We first met Kate Winslet back in the 1990s when she made her first impact on the Academy in Sense and Sensibility before wowing in the lead role of Titanic. Throughout the 2000s she was awarded with three more nominations and finally won the Oscar that had eluded her with her sixth nomination.
Before we look at that film we'll look back at some of the actress' other nominations as she followed on from Sense and Sensibility and Titanic with a Supporting nod for her role as a young Judi Dench in Iris. Three years later she was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for her role in Michel Gondry's quirky romantic drama Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Although that film was overlooked in the Best Picture category, Winslet's other starring role that year was in a movie in contention for the main prize. That film was Finding Neverland, Marc Forster's film about the creation of Peter Pan in which Winslet played Sylvia Llewelyn Davies mother of the boys who would become the muses of author J.M. Barrie. In the role of Barrie, Johnny Depp brought his trademark innocence but also portrayed the Scottish playwright as quite immature. The film begins with the opening of one of Barrie's plays which ultimately ends in disaster and forces him to create a new production. At this time he also meets the Llewelyn Davies family with middle son Peter being the boy who intrigues Barrie the most. From there on David Magee's screenplay looks at the time Barrie spent with the family as well as his construction of the oddest play ever to grace the stage. Magee mixes fantasy sequences with real life drama as Barrie tries to bring out the boys' imagination whilst at the same time dealing with problems in his own marriage. As with any good Oscar film, Finding Neverland also features a character with an incurable disease with Sylvia passing away in one of the film's final scenes. However one of the film's strengths is that it never deals with death in a mawkish way and instead Sylvia's death makes way for a new chapter in her son's lives.
I have an incredible soft spot for Finding Neverland and it's one of those films that just makes you feel warm inside. Whilst it wasn't Winslet's best film released that year, it's easy to see why the Academy lapped it up as much as they did. From Roberto Schaefer's brilliant cinematography to Jan A.P. Kaczmarek's Oscar-winning score everything about Finding Neverland was utterly joyous. Following on from his debut nomination the year before, Depp's second nod was arguably his most deserved as he played Barrie perfectly. Combining a childlike innocence with a knowing look, I felt that Depp led the film throughout and gave a thoroughly charming turn. As the young Peter, Freddie Highmore stayed on the right side of saccharine whilst Radha Mitchell gave a grounded portrayal of Barrie's naive wife. In supporting roles I found Julie Christie and Dustin Hoffman to add a bit of substance to the film with the latter popping us Barrie's financier. If there's one let down in the cast then it's Winslet herself who doesn't ever seem to have much to do. Her role is to almost act as the damsel in distress and the facilitator of Barrie's relationship with her sons. One of Finding Neverland's great assets is its fantasy sequences in which the boys and Barrie imagine various scenarios. My particular favourites would have to be the one in which Barrie turned his dog into a dancing bear and later when he let the boys believe they were on a pirate ship. Though Finding Neverland doesn't have any depth to speak of, I think it's an utterly beautiful piece of film-making with a story that's worth telling. With stories that speak to adults and children alike, I think that Finding Neverland is the perfect family film and was definitely worthy of its place in that year's Best Picture category.
Two years later, Winslet was nominated for another Best Actress Oscar this time for her role in suburban drama Little Children. She also appeared in an episode of Ricky Gervais' sitcom Extras in which she claimed that actors who play Nazis often go on to win Oscars. Someone somewhere was obviously watching this episode as, a couple of years later, Winslet was cast as former Auschwitz guard Hanna Schmitz in Stephen Daldry's The Reader. The film is mainly split into three parts as we follow the relationship between Hanna and the initially 15-year-old Michael Berg. The first act of the show sees the somewhat gawkish teenage Michael meeting Hanna for the first time as he experiences the onset of scarlet fever. Michael and the older Hanna spend a lot of time together with her demanding more of him and as a result alienating him from his friends. Eventually tiring of their liaisons, which involved sex and him reading to her, Michael ends things and subsequently goes to law school. Michael encounters Hanna once again when his law professor takes a group of students to learn from the war trials that are currently taking place in Berlin. It is here where Michael learns that Hanna was a guard in Auschwitz and also that she is illiterate hence her obsession with hearing others read. Winslet scored the Oscar-winning triumvirate, not only playing a Nazi but also one with a disability who physically ages on screen. This ageing process happens in the film's third act where the now married, and later divorced, Michael teaches Hanna to read using books from the library and a tape recorder. Michael, now played by Ralph Fiennes, encourages his former lover to finally own up to her mistakes and the two eventually meet up just before she's released. As The Reader never pretends to be a romantic film as such, Michael and Hanna aren't given their happy ending and instead he has to wrap the story up himself.
As the film divides itself into third acts, I will attempt to do the same with my review as I found The Reader to be three entirely different movies. At the start, The Reader feels like a film about forbidden romance as we follow Michael and Hanna's illicit trysts. For a film with so many sex scenes, I found The Reader to be incredibly passionless as there was never really any chemistry between Winslet and young actor David Kross. The second part of the film, involving the war trials, was more engaging and this to me was when Winslet's performance was at its strongest. The involvement of Bruno Ganz, as Michael's Holocaust surviving law professor, added to the quality of this segment as did David Hare's adapted screenplay. Moving on from the courtroom drama of the second act, the third part of The Reader almost felt like The Shawshank Redemption as Hanna finally overcame her illiteracy with Michael's outside help. After a strong second act, The Reader lost me once again as I felt that Daldry and Hare packed too much in to a short amount of screen time. Michael's marriage, the birth of his first child and his divorce were all skipped over at such a quick pace that nothing really had a chance to sink in. One of the brightest spots of these final scenes was Ralph Fiennes who was perfectly cast as the somewhat emotionless Michael. Fiennes and Winslet's only scene together was one of The Reader's strongest and I personally wished that they could've shared more screen time together. Alas this wasn't to be and after the end credits rolled I felt incredibly unaffected what I'd seen in the last two hours. It's very rare that a film leaves me so emotionless but, save Winslet's above average performance, there wasn't a lot to care about in the film. That's why I'm so surprised that it was nominated for Best Picture and I feel that Winslet's win came due to the fact that she was due a win. It's a shame that The Reader is the film that Winslet won her Oscar for as she's been so much stronger elsewhere and, due to the fact that the superior Revolutionary Road was released around the same time, Daldry's movie wasn't even the actress' best that year.
Next time we see the revival of a genre that has laid dormant since the early 1980s.
Friday, 20 March 2015
Sunday, 15 March 2015
Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 398: What's the Story?
After watching three fairly epic Scorsese films in a row I was ready for a little bit of a break and thankfully there was a little bit more refinement waiting for me in my next selection of Joe Wright's Atonement. However, though it initially looks sedate, Atonement deals with some rather shocking themes and ends with a rather heartbreaking admission.
The majority of Atonement is devoted to the story, and the storytelling ability, of Briony Tallis who we first meet as a thirteen-year-old in the summer of 1935. Almost the entire first half of Atonement takes place over the course of a single day as Briony's lies have far-reaching consequences. What I found clever about Atonement was the way we see events from Briony's point-of-view and then we flashback to see how they came about. So for example we spy her sister Cecilia emerging from a fountain in front of the dashing Robbie before finding out why. It's Robbie's feelings for Cecilia that land him in trouble when Briony finds an explicit letter from him meant for her sister. As revenge she tells the police that she saw Robbie force himself on her cousin Lola. This accusation, combined with Robbie's letter, means that he's sent to prison where he stays for four years. The action then flashes forward where Robbie is now a soldier in World War II after agreeing to join the army as a way out of prison. The majority of Robbie and Cecilia's interaction in the film's second half comes via letters which are read in some incredibly well-edited set pieces. Elsewhere, the now eighteen-year-old Briony has realised just what she's done and is attempting to make amends with both Robbie and Cecilia. After an excellent reconstruction of the war-torn scenes on the sea at Dunkirk; we see what we believe happened to the film's tragic couple. However the epilogue, featuring a much older incarnation of Briony, reveals what truly happened to her sister and Robbie. It ends with the news that the modern day Briony has finally written her own book; Atonement, based on the events of the film.
Christopher Hampton's adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel puts Atonement's focus fully on storytelling and he and Wright definitely demonstrate this throughout the course of the film. I personally loved seeing the narrative from different angles and also the way in which Seamus McGarvey framed Robbie's letter writing so we could see the rude word that his correspondence contained. The film plays with narrative conventions and, when I first saw the film back in 2007, I was shocked by the older Briony's final confession. Watching it now, I have to say that I enjoyed the first half of the film much more than the second. The lust-filled summer night was to me a much more engaging proposition than another film set during World War II. However, I feel that it's the war portion of Atonement which piqued the interest of the Academy. To his credit McGarvey's five-minute sweeping shot of the Dunkirk beaches were superbly handled. I personally also enjoyed Dario Marianelli's Oscar-winning score which enhanced the drama perfectly and was at its best when it included the ominous typing of Briony's typewriter. Of the cast only young Saoirse Ronan was Oscar-nominated for her role as the youngest incarnation of Briony. To her credit the then unknown Ronan was utterly engaging as a young girl who'd just seen her first love in a compromising position with her sister. Ronan definitely gave the strongest portrayal of Briony which is surprising seeing as the oldest version of the character was played by Vanessa Redgrave. Meanwhile Keira Knightely and James McAvoy shared a heated chemistry as Cecilia and Robbie, a fact that made their romance all the more believable. Although not on the level of some of the epic films I've watched recently, Atonement is definitely a well-produced grown-up drama. Whilst I personally enjoyed its first half a lot more, there's no denying that Joe Wright's film more than deserved its place among that year's five Best Picture nominees.
Next time we focus on a much-nominated actress who finally got her hands on an Oscar during the noughties.
The majority of Atonement is devoted to the story, and the storytelling ability, of Briony Tallis who we first meet as a thirteen-year-old in the summer of 1935. Almost the entire first half of Atonement takes place over the course of a single day as Briony's lies have far-reaching consequences. What I found clever about Atonement was the way we see events from Briony's point-of-view and then we flashback to see how they came about. So for example we spy her sister Cecilia emerging from a fountain in front of the dashing Robbie before finding out why. It's Robbie's feelings for Cecilia that land him in trouble when Briony finds an explicit letter from him meant for her sister. As revenge she tells the police that she saw Robbie force himself on her cousin Lola. This accusation, combined with Robbie's letter, means that he's sent to prison where he stays for four years. The action then flashes forward where Robbie is now a soldier in World War II after agreeing to join the army as a way out of prison. The majority of Robbie and Cecilia's interaction in the film's second half comes via letters which are read in some incredibly well-edited set pieces. Elsewhere, the now eighteen-year-old Briony has realised just what she's done and is attempting to make amends with both Robbie and Cecilia. After an excellent reconstruction of the war-torn scenes on the sea at Dunkirk; we see what we believe happened to the film's tragic couple. However the epilogue, featuring a much older incarnation of Briony, reveals what truly happened to her sister and Robbie. It ends with the news that the modern day Briony has finally written her own book; Atonement, based on the events of the film.
Christopher Hampton's adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel puts Atonement's focus fully on storytelling and he and Wright definitely demonstrate this throughout the course of the film. I personally loved seeing the narrative from different angles and also the way in which Seamus McGarvey framed Robbie's letter writing so we could see the rude word that his correspondence contained. The film plays with narrative conventions and, when I first saw the film back in 2007, I was shocked by the older Briony's final confession. Watching it now, I have to say that I enjoyed the first half of the film much more than the second. The lust-filled summer night was to me a much more engaging proposition than another film set during World War II. However, I feel that it's the war portion of Atonement which piqued the interest of the Academy. To his credit McGarvey's five-minute sweeping shot of the Dunkirk beaches were superbly handled. I personally also enjoyed Dario Marianelli's Oscar-winning score which enhanced the drama perfectly and was at its best when it included the ominous typing of Briony's typewriter. Of the cast only young Saoirse Ronan was Oscar-nominated for her role as the youngest incarnation of Briony. To her credit the then unknown Ronan was utterly engaging as a young girl who'd just seen her first love in a compromising position with her sister. Ronan definitely gave the strongest portrayal of Briony which is surprising seeing as the oldest version of the character was played by Vanessa Redgrave. Meanwhile Keira Knightely and James McAvoy shared a heated chemistry as Cecilia and Robbie, a fact that made their romance all the more believable. Although not on the level of some of the epic films I've watched recently, Atonement is definitely a well-produced grown-up drama. Whilst I personally enjoyed its first half a lot more, there's no denying that Joe Wright's film more than deserved its place among that year's five Best Picture nominees.
Next time we focus on a much-nominated actress who finally got her hands on an Oscar during the noughties.
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.
Thursday, 5 March 2015
Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 394: Horsing About
The one thing about a lot of these Oscar films is that they are often tailored towards a purely adult audience. Even the fantasy-strewn Lord of the Rings was given a 12 Certificate due its strong level of violence as well as the fact that Gollum was probably quite scary for young children. However, after twenty-five films filled with bad language, nudity and violence I was ready to settle down for something a little more sedate. Thankfully that was provided for me in the form of Seabiscuit; a charming PG-rated film about the little racehorse that could. In fact the closest that Seabisucit got to violence was during the races themselves when the jockeys tried to push each other off of their respective horses.
Despite being the title character, Seabiscuit doesn't feature in the first part of the film which instead focuses on us getting to know the other members of the team. The stories of both Seabiscuit's eventual jockey Red Pollard and owner Charles S Howard are fairly sombre in tone and anchor the film's first third. Although born to a wealthy family, Red soon found himself out on the streets following the Wall Street Crash. Taken in as a stable boy, Red later began racing himself however was subsequently blinded in one eye following an illegal boxing match. Meanwhile Charles made his money in the motor industry but went on a downward spiral after his son died in a car accident. Both men were rehabilitated when they came into contact with the rambunctious Seabiscuit who was initially thought as being too wild to tame. The horse is originally brought to Howard by the wily Tom Smith; an outcast horse trainer who eventually forms a surrogate family with Red and Charles. From there the film resembles more of a classic sports movie with Seabiscuit gaining popularity due to Red's fine relationship with his new horse. Howard eventually targets wealthy tycoon Samuel Riddle and challenges him to a race against his famous horse War Stallion. Meanwhile tragedy befalls Red as he learns he may not be able to ride again following a tragic fall. However, as is often the case with these sorts of films, everybody finds a redemption of sorts and the last line of Gary Ross' film is so sickly sweet that it did make me throw up in my mouth a little bit.
As well as being the little horse that could, Seabiscuit was the little film that could; securing a surprise place in that year's Best Picture category. At the time many were suspecting the spot that Seabiscuit ultimately got to go to Anthony Mingella's epic civil war drama Cold Mountain. That film certainly feels like much more of an Oscar-film than this cute but slightly unremarkable family drama. What I liked about Seabiscuit were the way the race sequences were shot and John Schwartzman's cinematography made me experience what being part of those races would've been like. There were also a trio of incredibly likeable turns from Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges and Chris Cooper all of whom brought out the complexities in their characters. Maguire was perfectly cast as weedy jockey Red and allowed his naturally emotive face to relay the various heartbreaks that his character experienced across the years. Bridges brilliantly balanced Howard's effervescent personality with his personal tragedy to present a realistic persona. Meanwhile Cooper's turn as the rough and ready trainer added an extra dimension to the trio's makeshift family. Additionally enjoyable was William H Macy's few appearances as quirky racing journalist Tick Tock McLaughlin. The problem I had with Seabiscuit was in its storytelling as it started incredibly slow and took too long for the three main characters to meet. I also felt the tale started to meander towards the movie's ending whilst some of the dialogue was rather trite. Overall I feel that Gary Ross' film will appeal to families looking for a fulfilling real-life tale and to it's credit it does deliver that. But nothing about Seabiscuit is particularly memorable and it definitely never felt like a film that deserved its spot in the Best Picture category.
After all these lovely horse-racing adventures we're back to reality with a triple bill of Martin Scorsese movies.
Despite being the title character, Seabiscuit doesn't feature in the first part of the film which instead focuses on us getting to know the other members of the team. The stories of both Seabiscuit's eventual jockey Red Pollard and owner Charles S Howard are fairly sombre in tone and anchor the film's first third. Although born to a wealthy family, Red soon found himself out on the streets following the Wall Street Crash. Taken in as a stable boy, Red later began racing himself however was subsequently blinded in one eye following an illegal boxing match. Meanwhile Charles made his money in the motor industry but went on a downward spiral after his son died in a car accident. Both men were rehabilitated when they came into contact with the rambunctious Seabiscuit who was initially thought as being too wild to tame. The horse is originally brought to Howard by the wily Tom Smith; an outcast horse trainer who eventually forms a surrogate family with Red and Charles. From there the film resembles more of a classic sports movie with Seabiscuit gaining popularity due to Red's fine relationship with his new horse. Howard eventually targets wealthy tycoon Samuel Riddle and challenges him to a race against his famous horse War Stallion. Meanwhile tragedy befalls Red as he learns he may not be able to ride again following a tragic fall. However, as is often the case with these sorts of films, everybody finds a redemption of sorts and the last line of Gary Ross' film is so sickly sweet that it did make me throw up in my mouth a little bit.
As well as being the little horse that could, Seabiscuit was the little film that could; securing a surprise place in that year's Best Picture category. At the time many were suspecting the spot that Seabiscuit ultimately got to go to Anthony Mingella's epic civil war drama Cold Mountain. That film certainly feels like much more of an Oscar-film than this cute but slightly unremarkable family drama. What I liked about Seabiscuit were the way the race sequences were shot and John Schwartzman's cinematography made me experience what being part of those races would've been like. There were also a trio of incredibly likeable turns from Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges and Chris Cooper all of whom brought out the complexities in their characters. Maguire was perfectly cast as weedy jockey Red and allowed his naturally emotive face to relay the various heartbreaks that his character experienced across the years. Bridges brilliantly balanced Howard's effervescent personality with his personal tragedy to present a realistic persona. Meanwhile Cooper's turn as the rough and ready trainer added an extra dimension to the trio's makeshift family. Additionally enjoyable was William H Macy's few appearances as quirky racing journalist Tick Tock McLaughlin. The problem I had with Seabiscuit was in its storytelling as it started incredibly slow and took too long for the three main characters to meet. I also felt the tale started to meander towards the movie's ending whilst some of the dialogue was rather trite. Overall I feel that Gary Ross' film will appeal to families looking for a fulfilling real-life tale and to it's credit it does deliver that. But nothing about Seabiscuit is particularly memorable and it definitely never felt like a film that deserved its spot in the Best Picture category.
After all these lovely horse-racing adventures we're back to reality with a triple bill of Martin Scorsese movies.
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.
Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 391: One Day in September
As we've seen over the course of this journey only a few directors have truly been able to thrive in multiple decades. One who we've followed almost throughout his career is Steven Spielberg who we first met when he helmed Jaws and most recently caught up with when he won his two Best Director Oscars. Both of his 1990s Oscar favourites; Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan, looked at the Second World War from two interesting perspectives. Spielberg's latest Oscar-nominated film on this list looks at another memorable event; the massacre at the Munich Olympics, and the resulting retaliation operation against the Palestine Liberation Organisation.
The opening scene depicts, in quite graphic detail, the Munich massacre itself and the ensuing media storm that ensued. We then meet our lead protagonist; Mossad agent Avner Kauffman; who is tasked with heading up a band of mercenaries to track down those responsible for the attacks. Spielberg's film then takes up an episodic approach as the gang travel around the globe attempting to assassinate the members of the PLO one-by-one. One of the best things about Tony Kushner and Eric Roth's script is the fact that these men are rather unlikely assassins. Therefore the conversations between hits ring true as the group ponder the moral consequences of their actions and whether they're ultimately doing any good. Avner's contact, shadowy Frenchman Louis; is another intriguing character as he appears to be helping out the group purely for monetary gain. It's then up to the audience whether or not he's playing a game and helping out both sides in return for more money. Where Munich fell down for me slightly was in its pacing and I felt that, at two and half hours the film was far too long. This is especially true of the final half hour, where Avner is looking back at the mission and wondering whether any of the men he killed were actually part of the massacre in the first place. Although there is a neat sequence in which Avner's memories play out while he's making love to his wife; his post-traumatic stress disorder is played out for far too long.
One thing that you can always count on in terms of a Spielberg movie are several explosive moments and in terms of Munich the explosions are quite literal. One of Munich's strengths are its well-punctuated scenes in which bombs are set off in houses and hotels to rather shocking effect. One of these set pieces that stays in the mind is the assassination of Mahmoud Hamshari which is briefly halted when the group learn that his daughter in this house. Similarly memorable is the explosion in a hotel in which Avner himself is caught up with. However, not all of the set pieces hit the mark and in particular I felt uncomfortable after Avner and driver Steve slaughter a Dutch female agent who has killed one of their own. Of the cast, I felt that Eric Bana was perfect as the Israeli every man, dedicating his cause to a wife and new born child that he may never see again. A pre-James Bond Daniel Craig was also perfectly used as rough and ready South African Steve whilst Geoffrey Rush was brilliant in his brief role as Avner's handler Ephraim. I also really liked Mathieu Amalric as the shadowy amoral Louis. At the same time I don't think any of the cast members really gave stand out performances and that's perhaps why none of them were nominated for acting Oscars. Ultimately I feel that, even though its only ten years old, Munich is already one of Spielberg's forgotten films and I can sort of see why. At times powerful, at others frankly dull, Munich has its moments but is overall fairly inconsistent.
Next time, two films that peer beyond the picket fence and look at the seedy side of suburban America.
The opening scene depicts, in quite graphic detail, the Munich massacre itself and the ensuing media storm that ensued. We then meet our lead protagonist; Mossad agent Avner Kauffman; who is tasked with heading up a band of mercenaries to track down those responsible for the attacks. Spielberg's film then takes up an episodic approach as the gang travel around the globe attempting to assassinate the members of the PLO one-by-one. One of the best things about Tony Kushner and Eric Roth's script is the fact that these men are rather unlikely assassins. Therefore the conversations between hits ring true as the group ponder the moral consequences of their actions and whether they're ultimately doing any good. Avner's contact, shadowy Frenchman Louis; is another intriguing character as he appears to be helping out the group purely for monetary gain. It's then up to the audience whether or not he's playing a game and helping out both sides in return for more money. Where Munich fell down for me slightly was in its pacing and I felt that, at two and half hours the film was far too long. This is especially true of the final half hour, where Avner is looking back at the mission and wondering whether any of the men he killed were actually part of the massacre in the first place. Although there is a neat sequence in which Avner's memories play out while he's making love to his wife; his post-traumatic stress disorder is played out for far too long.
One thing that you can always count on in terms of a Spielberg movie are several explosive moments and in terms of Munich the explosions are quite literal. One of Munich's strengths are its well-punctuated scenes in which bombs are set off in houses and hotels to rather shocking effect. One of these set pieces that stays in the mind is the assassination of Mahmoud Hamshari which is briefly halted when the group learn that his daughter in this house. Similarly memorable is the explosion in a hotel in which Avner himself is caught up with. However, not all of the set pieces hit the mark and in particular I felt uncomfortable after Avner and driver Steve slaughter a Dutch female agent who has killed one of their own. Of the cast, I felt that Eric Bana was perfect as the Israeli every man, dedicating his cause to a wife and new born child that he may never see again. A pre-James Bond Daniel Craig was also perfectly used as rough and ready South African Steve whilst Geoffrey Rush was brilliant in his brief role as Avner's handler Ephraim. I also really liked Mathieu Amalric as the shadowy amoral Louis. At the same time I don't think any of the cast members really gave stand out performances and that's perhaps why none of them were nominated for acting Oscars. Ultimately I feel that, even though its only ten years old, Munich is already one of Spielberg's forgotten films and I can sort of see why. At times powerful, at others frankly dull, Munich has its moments but is overall fairly inconsistent.
Next time, two films that peer beyond the picket fence and look at the seedy side of suburban America.
Monday, 2 March 2015
Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Days 389-390: A Double Soderbergh
It's very rare that a director gets two films entered into the Best Picture category in the same year, although we've seen it several times throughout the challenge. However, it's even rarer when that person competes against themselves in the Best Director category. This event did occur at the 2001 ceremony when Steven Soderbergh was nominated for directing Best Picture nominees Erin Brockovich and Traffic. Not only did he go on to win the award for directing, his films brought in five Oscars between the two of them.
Erin Brockovich only got one of these five wins however it was in a pretty prestigious category, that of Best Actress. The recipient of this award was Julia Roberts who, after years of being viewed primarily as a multi-million dollar movie star, redeemed herself in the eyes of the audience by playing the brassy single mother of the title. Erin Brockovich resembles several other movies that have won their leading actress the top prize, most notably Norma Rae. Just like Norma Rae, Erin Brockovich was a character who fought for what she believed in even if she was a small fish in a big pond. Initially barging her way into a job at a legal firm at which she had previously been a client, Erin soon takes interest in a family whose have had an offer made on their house by Pacific Gas and Electric. As Erin begins to investigate the case further, she learns that the company had been using chromium in the water in a plant just outside Hinkley, California. As a result, the surrounding residents had gradually begun to develop various illnesses, with a few suffering from cancer. Whilst Erin takes on this crusade her neighbour, and later lover, George takes on the kids but finds it hard playing mum. Eventually, Erin and lawyer Ed gain the attention of PG&E and the two sides fight to get their cases heard in court. Although Erin Brockovich is definitely a legal drama of sorts it's one that focuses on the effects the outcome of the case will have on the characters rather than the courtroom battles themselves.
Despite the themes of underdogs taking on the big corporations being a rather cliched topic; Erin Brockovich feels fresh for the most part even if it does give in to stereotypes from time to time. The one stereotype that I wasn't a fan of was the way that writer Susannah Grant demonstrated Erin's coarse nature by having her swear every five minutes. The promiscuous clothing that Roberts wore was similarly tactless although her ample cleavage did provide one of the film's most memorable scenes. However I felt where the film was successful was in making these characters feel real and how Grant was able to set up the story rather nimbly. Before the first half hour was out I felt I knew Ed, Erin and George all really well and that's a testament to both Grant and Soderbergh. Additionally I felt that the cast succeeded in fleshing out their characters with Roberts giving some extra weight to the character of Erin. She was able to portray her character's steely nature and combine it with a fear of being left to raise three children with no money. As harassed small-town lawyer Ed, I found Albert Finney to be equally strong and played the perfect foil to Roberts' Erin. Meanwhile I found Aaron Eckhart to make the most of his role as sensitive biker George who found playing second fiddle to Erin's law work just a bit too much to handle. After an intriguing first half as we, along with Erin, learn about the problems in Hinkley, the second half drags a little as we sit through one interview after another. The final scenes, where Erin reveals how much money the people of Hinkley are going to receive, is a little underwhelming but thankfully so much has been done to make us care about the characters that this is simply a minor quibble. Ultimately Erin Brockovich is a character drama first and foremost and thanks to the Oscar-winning Roberts, Soderbergh and Grant it succeeds at presenting a sympathetic protagonist who we root for throughout.
I've always found Soderbergh to be a rather eclectic director as two of his films are rarely the same unless of course they're sequels. So, in the same year that he made the rather mainstream underdog drama Erin Brockovich, he also directed the multi-layered drug epic Traffic. Based on the 1980s Channel 4 miniseries of the same name; Traffic saw Soderbergh tackle the war on drugs by telling three interconnected stories. The first and most powerful story followed police officer Javier Rodriguez, a mild-mannered enforcer who was hoping to clear up the drug problem in Tijuana. However, Rodriguez's recruitment by the seemingly good-natured General Salazar later proved to be an almost fatal mistake as he found himself caught between two rival gangs. Meanwhile, in America, Judge Robert Wakefield is tasked with heading up the president's Office of National Drug Policy. Inspired by Salazar's phony efforts to clean up Mexico, Wakefield hopes to employ similar methods in the USA. However, Wakefield's problems are closer to home when it appears that his straight A-student daughter Caroline is becoming more and more dependent on drugs. Caroline's problems get so bad that eventually Robert decides that he can't fight a war against his own family. The weakest story for me saw the arrest and trial of Carlos Ayala, a drug lord working for the cartel that Salazar was trying to bring down in America. The problem with this story was that it was told from the eyes of Carlos' trophy wife Helena, who struggled to cope after her husband's arrest. This story was also the one that ran out of steam quickest and proved that not everybody could be brought to justice.
Traffic won four awards at the 2001 ceremony including Best Director for Steven Soderbergh, Best Screenplay for Stephen Gagan and Best Editing. Additionally, the wonderful Benicio Del Toro won Best Supporting Actor for his powerful portrayal of Javier Rodriguez; whose story arc is possibly Traffic's most compelling. Del Toro's gritty performance felt realistic in tone and his final facial expression when he saw the local kids playing baseball provided the perfect end to the story. I also enjoyed the performance Michael Douglas gave as the increasingly desperate Wakefield, a man who was forced to juggle working for the President with looking for his drug-addled daughter. Although I found Douglas' performance to be gripping, I found this story a little hard to take a times. I found Gagan struggled to write believable dialogue for Caroline her boyfriend Josh; whose conversations didn't feel like they were coming from the mouths of teenagers. In addition I felt that Caroline went from casual drug user to thieving prostitute rather quickly and I had to suspend my disbelief quite substantially in order to get on board with her downfall. Meanwhile, I felt that Catherine Zeta Jones was miscast as Helena and the scene in which she tried to do a drug deal was just laughable. However there were more hits than misses in a film which is a real testament to Soderbergh as he ties all three stories together perfectly. I personally loved the way in which all three stories are shot differently with a colour representing different areas. So for example the Mexico scenes were given a grainy feel, the Wakefield plot was given a blueish tinge and Carlos and Helena's world was richly produced. Although I could've done without some of the scenes involving Zeta-Jones' Helena, Traffic was definitely a film that grew on me thanks to Soderbergh's deft directorial flair. Whilst I do believe he's made better films, Traffic is definitely his most ambitious and therefore its right that it's the one he received his Oscar for.
Erin Brockovich only got one of these five wins however it was in a pretty prestigious category, that of Best Actress. The recipient of this award was Julia Roberts who, after years of being viewed primarily as a multi-million dollar movie star, redeemed herself in the eyes of the audience by playing the brassy single mother of the title. Erin Brockovich resembles several other movies that have won their leading actress the top prize, most notably Norma Rae. Just like Norma Rae, Erin Brockovich was a character who fought for what she believed in even if she was a small fish in a big pond. Initially barging her way into a job at a legal firm at which she had previously been a client, Erin soon takes interest in a family whose have had an offer made on their house by Pacific Gas and Electric. As Erin begins to investigate the case further, she learns that the company had been using chromium in the water in a plant just outside Hinkley, California. As a result, the surrounding residents had gradually begun to develop various illnesses, with a few suffering from cancer. Whilst Erin takes on this crusade her neighbour, and later lover, George takes on the kids but finds it hard playing mum. Eventually, Erin and lawyer Ed gain the attention of PG&E and the two sides fight to get their cases heard in court. Although Erin Brockovich is definitely a legal drama of sorts it's one that focuses on the effects the outcome of the case will have on the characters rather than the courtroom battles themselves.
Despite the themes of underdogs taking on the big corporations being a rather cliched topic; Erin Brockovich feels fresh for the most part even if it does give in to stereotypes from time to time. The one stereotype that I wasn't a fan of was the way that writer Susannah Grant demonstrated Erin's coarse nature by having her swear every five minutes. The promiscuous clothing that Roberts wore was similarly tactless although her ample cleavage did provide one of the film's most memorable scenes. However I felt where the film was successful was in making these characters feel real and how Grant was able to set up the story rather nimbly. Before the first half hour was out I felt I knew Ed, Erin and George all really well and that's a testament to both Grant and Soderbergh. Additionally I felt that the cast succeeded in fleshing out their characters with Roberts giving some extra weight to the character of Erin. She was able to portray her character's steely nature and combine it with a fear of being left to raise three children with no money. As harassed small-town lawyer Ed, I found Albert Finney to be equally strong and played the perfect foil to Roberts' Erin. Meanwhile I found Aaron Eckhart to make the most of his role as sensitive biker George who found playing second fiddle to Erin's law work just a bit too much to handle. After an intriguing first half as we, along with Erin, learn about the problems in Hinkley, the second half drags a little as we sit through one interview after another. The final scenes, where Erin reveals how much money the people of Hinkley are going to receive, is a little underwhelming but thankfully so much has been done to make us care about the characters that this is simply a minor quibble. Ultimately Erin Brockovich is a character drama first and foremost and thanks to the Oscar-winning Roberts, Soderbergh and Grant it succeeds at presenting a sympathetic protagonist who we root for throughout.
I've always found Soderbergh to be a rather eclectic director as two of his films are rarely the same unless of course they're sequels. So, in the same year that he made the rather mainstream underdog drama Erin Brockovich, he also directed the multi-layered drug epic Traffic. Based on the 1980s Channel 4 miniseries of the same name; Traffic saw Soderbergh tackle the war on drugs by telling three interconnected stories. The first and most powerful story followed police officer Javier Rodriguez, a mild-mannered enforcer who was hoping to clear up the drug problem in Tijuana. However, Rodriguez's recruitment by the seemingly good-natured General Salazar later proved to be an almost fatal mistake as he found himself caught between two rival gangs. Meanwhile, in America, Judge Robert Wakefield is tasked with heading up the president's Office of National Drug Policy. Inspired by Salazar's phony efforts to clean up Mexico, Wakefield hopes to employ similar methods in the USA. However, Wakefield's problems are closer to home when it appears that his straight A-student daughter Caroline is becoming more and more dependent on drugs. Caroline's problems get so bad that eventually Robert decides that he can't fight a war against his own family. The weakest story for me saw the arrest and trial of Carlos Ayala, a drug lord working for the cartel that Salazar was trying to bring down in America. The problem with this story was that it was told from the eyes of Carlos' trophy wife Helena, who struggled to cope after her husband's arrest. This story was also the one that ran out of steam quickest and proved that not everybody could be brought to justice.
Traffic won four awards at the 2001 ceremony including Best Director for Steven Soderbergh, Best Screenplay for Stephen Gagan and Best Editing. Additionally, the wonderful Benicio Del Toro won Best Supporting Actor for his powerful portrayal of Javier Rodriguez; whose story arc is possibly Traffic's most compelling. Del Toro's gritty performance felt realistic in tone and his final facial expression when he saw the local kids playing baseball provided the perfect end to the story. I also enjoyed the performance Michael Douglas gave as the increasingly desperate Wakefield, a man who was forced to juggle working for the President with looking for his drug-addled daughter. Although I found Douglas' performance to be gripping, I found this story a little hard to take a times. I found Gagan struggled to write believable dialogue for Caroline her boyfriend Josh; whose conversations didn't feel like they were coming from the mouths of teenagers. In addition I felt that Caroline went from casual drug user to thieving prostitute rather quickly and I had to suspend my disbelief quite substantially in order to get on board with her downfall. Meanwhile, I felt that Catherine Zeta Jones was miscast as Helena and the scene in which she tried to do a drug deal was just laughable. However there were more hits than misses in a film which is a real testament to Soderbergh as he ties all three stories together perfectly. I personally loved the way in which all three stories are shot differently with a colour representing different areas. So for example the Mexico scenes were given a grainy feel, the Wakefield plot was given a blueish tinge and Carlos and Helena's world was richly produced. Although I could've done without some of the scenes involving Zeta-Jones' Helena, Traffic was definitely a film that grew on me thanks to Soderbergh's deft directorial flair. Whilst I do believe he's made better films, Traffic is definitely his most ambitious and therefore its right that it's the one he received his Oscar for.
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