NOV-DEC WRAP UP

As the year comes to a close we are finally seeing the Oscar picture come into focus.  The Golden Globe nominees (http://www.goldenglobes.org/2012/12/nominations-2013) showed little to no surprises, and although they separate films into two categories: Drama or Comedy/Musical, they are usually a good indicator of how the Oscar nominations will break.  The Drama category usually holds a little more weight, and for those looking for nom expectations that’s where you should turn.  The Academy is doing things a little different this year and the Oscar nominations will actually be decided before the Globes telecast.  Nonetheless here are the films seen in the past six weeks or so and their Oscar hopes:

‘Life of Pi’: More of a director’s piece than anything, ‘Pi’ will certainly get attention for world-class director Ang Lee and see support in technical categories for its visual brilliance.  A Best Picture nom isn’t unforeseeable and a Best Actor nomination for Suraj Sharma would be well deserved but a bit of a surprise considering the field.

‘Flight’: It wasn’t expected to make much noise, again due to the extremely deep field this year, and it didn’t.  Zemeckis’, director of ‘Forrest Gump’, first live action picture since ‘Cast Away’ (2000) was largely uneven and its main character’s climatic revelation seemed uninspired.  However Denzel Washington gave a gritty performance as per usual and a Best Actor nomination is not out of the question.

‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’: What was thought to be the must see film this holiday season turned out to be a dud, both critically and commercially (brought home a respectable $86 million the first weekend but in comparison to the LOTR trilogy it was a major letdown).  It could see some nominations in tech categories like sound and make-up and although McKellen and Freeman give strong performances as Gandolf and Bilbo, the film may prove to be too much of a flop to compete in the ultra-competitive Best Supporting and Best Actor categories.

The Current Frontrunners: ‘Lincoln’ and ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ will be going head to head in nearly every major category and each should garner at least two acting nominations each as well.  ‘Argo’, although an incredibly well received film by critics, is losing steam and seems to be suffering from too early of a release date.  Films that will still have plenty of nominations but might not have as high of expectations as ‘Lincoln’ and ‘ZDT’ are: ‘Silver Linings Playbook’, ‘The Master’, ‘Django Unchained’, and ‘Les Miserables’.

Full reviews are still to come for ‘Django’ and ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ (after I’ve seen it) and ‘Les Miserables’ may or may not have enough clout to warrant a full post, if not it will be included in a wrap up.

Almost all of the contenders have been seen by critics, and after the Oscar nominations (Jan. 10^th) and the Golden Globe winners (Jan. 13^th) are announced, predictions in every category will be much easier to examine.  Stay tuned.

LINCOLN

Coming off a less than stellar commercial and critical performance with last year’s underrated ‘War Horse’, Steven Spielberg fervently returns in 2012 with ‘Lincoln’.  Starring Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln, the film chronicles the last four years of Lincoln’s life and his efforts to pass the Thirteenth Amendment prior to end of the Civil War, worrying if not passed; governing bodies would deem his Emancipation Proclamation unlawful.

There’s little left to say about Spielberg considering his body of work.  Like so many of his other largely successful and critically acclaimed efforts Spielberg relies on his ability to dictate the mood by perfectly framing scenes while keeping context, story, and pace in mind.  During the nearly two and a half hour biopic, where other directors would create a bore of a picture, Spielberg consistently has the viewer enthralled with the drama and informed with the history.  Not an easy feat.  The film has a feel reminiscent of ‘Schindler’s List’, where at over three hours in the 1993 epic, there never seems to be a dull, boring, or unnecessary frame in films that use a majority of dialogue to fill up their screen time.  My only quip if I had one was the inclusion of Lincoln’s son, Robert (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt), as his scenes did little to contribute to the story and it was Gordon-Levitt’s weakest performance to date considering how successful he has been in the last few years.

However the film really belongs to Day-Lewis, as it should, and this is another aspect indicative to Spielberg’s films; letting actors immerse themselves into their roles and carry films (Liam Neeson in ‘List’, Hanks in ‘Saving Private Ryan’, Ford in ‘Indiana Jones’).  After reading multiple interviews from cast and crew there was an eerie feeling Abraham Lincoln was actually on the set while Day-Lewis got into character, with those around him having to remind themselves this is simply a film and not reality.  For Day-Lewis, well known as a method actor, this is not uncommon but when you are filling the shoes of one of the best known and important figures in American history it rises to another level.  It is hard to compare Day-Lewis’ dialect and mannerisms to Lincoln as so few are experts on how he spoke and acted but from the testaments of historians he does a brilliant job. 

If ‘Lincoln’ every decided to go to Broadway and have Day-Lewis portray Lincoln on stage, people would be lining up to simply see Day-Lewis recite lengthy historical passages, and it would be well worth the price of admission.  For my money I still like Phoenix’s performance in ‘The Master’ more than anything I’ve seen this year but it will be hard to take down Day-Lewis as his performance is definitely worth and he has a bigger studio, bigger following, bigger director, is more beloved by The Academy, and the dude’s playing freaking Lincoln!  If he wins Day-Lewis would become the first three time Academy Award Winner for Best Actor (‘My Left Foot’ and ‘There Will Be Blood’ are the others he’s won for).

Spielberg and Day-Lewis get ample help from Tommy Lee Jones, in an equally powerful role, as radical abolitionist Thaddeus Stevens and Sally Field as Mary Todd, who was a little melodramatic for my taste but still will garner Oscar attention.  As per usual John Williams contributes with a nomination-worthy score. 

As more and more of the big films this year finally open wide the races continue to heat up, however with such a deep field frontrunners are still yet to be determined.  When all is said and done, and nominations are announced in January, look for ‘Lincoln’ to have one of the larger groups of nominees leading to the ceremony in February.

Oscar Chances:

Best Picture: Lock

Best Director (Spielberg): Lock

Best Actor (Day-Lewis): Lock

Best Supporting Actor (Jones): Lock

Best Supporting Actress (Field): Possible

Best Adapted Screenplay (Kushner): Lock

Best Editing: Lock

Best Score (Williams): Lock

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

 

Directors on the upswing: J.J. Abrams and Darren Aronofsky would definitely make the list, Neill Bloomkamp possibly, and one that can’t be left off the list, David O. Russell.  O. Russell, not a spring chicken in his mid 50s, has had only a handful of Hollywood films, most notably the underrated ‘Three Kings’ and ‘I Heart Huckabees’, that even the avid film fan would recognize or remember.  But with 2010’s ‘The Fighter’ and his latest effort ‘Silver Linings Playbook’, O. Russell is becoming a major force when studios consider directing choices to pair with their Oscar hopeful screenplays. 

What could’ve turned into another mid-late summer throw away rom-com is transformed into the heartfelt Oscar darling of this season in large part due to O. Russell’s sensitive directorial touch.  Couple that with the red-hot duo of Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper and that’s a recipe for a winner, oh and Robert De Niro playing the lead’s father never hurts either. 

Cooper plays Pat, a man recently released from a psych ward (where he is diagnosed with a form of bi-polar disorder) 8 months after severely beating a co-worker whom was sleeping with his now separated wife.  Trying to get his life back on track, Pat is determined to be positive and find a silver lining in everything.  After hearing of his release one of Pat’s friends invites him over for a pseudo-celebratory dinner where he meets Tiffany (Lawrence).  From the onset the audience sees Tiffany has mental issues similar to Pat, as she is trying to cope with the untimely death of her husband.  As many may guess, Pat and Tiffany form an unlikely bond and Pat begins to question if his hardships with his wife were a blessing in disguise.

As some may remember, ‘The Fighter’ wasn’t a major Oscar contender leading into the 2010-11 season, not even on many pundits radars.  The film had a similar recipe to ‘Silver Linings’; O. Russell, a talented cast (Christian Bale won Support Actor), and a simple yet highly emotional story.  The Weinstein Company took note, as they always do in the fall, and it led to big Harvey latching on to O. Russell’s next project (SLP).  And when you have the Weinstein Company backing your film you always have a fighter’s chance at a few statues come February.

O. Russell seems to get the most out of his actors, a true sign of a great director, especially in times where you have to compete with visual giants like ‘Avatar’, ‘Inception’, and ‘LOTR’.  He truly is a director of actors and film not simply of technology like some.  That isn’t to say Cooper, Lawrence, and De Niro don’t deserve a piece of the credit.  Cooper and Lawrence toe the line between psychotic nutcases and feel-sorry-for heartbroken lovers with ease and believability, matching their highs and lows with great comedic timing that doesn’t come off as forced.  De Niro is equally brilliant as Pat’s father, obsessed with the Philadelphia Eagles he believes spending time with his son is the variable that leads his team to victory or sends them to defeat.

‘Silver Linings Playbook’ has the one thing that is missing from so many films, the one thing that can make nearly any story worth watching on the screen, it’s real.  Real in its portrayal of the human condition of its characters and real in the feelings it conjures in its viewers, it is a can’t-miss-film this Oscar season.

Oscar Chances:

Best Picture: Lock

Best Director (O. Russell): Highly Likely

Best Actress (Lawrence): Lock

Best Actor (Cooper): Highly Likely

Best Supporting Actor (De Niro): Lock

Best Supporting Actor (Chris Tucker): Long Shot

Best Supporting Actress (Jackie Weaver): Long Shot

Best Original Screenplay (O. Russell): Lock

Best Editing: Possible

DFF CONCLUSION

 The 35^th annual Starz Denver Film Festival concluded this past Saturday with the showing of David O. Russell’s ‘Silver Linings Playbook’.  As it turns out, O. Russell’s film was the sole silver lining of the entire festival.  DFF has never been one of the headlining film festivals in the U.S., definitely not at the Telluride or Sundance level and also substantially behind the NY, LA, Chicago, and Boston festivals in terms of coverage and/or award predicting clout.  However DFF always, in the five years I’ve been going, usually turns out a strong lineup of films.  Last year had ‘Melancholia’, ‘The Descendants’, ‘The Artist’, ‘Like Crazy’, ‘A Dangerous Method’, and ‘Shame’.  This year had…‘Silver Linings Playbook’.  Even the smaller films, those with modest releases or shown solely at a festival, were lackluster in this year’s schedule.

Denver typically ushers in some festival darlings from Telluride and Toronto to let the city folk get a chance to screen them but there were glaring omissions this year (‘Amour’ comes to mind).  The one thing DFF had become accustomed to, that kept fest-goers like me coming, was a great docket of films.  Never mind the screening venues are separated by miles of pavement or the knowledge of the volunteers rivals that of an AMC employee, DFF had good films at manageable ticket prices/packages (in relation to other festivals) that took place locally.  Unfortunately without a good lineup DFF is reduced to overpriced tickets at locations that aren’t close to technologically or aesthetically ideal for viewing these films (the L2 Art Center for example).  Hopefully next year can be a return to normalcy, what I saw:

Hyde Park on Hudson (Denver Pavilions): The more I think about this film the more I find holes in the screenplay.  Bill Murray does a fine job playing FDR in an oft-dramatic role, somewhat of a reversal from his usual dry comic musings.  Laura Linney is equally impressive in her turn as Margaret Suckley, FDR’s distant cousin and eventual mistress.  The sets and locations are period specific and the cinematography is spot on capturing mood and moment.  However the script is a total mess.  It can’t decide whether it wants to be a film about the relationship between FDR and Margaret or FDR and The King of England (the first King to visit the United States since the Revolution).  I assumed the King’s visit would merely provide the background but about halfway through the film it becomes the main focus then abruptly switches back to the FDR/Margaret situation.  I wouldn’t be totally displeased except for the fact neither of the convoluted parallel stories have anything remotely resembling a point.  What is left is a beautifully shot and acted film that goes nowhere, a big waste of a talented cast.

28 Hotel Rooms (L2 Art Center): This was the film that left me the most intrigued while perusing the schedule after it was released.  Unfortunately ‘28 Hotel Rooms’ suffers from a common problem for many filmmakers; having a brilliant and original idea at its base yet falling flat on its face in relation to execution.  The premise is simple, a man and a woman have a one night stand then, years later, run into each coincidentally at a hotel.  Their relationship plays out as they coordinate seeing each other during business trips, all of their meetings and all the screen time is spent in, yea, 28 hotel rooms.  The script is tight and the situations feel real but the big flaw with ‘Rooms’ is the miscasting of the lead characters, they have no chemistry!  If you’re going to spend 90 minutes with two actors conversing in hotel rooms you better be able to feel the tension, passion, and heartache of the characters.  Unfortunately there’s no connection with the audience and the film feels more like 180 minutes than 90.

Silver Linings Playbook (Ellie Caulkins Opera House): The saving grace of the festival, without it DFF 2012 would be a complete disaster.  Due to the Oscar ramifications I will have a complete review of the film in the coming days.

If anyone cares to look at this year’s schedule and awards here’s a link to the page:

http://www.denverfilm.org/festival/index.aspx