With only a few hours before the parade of stars down The Red Carpet begins, I'm whipping off a few, very brief comments about the movies nominated for Best Picture. Enjoy, engage, disagree if you like...
American Sniper
This movie
was not as controversial as I thought it would be based on various Facebook
posts. Some of the criticism revolved
around the difference in how Kyle was portrayed in the movie, as opposed to the
book, but I can’t speak to that having not read the book. Simply as a film, if we can believe anything
in a film, it did make real the massive amount of stress that some servicemen
and women encounter on a daily basis in war. It also illuminated the difficult
adjustments a couple must go through, both together and individually, during deployment
and upon the veterans return. What the film did not show, which I thought was almost a travesty, is the
difficult healing process that must take place. The story fell really flat and
inauthentic when his on-screen therapy consisted of one session and a tour of
the VA. The film portrayed a man affected only by the stress of protecting
himself and his fellow soldiers and not at all by his 160 “confirmed kills.” And
that stress was apparently forever alleviated once he began to help his fellow
veterans. If the film had portrayed a
man who, though he loved his country, still had at least a few qualms about
killing men, women and children, or about war in general or that war
specifically, I think his critics might have been more sympathetic. But unfortunately a stereotype of the “Guns,
God & Country cowboy, with little ability to question, be self-reflective,
or see another point of view, was also confirmed.
Birdman
I love
Birdman as a film and commentary on our pop culture and give it my Best Picture
nod. I hated listening to the soundtrack
but it was perfect for the film...driven and chaotic. Michael Keaton’s performance was brilliant (Best
Actor worth IMO) as a super-hero has-been trying to finally do something
artfully significant. It had a
play-within-a-play feel to it; portraying all the drama, ego and insecurities
associated with the theater. For me, it
also asked the questions; Who are we as individuals in this high-tech,
attention-seeking world? What should
make a person famous or infamous? Why is
society so fickle, demanding and unforgiving?
These cultural complexities centered around Keaton’s character; he possesses
huge insecurities around how his play would be perceived, his daughter
questions his relevance because he doesn’t possess a Twitter account, he questions
whether his past fame as a super hero was worth it in light of what he had to
sacrifice. Birdman was the whole package
for me...great performances, great soundtrack, great story, great tension,
great cinematography and great messages contained within.
Boyhood
The
scope of Boyhood is something we don’t see in movie-making these days; a two-hour
film shot over the course of 12 years...no actors playing the “young version”
of the boy or make-up to age the adults.
It had to have been a risk...not knowing if the actors would commit for
that long, if they would be available, or even alive for that long...so that
aspect was intriguing. But as unique as
the approach was, the storyline itself was rather ordinary, as films go. I did think it would be a great film to watch
and discuss with your own children, as it did portray many of the struggles
families endure and how those struggles ultimately affect everyone involved.
The Imitation
Game
This
was, undoubtedly, the most moving of the all the films. It was convincing,
educational, emotional and entertaining. Cumberbatch made us like this socially
unlikeable man during the movie, and love him at the end. I always know the
movie is doing its job of engaging me in the story when I am completely lost in
it for the duration; when I forget I am in a movie theater. This movie did that for me...it is number two
on my list for Best Picture...and the one I would most recommend. See it.
Selma
With all the talk of heroes
flying around the internet, sparked by American Sniper, I’m not sure why this
film has been left without its share of positive “comments” about MLK. The movie was educational, as it fleshed out these
real events during the civil rights movement.
What struck me was how King changed a nation using only words of truth
that inspired peaceful action, beautifully delivered by David Oyelowo (even
though the Director could not use the actual speeches due to copyright laws,
she claims she re-wrote them with the essence intact.) What wasn’t delivered in
the film for me was a full sense of the man, not just the leader, which would
have allowed me to connect more emotionally to the film. But I had to ask myself this question after
seeing both Selma and American Sniper...which of these men represents a hero to
me? Is it someone who does what comes
naturally in fighting for what they believe in or someone who goes against the
human instincts of anger, revenge and aggression to defend themself, or to fight
against what they believe is wrong?
Also, I wished they would have used songs from the time period instead of just spirituals for the soundtrack. To me that would have made the film a bit more real.
The Theory of
Everything
Least
favorite of the eight movies, but that may be because of my own pre-conceived
ideas. I thought I was going to see a
movie about the scientist that became one of the 20th centuries’
most renowned and controversial.
Instead, I watched a tragic love-story that could have been about
anybody with a disability. I also found
it strange that no one seemed to age during this movie, or even dress
appropriate to the time period. It was
as if the director either wanted to keep us thinking we were in the ‘60’s (an I’m
not sure why that would be) or his costume department was just really bad.
Whiplash
A
really interesting and entertaining story...good plot, acting, conflict, etc. J.K Simmons is unlikeable from beginning to
end, and I suspect not that unique in some highly competitive art and music
schools (I once had a guy in college tell me and another girl he couldn’t hang
out with us anymore because he wanted to focus on his art...and we were just
friends). This is a story about how far
people will go for art, or fame, or to prove themselves. And sometimes it doesn’t always end happily.
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