Every year there seems to be one star who comes out of nowhere to be a household name and in 2011 that person was Jessica Chastain. We've already met Chastain via her Oscar-nominated performance in Zero Dark Thirty but a couple of years' earlier it seemed like she was everywhere. In fact she was so ubiquitous that she featured in two of the nine films that were nominated for Best Picture at the following year's ceremony.
First up we have her appearance as Mrs O'Brien in Terrence Malick's oblique The Tree of Life. Chastain's turn as the caring mother to a trio of sons in the 1950s, one of whom soon passes away towards the start of the film, was one of only a handful of the movie’s positive elements. The film is sort of seen through the perspective of a modern day Jack O'Brien who is reflecting on his harsh upbringing at the hands of his tyrannical father. Rather than presenting any sort of coherent narrative, Malick instead presents the film as a series of scenes in Jack's life. The majority of the movie depicts his childhood as quite a bleak time due to the fact that his father would often fly into a rage at a moment's notice. From criticising his sons' behaviour at the dinner table to teaching them how to fight, it's fair to say that Mr O'Brien will never win father of the year. However, Malick depicts Chastain's character in a more sympathetic light as she's more able to forgive her son when he does something a little mischievous. Whilst a coming-of-age film is nothing new, Malick's film comments on all existence featuring as it does a twenty minute sequence which shows us the beginning of time. The fact that dinosaurs appear in a film that is primarily set in the 1950s is one of those pretentious aspects of The Tree of Life that I don't like. That sentiment is echoed in my feelings about the end of the film where Jack is what I assume is the afterlife and is confronted by his mother and father as well as other people who have touched his life. Whilst I always applaud film-makers who think outside the box I do think that Malick is somebody who didn't actually ever see the box. Indeed, this feels more like an art instillation than a coherent movie which I'm assuming is why the critics loved it so much.
The Tree of Life is one of those films that critics love because it makes them seem intelligent but I feel that if they looked at it objectively then there's very little of worth here. Chastain's aforementioned performance as the matriarchal figure showcases why she became such a breakout star in that year. Her facial expressions convey her character's inner torment and she is able to balance the fear Mrs O'Brien feels towards her husband with the love she has for her children. Chastain is more impressive than either of her A-list co-stars, Brad Pitt and Sean Penn who play Mr O'Brien and the adult Jack respectively. Pitt just wasn't convincing as a harsh father figure whilst Penn hardly appears and when he does he just looks wistfully into the sky. I believe my main issue with The Tree of Life was that I felt detached from it throughout its two hour plus running time. Even though there were some parts of the narrative that hung together, Malick did little to make us care about his characters. I do remember going to see the film at the cinema and at the time there were roadworks happening outside which spoilt the quieter moments of the movie. However, I did prefer to listen the rather irritating noises that watch some of the more outlandish scenes that Malick decided to include in his film. I was actually quite surprised that The Tree of Life garnered nominations in the Best Picture and Director categories as it doesn't seem like your typical Oscar film. It does appear to me that this is the Academy's way of trying to look like they enjoy arthouse cinema however this was the same year that Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close was up for the prize. In fact the only deserving nomination that The Tree of Life received was in the cinematography category which was one of the only elements of the film that deserved celebrating. Ultimately The Tree of Life is a pretentious piece of arthouse cinema that critics go potty over but normal people like me hate with a passion.
Whilst Chastain tried her best to salvage her poorly written character in The Tree of Life, she had more success bringing a bit of humour to Tate Taylor's The Help. In fact Chastain was one of three female performers who were nominated for their role in a film that primarily concentrated on strong women. The plot of the film is based on Kathryn Stockett's book of the same name and involves Emma Stone's Skeeter; an aspiring writer in 1960s Mississippi. Although Skeeter is friendly with the snobbier members of the Jacksonville community, she is portrayed as a forward thinking young lady. Skeeter has the idea to write a book from the point of view of the African American women who help raise white children and clean the houses of families who give them very little respect. Skeeter targets Aibileen Clark, a well-meaning maid who is the first person to come forward to tell her story for the book. Aibileen is soon joined by Minnie Jackson, an outspoken maid who is fired by her Queen Bee boss Hildy after using the guest bathroom rather than the outside convenience that had been constructed for her. After Hildy spreads lies about Minnie being a thief, she is only able to get work with Chastain's Celia Foote who has been shunned by the other women of the community. Celia and Minnie's relationship is one of the most entertaining parts of the film as the former doesn't really know how to treat the latter. However the pair soon become friends as they bond over being shunned by their communities and help each other realise what is important in their life. Meanwhile, Hildy has Minnie's replacement arrested after she steals a ring to pay for her sons to go to college. This prompts a multitude of maids to come forward and tell their stories to Skeeter who eventually publishes the book of the title. After the book is published it seems to me as if Taylor didn't quite know how to finish his film with the last fifteen minutes or so feeling a little unnecessary. However I felt that for a two hour film, The Help was an incredibly easy watch.
Despite being a terribly emotionally manipulative film I have to hold my hands up and say The Help did work its magic on me. I found myself welling up several times during the film and I feel that that's a testament to the strong female ensemble cast rather than Taylor's direction or adapted screenplay. I'm not surprised that the cast were rewarded with the top prize at that year's Screen Actors Guild Awards or that Octavia Spencer won the Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Minnie. I felt that Spencer's strength lay in the fact that she was able to balance the more comedic aspects of her role with the fact that this was a woman who wasn't able to speak her mind. Whilst being strong in certain aspects of her life she was also abused by both the women she worked for and her husband. Joining her in the Best Supporting Actress category was Chastain, whose Celia Foote was a fantastic creation; a white-trash socialite who was just incredibly likeable. As Aibileen, Viola Davis was nominated for Best Actress and I feel she should have triumphed over Meryl Streep's dodgy Margaret Thatcher impression. Davis' narration was the strong foundation the film was based around and I felt the actress perfectly anchored the film. Also worthy of credit is Emma Stone who arguably gave her breakout performance as the pioneering Skeeter. Stone perfectly conveyed her character's willingness to think towards the future whilst at the same trying to maintain friendships she had since youth. I liked how The Help had faith in actresses such as Davis, Stone, Spencer and Chastain who weren't exactly marquee names. Indeed only Davis was really a recognisable presence partly due to her scene-stealing performance in Doubt however not even she was a marquee name. The bigger names in the cast, such as Sissy Spacek and Alison Janney were confined to roles in which they bolstered the leading ladies. Although it's quite a predictable piece of cinema, The Help is one of those films that you can't help but like and to me that's a testament to all of the actresses who made their characters feel three-dimensional.
Next time we look at an actor whose career path took a change for the better during the early part of the 2010s.
Showing posts with label Sissy Spacek. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sissy Spacek. Show all posts
Wednesday, 20 May 2015
Wednesday, 4 March 2015
Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Days 392-393: Tales from Suburban America
The common bond our next two films share is that of suburbia, is that they seemingly focus on normal families going about their daily business. However, the slightest change in circumstance alters the characters in both of these films significantly. Although one film relies a lot more on quirks both look at the stereotypical American family and the cracks that show beneath the surface.
The Burnhams in American Beauty have almost so many cracks that the surface is all but gone. Alan Ball's script focuses on the spiritually dead Lester Burnham who is reawakened by several new faces in his life. The first is his teenage daughter Jane's new friend Angela, whom he has numerous sexual fantasies about and begins to work out after eavesdropping on a conversation between the two girls. Meanwhile, his new neighbour, and Jane's love interest, Ricky Fitts supplies him with marijuana and as a result he regresses into a youthful state. These new changes in her husband's life don't go down too well with his prim and proper realtor wife Carolyn. Carolyn is a very methodical person who likes everything just-so so when Lester resigns from his job her world starts to change too. As Ball has already let us know, Lester dies by the end of the film, so part of the plot is devoted to building up a list of suspects. With Carolyn taking shooting lessons and Jane asking Ricky to kill her father; both seem like likely candidates however the actual perpetrator is the man who has a room full of guns. The aim of Ball's script is to poke fun at the middle classes with their candlelit suppers and finely pruned roses. I feel he does this admirably as Lester's breakdown begins to effect the world around him and change the status quo in the household that Carolyn has maintained.
I've watched American Beauty several times before and I remember rather enjoying it. However, on this latest viewing, I found myself initially hating Kevin Spacey's performance as Lester. Although the character of Lester is well written, Spacey plays him so withdrawn that it's hard to sympathise with him. It's only in the latter scenes that Spacey brings out an extra dimension to Lester however I feel that other actors would've made me warm to Lester sooner. It seems like I'm in the minority though as Spacey won his second acting Oscar in as many nominations, his first coming via his superior turn in The Usual Suspects. If anybody should have won an Oscar for their performance in American Beauty then it's Annette Bening. Bening utterly becomes Carolyn and makes the scene in which she 'must sell this house today' utterly compelling. In fact, by the end of the film, I had much more sympathy for Carolyn than I did Lester. Fine support was provided courtesy of a regimented Chris Cooper and a withdrawn Alison Janney as Ricky's parents. Sam Mendes, who won the Best Director award for what was his debut feature, perfectly anchored the film's offbeat style. Although a little pretentious for its own good at times, especially with the dancing shopping bag, there's also a lot to like. Among these positive elements are Thomas Newman's haunting score and the way that cinematographer Conrad Hall presents the scenes in which Ricky films Lester and Jane. Despite American Beauty being a well put together and interesting film it doesn't scream Best Picture winner to me. Whilst I enjoyed myself and found it to be an easy watch, I was never blown away and found Spacey's central performance inconsistent throughout. That being said it's still better than a fair few Best Picture nominees that I've watched up to this point and at least the Academy picked a film with plenty of substance.
Whilst the Burnhams are dysfunctional throughout the course of American Beauty, the Fowlers are initially a well-adjusted happy clan who live a fine existence in the small town of Camden, Maine. Father Matt is the town's GP whilst Ruth teaches singing at the local school, meanwhile their son Frank is training to be an architect. The Fowlers lives are full of poker games, barbecues and trips to luxurious cabins; however everything changes when Frank starts to date the much older Natalie Strout. Natalie doesn't come alone; as she has two young sons as well as an abusive ex-husband who turns up every now and then expecting to reunite with her at some point. It's Natalie's ex-husband Richard who changes the course of the film when he storms the family home and shoots Frank dead. From then on the film explores the theme of grief with both Ruth and Matt dealing with the incident in different ways. Matt tries to put a brave face on things and attempts to return to work however it's later made clear that he isn't coping as well as he should. Meanwhile Ruth becomes a lot more withdrawn and it takes it a while to go back to the school to train her choir for the upcoming Labour Day concert. Director Todd Field and co-writer Robert Festinger; who based their script on Andre Dubus' short story Killings, perfectly pace the first two thirds of their story. I felt that Ruth and Matt's ultimate argument occurred at the right time with both throwing the finger of blame at each other. Where the film lost me was in its final act, where Matt finally attempts to extract vengeance for his son's death. These final scenes felt out of place with what had happened up to this point however I felt that Field and Festinger pulled it back with a rather open-ended final scene.
Something that was great throughout the course of In The Bedroom were the performances given by Sissy Spacek and Tom Wilkinson as Ruth and Matt. One great thing about doing this challenge is watching the entire span of an actor's career and that's what I feel I've done with Sissy Spacek. From her idealistic roles in Coal Miner's Daughter and Missing, In the Bedroom sees her deal with much more of a down-to-Earth matriarch. However, Spacek's outstanding ability is demonstrated here as she is able to say so much with a sudden glance or the smoking of a cigarette. The grief that Ruth feels is conveyed brilliantly by Spacek especially in an almost inconsequential scene at a log cabin where she chats with an old friend. It's also great to see Tom Wilkinson graduate from British films to playing the lead in an American production where he's able to showcase his extraordinary skills. Wilkinson brings a charm to the character of Matt however I didn't believe his descent into darkness in the aforementioned final scenes. Both Wilkinson and Spacek were nominated for Oscars for their performances as was Marisa Tomei for her turn as the tortured Natalie. As a big fan of Tomei's I was upset when she had little to do following Frank's death although her earlier scenes were more than enough to put her in the Supporting Actress category. Antonio Calvache's cinematography was perfect as he sometimes focused on a specific part of a character's body rather than their facial features. This often gave the character's more depth and allowed us to see through the eyes of Ruth and Matt. Also worth a mention is the haunting music that Ruth is teaching her choir for the concert; this music is added to several of the film's pivotal scenes which gives them a certain eerie edge. It's a shame that In the Bedroom isn't as well remembered as American Beauty because in my opinion it's the superior product. Despite a wonky third act; In the Bedroom is still a brilliant piece of film-making that explores what happens when a shocking incident affects a seemingly normal suburban family.
Next time the blog goes to the races as we have some fun horsing about.
The Burnhams in American Beauty have almost so many cracks that the surface is all but gone. Alan Ball's script focuses on the spiritually dead Lester Burnham who is reawakened by several new faces in his life. The first is his teenage daughter Jane's new friend Angela, whom he has numerous sexual fantasies about and begins to work out after eavesdropping on a conversation between the two girls. Meanwhile, his new neighbour, and Jane's love interest, Ricky Fitts supplies him with marijuana and as a result he regresses into a youthful state. These new changes in her husband's life don't go down too well with his prim and proper realtor wife Carolyn. Carolyn is a very methodical person who likes everything just-so so when Lester resigns from his job her world starts to change too. As Ball has already let us know, Lester dies by the end of the film, so part of the plot is devoted to building up a list of suspects. With Carolyn taking shooting lessons and Jane asking Ricky to kill her father; both seem like likely candidates however the actual perpetrator is the man who has a room full of guns. The aim of Ball's script is to poke fun at the middle classes with their candlelit suppers and finely pruned roses. I feel he does this admirably as Lester's breakdown begins to effect the world around him and change the status quo in the household that Carolyn has maintained.
I've watched American Beauty several times before and I remember rather enjoying it. However, on this latest viewing, I found myself initially hating Kevin Spacey's performance as Lester. Although the character of Lester is well written, Spacey plays him so withdrawn that it's hard to sympathise with him. It's only in the latter scenes that Spacey brings out an extra dimension to Lester however I feel that other actors would've made me warm to Lester sooner. It seems like I'm in the minority though as Spacey won his second acting Oscar in as many nominations, his first coming via his superior turn in The Usual Suspects. If anybody should have won an Oscar for their performance in American Beauty then it's Annette Bening. Bening utterly becomes Carolyn and makes the scene in which she 'must sell this house today' utterly compelling. In fact, by the end of the film, I had much more sympathy for Carolyn than I did Lester. Fine support was provided courtesy of a regimented Chris Cooper and a withdrawn Alison Janney as Ricky's parents. Sam Mendes, who won the Best Director award for what was his debut feature, perfectly anchored the film's offbeat style. Although a little pretentious for its own good at times, especially with the dancing shopping bag, there's also a lot to like. Among these positive elements are Thomas Newman's haunting score and the way that cinematographer Conrad Hall presents the scenes in which Ricky films Lester and Jane. Despite American Beauty being a well put together and interesting film it doesn't scream Best Picture winner to me. Whilst I enjoyed myself and found it to be an easy watch, I was never blown away and found Spacey's central performance inconsistent throughout. That being said it's still better than a fair few Best Picture nominees that I've watched up to this point and at least the Academy picked a film with plenty of substance.
Whilst the Burnhams are dysfunctional throughout the course of American Beauty, the Fowlers are initially a well-adjusted happy clan who live a fine existence in the small town of Camden, Maine. Father Matt is the town's GP whilst Ruth teaches singing at the local school, meanwhile their son Frank is training to be an architect. The Fowlers lives are full of poker games, barbecues and trips to luxurious cabins; however everything changes when Frank starts to date the much older Natalie Strout. Natalie doesn't come alone; as she has two young sons as well as an abusive ex-husband who turns up every now and then expecting to reunite with her at some point. It's Natalie's ex-husband Richard who changes the course of the film when he storms the family home and shoots Frank dead. From then on the film explores the theme of grief with both Ruth and Matt dealing with the incident in different ways. Matt tries to put a brave face on things and attempts to return to work however it's later made clear that he isn't coping as well as he should. Meanwhile Ruth becomes a lot more withdrawn and it takes it a while to go back to the school to train her choir for the upcoming Labour Day concert. Director Todd Field and co-writer Robert Festinger; who based their script on Andre Dubus' short story Killings, perfectly pace the first two thirds of their story. I felt that Ruth and Matt's ultimate argument occurred at the right time with both throwing the finger of blame at each other. Where the film lost me was in its final act, where Matt finally attempts to extract vengeance for his son's death. These final scenes felt out of place with what had happened up to this point however I felt that Field and Festinger pulled it back with a rather open-ended final scene.
Something that was great throughout the course of In The Bedroom were the performances given by Sissy Spacek and Tom Wilkinson as Ruth and Matt. One great thing about doing this challenge is watching the entire span of an actor's career and that's what I feel I've done with Sissy Spacek. From her idealistic roles in Coal Miner's Daughter and Missing, In the Bedroom sees her deal with much more of a down-to-Earth matriarch. However, Spacek's outstanding ability is demonstrated here as she is able to say so much with a sudden glance or the smoking of a cigarette. The grief that Ruth feels is conveyed brilliantly by Spacek especially in an almost inconsequential scene at a log cabin where she chats with an old friend. It's also great to see Tom Wilkinson graduate from British films to playing the lead in an American production where he's able to showcase his extraordinary skills. Wilkinson brings a charm to the character of Matt however I didn't believe his descent into darkness in the aforementioned final scenes. Both Wilkinson and Spacek were nominated for Oscars for their performances as was Marisa Tomei for her turn as the tortured Natalie. As a big fan of Tomei's I was upset when she had little to do following Frank's death although her earlier scenes were more than enough to put her in the Supporting Actress category. Antonio Calvache's cinematography was perfect as he sometimes focused on a specific part of a character's body rather than their facial features. This often gave the character's more depth and allowed us to see through the eyes of Ruth and Matt. Also worth a mention is the haunting music that Ruth is teaching her choir for the concert; this music is added to several of the film's pivotal scenes which gives them a certain eerie edge. It's a shame that In the Bedroom isn't as well remembered as American Beauty because in my opinion it's the superior product. Despite a wonky third act; In the Bedroom is still a brilliant piece of film-making that explores what happens when a shocking incident affects a seemingly normal suburban family.
Next time the blog goes to the races as we have some fun horsing about.
Friday, 4 April 2014
Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Days 288-289: A Bunch of Sissy's
From Glenn Close we turn our attention to another great actress in Sissy Spacek. Far from playing the Feme Fatale which has been Close's go to guise, Spacek's acting style was is much more natural and allows the audience to identify with her character. It was this down-to-Earth attitude that earned her six best Actress nominations one of which she turned into a win.
Spacek's winning performance came as country singer Loretta Lynn in Coal Miner's Daughter. I thought her innocent wide-eyed look was perfect as she had to portray Lynn as a young woman of thirteen up to her glory days as a country star. In fact I thought that Spacek almost pulled off being a teenager in the opening scenes and was fantastic in portraying the transformation of Lynn over the years. The first part of the film sees Loretta being courted by eventual husband Mooney who soon breaks a promise he made to her father and moves her away from her native Kentucky. As she has a brilliant voice, Mooney encourages her to perform and she soon receives an offer to cut a demo for her first single. Realising that they have to capitalise on this initial breakthrough, Mooney and Loretta go on a tour of DJs and promoters in the south in order to get her voice heard. Loretta's innocence makes her seem instantly likeable and she's genuinely shocked when she discovers her song 'Honky Tonk Girl' has made into the charts. This in turn lands her a spot on the Grand Ole Opry and she soon attracts the attention of her idol Patsy Cline. As Loretta's success grows, Mooney becomes jealous of his wife becoming the more dominant one in their marriage. With Loretta beginning to overwork herself she soon becomes stressed and unable to remember the words to her lyrics. Although she suffers a breakdown, the film ends on a high as we witness her comeback and the performance of the film's titular track 'Coal Miner's Daughter'.
Having watched a lot of biopics about musicians in the past I did approach Coal Miner's Daughter with some level of trepidation. Luckily, I needn't of worried as Michael Apted's film was an incredibly well-paced piece that covered all of the key points of Lynn's life without every overstaying its welcome. Tom Rickman's adaptation of Lynn's autobiography made me understand the motivations of both her and Mooney as her success in the music business changed her to an extent. What I liked about both of the Lynns is how they didn't feel like stereotypes and instead felt like real people throughout the course of the film. Whilst Mooney does react jealousy to Loretta's new stardom he never gets aggressive and is later supportive of her during her breakdown. Similarly you can understand Loretta's need to make herself more glamorous as her star ascends despite the fact that she really doesn't need as much make-up as she thinks she does. The musical numbers are all joyous, though I suppose you have to at least enjoy country music a little bit to appreciate them. Sissy Spacek more than deserved her Oscar as she portrayed all of the stages of Lynn's persona from innocent teenager to glamorous superstar to an overworked singer heading for a nervous breakdown. Spacek excelled at portraying Lynn's innocent charm and she really made the character come alive both through her acting and her singing. I'm shocked that Tommy Lee Jones didn't receive at least a nomination for his role as the supportive yet jealous Mooney. I personally believe that his performance is as integral as Spacek's and I really found his performance brought out the human side in the sometimes aggressive Mooney. Coal Miner's Daughter was really a step above the normal biopic and showcased just how great Spacek can be when given the right part.
The fact that they are both based on true stories is possibly the only similarity between Coal Miner's Daughter and Spacek's other Best Picture nominee Missing. Missing doesn't have the gloss of a Best Picture film but instead employs the documentary style favoured by its director Costa-Gavras. Set in Chile during the rule of Pinochet, Spacek plays Beth Horman the wife of a radical journalist who goes missing after their house was ransacked. Charlie's disappearance prompts his father to arrive in Chile and seek help from the American consulate in finding his son. Ed had never approved of his son's life choices and wondered why he'd never settled down and got a proper job. Whereas Charlie was a fairly liberal young man, his father is incredibly conservative and is a practising Christian Scientist meaning he's very much a man of faith. Ed and Beth clash over the latter's lack of co-operation with the men who are attempting to help find Charlie. Beth's distrust of the men is later explained through a series of flashbacks showing what sort of a man Captain Ray Tower actually is. As they spend more time together, Ed and Beth continue to bond as he realises the horrors of the country his son briefly called home. With the American government appearing more suspicious then they first seemed, Ed begins to give up hope of ever seeing his son again. Though the ending is predictable, especially if you were aware of the original story, it doesn't make it any less shocking.
Missing was a film that focused on a recent crisis and gave it a human face. Costa-Gavras portrayed the Chile of the time where bodies were simply strewn across the streets for all to see and where the sound of gunshots was a regular occurrence. Ricardo Aronovich's superb cinematography captured all this brutal detail perfectly and he particularly excelled when shooting the scenes in Chile's national stadium. The human face of the film was Ed who was experiencing the horrific nature of the country first hand and we as the audience were meant to relate to him. The fact that Ed was played by Jack Lemmon meant that he came across as likeable despite his initial prejudices and beliefs. Lemmon's performance was just brilliant as he made the audience identify with a man who was just trying to find his son. Though Beth wasn't as innocent as Loretta Lynn, Spacek still played an extremely down-to-Earth character. Spacek played Beth as somebody who was horrified by what was going on around but had got used to it over time. Spacek also really came alive when portraying Beth's defiance in the face of the American authorities. Another memorable aspect of the film was Vangelis' electric score which contributed to both the jarring nature of the Chilean conflict and the emotional aspects of the Ed/Beth relationship. Even though I found it tough to get through at times, Missing was nonetheless an accomplished film which told the story of a conflict through the eyes of those who didn't quite want to believe it. It is definitely a piece of historical film-making and one that is still as relevant today as it was thirty years ago.
Next time we have the film which became the last live action musical to be nominated for Best Picture for twenty-two years!
Spacek's winning performance came as country singer Loretta Lynn in Coal Miner's Daughter. I thought her innocent wide-eyed look was perfect as she had to portray Lynn as a young woman of thirteen up to her glory days as a country star. In fact I thought that Spacek almost pulled off being a teenager in the opening scenes and was fantastic in portraying the transformation of Lynn over the years. The first part of the film sees Loretta being courted by eventual husband Mooney who soon breaks a promise he made to her father and moves her away from her native Kentucky. As she has a brilliant voice, Mooney encourages her to perform and she soon receives an offer to cut a demo for her first single. Realising that they have to capitalise on this initial breakthrough, Mooney and Loretta go on a tour of DJs and promoters in the south in order to get her voice heard. Loretta's innocence makes her seem instantly likeable and she's genuinely shocked when she discovers her song 'Honky Tonk Girl' has made into the charts. This in turn lands her a spot on the Grand Ole Opry and she soon attracts the attention of her idol Patsy Cline. As Loretta's success grows, Mooney becomes jealous of his wife becoming the more dominant one in their marriage. With Loretta beginning to overwork herself she soon becomes stressed and unable to remember the words to her lyrics. Although she suffers a breakdown, the film ends on a high as we witness her comeback and the performance of the film's titular track 'Coal Miner's Daughter'.
Having watched a lot of biopics about musicians in the past I did approach Coal Miner's Daughter with some level of trepidation. Luckily, I needn't of worried as Michael Apted's film was an incredibly well-paced piece that covered all of the key points of Lynn's life without every overstaying its welcome. Tom Rickman's adaptation of Lynn's autobiography made me understand the motivations of both her and Mooney as her success in the music business changed her to an extent. What I liked about both of the Lynns is how they didn't feel like stereotypes and instead felt like real people throughout the course of the film. Whilst Mooney does react jealousy to Loretta's new stardom he never gets aggressive and is later supportive of her during her breakdown. Similarly you can understand Loretta's need to make herself more glamorous as her star ascends despite the fact that she really doesn't need as much make-up as she thinks she does. The musical numbers are all joyous, though I suppose you have to at least enjoy country music a little bit to appreciate them. Sissy Spacek more than deserved her Oscar as she portrayed all of the stages of Lynn's persona from innocent teenager to glamorous superstar to an overworked singer heading for a nervous breakdown. Spacek excelled at portraying Lynn's innocent charm and she really made the character come alive both through her acting and her singing. I'm shocked that Tommy Lee Jones didn't receive at least a nomination for his role as the supportive yet jealous Mooney. I personally believe that his performance is as integral as Spacek's and I really found his performance brought out the human side in the sometimes aggressive Mooney. Coal Miner's Daughter was really a step above the normal biopic and showcased just how great Spacek can be when given the right part.
The fact that they are both based on true stories is possibly the only similarity between Coal Miner's Daughter and Spacek's other Best Picture nominee Missing. Missing doesn't have the gloss of a Best Picture film but instead employs the documentary style favoured by its director Costa-Gavras. Set in Chile during the rule of Pinochet, Spacek plays Beth Horman the wife of a radical journalist who goes missing after their house was ransacked. Charlie's disappearance prompts his father to arrive in Chile and seek help from the American consulate in finding his son. Ed had never approved of his son's life choices and wondered why he'd never settled down and got a proper job. Whereas Charlie was a fairly liberal young man, his father is incredibly conservative and is a practising Christian Scientist meaning he's very much a man of faith. Ed and Beth clash over the latter's lack of co-operation with the men who are attempting to help find Charlie. Beth's distrust of the men is later explained through a series of flashbacks showing what sort of a man Captain Ray Tower actually is. As they spend more time together, Ed and Beth continue to bond as he realises the horrors of the country his son briefly called home. With the American government appearing more suspicious then they first seemed, Ed begins to give up hope of ever seeing his son again. Though the ending is predictable, especially if you were aware of the original story, it doesn't make it any less shocking.
Missing was a film that focused on a recent crisis and gave it a human face. Costa-Gavras portrayed the Chile of the time where bodies were simply strewn across the streets for all to see and where the sound of gunshots was a regular occurrence. Ricardo Aronovich's superb cinematography captured all this brutal detail perfectly and he particularly excelled when shooting the scenes in Chile's national stadium. The human face of the film was Ed who was experiencing the horrific nature of the country first hand and we as the audience were meant to relate to him. The fact that Ed was played by Jack Lemmon meant that he came across as likeable despite his initial prejudices and beliefs. Lemmon's performance was just brilliant as he made the audience identify with a man who was just trying to find his son. Though Beth wasn't as innocent as Loretta Lynn, Spacek still played an extremely down-to-Earth character. Spacek played Beth as somebody who was horrified by what was going on around but had got used to it over time. Spacek also really came alive when portraying Beth's defiance in the face of the American authorities. Another memorable aspect of the film was Vangelis' electric score which contributed to both the jarring nature of the Chilean conflict and the emotional aspects of the Ed/Beth relationship. Even though I found it tough to get through at times, Missing was nonetheless an accomplished film which told the story of a conflict through the eyes of those who didn't quite want to believe it. It is definitely a piece of historical film-making and one that is still as relevant today as it was thirty years ago.
Next time we have the film which became the last live action musical to be nominated for Best Picture for twenty-two years!
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