Not predictions, because I’m terrible at them (as my attempts last year will show), just some quick thoughts because I did once again scramble to try to see many of the Oscar-nominated movies before the ceremony this year. Though I haven’t seen what I’m fairly confident is the best movie of all the ones nominated, Drive My Car. I missed it in the theater and haven’t had three available uninterrupted, not-already-exhausted hours to do it justice. And I haven’t watched Coda because I think it’s only no added fee (none of them are free!) on a streaming service I don’t have. Also I’m only part of the way through both West Side Story and Nightmare Alley. I’ll finish the former eventually, and maybe the latter too, but I also feel like I…pretty much get the point of both and it wouldn’t be terrible if I didn’t see them through to the end. Wow is the dialogue in Nightmare Alley bad.
Actually, I’m starting to feel like I just have a lot less patience for movies. Not in the sense of lacking the attention span for them, but rather, I increasingly feel, as alluded to above, that I’ve basically gotten the gist a quarter of the way through and don’t really need to see the rest. I think this is mostly a testament to the lack of nuance and subtlety in most movies (especially mainstream American ones, but not only). My partner often jokes that I only like depressing European movies about feelings, and maybe that’s what it comes down to — I’m fine with a popcorn flick that’s ‘full of incident’, as an 18th century reviewer might say, all the more so if it’s funny, and a little less so if it’s pontificating about heroism or politics. But if you want me to actually think about what I’m watching, then you better err on the side of under-statement.
This is why, to my great surprise, one of my favorite movies of the various Oscars contenders turned out to be King Richard, which honestly, I barely expected to like. Yes, it’s a sports biopic. And yes, as I believe the team discussing it on Pop Culture Happy Hour said, it’s a movie that focuses on arguably one of the least interesting personages in the whole story — you’d far rather be watching a movie about Venus and Serena, or their mother, or their sisters! Yes, the fact that it centers the man when there are so. many. amazing women involved is… a choice, as the young people say. But I think it’s actually really interestingly subtle as a character study of that man. There are so many opportunities for cliché, and the movie doesn’t avoid all of them, but it also has some scenes that are genuinely interesting as an exploration of the dynamics between the various personalities involved. I didn’t think it was hagiographic. And the performances are excellent — I hope Will Smith finally gets his Oscar, and I truly believe that his performance is the best among all the nominees for Best Actor (aside from Andrew Garfield’s, which I didn’t see). And I’d be happy to see Aunjanue Ellis win Best Supporting Actresses, too, though I think Jessie Buckley was also terrific.
You know what movie was not at all subtle? The Power of the Dog. WOW did I hate that movie. It was like a caricature of an arthouse film. It will probably win everything.
But actually, you know what was too understated? Belfast. I wanted to love it, and it’s not bad, really, just kind of milquetoast. None of the performances are extraordinary, sorry, though none are bad either. But it does seem a little like someone thought, hey, Roma got an Oscar, maybe I can too!
Macbeth was good, yes, though if I’m honest (I probably shouldn’t be), I felt the same way about it that this guy did. Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand are both incredible actors, among the best working today, but I don’t think either of them gave a particularly stunning performance — they’ve both done better work in other things. The real standout performance for me was Kathryn Hunter as the witches — she was absolutely incredible. Visually, it was cool, strong Seventh Seal vibes but I was into it. I also barely remember it, though, so there’s that.
The Lost Daughter, I quite liked. Of course I did. Comp Lit professor on a solo vacation pondering maternal ambivalence? Sign me up! And I do think that Jessie Buckley was amazing. Maggie Gyllenhall should have gotten a nomination for her Directing. I certainly wouldn’t mind if she won for the screenplay, though I suspect (I haven’t read the Ferrante novel) that it’s a slightly defanged version of the original — which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Being the Ricardos was fine. I was deeply distracted by Nicole Kidman’s face, and just consistently felt like I was watching her do a Lucille Ball imitation, though she occasionally did it very well. Everyone, of course, was arguably doing an imitation, but the other actors disappeared into the roles a bit more. I wouldn’t object to Bardem or Simmons winning for their performances — actually, what I found most interesting was the dynamics between the Ricardos and Fred and Ethel. But overall, the movie was enjoyable; the script laced together a few different conflicts in classic Sorkin fashion, and it raised some thought-provoking questions.
I liked Don’t Look Up a lot more than other people seemed to (critics, that is — most of my friends enjoyed it, self-righteous liberals that we are). Yes, it’s preaching to the choir, and it’s not an especially smart or profound analysis of current affairs, but it’s an entertaining movie. I was disappointed, after an opening that featured a woman scientist making a major discovery and multiple people of color in positions of power, that the movie slowly but surely turned all its focus to a mediocre white man, and became a story about his transformation into a hero, but that’s Hollywood for ya. Also, its intense commitment to the heterosexual marriage plot is almost comical in its ridiculousness but also just, ugh. But I did like the very last minute of the film.
Dune was turgid. I will not be taking questions.
I loved The Worst Person in the World as I was watching it, but the more I thought about it, the less I liked it. 10 minutes after leaving the theater, I was about to text two friends to say, “hey, it’s like us, except in Norway, where there’s a robust social safety net!” and then started to add, “Oh, and also, without…us? Wait. She has…no woman friends?” and that’s when it all started to fall apart. This New Yorker review, I’m sorry to say, nails it. The script is not great. But the lead performance is absolutely stunning.
Ascension was a VERY artsy sort of movie, such that I sort of wished I was a little high while watching it, because I would have enjoyed the lengthy sequences of assembly line factory labor even more. It’s visually mesmerizing, and is, I think, a fascinating meditation on contemporary China and class mobility and the global economy. Very understated. Very highbrow. Just what I like.
Cinematography is actually the toughest category for me to weigh in on this time. Whatever the quality of the movies otherwise, all of the nominees are visually pretty stunning (though here too I wish The Lost Daughter was nominated…).
For whatever reason, this is the awards show that I tune into. I’m a little bummed that I’ll be doing it on a slight delay tonight because my partner is getting home late and I guess watching it with him is better than watching it with Twitter? But I’m looking forward to it — the fashion, the speeches, the feels, all of it. You need a little ridiculous spectacle from time to time.
EDIT: Wow, I totally neglected to talk about Spencer and Parallel Mothers! Both of which I liked, and I think both performances are great. I am a huge Kristen Stewart fan in general, and I think she absolutely makes that movie work. I don’t think she’ll win but I think she deserves to. She’s terrific and it’s a really fascinating performances, more so than any of the others I think (though I haven’t seen Chastain’s).
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