I’ve carried on this “Oscar Adventure” of seeing each Best Picture nominee before the Academy Awards telecast for every year since 1997. When the films that have been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture are announced, I check and see which ones I’ve already seen and then I make it a point to see all the remaining ones before the Oscar telecast (which takes place Sunday, February 28th, 2016).
For anyone who might be interested, here’s my list of the 8 Best Picture nominees in descending order of how much I liked them. The criteria I use to judge the nominees is a long, convoluted mix of cinematic artistry and entertainment. I try to go into each film viewing with zero expectations and as little knowledge of the plot as possible. And I always try to form the basis of each review immediately after the film is done, jotting down notes that I later turn into these write-ups.
Thank you for taking the time to read them. I hope you enjoy it.
(FYI – I’ve tried to avoid spoilers. Click the film’s title for more info on the film from imdb.com)
1. Spotlight
This film is clear-eyed and deliberate. It plays as somewhat of a love letter to hard hitting journalism. There is true pleasure derived from watching people do their jobs and do those jobs well. The villains of this story are largely off screen but the idea of them looms. This results in the film focusing almost solely on the protagonists, providing an idealistic view of a team of dedicated truth seekers. It could easily be heavy-handed in a chest-beating, moral high ground kind of way but instead it chooses a very sober, even-handed approach that draws the viewer in and let’s them experience the story in a matter-of-fact style. The acting is incredible – hardly a beat is missed across the entire ensemble. This film operates almost flawlessly, telling a focused story in a highly impactful manner. It is, simply put, a great piece of cinema. And I would say it has a chance of winning Best Picture.
Rating: 96 (out of 100)
This is grandiose spectacle. The craziness pulses onscreen, breathing fire and inhaling smoke. It’s chaotic in how the story and characters unfurl with abandon but it’s a controlled chaos, as it’s quite clear the filmmakers are operating with a high level of confidence when it comes to how they want to tell the story. The film creates a world with its own feel and its own rules and then it proceeds to slam itself and its contents up against all edges of that world. The film is a bruising, greasy, dusty thrill ride, but it also has a strong modern message of empowerment that you don’t often see in action films like this. MM:FR somehow elevates itself to something more than the action blockbuster as which it presents itself to be – an incredible combination of film (technical quality) and movie (popular entertainment). It was a pure adrenaline-fueled joy to watch. I happened to see it opening weekend, months before Oscar nominations came out, and I was quite excited to see it hold its own in earning a Best Picture nomination. That being said, it has almost no chance of winning (although I would love to see George Miller win Best Director for bringing this ludicrously awesome vision to life).
94
3. The Revenant
This film is visceral, dirty and raw. It takes you on a harrowing journey, one that is gripping and immersive. The filmmaking style allows you to feel and endure what the characters encounter – their experience bores into you. The incredible combination of tight close-ups and widescreen, sprawling vistas creates a strange, yet amazing combination of both expansive, grandiose cinema and personal, reflective art. On display is some truly great cinematography – I found my old college film study mentions of “pillow shots” returning to me – and the directorial decision to shoot using only natural light is the kind of filmmaking bravura that excites me to hear about. The acting is also great in the sense that the adversity and the weathering of the conditions and the emotions are truly felt – but somehow deeper characterization and personal connection is missed. The film remains just the slightest bit inaccessible somehow and the story’s conclusion holds a curiously odd sense of closure. I also take the slightest bit of umbrage with the fact that you have to do a bit of research to determine why the movie is actually named what it is – that seems a bit pretentious on the part of the filmmakers. I can run down a list of minor quibbles and that is all they are. But the quibbles seem to add up in my mind, and the collective weight is a bit heavy. That being said, The Revenant is an incredibly well made film and entertaining on top of that. It’s not my pick as the best of the nominees but I do predict that it will win the Best Picture award.
94
This is an incredible story told with restraint and quiet dignity. It is a cinematic reflection of the main character – dignified, calm and focused. The time period comes alive but not in an overt or showy way – it looks authentic and lived-in. There is impressive art direction on display, as well as refined cinematography. The acting is controlled and quite impressive – Mark Rylance is a standout with one of the softest yet powerful performances I’ve seen in recent years (I hope he wins Best Supporting Actor). And Tom Hanks plays a capable hero for whom you can’t help but root. Bridge of Spies is an entertaining, satisfying film, brimming with nostalgia and old school values (and old school paranoia, as well). It’s full of twists and turns, but also holds a surprising amount of heart. It’s once again, solid Spielberg cinema.
89
5. Room
Room is, at its core, an emotional experience. It pulls and pushes the viewer to places you are glad to venture into but also dark realms you wish you’d never encountered. There are two halves to the story but there is a theme of captivity that runs throughout the entire whole. The film successfully transports you to the mind of a child as you quite clearly see the world through the character’s eyes. Incredible, powerful acting is on display. Brie Larson should win Best Actress for her character’s portrayal, but Jacob Tremblay is the standout here, as the child center of the film (how he missed out on an acting nomination truly puzzles me). I admired how the film doesn’t wrap up all its plot points – it seems to just let them linger and fade, like a brief flash of a memory in a child’s mind. Room is deeply nuanced and layered, offering no tidy, clean-cut sense of peace. Moreover, it is a quiet examination of the grays of the world…the shadows. It is, quite simply, a very good film.
88
6. The Martian
This is the film I wanted Gravity to be. It is an extremely well-made, precise, polished piece of cinema – both slick and grimy at the same time. Watching it, the joy for me comes in the minutiae of the science and the problem solving required by the main character to survive. However, the film wanes when it brings in somewhat cliche high drama circumstances and/or unrealistic plot contrivances to up the ante for tension and suspense. With little effort, it goes from a small big film to a BIG big film and something gets lost in that transition. Still, this is a well-made film. One standout technical note that I discovered after watching the film: they filmed the actors’ spacesuits without reflective visors and then digitally added the reflections in post production. The Martian is very entertaining and at times, quite full of a breathing soul – but it does become a bit more hollow and wooden as it goes along. There are engaging, realistic characters (and refreshingly enough, no true antagonist) even though the only true character traits in the entire film is “survive” and “rescue.” This is a good film that I thoroughly enjoyed. It is a peripheral Best Picture nominee, however.
83
7. Brooklyn
The Ireland and America of the 1950’s is on full, lush display as history is captured pristine. This is a small story – it feels almost too small at times. There is a TV-movie feel to it that bubbles as I think back to it. And it’s quite frustrating in the manner and style with which it unfurls its plot and drama. Contrived obstacles are seemingly laid out before the main characters with the sole purpose to create tension in order to tell the story. But it feels like the sole purpose of the film is to showcase the filmmakers’ love of the time period. The art direction and costumes stand out in a polished, shiny style that almost detracts from the story in the quest for nostalgic authenticity. Brooklyn is very well-acted and it is often poignant; and it holds surprising bits of comedy within its folds. It is a solid, good film.
77
This is a “big idea” movie that deals with what is essentially a very boring subject. The film tries to spice things up with kinetic bravura and interesting narrative tactics but it remains a somewhat plodding affair as you just wait for what ends up being a whimper of a payoff. There is a sanctimonious feel to this film – the filmmakers scoffing at Wall Street’s greed and ignorance; and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences scoffing right alongside them by nominating it for Best Picture. It has big name actors and some quality acting on display; though I continue to have a problem with the fact that Christian Bale’s scenes feel like they are from a completely different film, produced by a completely different crew – both in style and cinematography. The film feels thin and soulless, with its attempts at emotional depth and pathos feeling forced and heavy handed. It excels at depicting the hubris inherent in the story, but in my opinion, falters when trying to set up its compromised characters as the moral judges of this hubris. To me, knowing the director of this film (Adam McKay of Anchorman fame and one who already tackled this source material in a much simpler, yet oddly out-of-place end credit sequence for his movie, The Other Guys), the end result on screen comes across as a comedian trying his hand at big drama for the first time. And in my opinion, at least, it doesn’t always work. Having said that, this film apparently has an outside chance of winning the Best Picture prize. So…what do I know?
68
So that’s it. That’s my take on the 8 nominees. Let me know what you think in the comments. What was your favorite film? Am I wrong on some of my takes – or spot on? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
As always, I’d like to thank my wife and two daughters for putting up with this annual tradition of mine.