During the lead up to this year’s Oscar’s on February 22nd I will be covering a lot of the nominees for the upcoming Academy Awards. This will not be your usual Oscar primer, but in fact more of a “catching up to speed” series. I will be dissecting a few films in each instalment. I will be going over what the nominees are, and what chances it stands to win. In the last instalment HERE I covered “Whiplash”, “Wild” and “Ida”. This time I will be talking about “American Sniper”, “Mr. Turner” and “Virunga”.
“American Sniper” was directed by Clint Eastwood, released on January 16th and produced by Warner Bros. The film has six nominations.
- Best Picture- Clint Eastwood, Robert Lorenz, Andrew Lazar, Bradley Cooper and Peter Morgan
- Best Actor- Bradley Cooper
- Best Adapted Screenplay- Jason Hall
- Best Editing- Joel Cox and Gary Roach
- Best Sound Mixing- John T. Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Walt Martin
- Best Sound Editing- Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman
There has been a few changes in the types of films that comprise the Best Picture category since the Academy switched from having only five films to now where up to ten can make the cut. Before, for the most part films were very safe, dealt with historical aspects or were personal human dramas. Now that the field has expanded different styles like sci-fi, black comedies and small budget indies routinely pop up in the category. Unfortunately so do some bad films that seemingly garner enough votes from a small bloc of the Academy. I know I crap on it a lot, but it is because it deserves to be remembered. I call this the “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” phenomenon. Past films that don’t even deserve to be nominated since the field expanded include “Les Miserables” and “The Blind Side”, these films have some great parts to them but do not deserve to be in the Best Picture conversation. This year “American Sniper” is that film. My issues with the film will be outlined mostly in Best Adapted Screenplay category. This film has no chance on winning Best Picture and would probably end up coming in 9th place, as all the other films are far more deserving.
Bradley Cooper was once considered someone who could only do comedy or be a jerk or both. It still is weird to say that he has been nominated three times in a row, something only a few other actors have ever done before. It is weirder to say he deserves all the nominations he has received. Cooper playing Chris Kyle the deadliest sniper in US history does a great job convincing us that he believes in his convictions and can be both kind and scary at the same time. His performance is subtle and just enough mumbling to look like a guy who is unsure how to hold himself after going to war. In his scenes where he had to show his PTSD, he does a great job making himself look so different you feel like his wife in not knowing who he is. Cooper would not jump to the top of my list of best working actors right now, but it is hard to argue with his resume. It seems unlikely that Cooper will win, but if Eddie Redmayne and Michael Keaton split enough votes between them he would be the one who benefits the most from it.
Where this film falls apart and wastes a terrific performance from Cooper is the screenplay. There are so many issues with it; I don’t even know where to begin so I will start with the end. If you are familiar with Kyle’s story a fellow solider at a gun range in Texas killed him. You do not see this, just Kyle getting into his truck and his wife looking uneasy, then a title card explaining his death then the credits. I thought the ending to “Foxcatcher” was rushed but I was clearly mistaken, as this was one of the worst endings I have ever seen. Kyle who apparently suffered from PTSD would be shown joking around in battle and loving his life, then as soon as he was home between tours he would be distant and erratic. There was never a contrast in showing what really caused his PTSD, and other than his blind patriotism we aren’t given real reasons for him to return to battle. After several scenes of Kyle’s wife yelling at him for not talking, all it takes is a few therapy sessions and a day at the gun range for him to get over PTSD, something most soldiers are never able to do. This is a subpar script by Jason Hall, he only has two other screenplays to his name, which have an average ranking of 5.7 on IMDb. I would even be OK with a Best Picture nomination for this film if it didn’t stupidly get a screenplay nom. Thankfully either “The Imitation Game” or “Whiplash” will win this award which will help make up for the injustice of “Gone Girl” losing its slot to this hunk of junk.
The editing on the film actually isn’t bad as is the case for most war movies. The battle scenes are easily the highlight of the film; the best is the desert windstorm battle near the end of the film. Everything is in chaos and you don’t know where bullets are coming or going all making the scene dirty and limp, something that categorizes the war as a whole since it was a mistake to go to Iraq and the US not knowing anything about the enemies there. The high tension early scenes, where the takes are long and drawn out only needing to change shots when absolutely necessary, is another sign of good editing as it could have been sliced and diced up. “Boyhood’s” twelve year seamless editing or “Whiplash’s” frenetic pace seem to have the upper hands, but never count out a war film as eight of the past twenty winners were either action or war based films.
Along with great editing a common trait of war films is having great sound both on the mixing and editing side of things. The hail of bullets, the whirl of helicopters or the rolling crunches of tanks are unmistakable here making the film an auditory overload of the senses. Since it is one of four films to receive nominations in both categories, it is anyone’s game but only “American Sniper”, “Whiplash” and “Interstellar” seem likely to win one or both of the awards. “Interstellar” could sweep the techie side of things, which muddies the waters a bit.
“Mr. Turner” was directed by Mike Leigh, released on December 25th and was produced by Film4. The film has four nominations.
- Best Cinematography- Dick Pope
- Best Production Design- Suzie Davies and Charlotte Watts
- Best Costume Design- Jacqueline Durran
- Best Original Score- Gary Yershon
If the Academy was unable to agree to nominate ten films for Best Picture, I really wish “Mr. Turner” was in the top eight instead of “American Sleeper”. It is a bio-pic that doesn’t make you want to shoot yourself. The film is slow-paced and beautiful and the performance is so fantastic I would watch ten hours of Timothy Spall playing artist JMW Turner. Turner who was one of best British artists of all time is shot in a way that helps you see the beauty he saw in the world. Sprawling landscapes, gorgeous colour pallets and the inner beauty of people are some of the things we see on screen that reflect the inner workings of Turner himself. Since the film takes place pre-electricity, we get some great candle lit scenes of people hiding in shadows and darkness. Even the upper class world that purchases Turner’s works seem out of reach to us. This film is the quiet beauty that contrasts the very brash “Birdman”, the pastry filled land in “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and the starkness of “Ida”. This years crop of nominees are all deserving so you might as well flip a coin to see who wins. Depending on the how certain films like “Birdman” or “The Grand Budapest Hotel” does in other categories expect this one to tag along for the ride, especially if “Birdman” ends up winning Best Picture.
What helped make the shooting of this film so great was in part due to the set design. From Turner’s studio, to the galleries to the seaside town where he eventually falls in love, everything looks right. There is a bit of griminess to each set, but never so over powering that you question how these people deal with the filth that is old England. Turner’s house is particularly great where his bright studio is contrasted with the dark personal art gallery that has his paintings just stacked up against a wall as if they mean nothing to him (even though they truly do as is evident by turning down a large sum of money for them all). The set has lots in common with “The Grand Budapest Hotel” as there is so much to look at, the story sometimes doesn’t matter. Expect one of those two films to win, unless once again “Interstellar” sweeps the below the line awards.
Anytime you deal with films that take place in 1800’s you need to have an impressive costume designer if you wish for the film to have any kind of historical accuracy and not having viewers wonder if pieces fit in at the time frame. The clothing isn’t flashy, even when we see royals on screen, but it all looks beautiful. Turner’s slightly frumpy suits show a man with means but who doesn’t care about making sure he is the best dressed, something that most of the cast looks like and something people in real life ascribe too. Just look good enough, not trying to be the best looking. Unfortunately usually flashiest costumes win Best Costume Design something that the other four films all have over “Mr. Turner”. It will surely lose out and I won’t lose sleep over it, even if the outfits are plenty good.
The score for the film takes you into the genius of Turner, when things look bleak he sees beauty, when life is grand he sees despair. The music is a most haunting string medley that can seem unnerving at times. The film in general takes a back seat hoping the viewer will jump aboard for the ride never being overbearing. Unfortunately that means that it most likely will not win any awards, including this one that has “The Theory of Everything” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel” duking it out for the Best Original Score.
“Virunga” was directed by Orlando von Einsiedel, released on November 7th and distributed by Netflix. The film has one nomination.
- Best Documentary Feature- Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara
This film on the surface is about a group of conservationists in Congo whose job it is to protect the remaining mountain gorillas in the wildlife park and the sanctuary they rehabilitate them at. Underneath it is one small chapter on how the world has screwed over Africa, time and time again. The park rangers must protect the park not only because they know that keeping these endangered species alive is better for the world but if they don’t stand up to make their country honourable, no one will. If you go to a zoo you will never see the workers who feed and bathe the animals ready to pickup guns and kill poachers or fight against rebel groups. You hear how rebel groups make it their jobs to kill as many gorillas as possible just because they believe the rangers will leave if they have nothing to protect. In a tender moment a ranger talks to his wife about their young son and how he wants him to go to school and learn sciences so he can grow up and take care of the animals that his family has taught him to respect. It is hard not to cry when a group of rebels and other armed men who represent an oil manufacturing company come and attack the sanctuary killing a gorilla in the process. You learned how he had to overcome having an arm cut off by poachers and that he is the dominant male that protects his female gorillas and what his personality is like. Seeing the rangers go undercover secretly filming conversations with high-ranking military officials who explain that the oil company is paying them to take over the park and if the rangers provide information they too will get thousands of dollars. Seeing these conversations play out is disgusting how little other people respect the environment and creatures that inhabit them. Netflix is on a bit of a role as they also got a nomination for Best Documentary Feature last year with “The Square”. This year it seems like the Edward Snowden flick “Citizenfour” and “Virunga” lead the way as the only films with potential to really win with the closer to home story of Snowden expected to win.
