2005 Oscars
As this year's Oscars have come and gone I don't want to spend too much time commenting on them (as I see films that I feel will be contenders for next year's awards season I will write about them). However, since they were just a few days ago I feel that I should say a few words about them, especially since there was a bit of an upset at the ceremony.
I found the Oscar ceremony a bit anti-climactic as I pretty much knew who was going to win in the major categories. I was not even that surprised by the Crash win. While it is true that Brokeback Mountain won just about every Best Picture award prior to the Oscars, for several weeks before the ceremony it seemed like many people came out publicly to support Crash. Film critic Roger Ebert went on a number of television programs talking about why Crash was such a great movie and why it was so important that it wins the Best Picture Oscar. Oprah Winfrey also came out for Crash. It didn't hurt that Lions Gate Films went on a marketing blitz by sending out thousands of DVDs to Academy members in order to make sure that they would see the film.
When I saw Crash last spring I thought that it was a good film but not a very subtle one. I thought that the message was important but it was dealt with in a heavy handed way and I thought that the writing was a bit disjointed. I never thought of it as a Best Picture contender. I thought that perhaps Matt Dillon would get a Best Supporting Actor nomination (he did) and that Thandie Newton might get a Best Supporting Actress nomination (she didn't). I think that Brokeback Mountain is definitely the better film. It is a beautifully directed and shot film and the two leads are superb. It is the type of tragic romance that I would have thought Oscar voters would love. I guess that they didn't love it enough. Is it that Hollywood is not really that liberal? Is it that their liberalism does not include same sex relationships and that they are homophobic? Or, is it that Brokeback Mountain peaked too soon and voters didn't want to be told that they must vote for that film in order to make a statement? I don't know what the reason is that Crash was the winner but I certainly do not want to dwell on the matter because there are so many pressing issues at hand. Because even if Brokeback Mountain won the Best Picture Oscar it would not mean that tomorrow people who are homosexual would be able marry the person that they love and have the same rights as heterosexuals. And, that is the real issue.
Regarding the other Best Picture contenders I liked all of them (which is unusual as there is usually at least one that I don't like) with the terrific Good Night, and Good Luck being my favorite. Ditto all of the Best Actor nominees. All of them gave magnificent performances but Philip Seymour Hoffman was the best transforming himself into the cold and calculating Truman Capote. Reese Witherspoon gave a fine performance as June Careter Cash in Walk the Line but although she did a good job singing I thought that the character was not a great stretch for her as she is a southerner. I would have preferred Felicity Huffman to win for Transamerica because it was a more difficult role.
I was happy that George Clooney won for Syriana because I wanted him to win for something. I was also pleased that Rachel Weisz won for The Constant Gardener because it was a sterling performance and it was the only thing that underrated film won. After so many years and so many wonderful films Ang Lee deserved his Best Director award. As far as screenplay awards goes, I would have preferred either A History of Violence or The Constant Gardener to win for adapted screenplay instead of Brokeback Mountain. And there is no question in my mind that Good Night and Good Luck should have won Best Original Screenplay instead of Crash.
I expected The March of The Penguins to win in Best Documentary and I was not disappointed. The only film I have seen in the Foreign Film category is Paradise Now. It is a powerful film that makes a good companion piece to Munich. But, I suppose that it was too controversial for the Academy to award it (even though won a Golden Globe and Independent Spirit award). During the next few weeks I will see the Oscar winning Tsotsi as well as the nominated Sophie Scholl and Joyeux Noel. Then I will have a better idea of which film really deserved the award. I haven't scene any of the animated films as of yet but I hope to in the not too distant future (they are all in my Netflix queue). I was pleased that It's Hard Out There For a Pimp won for Best Song. And, lastly, I was very moved by the salute to Robert Altman for his Lifetime Achievement Award. That was definitely one of the highlights of the evening.
I found the Oscar ceremony a bit anti-climactic as I pretty much knew who was going to win in the major categories. I was not even that surprised by the Crash win. While it is true that Brokeback Mountain won just about every Best Picture award prior to the Oscars, for several weeks before the ceremony it seemed like many people came out publicly to support Crash. Film critic Roger Ebert went on a number of television programs talking about why Crash was such a great movie and why it was so important that it wins the Best Picture Oscar. Oprah Winfrey also came out for Crash. It didn't hurt that Lions Gate Films went on a marketing blitz by sending out thousands of DVDs to Academy members in order to make sure that they would see the film.
When I saw Crash last spring I thought that it was a good film but not a very subtle one. I thought that the message was important but it was dealt with in a heavy handed way and I thought that the writing was a bit disjointed. I never thought of it as a Best Picture contender. I thought that perhaps Matt Dillon would get a Best Supporting Actor nomination (he did) and that Thandie Newton might get a Best Supporting Actress nomination (she didn't). I think that Brokeback Mountain is definitely the better film. It is a beautifully directed and shot film and the two leads are superb. It is the type of tragic romance that I would have thought Oscar voters would love. I guess that they didn't love it enough. Is it that Hollywood is not really that liberal? Is it that their liberalism does not include same sex relationships and that they are homophobic? Or, is it that Brokeback Mountain peaked too soon and voters didn't want to be told that they must vote for that film in order to make a statement? I don't know what the reason is that Crash was the winner but I certainly do not want to dwell on the matter because there are so many pressing issues at hand. Because even if Brokeback Mountain won the Best Picture Oscar it would not mean that tomorrow people who are homosexual would be able marry the person that they love and have the same rights as heterosexuals. And, that is the real issue.
Regarding the other Best Picture contenders I liked all of them (which is unusual as there is usually at least one that I don't like) with the terrific Good Night, and Good Luck being my favorite. Ditto all of the Best Actor nominees. All of them gave magnificent performances but Philip Seymour Hoffman was the best transforming himself into the cold and calculating Truman Capote. Reese Witherspoon gave a fine performance as June Careter Cash in Walk the Line but although she did a good job singing I thought that the character was not a great stretch for her as she is a southerner. I would have preferred Felicity Huffman to win for Transamerica because it was a more difficult role.
I was happy that George Clooney won for Syriana because I wanted him to win for something. I was also pleased that Rachel Weisz won for The Constant Gardener because it was a sterling performance and it was the only thing that underrated film won. After so many years and so many wonderful films Ang Lee deserved his Best Director award. As far as screenplay awards goes, I would have preferred either A History of Violence or The Constant Gardener to win for adapted screenplay instead of Brokeback Mountain. And there is no question in my mind that Good Night and Good Luck should have won Best Original Screenplay instead of Crash.
I expected The March of The Penguins to win in Best Documentary and I was not disappointed. The only film I have seen in the Foreign Film category is Paradise Now. It is a powerful film that makes a good companion piece to Munich. But, I suppose that it was too controversial for the Academy to award it (even though won a Golden Globe and Independent Spirit award). During the next few weeks I will see the Oscar winning Tsotsi as well as the nominated Sophie Scholl and Joyeux Noel. Then I will have a better idea of which film really deserved the award. I haven't scene any of the animated films as of yet but I hope to in the not too distant future (they are all in my Netflix queue). I was pleased that It's Hard Out There For a Pimp won for Best Song. And, lastly, I was very moved by the salute to Robert Altman for his Lifetime Achievement Award. That was definitely one of the highlights of the evening.
posted by Film Fanatic | 2:55 PM
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