The State of the Race: A Tale of Two Movies
It really did come to pass that the race came down to two movies. They sit on opposite sides of the world. They impact us in completely different ways. They will face off in history as far apart as two movies can get. The King’s Speech is now the film that can’t lose. The Social Network was once the film that couldn’t. Since the critics groups formed in mass — going back twenty or so years, but even earlier if you count only the National Board of Review, the New York Film Critics Circle and the Golden Globes — you have rarely seen such a complete disconnect between the film the critics went for unanimously, and the film the larger guilds, and most likely, the Academy will go for. It has never happened to this extreme. What does that mean ultimately? Nothing, really. This is how the Oscar race has gone for 83 years with a respite here or there. The problem isn’t with the Academy itself. The problem is with those of us who think we can make them act differently.
Read MoreThe State of the Race: The Return of the “Oscar Movie”
It’s been a while since we could say there was an “Oscar movie,” but that old trope roared to life today, as did the Oscar Whisperer, Harvey Weinstein’s dominance with the AMPAS. Longtime readers will recall that we always had a saying around here, “never underestimate the power of Harvey Weinstein.” I think we can bring that back today.
What is an ‚ÄúOscar movie‚Äù? Well, it‚Äôs what various Oscar pundits were banking on when they saw The King‚Äôs Speech in Toronto: it hit every note for Oscar — a period film, a bravura leading male performance by a beloved actor, a story that makes you care about the characters, and even a little Holocaust/World War II thrown in for good measure.
And “Oscar movie” is also one that does well at the box office, but not too well. It does well with the critics but not too well. It usually bespeaks the better qualities of human beings, our higher selves, our ideal selves. It helps us out when times are tough by giving us a little tiny bit of hope in an otherwise cruel and cynical world. An “Oscar movie” is the stuff of legends.
Read MoreThe State of the Race: Hand Covers Bruise
In each of the five films nominated for Best Director by the Directors Guild yesterday, overcoming an obstacle to become a winner drives the main characters. Micky needs to rid himself of his brother’s shadow and his own lack of self worth, Nina needs to rid herself of her repressed, infantilized vision of herself to become a perfect dancer. Cobb needs to overcome the guilt he feels in planting the idea in his wife’s head that the dream was the reality. And finally, George VI needed to overcome his fears of being King, of speaking publicly, of rising to the occasion and ruling a country at war.
Read MoreThe State of the Race: The Best Best Pictures
It’s funny to think that a whole year’s worth of films can boil down to just ten. There has been much chatter on Twitter of late that this would be a great year to have only five nominees rather than ten. This business of picking “the best” is really about what a majority thinks, not what a few critics think; even the most powerful critic in the land cannot push through a darling that has found no agreement elsewhere.
And so when one well known critic lamented the usual cycle of winners the debate came up yet again – do you reward what you feel is the best or do you make an extra effort to be original with your choices, push something unique into the mix? The New York Film Critics Circle did that with The Kids Are All Right for Screenplay and Supporting Actor. But to me, the point is not to make yourself better known, or to stand apart from the crowd simply for the sake of serving your own ego. If you are asked an honest question, you should think about it for a minute and then decide what you think is the best. That doesn’t necessarily mean the one you liked best. It could be. But hopefully, as a critic or an Academy voter you have a slightly more heightened ability to recognize something exceptional.
Read MoreThe State of the Race: “Now We Live on the Internet”
"Ann? Punch me in the face."
Yesterday, Kris Tapley lamented on Twitter, “Most over-covered, over-considered Oscar season ever. Yes, I’m aware of the irony.” Is it really the case, though, or is there just more of it online? It seems to me that every year there is consideration and over-consideration and hemming and hawing and denying the obvious. Maybe he means there are just more people doing it, or maybe he means the strange kind of obsession on the frontrunner this year — as in, The Social Network keeps winning an unprecedented amount of early awards yet no one is ready to believe the Academy will vote for “that kind of movie.” The King’s Speech is more their kind of movie, but can an animated film win? What about The Fighter? And on and on it goes. I don’t see it as any different from any year except a Slumdog Millionaire kind of year where there is no argument, no debate – there is simply a clear winner for Best Picture and so the debate turns to the other categories. In the Oscar race, though, it’s much more fun to have suspense than to have no suspense, especially with the big prize.¬† It was much more miserable knowing than not knowing. This is the kind of year that keeps my interest high in the race.
Read MoreThe State of the Race: The Changing of the Guard
I often get asked the question if I think the Academy’s demographics are changing, if the infusion of younger voters is changing the way they choose what they think is best. I am not sure that I could say it was the infusion of the young so much as a turn towards the art of filmmaking, rather than the emotional impact of the experience. If I could name one of the biggest changes I’ve seen since 1999, when I first started covering the race annually, it would be this: after Brokeback Mountain lost to Crash, there was a shift in how the Academy chose its best picture. It became less about what they “liked” and more about what they thought was the “best.”
Since then, their choices have been about great filmmaking – directors working at the top of their game, with an assured hand, in complete command of their story. Their choices seem to continually baffle awards watchers, or, specifically, the Gurus of Gold – a group assembled to be the experts in how the Academy votes. But they seem to be always questioning the Academy’s ability to know a great film when they see one, choosing instead to view them as an infantilized group that can’t handle ambiguity of plot, complexity of story, and mostly, a deliberate lack of a feelgood component. They haven’t seemed to notice because every year there is continued doubt that this movie or that movie can win.
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