had to be silent for the majority of the film. The quirky nature of the film is never overpowering and each character feels realistic which as a result makes you care for them even more. Another character of the film is the Hoover family's yellow VW Bus in which they make their cross-country journey. Over the course of the movie, the van breaks down causing the family to have push it along every time they need to get back on the road. These comic sequences are well executed however the majority of the laughs are reserved for Olive's final performance at the pageant itself. Uplifting, warm, witty and well put together, Little Miss Sunshine is a film that never overstays its welcome and is one that I'll never get tired of watching.
The third and final film on this list also contained a fine ensemble but oddly wasn't even nominated for that year's Screen Actors Guild Award. This is a shame as I think that the interactions between the quirky cast in Jason Reitman's Juno provided some of its finest moments. Written by former exotic dancer Diablo Cody, Juno focuses on the titular sixteen-year-old who discovers she's pregnant after a one night liaison with her best friend Paulie Bleeker. After backing out of having an abortion, Juno decides to give the baby away to a couple who really want a baby. This is certainly true of Vanessa who, along with husband Mark, are the couple Juno chooses as the adoptive parents. Cody's script then follows Juno's adventures over a year as she struggles with her pregnancy and her various relationships. One thing I like about Juno is the script is very focused with the two narrative strands focusing on our protagonist's feelings for Bleeker and her interactions with reluctant adoptive father Mark. At times you feel you know where the film is going, especially when Cody suggests that Mark and Juno are going to begin some sort of illicit affair, however she surprises you several times over. Of the three films in this post, Juno is the one that made me laugh out loud the most and it's a testament to both Cody and the comic timing of the ensemble cast. Cody's script was criticised at the time for not providing the teenage characters with realistic dialogue however I disagree with this assertion. Instead the offbeat nature of the dialogue adds another layer to the film's already unique style and makes the character of Juno stand out from other female leads.
The aforementioned unique style is evident from the offset as we follow an animated opening sequence that sees Juno head off to take her third pregnancy test, accompanied by an extra-large bottle of Sunny Delight. Reitman makes sure that each character has a specific look from Bleeker's extremely bright athletic kit to Mark and Vanessa's yuppie outfits and Juno's stepmother Bren's collection of homely knitwear. The music is similarly memorable with Mouldy Peaches front-woman Kimya Dawson's voice being present during several of the film's key moments. One of the film's cutest moments involves Juno and Bleeker performing a Mouldy Peaches number on the the latter's front porch. However, I feel that Juno wouldn't have been as well-received if it were not for the Oscar-nominated turn from lead actress Ellen Page. Despite having already been in an X-Men film at this point, Page was still a relatively unknown quantity and I felt she proved herself here by appearing in almost every scene. She made Cody's dialogue feel believable and balanced both Juno's sarcasm with her more vulnerable nature. Ellen Page also shared brilliant chemistry with Michael Cera as the nervous Bleeker; with the two making one of the cutest couples in recent cinema history. As Vanessa, Jennifer Garner was a revelation as, up to this point she had mainly featured in action films however Juno really let her demonstrate what she could do when playing a straight-laced character. Recent Oscar winner JK Simmons and Allison Janney were also on form as Juno's parents with the latter having a rather tender moment with Garner at the end of the film. Another film that is a firm favourite of mind; Juno blends a fantastic Oscar-winning screenplay with a fine central turn and a style which perfectly sums up the indie comedy genre to which all of these three films belong.
Next time we turn our attention to a film that is often considered one of the worst Best Picture winners of all time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)