The only good think about watching The Yearling was the fact that it was the last Best Picture Nominee of the 1940s that I was yet to watch. To that end the next post looks at my completion of both the 1950s and 1960s.
Thursday, 9 April 2015
Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Days 420-422: Days of Future Past Part Six
Welcome once again to our time-travelling trip through the decades as we attempt to fill in the gaps of the challenge.
First of all apologies for jumping around the timeline a bit but at the last minute I managed to get my hands on a copy of 1931 nominee Five Star Final. Although the film was released around the same time as Trader Horn, I found that the newspaper drama felt a lot more contemporary. Mervyn La Roy's film focuses on editor Joseph Randall who finds himself under pressure to increase the distribution of his tabloid. He's talked in to producing a series of articles focusing on the twentieth anniversary of a murder committed by the notorious Nancy Voorhies. Little does he know that Nancy is now happily married and has a daughter who herself is about to tie the knot. The revelation in the papers soon spoils the family's happiness and results in both Nancy and her husband Michael committing suicide. What I initially thought was going to be a drama in the same vain as previous early nominee The Front Page turned dark very quickly. The double suicide coupled with the general reaction to the event meant that Five Star Final was one of the earliest examples of a press satire. It was quite easy to deduce that Five Star Final's origins lay on the stage however LaRoy at least went out of his way to use the cinematic techniques available to him. Most notably he employed some clever editing during a sequence in which Nancy is desperately trying to get Randall to drop the story about her family. As Randall, I thought Edward G. Robinson was brilliant as he conveyed his character's guilt perfectly and his final speech was brilliantly delivered. Although The Front Page is definitely of its time I think it holds up a lot better than the three films in the previous post and I found it to be an incredibly easy watch. It's also no surprise to learn that the film was one of the two that made Robinson a star and I'm only surprised that he hadn't been a big name before Five Star Final was released.
We now move in the right direction for probably the last 1930s film I'll review for as part of this blog. The Citadel is an interesting film that almost feels like three episodes of a miniseries featuring Robert Donat's trainee Doctor Andrew Mason. The first part of the film looks at Mason's training in a small Welsh town in which he meets resistance from the senior doctor's wife but at the same time is able to help out several villagers. The second part of the movie looks at Mason's move to a Welsh mining village and his marriage to beloved schoolteacher Christine. Once again Andrew faces opposition, this time from the miners who don't want him to change the way they've been doing things for years. Andrew refuses to punch their unfit for work cards and wants to explore the troubling coughs that the miners develop. Eventually frustrated he leaves Wales for London but he struggles to find patients for his burgeoning clinic. The final third of the film looks at Mason's corruption at the hands of the Harley Street set and the fact that he makes a lot of money from doing very little. I personally found the general structure of The Citadel to be quite frustrating as, just as one plot starting to develop, director King Vidor changed the action to another location. The one memorable moment of the film comes halfway through when Mason helps rescue several people from a collapsed mine. However, the film then gets a little dreary as we see Andrew become more and more enchanted with the superficial London lifestyle. I have to say that the point The Citadel was making was quite an obvious one and I found the ending completely anticlimactic. In fact the only thing that saved it was the central turn from Robert Donat who certainly showed qualities that would later see him cast in his Oscar-winning role in Goodbye Mr. Chips. Aside from Donat though there was very little about The Citadel that was memorable and at the end of the day it feels like yet another also-ran nominee.
But describing our next film; The Yearling as an also-ran nominee would almost be giving it too much credit as its one of the most inconsequential pieces of cinema I think I've ever seen. Set in 1878, The Yearling follows the adventures of the Baxter family - former Civil War soldier Penny, his withdrawn wife Ora and their son Jody. Throughout the film Ora's emotional state is explained away by the fact that she'd lost all of her other children and only Jody remained. I have to say if I was in Ora's position I'd be a little annoyed to as Jody is especially annoying. Films like The Yearling only work if the cute child star isn't annoying and unfortunately in this movie that isn't the case. It's particularly annoying as the majority of the film deals with Jody's relationship with a young fawn named Flag who he tries to raise. But, when the time comes to set him free, Jody doesn't take it and instead experiences proper loss for the first time. Whilst I can see what director Clarence Brown was trying to achieve with The Yearling the results are incredibly mediocre. Aside from Claude Jarman Jr's cloying performance as Jody, the cast are uniformly forgettable. Most surprising was the fact that Jane Wyman, who was so superb in Johnny Belinda, made little impression in her role as Ora. To be fair to Wyman the role didn't require much of her apart from sitting sour-faced whilst performing some menial task. Though Gregory Peck tried his best to make us warm to Penny, I found him a little too squeaky clean and didn't think he came down hard enough on his son. Surprisingly The Yearling was nominated for seven Oscars including for the performances given by Peck and Wyman. The fact it won in the colour cinematography and art direction categories leads me to believe that its main appeal to the Academy was its bright colours. Indeed, when films were primarily still shot in black and white, I'd feel that The Yearling would definitely stand out in the crowd. But it's a film that hasn't aged well and at the end of the day I don't think it would've been nominated at all were it not for the fact that it had been filmed in colour.
The only good think about watching The Yearling was the fact that it was the last Best Picture Nominee of the 1940s that I was yet to watch. To that end the next post looks at my completion of both the 1950s and 1960s.
The only good think about watching The Yearling was the fact that it was the last Best Picture Nominee of the 1940s that I was yet to watch. To that end the next post looks at my completion of both the 1950s and 1960s.
Sunday, 5 April 2015
Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Days 417-419: Days of Future Past Part Five
After completing the first decade of the 21st century I find myself almost eighty years back in the past as I look at three more films that I've unearthed from the 1930s.
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We start with a film from the 1931 ceremony in the rather controversial Trader Horn. The film itself was ground-breaking as it was the first non-documentary film to be shot on location in Africa. Trader Horn certainly makes use of this fact by including plenty of facts about the country's various wildlife population. In fact at times these scenes, some of which were shot in Mexico, felt like they were straight out of a nature documentary as lead actor Harry Carey informed the audience of the beasts' various attributes. The story, which was very slight, saw Carey's titular ivory trader take his new apprentice down the Nile whilst avoiding hungry native tribes and the brainwashed missing daughter of a missionary. At times the film would just stop and start without a lot of explanation whilst a lot of the sound recording was patchy at best. Part of the reason for this would be that a lot of the sound was re-recorded in the States although this led to suspicion that the film hadn't actually been shot in Africa at all. Trader Horn is almost more interesting for its behind-the-scenes stories including the fact that two crew members died; one eaten by a crocodile whilst the other was gored by a charging rhino. Meanwhile lead actress Edwina Booth's career was effectively ended when she contracted a disease, possibly malaria, which she took the next six years to recover from. Although viewed by modern eyes Trader Horn is quite hokey, there's no denying that it's influential in the way it shot on location. If you take into consideration that film-making was still in its infancy then director W.S. Van Dyke needs applauding for the risks he took whilst making Trader Horn. Ultimately, even though it doesn't hold up today I believe that Trader Horn's historical significance at least justifies it a place amongst its fellow best picture nominees.
Moving forward three years we have Sidney Franklin's The Barretts of Wimpole Street which essentially tells the story of how Elizabeth Barrett married Robert Browning. The majority of the film felt like a play that had simply been put on the big screen primarily as it was almost all in set in one room. The room in question was the one in which Elizabeth had been recuperating following an illness that had left her incredibly weak. The illness was being used by her despicable father Edward to keep her with him for as long as possible as he felt all of his children were deserting him. Elizabeth's redemption came through her correspondence with Browning who later appeared at the house in person and eventually convinced her that she wasn't as ill as she believed. Everything about The Barretts of Wimpole Street is pure melodrama from Herbert Stothart's overly dramatic score to the performances given by the primary cast members. Norma Shearer definitely plays to her strengths as the damsel in distress who is both subdued and rescued by seemingly stronger men. Meanwhile Frederic March is every inch the dashing hero as Browning who isn't particularly convincing as one of literature's most famous figures. Meanwhile, as Edward, Charles Laughton hams it up big time as he delivers all of his evil lines with great aplomb. If there was an image that perfectly summed up the film then it would be one of the many times that Laughton appears out of nowhere to confront one of his troublesome daughters. His arrival is coupled with ominous music whilst Laughton himself lays on an expression that just screams out villain of the piece. I think the film best demonstrates the fact that ten nominees during the 1930s was just too many especially if movies like The Barretts of Wimpole Street rank among the year's best.
I would echo that sentiment when it comes to another Frederic March vehicle, Anthony Adverse. The film is based on Hervey Allen's epic novel and is directed by the dependable Mervyn La Roy. Anthony Adverse is essentially a nuts and bolts literary adaptation filled with overblown exterior shots and cloying heart-to-hearts between characters. The titular character initially grew up in an orphanage after his mother's despicable husband dropped him off after learning he was the product of an affair. As chance would have it, Anthony ends up working for and living with his grandfather who knows of his identity but never informs him of it. As Anthony grows up, and is eventually portrayed by March, he falls in love with Angela; the daughter of the housekeeper. Angela and Anthony eventually marry but are separated soon after as he goes to Cuba and then Africa where he attempts to recoup his family fortune by participating in the slave trade. If this doesn't sound far-fetched enough then the film climaxes with Anthony learning that opera singing Andrea is now Napoleon's mistress but not before giving birth to her husband's baby. There were only a couple of things I liked about Anthony Adverse the first being an enthralling carriage ride that climaxed in an unfortunate servant plummeting to his death. Additionally I felt that Claude Rains delivered the best performance of the bunch as the despicable Don Luis who attempts to bring down Anthony several times as revenge for his mother's infidelity. Unfortunately March and female lead Olivia De Havilland don't make much of an impression and the adapted screenplay makes the whole plot feel even more overblown than it is. Anthony Adverse's only lasting legacy is the fact that it made Oscar history by containing the winner of the first ever Best Supporting Actress Award. The performer in question was Gale Sondergaard who played Don Luis' partner in crime, devious ladies' maid Faith. Whilst Sondergaard did thrive in her handful of scenes, I don't think she did that much to warrant being awarded an Oscar. Thankfully the recipients of the prize only got better from here on in and I would say that Anthony Adverse was another nominee that didn't really deserve its place amongst the Best Picture contenders.
I will return soon with more films from the 1930s and 1940s.
I will return soon with more films from the 1930s and 1940s.
Tuesday, 31 March 2015
Matt's Big Oscar Challenge: Reviewing the Ceremonies 72-81 (2000-2009)
In terms of the film themselves I think the 21st century saw the academy take a diverse view of what sort of films should be included in their line-up. There did seem to be a shift away from costume drama and war movies in favour of big-budget fantasy fare or more subtle film-making. At the same time there were still a lot of people complaining that certain bigger films were being ignored by the Oscars, especially during the latter half of the decade. That's part of the reason that, as we shall shortly see, the Academy decided to widen the field again and honour up to ten films a year.
Ceremony 72 (2000)
Winner: American Beauty
Nominees: The Cider House Rules, The Green Mile, The Insider, The Sixth Sense
Did the Right Film Win? Maybe
There's no denying that American Beauty is an accomplished, well-written film filled with fine performances and therefore it's one of the better films to win Best Picture. At the same time, in my opinion, The Insider is the better film overall and ultimately deserved the win more.
Ceremony 73 (2001)
Winner: Gladiator
Nominees: Chocolat, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Erin Brockovich, Traffic
Did the Right Film Win? Yes
I think from an overall stand point Gladiator succeeded in combining stunning visuals, fine performances and a well-paced story. The only film that came close to equally Gladiator was Traffic I think that was a little much of a contemporary tale for the Academy to honour.
Ceremony 74 (2002)
Winner: A Beautiful Mind
Nominees: Gosford Park, In the Bedroom, The Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Moulin Rouge
Did the Right Film Win? No
This was one of those rare occasions where all four films were in some way better than A Beautiful Mind. My pick would be the emotionally gripping In the Bedroom or the incredibly unique Moulin Rouge but any of the four would've been better than the long-winded biographical affair that ultimately clinched the prize.
Ceremony 75 (2003)
Winner: Chicago
Nominees: Gangs of New York, The Hours, The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers, The Pianist
Did the Right Film Win? No
Don't get me wrong I like Chicago but there are at least two superior films in this list of nominees. Whilst overblown, Gangs of New York is at least a worthier candidate however I'd select The Pianist as a great historical film with real heart. I suspect the only reason that it didn't win on the night is that the Academy didn't want to bestow two awards on the infamous Roman Polanski.
Ceremony 76 (2004)
Winner: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Nominees: Lost in Translation, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Mystic River, Seabiscuit
Did the Right Film Win? Yes
I feel that Oscar had to honour the Lord of the Rings trilogy at some point and it was fitting that it was the franchise's final instalment that swept the board. That being said this ceremony featured a rather strong field with the possible exception of racehorse saga Seabiscuit.
Ceremony 77 (2005)
Winner: Million Dollar Baby
Nominees: The Aviator, Finding Neverland, Ray, Sideways
Did the Right Film Win? Maybe
This is one of those years were I'm completely undecided on what film should have won the prize. In my opinion Sideways is the best film of the five but at the same time it doesn't feel like an Oscar winner. Whilst Million Dollar Baby was a worthy winner it's last act was a little too mawkish for my liking and it's nearest competition, the opulent The Aviator may just have edged it out in terms of quality. But I have no problem with Million Dollar Baby being that year's Best Picture recipient as it still stacks up nicely against previous winners.
Ceremony 78 (2006)
Winner: Crash
Nominees: Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Good Night and Good Luck, Munich
Did the Right Film Win? No
While not, as some claim, the worst Best Picture winner ever it's true to say that Crash wasn't the most accomplished nominee that year. In a year that was packed full of serious 'issue-based' films I'm going to have to go with the majority and say that Brokeback Mountain was the film that stuck with me the most. However, I also believe that Good Night and Good Luck felt more like an Oscar winner than Crash and would've been happy if either that or Brokeback had clinched the title in 2006.
Ceremony 79 (2007)
Winner: The Departed
Nominees: Babel, Letters from Iwo Jima, Little Miss Sunshine, The Queen
Did the Right Film Win? Yes
Whilst there are no dud nominees this year I feel that Martin Scorsese's crime epic was the rightful winner from this group of five. It was also great to see him pick up his long-awaited Best Director Oscar after many prior nominations.
Ceremony 80 (2008)
Winner: No Country for Old Men
Nominees: Atonement, Juno, Michael Clayton, There Will Be Blood
Did the Right Film Win? Maybe
I really like No Country for Old Men but Oscar's eightieth ceremony had one of its best field of contenders ever. I personally think that There Will be Blood is the better film and feels more like a Best Picture winner than No Country but at the same time I do feel that the Coens did deserve their awards.
Ceremony 81 (2009)
Winner: Slumdog Millionaire
Nominees: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Milk, The Reader
Did the Right Film Win? Yes
It's fair to say that, after the strong field of nominees the year before this was a rather weak offering in comparison. Despite its faults, Slumdog's feelgood ending and superb visuals best any other of its rival with Milk being the next best film on the list.
Next time I have more filling in the gaps to do as I go back several decades in more Days of Future Past specials.
Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 416: Coen Country
Although they've only featured once on the blog up to now, when their big Oscar moment came Joel and Ethan Cohen had already been making critically acclaimed movies for twenty years. Whilst Fargo was their biggest hit on the awards scene they'd also made big noise with such hits as O Brother Where Art Thou, The Big Lebowski and Barton Fink. However, their biggest success would come at the 2008 ceremony where they would go on to win three awards for screenwriting, directing and producing that year's Best Picture winner.
The film was No Country for Old Men, which the Coens adapted from the book by Cormac McCarthy. The book's primary focus is on grizzled but kindly Texas sheriff Ed Tom Bell who isn't happy about the fact that his quaint town is used for big money drug deals. Although Bell's words start and the film the focus is instead on one of those aforementioned deals that went awry. Local welder Llewelyn Moss gets himself tangled up in the deal when he finds a bag of money and decides to keep it for himself. However, although he'd know that there'd be people after him, he didn't quite reckon on the ferocity of the film's antagonists. The antagonist in question is Anton Chigurh a fearsome, humourless man who uses a captive bolt pistol as his weapon of choice. Anton has been hired to recover the money and realising what Llewelyn has done tracks him across Texas in attempt to get the cash back. At times No Country for Old Men plays like a silent movie as there are five minute chunks of the film that have no dialogue at all. I feel that this makes the cat-and-mouse game between Llewelyn and Anton all the more interesting especially after both suffer serious injuries. However, even though I've watched the film a handful of times, the ending featuring Bell recounting his dreams to his wife doesn't sit quite right with me. After a shocking scene involving Anton and Llewelyn's wife, there's no denying that an old man relaying memories of his father is going to be at least a little anticlimactic.
I think it's this ending that made some people gravitate towards No Country as they praised it for its subtle tone and character development. Whilst the ending doesn't sit well with me, I agree that No Country for Old Men is a masterclass is subtle film-making. The Coen brothers make sure that the audience has to fully concentrate on the screen in order to immerse themselves in the world of Llewelyn and Anton. For what was their eighth collaboration at the time, The Coens enlisted brilliant cinematographer Roger Deakins to capture the Texas exteriors. Deakins' style for the piece gives it the tone of a classic western, which is certainly odd for a film set in 1980. That being said there's more than a touch of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly when you think about the characters of Bell, Anton and Llewelyn. Tommy Lee Jones is perfectly cast as the laconic Sheriff Bell and he particularly comes to life every time he has to deliver one of his character's monologues. Josh Brolin brings an intensity to the role of out-of-his-depth everyman Llewelyn Moss. Despite his character being quite selfish at times, Brolin is still a brooding screen presence and therefore makes the audience care about Llewelyn's fate. Woody Harrelson livens thinks up briefly as an associate of Anton's who tries to cut a bargain with the hapless Llewelyn. However, the film does belong to Javier Bardem who makes Anton the most memorable element of the film. From the opening scene in which he chokes a cop to death with his handcuffs to how he deals with Llewelyn's wife, Bardem completely owns the screen. Bardem's performance as the intense hitman won him the Best Supporting Actor award that year and I can't say that it wasn't deserved. While this wasn't the Coen Brothers' best film it was certainly an excellent achievement as they combined the old west with a more contemporary thriller element. I think it's also good to see a Best Picture winner that presents its story in a subtle way and doesn't have to rely on special effects or big budget sets to woo the Academy.
And with that we're done with the noughties, next time I review the ten Oscar ceremonies that comprised the decade.
Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Days 413-415: A Few Days in Asia
As we're nearing the end of another decade's worth of films I thought it was time for a quick holiday so I decided for a three-movie long tour of Asia. Two of the films in this triple bill are historical pieces, shot in the country's native tongue and featuring subtitles for Western viewers such as myself. The third film, for the most part, is in the English Language although the scenes in other languages aren't subtitled, but then again that's kind of the point.
We start in China in the year 1779 for some high-flying martial arts courtesy of Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The film tells the story of the sword 'The Green Destiny' and the way it unites all four of the movie's central characters. The sword initially belongs to retired warrior Li Mu Bai who gives it to his friend and fellow warrior Yu Shu Lien so that she may deliver it as a gift to their mutual acquaintance Sir Te. One of the threads running throughout Crouching Tiger is the unrequited romance between Mu Bai and Shu Lien, which is a classic cinematic love that will never speak its name. Just as Shu Lien is about to present the sword to Sir Te; it is stolen by a female warrior believed to be the elusive Jade Fox. Years before, Fox murdered Mu Bai's master and he's now out for revenge however it later transpires that his nemesis has a pupil in the form of noblewoman Jen. Jen is initially presented as the courteous daughter from a respected family but its later revealed that Fox was training her up to be another deadly warrior. Jen's other story involves desert warrior Lo, a man who she originally met after he stole her fan. The flashbacks, in which Jen and Lo's romance is detailed, signalled the moment where the film ground to a halt for me. I did feel that Lee and the three screenwriters took too long with this particular part of the story and to an extent the narrative never recovered. Thankfully Crouching Tiger's final act was full of action and emotion as the stage was set for Jen's wedding and the final showdown between Mu Bai and Jade Fox.
I remember watching Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon on VHS soon after it was released and at the time I think I rather enjoyed it. However, this time round, I did feel the film was a little patchy especially from a storytelling perspective. As I previously alluded to the pacing of the story varies throughout the film's two hour running time. Starting off at a brisk jog, things slow to a halt during the Jen/Lo flashbacks before kicking into full throttle towards the end. That being said there were several elements of the story I liked from the romance between Su Lien and Mu Bai; to Jen's attempts to get the upper hand on all the other characters. Indeed, one of the great things about Crouching Tiger is the fact that there are two strong central female characters who are well-rounded and can stand up for themselves even against the men. Whilst narratively the film may have a few issues, visually it's one of the most spectacular movies I've watched since I began. The martial arts scenes in particular are stunning especially those involving the high-flying Jen. Jen and Su Lien's final battle is especially breathtaking and I think that Lee is brilliant at capturing these battles on screen. I'm not surprised that cinematographer Peter Pau won an award for his brilliant camera work on the film whilst further honours went to Crouching Tiger's soaring score and its fantastic period art direction. Even though it didn't win the big prize, Lee's film did pick up the award for Foreign Language Feature, an honour that I'm sure it deserved. Although it did have its problems, I enjoyed the fact that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was even nominated for the Best Picture prize in the first place. Overall it was a stunningly gorgeous film to watch and one that I'm glad is soon to get a long-awaited sequel.
Moving across the continent and through time we find ourselves in modern day Japan for a film that follows two Americans who are stuck in Tokyo. The film is Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation which focuses on a young photographer's wife and a washed-up actor who find themselves flummoxed by Japanese culture in general. It helps that actor Bob Harris, who is in Tokyo to film a whisky commercial, is played by the brilliant Bill Murray. Murray perfectly encapsulates a middle-aged man abroad especially when he tries to negotiate his way around a power shower or a piece of gym equipment. But Bob is also lost in a different way and that's what makes him navigate to Charlotte; a recent college graduate who is tagging along with her husband who has a work assignment in the city. Coppola builds up to Bob and Charlotte's first meeting by following their individual stories with the former shooting his ad whilst the latter wanders aimlessly around Tokyo's various landmarks. They eventually meet about half an hour into the film and then a very polite romance begins which includes a karaoke party and a trip to the hospital. Lost in Translation is very subtle in the way it deals with Bob and Charlotte's relationship as they are two disparate people who've found each other at the right time. One element I wasn't sure about was the conflict that Coppola creates between the pair when Bob has a one-night-stand with the hotel's cabaret singer. This moment is also only dwelt upon briefly before the iconic final scene in which our couple embrace in the centre of Tokyo and incoherently whisper in each other's ear.
I first went to see Lost in Translation at an early morning screening in January of 2004 and ever since then it's been one of my favourite films. As you can probably ascertain by now I love films that are based around characters rather than plot and that describes Lost in Translation in a nutshell. When I first watched it I identified with Charlotte, as I myself was about to graduate from university and was having one of those 'what does it all mean?' phases. Now I'm getting to the stage where I'm hoping I don't end up like Bob trapped in a marriage with a woman who is more concerned with carpet colours than she is the welfare of her husband. The film would be nothing without the performances from both Murray and Scarlett Johansson; the latter of whom was just eighteen when filming took place. I was utterly impressed how convincing Johansson was as a character who was five years older than her and she was able to carry off the extra life experience with no problem. Murray meanwhile balanced the slapstick he's been known for with a more measured, world-weary tone that he's employed in several films since. Murray and Johansson also share perfect chemistry as there's smiles and small looks at each other are the basis of what makes Bob and Charlotte's relationship work so well. Aside from Bob and Charlotte, the other big character in Lost in Translation is Tokyo itself which comes alive in several scenes in which the couple race across the city. Cinematographer Michael Accord brilliantly differentiates between the cold machine-like interior of the hotel with the exciting, bustling world outside. Sofia Coppola was nominated for both her direction and screenplay, rightfully scooping the latter award for her tender writing. However the biggest miscarriage of justice was that Bill Murray lost out on his deserved Best Actor award. Whilst the eventual winner Sean Penn did deliver a fine turn in Mystic River it wasn't nearly as good as Murray's subtle and humanistic portrayal of a man lost in himself and in a foreign country. Lost in Translation definitely hasn't lost any of its warmth or lightness of touch and I still love it as much as I did the first time I saw it over eleven years ago.
Staying in Japan now but moving back in time to the Second World War and a film that I've never seen before in Letters from Iwo Jima. This 2007 nominee also reunites us with Clint Eastwood although unusually for the director this is a film that has very few lines of dialogue that are in the English language. That's because Letters from Iwo Jima is in fact a companion piece to Eastwood's Flags of our Fathers; a film which tells the story of the battle of Iwo Jima from the point-of-view of the Americans. Whilst Flags of Our Fathers was meant to be the big event film it was Letters from Iwo Jima that actually garnered more acclaim and did slightly better at the Box Office. I feel the point of Letters from Iwo Jima is to tell the audience that there are two sides to every story and that those who fought on the Japanese side were equally as worthy of praise as the American soldiers. The film follows the fortunes of Private Saigo; a baker who is conscripted and leaves his heavily pregnant wife to fight on the island. Saigo often finds himself tortured by his superiors but on the day in which the U.S. Marines start to attack he is the only to keep a level-head. Evading being shot by those in charge several times, Saigo later earns the respect of General Kuribayashi and ultimately being the only one to survive the horrors of the battle. The most striking thing about Letters from Iwo Jima as a whole was the fact that many of the Japanese soldiers took their own lives when they thought that there was no way back. One of the scenes that will stick with me the most from Letters from Iwo Jima is the one in which the majority of Saigo's platoon blow themselves up with grenades. It's these moments that hit home the horrific conditions that the Japanese had to deal with and I do applaud Eastwood for trying to honour them in this way.
It did take me a while to truly lose myself in Letters from Iwo Jima and I felt the film only came alive in its latter scenes which was when the action really kicked off. The cast of the movie were all utterly believable in their roles with Kazunari Ninomiya being particularly effective as Saigo. The only familiar face amongst the cast, Ken Watanabe, was perfectly believable as the sensitive Kuribayashi; who at times was the only level-headed member of the military left on the island. Similarly to Flags of Our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima is shot in a faded manner which at times makes it look almost like documentary footage. Although I've not seen Flags of Our Fathers it was interesting to spot the scenes in which the two nations intersected and I'm assuming there are moments that appear in both films. I felt it was particularly brave of Eastwood to portray the Americans as the antagonists particularly in one heart-wrenching scene when a brutish soldier executes two Japanese soldiers who have surrendered. Letters from Iwo Jima was in fact a surprise entrant in the 2007 Best Picture field with many expecting the fifth nominee to be the musical Dreamgirls. However, I think it was good that the academy honoured a subtitled film which actually bucked the trend for war films by focusing on the foreign army. While I can't say I was a compelled by the film as I possibly should have been there are certain moments of it that will stick with me for years to come.
Next time we'll travel back to the States for the final film in the noughties section of the blog.
We start in China in the year 1779 for some high-flying martial arts courtesy of Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The film tells the story of the sword 'The Green Destiny' and the way it unites all four of the movie's central characters. The sword initially belongs to retired warrior Li Mu Bai who gives it to his friend and fellow warrior Yu Shu Lien so that she may deliver it as a gift to their mutual acquaintance Sir Te. One of the threads running throughout Crouching Tiger is the unrequited romance between Mu Bai and Shu Lien, which is a classic cinematic love that will never speak its name. Just as Shu Lien is about to present the sword to Sir Te; it is stolen by a female warrior believed to be the elusive Jade Fox. Years before, Fox murdered Mu Bai's master and he's now out for revenge however it later transpires that his nemesis has a pupil in the form of noblewoman Jen. Jen is initially presented as the courteous daughter from a respected family but its later revealed that Fox was training her up to be another deadly warrior. Jen's other story involves desert warrior Lo, a man who she originally met after he stole her fan. The flashbacks, in which Jen and Lo's romance is detailed, signalled the moment where the film ground to a halt for me. I did feel that Lee and the three screenwriters took too long with this particular part of the story and to an extent the narrative never recovered. Thankfully Crouching Tiger's final act was full of action and emotion as the stage was set for Jen's wedding and the final showdown between Mu Bai and Jade Fox.
I remember watching Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon on VHS soon after it was released and at the time I think I rather enjoyed it. However, this time round, I did feel the film was a little patchy especially from a storytelling perspective. As I previously alluded to the pacing of the story varies throughout the film's two hour running time. Starting off at a brisk jog, things slow to a halt during the Jen/Lo flashbacks before kicking into full throttle towards the end. That being said there were several elements of the story I liked from the romance between Su Lien and Mu Bai; to Jen's attempts to get the upper hand on all the other characters. Indeed, one of the great things about Crouching Tiger is the fact that there are two strong central female characters who are well-rounded and can stand up for themselves even against the men. Whilst narratively the film may have a few issues, visually it's one of the most spectacular movies I've watched since I began. The martial arts scenes in particular are stunning especially those involving the high-flying Jen. Jen and Su Lien's final battle is especially breathtaking and I think that Lee is brilliant at capturing these battles on screen. I'm not surprised that cinematographer Peter Pau won an award for his brilliant camera work on the film whilst further honours went to Crouching Tiger's soaring score and its fantastic period art direction. Even though it didn't win the big prize, Lee's film did pick up the award for Foreign Language Feature, an honour that I'm sure it deserved. Although it did have its problems, I enjoyed the fact that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was even nominated for the Best Picture prize in the first place. Overall it was a stunningly gorgeous film to watch and one that I'm glad is soon to get a long-awaited sequel.
Moving across the continent and through time we find ourselves in modern day Japan for a film that follows two Americans who are stuck in Tokyo. The film is Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation which focuses on a young photographer's wife and a washed-up actor who find themselves flummoxed by Japanese culture in general. It helps that actor Bob Harris, who is in Tokyo to film a whisky commercial, is played by the brilliant Bill Murray. Murray perfectly encapsulates a middle-aged man abroad especially when he tries to negotiate his way around a power shower or a piece of gym equipment. But Bob is also lost in a different way and that's what makes him navigate to Charlotte; a recent college graduate who is tagging along with her husband who has a work assignment in the city. Coppola builds up to Bob and Charlotte's first meeting by following their individual stories with the former shooting his ad whilst the latter wanders aimlessly around Tokyo's various landmarks. They eventually meet about half an hour into the film and then a very polite romance begins which includes a karaoke party and a trip to the hospital. Lost in Translation is very subtle in the way it deals with Bob and Charlotte's relationship as they are two disparate people who've found each other at the right time. One element I wasn't sure about was the conflict that Coppola creates between the pair when Bob has a one-night-stand with the hotel's cabaret singer. This moment is also only dwelt upon briefly before the iconic final scene in which our couple embrace in the centre of Tokyo and incoherently whisper in each other's ear.
I first went to see Lost in Translation at an early morning screening in January of 2004 and ever since then it's been one of my favourite films. As you can probably ascertain by now I love films that are based around characters rather than plot and that describes Lost in Translation in a nutshell. When I first watched it I identified with Charlotte, as I myself was about to graduate from university and was having one of those 'what does it all mean?' phases. Now I'm getting to the stage where I'm hoping I don't end up like Bob trapped in a marriage with a woman who is more concerned with carpet colours than she is the welfare of her husband. The film would be nothing without the performances from both Murray and Scarlett Johansson; the latter of whom was just eighteen when filming took place. I was utterly impressed how convincing Johansson was as a character who was five years older than her and she was able to carry off the extra life experience with no problem. Murray meanwhile balanced the slapstick he's been known for with a more measured, world-weary tone that he's employed in several films since. Murray and Johansson also share perfect chemistry as there's smiles and small looks at each other are the basis of what makes Bob and Charlotte's relationship work so well. Aside from Bob and Charlotte, the other big character in Lost in Translation is Tokyo itself which comes alive in several scenes in which the couple race across the city. Cinematographer Michael Accord brilliantly differentiates between the cold machine-like interior of the hotel with the exciting, bustling world outside. Sofia Coppola was nominated for both her direction and screenplay, rightfully scooping the latter award for her tender writing. However the biggest miscarriage of justice was that Bill Murray lost out on his deserved Best Actor award. Whilst the eventual winner Sean Penn did deliver a fine turn in Mystic River it wasn't nearly as good as Murray's subtle and humanistic portrayal of a man lost in himself and in a foreign country. Lost in Translation definitely hasn't lost any of its warmth or lightness of touch and I still love it as much as I did the first time I saw it over eleven years ago.
Staying in Japan now but moving back in time to the Second World War and a film that I've never seen before in Letters from Iwo Jima. This 2007 nominee also reunites us with Clint Eastwood although unusually for the director this is a film that has very few lines of dialogue that are in the English language. That's because Letters from Iwo Jima is in fact a companion piece to Eastwood's Flags of our Fathers; a film which tells the story of the battle of Iwo Jima from the point-of-view of the Americans. Whilst Flags of Our Fathers was meant to be the big event film it was Letters from Iwo Jima that actually garnered more acclaim and did slightly better at the Box Office. I feel the point of Letters from Iwo Jima is to tell the audience that there are two sides to every story and that those who fought on the Japanese side were equally as worthy of praise as the American soldiers. The film follows the fortunes of Private Saigo; a baker who is conscripted and leaves his heavily pregnant wife to fight on the island. Saigo often finds himself tortured by his superiors but on the day in which the U.S. Marines start to attack he is the only to keep a level-head. Evading being shot by those in charge several times, Saigo later earns the respect of General Kuribayashi and ultimately being the only one to survive the horrors of the battle. The most striking thing about Letters from Iwo Jima as a whole was the fact that many of the Japanese soldiers took their own lives when they thought that there was no way back. One of the scenes that will stick with me the most from Letters from Iwo Jima is the one in which the majority of Saigo's platoon blow themselves up with grenades. It's these moments that hit home the horrific conditions that the Japanese had to deal with and I do applaud Eastwood for trying to honour them in this way.
It did take me a while to truly lose myself in Letters from Iwo Jima and I felt the film only came alive in its latter scenes which was when the action really kicked off. The cast of the movie were all utterly believable in their roles with Kazunari Ninomiya being particularly effective as Saigo. The only familiar face amongst the cast, Ken Watanabe, was perfectly believable as the sensitive Kuribayashi; who at times was the only level-headed member of the military left on the island. Similarly to Flags of Our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima is shot in a faded manner which at times makes it look almost like documentary footage. Although I've not seen Flags of Our Fathers it was interesting to spot the scenes in which the two nations intersected and I'm assuming there are moments that appear in both films. I felt it was particularly brave of Eastwood to portray the Americans as the antagonists particularly in one heart-wrenching scene when a brutish soldier executes two Japanese soldiers who have surrendered. Letters from Iwo Jima was in fact a surprise entrant in the 2007 Best Picture field with many expecting the fifth nominee to be the musical Dreamgirls. However, I think it was good that the academy honoured a subtitled film which actually bucked the trend for war films by focusing on the foreign army. While I can't say I was a compelled by the film as I possibly should have been there are certain moments of it that will stick with me for years to come.
Next time we'll travel back to the States for the final film in the noughties section of the blog.
Sunday, 29 March 2015
Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 412: My Day on Death Row
In the last post I mentioned how Morgan Freeman's participation in Million Dollar Baby was partly to do with the fact that he could provide a similarly stirring voiceover to the one he delivered in The Shawshank Redemption. That film also has a lot in common with our next nominee The Green Mile, not least because it has the same director in Frank Darabont and is based on a novel by Steven King.
In addition The Green Mile is also set in a prison, albeit a small one on death row in which several inmates await the electric chair. The story is narrated by Paul Edgecomb, who was a guard on death row in the 1930s and is currently living in a retirement home. In a nice little bit of symmetry, the first film I ever watched for the challenge; Top Hat, is referenced several times throughout The Green Mile. The film itself gets the title from the colour of tarpaulin that the prisoners walk their final mile on before they get to the chair. The main focus of the story is on the arrival of a new prisoner John Coffey, a mountain of a man who is accused of raping and murdering two young girls. Despite his hulking stature, Coffey has almost a childlike demeanour and is even scared of the dark. As the film goes on it transpires that Coffey has magical powers which allow him to cure Paul of his urinary infection, bring a dead mouse back to life and later remove the brain tumour from the wife of the head guard. I felt that Darabont balanced the fantastical elements of the story nicely with the more unsavoury nature of some of the characters. One thing he does do is set a fine line between the heroes and villains of the piece meaning that there are very few shades of grey in the film. For example both sadistic prison guard Percy and psychopathic inmate 'Wild Bill' Wharton are painted as pure villains and neither have any redeeming features to speak of. Both also get their comeuppance at the end of the film with Wharton being revealed as the man who was involved in the crime that Coffey was charged with. What I did like about The Green Mile was its final chapter in which the redemption that happened in Shawshank doesn't occur for Paul. Instead he has been given almost a curse by Coffey and as a result has had to see his loved ones die gradually over the space of fifty years.
Even though I've seen The Green Mile before I didn't quite remember the ending where we learn just what sort of effect John Coffey had on Paul. I also don't remember the film being quite as long as it was, just over three hours, however the time seemed to past relatively quickly. The fact that I was never bored is a testament to both Darabont's direction and his adaptation of King's source novel. One part of the film I did like was the fact that John Coffey was never overused and his magical powers were littered throughout the film making them more special when they did appear. Instead, Darabont's focus on the mundane nature of the mile meant that you got a real sense of what it was like to be working on death row. Tom Hanks was the perfect choice to play Paul Edgecomb as he has the everyman quality that the role requires. Hanks is surrounded by a bunch of character actors who play his colleagues including Barry Pepper, David Morse and James Cromwell. I particularly admired Sam Rockwell's performance as the certifiable Wharton as he added an extra element of crazy to an already deranged character. Meanwhile, Doug Hutchinson did his best to make the audience detest the weasel-like Percy and I felt he pulled it off admirably. However, the best performance for me came from relative newcomer Michael Clarke Duncan, who sadly passed away a couple of years ago. Cinematographer David Tattersall goes to great lengths to capture the size of Duncan on screen but I felt the actor did great at portraying his character's softer side. Duncan was in fact the only member of the cast to be nominated for his role in a film which also picked up another three nominations. Although at times The Green Mile makes you suspend your disbelief I feel you're rewarded for doing so by a magical film which is ably written and directed and that contains a number of fine performances.
Next time you'll have to grab your passports as we go on a whistle-stop tour around Asia
In addition The Green Mile is also set in a prison, albeit a small one on death row in which several inmates await the electric chair. The story is narrated by Paul Edgecomb, who was a guard on death row in the 1930s and is currently living in a retirement home. In a nice little bit of symmetry, the first film I ever watched for the challenge; Top Hat, is referenced several times throughout The Green Mile. The film itself gets the title from the colour of tarpaulin that the prisoners walk their final mile on before they get to the chair. The main focus of the story is on the arrival of a new prisoner John Coffey, a mountain of a man who is accused of raping and murdering two young girls. Despite his hulking stature, Coffey has almost a childlike demeanour and is even scared of the dark. As the film goes on it transpires that Coffey has magical powers which allow him to cure Paul of his urinary infection, bring a dead mouse back to life and later remove the brain tumour from the wife of the head guard. I felt that Darabont balanced the fantastical elements of the story nicely with the more unsavoury nature of some of the characters. One thing he does do is set a fine line between the heroes and villains of the piece meaning that there are very few shades of grey in the film. For example both sadistic prison guard Percy and psychopathic inmate 'Wild Bill' Wharton are painted as pure villains and neither have any redeeming features to speak of. Both also get their comeuppance at the end of the film with Wharton being revealed as the man who was involved in the crime that Coffey was charged with. What I did like about The Green Mile was its final chapter in which the redemption that happened in Shawshank doesn't occur for Paul. Instead he has been given almost a curse by Coffey and as a result has had to see his loved ones die gradually over the space of fifty years.
Even though I've seen The Green Mile before I didn't quite remember the ending where we learn just what sort of effect John Coffey had on Paul. I also don't remember the film being quite as long as it was, just over three hours, however the time seemed to past relatively quickly. The fact that I was never bored is a testament to both Darabont's direction and his adaptation of King's source novel. One part of the film I did like was the fact that John Coffey was never overused and his magical powers were littered throughout the film making them more special when they did appear. Instead, Darabont's focus on the mundane nature of the mile meant that you got a real sense of what it was like to be working on death row. Tom Hanks was the perfect choice to play Paul Edgecomb as he has the everyman quality that the role requires. Hanks is surrounded by a bunch of character actors who play his colleagues including Barry Pepper, David Morse and James Cromwell. I particularly admired Sam Rockwell's performance as the certifiable Wharton as he added an extra element of crazy to an already deranged character. Meanwhile, Doug Hutchinson did his best to make the audience detest the weasel-like Percy and I felt he pulled it off admirably. However, the best performance for me came from relative newcomer Michael Clarke Duncan, who sadly passed away a couple of years ago. Cinematographer David Tattersall goes to great lengths to capture the size of Duncan on screen but I felt the actor did great at portraying his character's softer side. Duncan was in fact the only member of the cast to be nominated for his role in a film which also picked up another three nominations. Although at times The Green Mile makes you suspend your disbelief I feel you're rewarded for doing so by a magical film which is ably written and directed and that contains a number of fine performances.
Next time you'll have to grab your passports as we go on a whistle-stop tour around Asia
Saturday, 28 March 2015
Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Days 410-411: A Couple of Clint's
Back on Day 309, I mentioned how Clint Eastwood had gone unrecognised by Oscar until winning the Best Picture prize in 1993 for Unforgiven. Oscar's love affair with Eastwood carried into the next decade with three of his films being nominated for Best Picture during the ten year stretch. This post will look at two of those three movies with the third to be covered at a later date.
We kick off with a film that Clint directed but never appeared however fact fans may want to know that Mystic River was the first movie that Eastwood scored himself. Eastwood's score is just one of the many positive elements of Mystic River; a film that I enjoyed immensely on this second viewing. This Boston-set crime thriller revolves around three childhood friends; Jimmy, Sean and Dave all of whom are effected by an event from their past. The event itself is played out in the film's first three minutes in which Dave is abducted by two men that three boys believe to be cops. Flash forward twenty-eight years later and Dave's abduction and subsequent abuse have caused him to become quite a slow-witted man. Although it's clear he loves his son and wife, he's prone to moments of absence and comes home one night covered in blood. That night happens to be the same one on which Jimmy's nineteen-year-old daughter goes missing and is eventually found murdered. Jimmy, who is now one of the town's most respected citizens, uses underhanded tactics to try and discover who the perpetrator was. This annoys Sean who just happens to be the investigating officer on the case and who isn't willing to believe his partner when he suggests Dave might be the killer. Screenwriter Brian Helgeland's adaptation of Dennis Lehane's novel perfectly ups the tension as the audience have to wait till the end of the film to learn who the murderer actually is. Therefore Eastwood and Helgeland create a sense of unease which I believe help to make us sympathise with the characters who aren't quite sure who to trust. This also means that Mystic River's final twenty minutes are incredibly emotional as revelation after revelation pours out and by the end I was personally left with my heart broken.
As I previously mentioned this is my second time watching Mystic River but, just like a lot of films in this decade, it's not one that I particularly remember. I'm not quite sure why that is as everything about Mystic River is perfectly delivered from Eastwood's aforementioned score to Tom Stern's cinematography which allows the small town to become a character itself. Helegland does a good job of getting through the history between the three characters quite quickly to the extent that we understand why they are how they are. The more sympathetic character is definitely Dave, who has remained almost in a childlike state since his trauma at a young age. Tim Robbins is absolutely great as Dave, capturing the essence of the character beautifully and delivering a particularly stunning turn towards the end of the film. Sean Penn meanwhile gives Jimmy a terrifying demeanour but couples this with a softer side which is on view in the scene where his character learns of the death of his daughter. This scene is particularly iconic thanks to Stern's framing of the piece and the image of Penn being held back by numerous cops. Both Penn and Robbins won Oscars for their roles in the film but I feel a little sorry for Kevin Bacon who had the job of playing the less flashy role of Sean. I felt that Bacon deserved to at least be recognised for playing an intelligent police officer who occasionally let his heart get in the way of doing his job. Also nominated at the ceremony was Marcia Gay Harden who delivered a memorable supporting performance as Dave's frightened wife. I also personally liked Laura Linney as Jimmy's wife who becomes almost like a Lady Macbeth figure in the film's final ten minutes. Absorbing from beginning to end; Mystic River works as a thriller, a character study and a mystery all at the same time.
One year later Eastwood found himself in the same position as he did twelve years earlier as he picked up Best Director and Best Picture for his boxing movie Million Dollar Baby. Here Clint was back in front of the camera as grizzled boxing trainer Frankie Dunn, a man who was living with many regrets. Frankie was presented as the kind of man who put in all the work on a fighter only to be left behind when the boxer wanted to go for the title. His only true friends were the local pastor and Eddie 'Scrap-Iron' Dupris; a former fighter who now lives and works at Frankie's gym. In an Unforgiven reunion, Eddie is played by Morgan Freeman who seems to have been hired purely to give a Shawshank Redemption-like voiceover to the film. However, if you're going to get somebody to provide a thoughtful voiceover to a film then Freeman's your man and I felt he gave Million Dollar Baby that special quality. The bulk of the film is devoted to Frankie's training of Hilary Swank's Maggie Fitzgerald; an older female boxer that he was reluctant to take on as he doesn't coach girls. However, as the film goes on the pair develop an interesting working relationship which allows Maggie to thrive in the ring. I found that Paul Haggis' script made Million Dollar Baby feel classier than your average sporting film and Maggie's fights were split up with plenty of emotional scenes between Frankie and Maggie. One brilliant set piece sees Maggie return home to surprise her mother with a new house only to find her lovely gesture spat back in her face. The element of Million Dollar Baby that I remember the most is the film's final act in which Maggie finds herself paralysed after an accident in a title match. Here I felt that Haggis over-egged the pudding a little bit as Million Dollar Baby became a different film altogether especially after Maggie asks Frankie to help her end her own life. Although I knew the ending was coming, I still found it shocking to watch and I think this sensitive storyline helped Million Dollar Baby to win Best Picture.
Alongside Eastwood's awards for Directing and Best Picture both Swank and Freeman picked up awards for their performances. Swank gave a good portrayal of an every woman who was fighting to achieve her goal however for the most part I found it to be rather unremarkable. I think that the reason she was given the award was due to the final act as Maggie finds herself unable to fight the inevitable. Freeman's wise narration was coupled with a number of fine scenes in which he finally got to have the one fight that had been eluding him all these years. Whilst Freeman did a good job in this film I feel he's been better elsewhere especially in The Shawshank Redemption and Seven. If anybody should have won an Oscar for acting in the film I believe it should have been Eastwood himself as he perfectly conveyed the evolution in the character of Frankie. Clint played to his strengths for the most part but he still conveyed Frankie's growing fatherly feelings towards Maggie. As he had done in Mystic River, Clint also provided a suitable score for Million Dollar Baby which again enhanced the overall mood of the film. I personally felt that Million Dollar Baby took a while to get going and it was only when Frankie took Maggie under his wing that the pace of the film picked up. A subplot involving the simple fighter Danger didn't do anything for me and instead proved that Paul Haggis sometimes adds too many elements to his story as he did the year later with his script for Crash. Although a solid drama, I think it's Million Dollar Baby's mawkish third act that lets it down, although I'm sure this is why the academy ultimately gave it the Best Picture award. Ultimately there's a lot to like about Million Dollar Baby, especially the performances and Eastwood's assured direction, but it just doesn't have that extra special something that a Best Picture winner truly needs.
Next time I take a magical trip down death row.
We kick off with a film that Clint directed but never appeared however fact fans may want to know that Mystic River was the first movie that Eastwood scored himself. Eastwood's score is just one of the many positive elements of Mystic River; a film that I enjoyed immensely on this second viewing. This Boston-set crime thriller revolves around three childhood friends; Jimmy, Sean and Dave all of whom are effected by an event from their past. The event itself is played out in the film's first three minutes in which Dave is abducted by two men that three boys believe to be cops. Flash forward twenty-eight years later and Dave's abduction and subsequent abuse have caused him to become quite a slow-witted man. Although it's clear he loves his son and wife, he's prone to moments of absence and comes home one night covered in blood. That night happens to be the same one on which Jimmy's nineteen-year-old daughter goes missing and is eventually found murdered. Jimmy, who is now one of the town's most respected citizens, uses underhanded tactics to try and discover who the perpetrator was. This annoys Sean who just happens to be the investigating officer on the case and who isn't willing to believe his partner when he suggests Dave might be the killer. Screenwriter Brian Helgeland's adaptation of Dennis Lehane's novel perfectly ups the tension as the audience have to wait till the end of the film to learn who the murderer actually is. Therefore Eastwood and Helgeland create a sense of unease which I believe help to make us sympathise with the characters who aren't quite sure who to trust. This also means that Mystic River's final twenty minutes are incredibly emotional as revelation after revelation pours out and by the end I was personally left with my heart broken.
As I previously mentioned this is my second time watching Mystic River but, just like a lot of films in this decade, it's not one that I particularly remember. I'm not quite sure why that is as everything about Mystic River is perfectly delivered from Eastwood's aforementioned score to Tom Stern's cinematography which allows the small town to become a character itself. Helegland does a good job of getting through the history between the three characters quite quickly to the extent that we understand why they are how they are. The more sympathetic character is definitely Dave, who has remained almost in a childlike state since his trauma at a young age. Tim Robbins is absolutely great as Dave, capturing the essence of the character beautifully and delivering a particularly stunning turn towards the end of the film. Sean Penn meanwhile gives Jimmy a terrifying demeanour but couples this with a softer side which is on view in the scene where his character learns of the death of his daughter. This scene is particularly iconic thanks to Stern's framing of the piece and the image of Penn being held back by numerous cops. Both Penn and Robbins won Oscars for their roles in the film but I feel a little sorry for Kevin Bacon who had the job of playing the less flashy role of Sean. I felt that Bacon deserved to at least be recognised for playing an intelligent police officer who occasionally let his heart get in the way of doing his job. Also nominated at the ceremony was Marcia Gay Harden who delivered a memorable supporting performance as Dave's frightened wife. I also personally liked Laura Linney as Jimmy's wife who becomes almost like a Lady Macbeth figure in the film's final ten minutes. Absorbing from beginning to end; Mystic River works as a thriller, a character study and a mystery all at the same time.
One year later Eastwood found himself in the same position as he did twelve years earlier as he picked up Best Director and Best Picture for his boxing movie Million Dollar Baby. Here Clint was back in front of the camera as grizzled boxing trainer Frankie Dunn, a man who was living with many regrets. Frankie was presented as the kind of man who put in all the work on a fighter only to be left behind when the boxer wanted to go for the title. His only true friends were the local pastor and Eddie 'Scrap-Iron' Dupris; a former fighter who now lives and works at Frankie's gym. In an Unforgiven reunion, Eddie is played by Morgan Freeman who seems to have been hired purely to give a Shawshank Redemption-like voiceover to the film. However, if you're going to get somebody to provide a thoughtful voiceover to a film then Freeman's your man and I felt he gave Million Dollar Baby that special quality. The bulk of the film is devoted to Frankie's training of Hilary Swank's Maggie Fitzgerald; an older female boxer that he was reluctant to take on as he doesn't coach girls. However, as the film goes on the pair develop an interesting working relationship which allows Maggie to thrive in the ring. I found that Paul Haggis' script made Million Dollar Baby feel classier than your average sporting film and Maggie's fights were split up with plenty of emotional scenes between Frankie and Maggie. One brilliant set piece sees Maggie return home to surprise her mother with a new house only to find her lovely gesture spat back in her face. The element of Million Dollar Baby that I remember the most is the film's final act in which Maggie finds herself paralysed after an accident in a title match. Here I felt that Haggis over-egged the pudding a little bit as Million Dollar Baby became a different film altogether especially after Maggie asks Frankie to help her end her own life. Although I knew the ending was coming, I still found it shocking to watch and I think this sensitive storyline helped Million Dollar Baby to win Best Picture.
Alongside Eastwood's awards for Directing and Best Picture both Swank and Freeman picked up awards for their performances. Swank gave a good portrayal of an every woman who was fighting to achieve her goal however for the most part I found it to be rather unremarkable. I think that the reason she was given the award was due to the final act as Maggie finds herself unable to fight the inevitable. Freeman's wise narration was coupled with a number of fine scenes in which he finally got to have the one fight that had been eluding him all these years. Whilst Freeman did a good job in this film I feel he's been better elsewhere especially in The Shawshank Redemption and Seven. If anybody should have won an Oscar for acting in the film I believe it should have been Eastwood himself as he perfectly conveyed the evolution in the character of Frankie. Clint played to his strengths for the most part but he still conveyed Frankie's growing fatherly feelings towards Maggie. As he had done in Mystic River, Clint also provided a suitable score for Million Dollar Baby which again enhanced the overall mood of the film. I personally felt that Million Dollar Baby took a while to get going and it was only when Frankie took Maggie under his wing that the pace of the film picked up. A subplot involving the simple fighter Danger didn't do anything for me and instead proved that Paul Haggis sometimes adds too many elements to his story as he did the year later with his script for Crash. Although a solid drama, I think it's Million Dollar Baby's mawkish third act that lets it down, although I'm sure this is why the academy ultimately gave it the Best Picture award. Ultimately there's a lot to like about Million Dollar Baby, especially the performances and Eastwood's assured direction, but it just doesn't have that extra special something that a Best Picture winner truly needs.
Next time I take a magical trip down death row.
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