One Category at a Time: Director

Flip a coin folks. Much like Film Editing, here's another category that can go either the way of The Social Network of The King's Speech.

It's a funny thing, the mechanistics of the awards race. All through December it became apparent that David Fincher was the man to beat for Best Director, having snagged two dozen critics awards (including the Critics' Choice) and the Golden Globe. Even when The King's Speech stole the PGA and accrued twelve Oscar nominations, thus becoming the Best Picture frontrunner, Best Director was still David Fincher's to lose... until the DGA and its massive voting membership (most of whom work in television) handed their top honour to Tom Hooper. He became the new leader of the pack, but then his fellow countrymen in BAFTA tipped the hat in Fincher's direction again, making this once more, a tight two-horse race.

To predict a split, or not predict a split?

When in doubt, go with the Best Picture winner. And go with it I shall.

Naturally, the nominee who deserves it the most - Darren Aronofsky for his dazzling execution of Black Swan - has the least shot of winning. Figures.

As for the Coens and David O. Russell, I'm happy for them. Honest. But I can't pretend like they belong here over the likes of Christopher Nolan. True Grit was a helluva good popcorn movie, but had so little personality outside of the performances. And The Fighter is simply overrated. Not that I blame Russell so much for its garbled structure and arrhythmia, but I still don't really consider it a great achievement in directing.

Will win: Tom Hooper, The King's Speech
Runner-up: David Fincher, The Social Network

Should win: Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
Should have been nominated: Christopher Nolan, Inception

My Award nominations: Best Picture, Best Director

There's a 4/5 overlap between my Best Picture and Best Director nominations this year, so I'm lumping them into one big post:

Best Picture AND Best Director:

Black Swan, directed by DARREN ARONOFSKY:

Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan is a staggering work of cinema about the artist's odyssey and the self-consuming quest for perfection. Aronosfsky, who has a way of getting his actors to turn themselves inside-out, draws a career-best performance out of Natalie Portman, whose transformation from 'sweet girl' Nina Sayers to the confident but vicious Black Swan is one of the best descents into madness put on film. But this is still Aronofsky's show, and what a terrifying show it is. He puts us inside Nina Sayers' head for a stylized exploration of a tragic artistic process. The screenwriters deserve credit for providing a strong, thematically rich story, but it's more by Aronofsky's direction that we understand Nina's doomed journey.

Inception, directed by CHRISTOPHER NOLAN:

Christopher Nolan's dreamy extravaganza excels both on an emotional level and as pure action entertainment. Nolan pushes the envelope on the tried and true “race against time” technique by staging races against time within races against time within races against time! The entire final hour of the film is a masterstroke of bravura storytelling, executed with infallible clockwork precision. Inception earns the right to have its faults (and it does have faults) forgiven. As far as ambitious, committed, exhilarating, and above all, intelligent movie entertainment goes, it's a winner. Nolan's influences and sources of inspiration are apparent, but you've still never seen anything quite like this. It's a true original.

The Kids Are All Right, by LISA CHOLODENKO:

Lisa Cholodenko's The Kids Are All Right is a wonderful dramedy of manners whose no-nonsense style delivers a perfectly measured emotional cadence by not drawing attention to itself. To try and pick a standout actor would be folly, as this is a true ensemble piece wherein all five principles give outstanding performances which add up to a whole that is so much greater than the sum of its parts. The film enjoys a genuine realism. Void of snappy one-liners or bold dramatic flare, the comedy and tragedy stem organically from the characters and the complex relationships they share with each other. Subtext abounds in every conversation, and Cholodenko's tactful direction lets it gleam through without ever relinquishing that realness of feeling.

The Social Network, directed by DAVID FINCHER:

Some may get hung up on the historical accuracy of the film (no one for sure knows the true story), but that would be missing the point. It's not a biopic. It can get away with taking creative liberties because of its unimpeachable trifecta of fine writing, intelligent direction, and authentic acting. Aaron Sorkin's screenplay slices through the perceived glory of the Internet with a cynical but perspicacious edge. Give David Fincher credit for extracting such terrific performances from all. He lets every character have just the right amount of exposure, and paces the story as only an expert can (with the help of his excellent film editors Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall, of course). It may not have an auteurial feel, but that's probably just as well.

(just Best Picture):
Toy Story 3, directed by Lee Unkrich:
The third instalment of the Toy Story franchise might not have seemed like a good idea on paper, but credit veteran story men John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich, and new-to-the-team Michael Arndt for putting together yet another engaging story that continues to push the many themes explored by the two originals while still preserving their charm and wit. What allows the Toy Story movies to continue to resonate after the novelty of the 1995 original concept has worn off is an increasingly direct approach to mature ideas. The script moves swiftly and with purpose before settling into an ending so poignant and emotional it reduced me to a teary mess. They could not have ended this series on a better note. Utter perfection.

(just Best Director):
Exit Through the Gift Shop, directed by BANKSY:

The film threatens to end up as a one-note character study about a larger-than-life personality, but Banksy has bigger plans. By the end we realize that the real question Banksy has been posing is “what are the true natures of art and genius?”. He extrapolates from a wacky biography to a meditation on celebrity, culture, the death of a movement, and creative expression vs. creative pillaging. Is Giuetta a genius or a nut job? Is he the rabbit or the turtle? The answer proposed by Banksy to that small question is pretty obvious, but think about who won that fabled race, and you'll understand his definitive stance on the bigger issues.

Just missed:
Andrea Arnold Fish Tank, Charles Ferguson Inside Job, John Cameron Mitchell Rabbit Hole, Mike Leigh Another Year, Silvain Chomet The Illusionist, Peter Weir The Way Back

Review - Black Swan

Some films make a point of delicately straddling the fine line between reality and fantasy, but Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan takes the visceral approach, hop-skip-jumping between the two without giving its audience the slightest warning. The result is a staggering work of cinema about the artist's odyssey and the self-consuming quest for perfection.

Natalie Portman plays dancer Nina Sayers, who's thrilled when her director Thomas (Vincent Cassel) casts her as both the White and Black Swans in her company's upcoming production of Swan Lake. But Nina is struggling: while she has no problem at embodying the innocent, virginal White Swan, Thomas insists that she is too restrained when dancing the jealous, seductive Black Swan. Only through releasing her dark impulses can Nina liberate the Black Swan within her, but as it starts to spread its wings, Nina starts losing her grip.

To call Black Swan a towering artistic achievement would be an understatement. Darren Aronosfsky, who has a way of getting his actors to turn themselves inside-out (Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler or Ellen Burstyn in Requiem for a Dream), draws a powerful career-best performance out of Natalie Portman, whose transformation from 'sweet girl' Nina Sayers to the confident but vicious Black Swan is one of the best descents into madness put on film. Another impressive feat is her dancing, which any ballerina will tell is damned hard to do! That she is able to exude character and arc on the stage while maintaining complete discipline of technique is astonishing.

But this is still Aronofsky's show, and what a terrifying show it is. He puts us inside Nina Sayers' head for a stylized exploration of a tragic artistic process. The screenwriters Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz, and John McLaughlin deserve credit for providing a strong, thematically rich story, but it's more by Aronofsky's direction that we understand Nina's doomed journey. A combination of things release the Black Swan within: oppression from her domineering mother (awesomely played by Barbara Hershey), lust for her director, paranoia toward a rival dancer (Mila Kunis), self-stimulation, self-inflicted injury, and most of all, jealousy of what she thinks she cannot be.

Helping to put us inside Nina's crumbling mind is DP Matthew Lebatique. He has lots of fun with mirrors and reflections in this film, but none of it is gimmicky. It's all used to evoke relevant themes such as the duality of human nature and as a striking symbol for the destructive capability one's own self-image can have on an individual. The dance sequences are dazzlingly shot as well, intricately gliding about the stage, capturing the dancers' faces and movements with dizzying elegance. The man deserves an Academy Award. Plain and simple.

No less deserving of Oscar is Aronofsky's sound team, who make the free-fall of Nina's sanity as much a sonic experience as a visual one. Well-appointed sound effects (wings fluttering, laughter, white noise) are cleverly laced throughout key moments to mirror Nina's thoughts and anxieties.

Oscar nominations for Picture, Director, Actress, Cinematography, and Sound had better be coming. I'd also be thrilled to see Amy Westcott's terrific character-serving costumes recognized.

**** out of ****