Yesterday I unloaded most irksome
bugaboos of the 2014-15 awards season in a flurry of list-ified rage.
Venting is healthy, right? But if there's one thing healthier, it's
accentuating the positive. So as my final word (I swear!) on the
Oscar derby that ended almost a week ago, here are my five
favourite treasures of the season:
Mere days before the nominations were
announced, I published a list of ten potential nods that I didn't
have the guts to predict, but really wanted to see. The highest among
those longshot hopes was to see both GKIDS stablemates, Song of
the Sea and The Tale of Princess Kaguya, earn nominations
for Best Animated Feature. While most were quick to bemoan their
inclusion at the expense of the wildly popular LEGO Movie, I was
rejoicing the animation branch's fine artistic taste. Tomm Moore made the best
animated film of the year in my opinion, while Isao Takahata made the
best animated film of all time back in the 80s, and the freedom to now
call him an Oscar nominee is a thrill that Big Hero 6's
ultimate victory will never diminish. Other pleasant nomination
morning goodies included Ida for cinematography, Captain
America for visual effects, and Whiplash for sound mixing
(which it actually won!), and that brings me to my next highlight...
4. General Membership Makes 'Sound' Choices
Usually the sound branch knows what
it's doing and the academy at large hasn't got a clue. I haven't seen
the actual deserving nominees of each category take home their
appropriate Oscars since... gee, 2003 I think (Chicago and Two
Towers split). But this year was just the opposite: The sound
branch baffled by snubbing Fury and Godzilla while opting for the
cacophonous Interstellar, but then the general membership redeemed
them by picking the best possible option in each category. The Best
Sound Editing win for American Sniper is perhaps typical
(though not undeserved), but the Best Sound Mixing win for Whiplash
is truly inspired. The last film that took home this honour for
mixing purely instrumental music was Bird in 1989, which was
about (get this!) Charlie Parker, who is referenced prominently
throughout Whiplash! Along with Alexandre Desplat's overdue
win for Best Original Score, this was one of the most wholly
satisfying wins of the evening.
3. Julianne Moore
Speaking of overdue wins, Julianne
Moore's has been a long time coming. I published a top ten list some
time ago of individuals who need an Oscar “NOW”. Well it may have
taken a few years, but we can officially scratch Julianne from that
list. I know that some fans of this extraordinarily talented actress
may have just a twinge of reservation about her finally being gilded
for a film that isn't all that great, especially after losing for
modern classics such as Boogie Nights and Far from Heaven.
But for all the faults in Still Alice, Moore's performance
isn't one of them. This is an astonishing, complex interpretation of
a thinly conceived character. That Moore was able to merit
Hollywood's highest honour for a tiny, miserablist movie that few
truly love is both long-awaited recognition of her gifts for
elevating material, and a testament to how rightly respected and
loved she is in this business. My very happy congratulations to her!
2. “Glory”
This particular highlight of the season
could be seen as bittersweet, as it goes somewhat hand-in-hand with
the depressing outcome of Selma's doomed Oscar campaign. But
once the rage over the film's near shutout in the major categories
had subsided, one fact became readily apparent: It was destined to
win for the song. “It had damn well better” seemed to be a
dominant attitude amongst its most ardent supporters. From that point
on, Common and John Legend (the latter of whom should have been in
the Oscar running for Waiting for Superman in 2011) became the
primary ambassadors for the film, delivering impassioned speeches at
the Globes and Critics Choice Awards that cut right to the heart of
Selma's message. When they took the stage on Oscar night,
giving the most hair-raising telecast performance in recent memory,
it felt like so much more than just another Best Original Song
presentation. The crowd in attendance at the Dolby made it known just
how big it felt, cheering on their feet for nearly a full minute,
many with tears in their eyes. It was a glorious moment in the sun
for the tragically under-appreciated film, whose audience continues to steadily grow.
1. Ethan Hawke
I'm trying to take the whole Boyhood
thing in stride. On the one hand, for this masterful experiment in
narrative filmmaking to ultimately come up short (namely the criminal
0-for-3 showing of its visionary director Richard Linklater) is
disappointing to say the least. But on the other hand, for this type
of film to even be in the running – for the win, no less – is
sort of miraculous. And the most heartwarming thing about its
unlikely miracle run at the gold was seeing Ethan Hawke on every red
carpet at every awards show, giving intelligent interviews and just
grinning from ear to ear. There was a time, believe it or not, when
most assumed he wouldn't even be nominated. Some entertained the
notion that he was essentially playing himself in the film, when in fact he was
quietly offering up the best work of his career. It was heartening
when he became a stalwart part of the Best Supporting Actor
conversation, even though he never stood a chance at winning. When
people talk about being “just happy to be here”, that's Ethan
Hawke x10. His joy at seeing Arquette and Linklater winning prizes
throughout the winter was uncontainable, and he looked like he might
have burst when Ellar Coltrane won the Critics Choice Award for Best
Young Actor/Actress. He has no hardware to show for his immeasurable
contribution to this 12-year commitment, but the look on his face as
he got up on stage with his cast mates at the Globes and Critics
Choice says it all. He knows how lucky he is to have been part of
such a special movie. All season long, Hawke was an exemplar of the
right attitude you have to bring to this whole awards nonsense. It
isn't about winning or losing or individual achievement. It's about
celebrating the collaboration, and relishing those rare opportunities
to do so while they last. Hugs all around!
And that's all I have to say about that. I may post a non-Oscary thing or two throughout March, and will probably start spit-balling some early predictions in April. Meanwhile, it's time to go into a much needed hibernation. My thanks to all you readers who stop by this blog on a regular basis. Writing about movies is fun and all, but I don't think I'd continue doing it for free if I didn't know that at least a few people were reading. Hope you've been enjoying it. Now bring on 2015!
