I'd like to take this opportunity to say that I actually went and saw all best-picture nominees this year. Every year, the Oscars come around, and I think to myself, why haven't I seen these movies? These look like great movies! I love going to the movies!
I also love guessing things correctly. So when they tear open the envelope, and draw out, "And the Oscar goes to ... " I can leap off the couch and scream, "I knew it! It had to be! It had to be!" Well, there is going to be a lot of wine spilled this year, my friends, because I did it. I saw them. I saw them all.
I feel like I've been waiting my entire life for this moment. I would like to thank the Academy; my friend Kathryn, who reminded me about the Oscars a good two months before deadline; my friend Amir, who was actually willing to see American Sniper; and my brother Jason, who agrees with me that Boyhood is the best thing to happen to anyone this year.
Let's talk contenders, shall we?
Boyhood was an unrivaled treat and if it doesn't win I'll hyperbolically die. (My next blog post: Fun alternatives to the widespread misuse of "literally"!) I loved everything about it: Watching the kids grow up naturally. How Ethan Hawke very unnaturally never seems to age. The Britney Spears and Harry Potter allusions. The sepia tone that spreads nostalgia throughout. The thoughts and fears and conversations that we all have growing up, and yet feel so profound when they're happening to you. It was an unprecedented storytelling technique and a profound experience.
Birdman is the next best contender. The long takes, blue tone, and jazz beat were striking, but I was often pulled out of world to think about those choices. Edward Norton was dynamite, and the scenes with him and Emma Stone during magic hour on the New York City rooftop were my favorites. It was unexpected and thought provoking and psychologically snaking, but a little too belabored to be flawless.
The Grand Budapest Hotel was a mad-cap caper and delight. I loved all the signature Wes Anderson elements: over-the-top costumes, off-kilter comedy, deadpan delivery, and characters who take themselves hilariously seriously. But he has yet to make anything as human as The Royal Tenenbaums. I laughed through Grand Budapest, I'm glad it got a nod, it's not going to win best picture.
The Theory of Everything was lovely. My astrophysicist boyfriend refused to see it because he felt that it was "going to be all about Stephen Hawking's personal life" and "no one talks about all the other famous physicists." The first point is true. The latter defies argument. But I loved these two talented British actors, I desperately wanted to live in Cambridge and go to the May Ball, and Stephen Hawking is undeniably a compelling subject. It's an extraordinary individual, an expansive idea, and a heart-wrenching story rolled into a beautifully executed movie.
The Imitation Game was one that I got dragged to with my science-loving boyfriend and history-loving father, placated by the prospect of Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley in period costumes. In this and other regards it did not disappoint. I was impressed by the film's success at building tension around a bunch of guys in suspenders watching a massive computer slowly tick in a solitary room--no small feat! Yet it seems to me that in terms of current social topics, gay rights should have been big this year. As my friend Katie pointed out, Alan Turing's personal life is hinted at but underrepresented.
American Sniper reminded me why I like Clint Eastwood films, and that it's good to see movies outside of your comfort genres. I'm not a war film fan, and it challenged and rewarded me. Bradley Cooper was impressively large (like whoa), I liked the not-too-smart, not-too-sappy soldier dialogue, and I was swept up into the sandstorm scene. Amir would like to point out that the pacing in the first half lagged, all of the Iraqi characters were portrayed as evil, and that the villain was too caricatured. I'll agree with all of those points. It still hit me hard.
Selma was strong, hard to watch, good to watch. Of the three biographical films this year, this one was the most narrowed in scope: you see Martin Luther King, Jr. at one moment, in one city, trying to make one march happen. I craved some language you'd expect (no "I dream" speeches here), but it's nice to see a focused film that doesn't try to cover the entire life of a much-covered figure. The film was tight and powerful. The violence is shocking, all the more because you know these were true events. Reverse cuts to the faces of bystanders were especially striking. It's hard to fathom having so much hatred for another human being.
Whiplash was my least favorite. I couldn't cope with the masochistic, bloody-knuckled drumming (just stop! let the blisters heal!), or vicious teacher-student relationship. According to the film's philosophy, this probably means that I will never be the world's greatest at anything. I'm pretty sure I'm cool with that. It was an intense movie, with strong performances, and gorgeous music. If you're into jazz, I'm sure you'll get more out of it.
Do you like watching Oscar nominees? Which were your favorites this year?
