CHICAGO – Tuesday morning brought a great sigh of relief to movie lovers jaded by last year’s problematic Oscar nominees, which unforgivably included two major nods for the dreadful “The Blind Side.” This year’s slate of nominated work is much stronger, refreshingly devoid of mediocre commercial fodder designed to lure in the ratings-conscious Academy. The 2011 Best Picture nominees that made money actually proved to be great films as well: “The Social Network,” “Inception,” “Black Swan,” “The Kings Speech” and “True Grit” were major hits with audiences as well as critics. Yet there were also a fair number of obscure and under-appreciated gems among the more popular titles, many of which hadn’t been singled out by other voting bodies. Here are the top ten nominees I’m most pleased to see on this year’s ballot…
10. Best Actor: Javier Bardem, “Biutiful”
I’ll never forget the interview back in 2001 when Julia Roberts was quoted saying that she “couldn’t imagine living in a world” where Denzel Washington didn’t have an Oscar for Best Actor when she had an Oscar for Best Actress. Denzel later went on to win the Oscar for “Training Day” over frontrunner Russell Crowe. What Julia wants, Julia gets. After seeing her “Eat Pray Love” co-star Bardem snubbed at award ceremonies for his acclaimed work in the barely released “Biutiful,” Roberts hosted screenings of the film for voters in order to increase its chances of snagging a nomination. History has now officially repeated itself, though Bardem’s brutally raw performance is far more deserving of Oscar love than Washington’s cackling overacting in “Day.” “Babel” director Alejandro González Iñárritu puts Bardem through the ringer—physically, emotionally and spiritually—in this brooding tale of a father battling cancer in the Barcelona slums. Clocking in at two-and-a-half hours, “Biutiful” may be a considerable chore for some viewers, but Bardem fans are advised to check the film out when it opens in Chicago on Friday.
9. Best Foreign Film: “Dogtooth”
A wild and disturbing parody of oppressive parenting taken to mad extremes, this galvanizing curiosity from Greece is a refreshingly oddball addition to the Foreign Film category. Director Giorgos Lanthimos confines his characters within suffocatingly sterile interiors similar to the ones inhabited by Julianne Moore in “Safe.” The setting is a secluded estate where nameless parents (Christos Stergioglou and Michele Valley) hold their three grown children hostage by manipulating them with impenetrable webs of deceit. They teach them the wrong words for various objects (a salt shaker is referred to as a phone), while leading them to believe that the planes passing overhead are merely elusive toys. Yet when a visitor jump-starts the sexual awakening of the eldest daughter (Aggliki Papoulia), a rebellious discontent begins to brew. Though critics have hailed this film as some sort of comedy, it’s far from laugh-out-loud funny…that is, until the climactic dance sequence (complete with “Flashdance”-inspired moves), which deserves to ranked alongside the most gloriously peculiar cinematic moments of 2010.
8. Best Animated Film: “The Illusionist”
Many of the nominees on this list don’t have a prayer of actually winning. That’s certainly the case with “The Illusionist,” Sylvain Chomet’s enchanting adaptation of a script originally intended for live action by the late master of cinema, Jacques Tati. I’m looking forward to the day a 2D, hand-drawn feature claims the prize for Best Animated Film, which nearly always is claimed by the geniuses at Pixar. “Toy Story 3” is admittedly deserving of the honor this year, but it’s still wonderful to see the nuanced artistry of Chomet acknowledged by the Academy, as opposed to the derivative crowd-pleasing mechanics of Disney’s “Tangled.” Whereas the French animator’s Oscar-nominated “Triplets of Belleville” was an exuberant and playful work of nimble slapstick, “Illusionist” is a far more melancholy morsel, following the budding friendship between an aging vaudevillian and a young woman. “Despicable Me” it is not. Yet for film lovers dazzled by the whimsical magic of Tati, it is an absolute must see.
7. Best Supporting Actor: John Hawkes, “Winter’s Bone”
One of the year’s most controversial categories is Best Supporting Actor, since it left out Andrew Garfield, whose revelatory work emerged as the heart of “Social Network.” Of course, he’s still young, and will have many more chances to walk the red carpet. John Hawkes, on the other hand, has rarely been invited to the party, despite the fact that he’s been delivering excellent performances for the last 25 years, most memorably in Miranda July’s exquisite 2005 comedy, “Me and You and Everyone We Know.” His portrayal of Teardrop, the spookily wide-eyed uncle of a strong-willed mountain girl, was every bit as much a key to the success of “Winter’s Bone” as the much-praised lead performance by Jennifer Lawrence. He uncovers the tenderness beneath his character’s hardened exterior with a subtlety that never once feels forced. Though his dialogue may occasionally require subtitles for viewers unschooled in accents of the Ozarks, his work never strikes a single false note.
6. Best Supporting Actress: Jacki Weaver, “Animal Kingdom”
The same could be said of the other dark horse candidate in this year’s supporting actor race. Weaver’s character in “Animal Kingdom” is remarkably chilling, mainly because she’s played with a wink and a smile. As Janine Cody, the matriarch of an Australian crime family, Weaver barely has to raise her voice in order to get under the viewer’s skin. Like Melissa Leo’s mama grizzly in “The Fighter,” Janine is the type of role that invites, if not requires, some form of scenery chewing. Yet it’s Weaver’s well-modulated restraint that makes her work so memorable, such as when she softly chuckles her signature line, “You’ve done some bad things, sweetie.” Weaver’s meatier moments come late in the film when Janine’s motherly devotion clashes with her cold-blooded ruthlessness. Hopefully her nomination will encourage moviegoers to seek out this marvelous feature filmmaking debut by David Michôd. It is a shame, however, that the Academy failed to nominate the equally magnificent work of Lesley Manville in Mike Leigh’s “Another Year,” whose conspicuous absence from this category evokes memories of Sally Hawkins’ snubbed work in Leigh’s “Happy-Go-Lucky” (both heavily improvised films ironically received screenplay nominations).
5. Best Art Direction: Stuart Craig and Stephenie McMillan, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1”
Veteran production designer Stuart Craig may be a three-time Oscar winner, but he’s never been awarded for the extraordinary vision and meticulous detail he’s brought to every single installment of the “Harry Potter” franchise. Along with screenwriter Steve Kloves, Craig is truly the unsung hero of the most financially and artistically successful film series of our time, and his work has deepened with each successive picture. Along with his longtime collaborator, set decorator Stephenie McMillan, Craig created an atmosphere in “Deathly Hallows” more menacing and hypnotic than the darkest moments in previous offerings. Without the reliably sprawling structure of a school year, Craig was able to work on smaller scale, allowing the audience to feel as confined as the beloved characters. Certain sequences—such as Harry and Hermione’s ill-advised visit to Godric’s Hollow, and the agonizing cliffhanger set in Dumbledore’s tomb—are so fresh and vivid they they look as if they were ripped directly from reader’s imaginations. Here’s hoping that Craig and McMillan’s towering achievement won’t go unrewarded. Of course, there’s always “Part 2”…
4. Best Picture: “127 Hours”
Danny Boyle’s kinetic masterwork was even better than his celebrated Oscar-winner “Slumdog Millionaire,” and deserved to be in the top five of the ten Best Picture nominees (the top five are clearly determined by the Best Director nominees). I have no clue why “127 Hours” wasn’t ever given the wide release enjoyed by lesser pictures such as “The Fighter” and “True Grit.” Exaggerated claims of fainting and vomiting during screenings gave this film the wrong kind of buzz, suggesting that it was exploitative torture porn, rather than a triumphant tale of the human spirit defying bone-crunching odds. It’s the sort of film all audiences would surely have embraced if the studios gave them the opportunity (hopefully viewers will flock to its limited re-release Friday). James Franco delivers an astonishing performance as Aron Ralston, a mountain climber whose right forearm became pinned between a boulder and the wall of a Utah canyon for nearly five days. Screenwriter Simon Beaufoy and cinematographers Anthony Dod Mantle and Enrique Chediak do a wonderful job of opening up the story without ever allowing the tension to dissipate. The decision to choose life over certain death has rarely appeared to be more challenging, vital and ultimately soul-cleansing. Boyle’s most intimate and fully realized character study is easily one of the year’s very best pictures.
3. Best Original Screenplay: Christopher Nolan, “Inception”
First of all, it’s impossible to imagine anyone winning the Best Editing Oscar over Lee Smith, who had the gargantuan task of navigating audiences through the astonishing cinematic Rubix cube known as “Inception.” Second of all, it’s impossible to find a directorial feat more staggering in its audacity and more triumphant in its execution than that of Christopher Nolan, who reached a new peak in his brilliant career by allowing this epic dream to be fully realized. It’s a flat-out crime that Smith and Nolan were both summarily snubbed. It’s a small yet potent consolation that Nolan’s script was nominated, especially considering the fact that it took ten years to fully evolve. The film’s mind-boggling, multi-layered plot structure was its main attraction. When dreams start colliding into each other in the film’s final act, with key actions reverberating through levels of consciousness like a metaphysical butterfly effect, the film achieved artistic transcendence much like Portman’s ballerina at the end of “Black Swan.” The exposition-heavy first half may cause voters to ignore this one in favor of “The King’s Speech,” which is a wonderful, heartfelt script, but far from anything resembling genius. Does the Academy really consider Nolan too commercial or popular to be worthy of Best Director nod? If voters relegate their acknowledgement of his work to a lifetime achievement award somewhere down the line, I suggest that Nolan steal Hitchcock’s two-word acceptance speech: “Thank you.”
2. Best Actress: Michelle Williams, “Blue Valentine”
Just as Colin Firth is only as good as Geoffrey Rush in “The King’s Speech,” Michelle Williams is only as good as Ryan Gosling in “Blue Valentine.” That’s because they each form one half of the film’s heart. It’s a tragedy to see Gosling’s fierce and heartbreaking work fail to be nominated (he’s certainly more worthy than Bridges in “True Grit”). Yet it sure is wonderful to see Williams among the five nominated actresses. Portman is certainly deserving of her expected win, but frankly, her lead role in “Black Swan” is naggingly one-note. In “Valentine,” Williams must portray the entire arc of a relationship, from blushing first love to agonizing disillusionment. It may be the best performance thus far from one of the most gifted actresses in Hollywood. Few films have ever captured the complexity of relationships with more razor-sharp perception than “Valentine,” my personal favorite film of 2010. Director/co-writer Derek Cianfrance, along with editors Jim Helton and Ron Patane, did a remarkable job of juxtaposing the early days of romance with its eventual derailment, illuminating moments of truth through deceptively simple cuts. A win for Williams in this category would be every bit as much a win for Gosling. You won’t see two better performances anywhere else this year.
1. Best Documentary: “Exit Through the Gift Shop”
“I used to encourage everyone I knew to make art. I don’t do that so much anymore.” So says the faceless, evasive, yet darkly hilarious graffiti artist Banksy, who serves as director and host of “Exit Through the Gift Shop,” one of the year’s most surprising and entertaining masterpieces. It’s so rare for a film this funny and clever to be nominated in the Best Documentary category, which is so often populated with important yet resoundingly bleak tales of human despair and corruption. After “The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters,” “Anvil! The Story of Anvil,” and “Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work” failed to snag a nomination, it’s mighty encouraging to see “Gift Shop” make the cut, despite the fact that it’s debatable whether the entire film is actually a documentary and not a brilliant bit of performance art. Either way, the film is an all-out stunner. Amateur filmmaker Thierry Guetta interviews and befriends various legendary street artists before turning the camera on himself to chronicle his own attempt at becoming the next anonymous, spray painting visionary. The film unforgettably illustrates the toll of consumerism on even the most underground of art forms, as Guetta’s exhibition turns out to be a lucrative success, despite the fact that his work often resembles a sly parody of hipster art. I applaud the Academy for nominating a picture that is the very essence of a true original.
 [17] | By MATT FAGERHOLM [18] |
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