One Category at a Time: Documentary

There's no doubt in my mind that this is the most impressive quintet of nominees the Academy has put together in any category this year.

The only one I have slight reservations about is Gasland, and that has more to do with the Josh Fox's form and structure. Conceptually it's a very compelling piece of investigative media, with some eye-opening and infuriating information to present.

Waste Land is my fourth favourite, for its rousing emotional foundation and loose unintrusive style. It's a testament to Lucy Walker's range as a documentarian and a filmmaker that this was released the same year as her Countdown to Zero, which is much different in structure and subject matter. The film is indeed an inspiration.

Creeping up my ladder of preference to #3 you'll find Restrepo, an extraordinary objective observer essay put on film. That Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger could even get this film made is incredible enough, let alone that it should succeed so thoroughly in frightening and exhilarating us, and putting us in the mindset of the soldier.

My second favourite is Charles Ferguson's slick and focused Inside Job, which carries out the daunting task of explaining the excruciating mechanics of 2008's economic crisis to the layman with ease and intelligence. One of the most interesting and riling movies of the year, it's societal pertinence and professionalism will likely earn it Oscar gold.

And finally, the best of the lot (and that's saying a lot!), Banksy's droll Exit Through the Gift Shop, perhaps one of the most unusual "documentaries" I've ever seen, but one of the most memorable. Banksy is constantly molding it like a lump of clay, always into something fascinating, but it never stays that shape for long. Finally, by the end, he's left us with something that transcends shape; an epiphany. I've never seen such a unique and hilarious study of art and celebrity.

Will win: Inside Job
Runner-up: Waste Land

Should win: Exit Through the Gift Shop
Should have been nominated: Catfish

ACE Eddie winners!

Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic): The Social Network
Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy or Musical): Alice in Wonderland
Best Edited Animated Film: Toy Story 3
Best Edited Documentary: Exit Through the Gift Shop

We can all pretend that Alice in Wonderland winning over The Kids Are All Right and Scott Pilgrim in the Comedy category never really happened right? Right?... Good. Glad we agree.

So other than that bit of unpleasantness, this is a pretty terrific group of winners. I'm doing cartwheels right now for Tom Fulford and Chris King, who were rightfully recognized for what is the best editing job of the year on Exit Through the Gift Shop. Gotta hand it to Lee Unkrich and Ken Schretzmann as well on their hard-earned win for editing Toy Story 3.

But the most encouraging sign of the night was Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall's win for The Social Network. ACE has awarded the eventual Oscar winner for Film Editing for the last nine years in a row! This gives me hope. I love Tariq Anwar's cutting of The King's Speech and all, but I couldn't help but think what a shame it would be if it beat the most impeccably paced film of the year to that Editing Oscar. Now I feel I can safely call The Social Network in that category. Fingers crossed!

My 2010 Award winners!

You've seen the nominees. Time to see my winners:

Best Picture:
THE SOCIAL NETWORK (Dana Brunetti, Cean Chaffin, Michael De Luca, Scott Rudin, David Fincher)


Best Director:
DARREN ARONOFSKY, BLACK SWAN


Best Actor:
JESSE EISENBERG, THE SOCIAL NETWORK


Best Actress:
KATIE JARVIS, FISH TANK


Best Supporting Actor:
ED HARRIS, THE WAY BACK


Best Supporting Actress:
LESLEY MANVILLE, ANOTHER YEAR


Best Acting Ensemble:
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT (Laura Rosenthal)


Best Original Screenplay:
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT (Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg)


Best Adapted Screenplay:
THE SOCIAL NETWORK (Aaron Sorkin)


Best Cinematography:
BLACK SWAN (Matthew Lebatique)


Best Film Editing:
EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP (Tom Fulford, Chris King)


Best Original Score:
INCEPTION (Hans Zimmer)


Best Original Song:
“SHINE” from WAITING FOR SUPERMAN (John Legend)


Best Production Design, Set Decoration, and Art Direction:
INCEPTION (Guy Dyas, Larry Dias, Douglas Mowat, Brad Ricker)


Best Costume Design:
GET LOW (Julie Weiss)


Best Sound Mixing:
BLACK SWAN (Ken Ishii, Craig Henighan, Dominick Tavella)


Best Sound Editing:
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (Al Nelson, Randy Thom, Jonathan Null)


Best Visual Effects:
INCEPTION (Chris Corbould, Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Peter Bebb)


Best Makeup and Hair:
THE WOLFMAN (Rick Baker, Lisa Westcott)


Best Animated Feature:
TOY STORY 3 (Lee Unkrich)


Best Foreign Film:
THE ILLUSIONIST (Sylvain Chomet)


Best Documentary:
EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP (Banksy)


That makes three wins apiece for The Social Network, Black Swan, Inception, and two wins apiece for The Kids Are All Right and Exit Through the Gift Shop.

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

My Award nominations: Documentary

Best Documentary:

Catfish (Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman):
It starts as a suspicious online relationship that turns into a thrilling investigation that ends up a settled contemplation about what our digital age society and the people in it are all about. Speculations that it may be a hoax are beside the point, because it tells its story and delivers its message so effectively and entertainingly.

Exit Through the Gift Shop (Banksy):
A brilliantly edited, mercurial meditation on the nature of art, culture, and creative expression vs creative fakery. We never know what the film is really about until the final frames, just like we never really know whether it's a "real" documentary or an elaborate ruse. Whatever the answer, it remains an ingenious and hilarious work of art.

Inside Job (Charles Ferguson):
This searing expose on how Wall Street greed and irresponsibility lead to the global economic crisis of 2008 succeeds both as an enlightening lesson in the follies of the structure of our financial system and the people governing it, as well as a witty and compelling piece of entertainment that'll leave you both bemused an enraged.

Restrepo (Tim Hetherington, Sebastian Junger):
It's a miracle that this riveting documentary should even exist. It's a testament to the dedication and courage of Hetherington and Junger, who spent a year in the most dangerous place on earth to conduct an objective study of men at war. No political position is taken. The only concern is to observe the harrowing life of the American soldier.

Waste Land (Lucy Walker):
A stirring and inspiring tale of art and social responsibility, it's not hard to see why Waste Land brings festival audiences to their feet. The only thing more extraordinary than Vik Muniz's garbage creations is how profoundly they affect the lives of the people who inspired him. director Lucy Walker wisely avoids an formalism in telling a story as emotional as this.

Just missed: Countdown to Zero, Waiting for Superman, Gasland

My Award nominations: Film Editing

Best Film Editing:

Black Swan (Andrew Weisblum):
The slow build of tension is brilliantly controlled so that when we come to the jumps scares, they really do make you jump! The handling of Nina's hallucinations is essential to selling her descent into madness.

Exit Through the Gift Shop (Tom Fulford & Chris King):
A sharp sense of comic timing helps punctuate every hilarious phrase that leaves Guietta's mouth. To have sifted through the tens of thousands of hours of his amateur movie making alone merits some kind of Iron Man award.

Inception (Lee Smith):
Intertwines multiple dream levels into a cohesive and thrilling action extravaganza. The entire final hour of the film is a masterstroke of bravura storytelling, executed with infallible clockwork precision.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (Jonathan Amos, Paul Machliss):

I've seen 'Scott Pilgrim' a few times now, but I always laugh as though it's the first time. It occurs to me that it's because the comedy isn't so much in the text as it is in the timing. The editing is so precise that I could watch it in a foreign language and still respond to every comic beat.

The Social Network (Kirk Baxter & Angus Wall):
Does justice to the back-and-forth structure of Sorkin's screenplay, as well as his rapid-fire dialogue. The editors need to be as on their toes as the actors, and they find a terrific rhythm to each scene.

Just missed: Fish Tank, How to Train Your Dragon,
The Kids Are All Right, The King's Speech, Toy Story 3

Doc shortlist unveiled!

What perfect timing! Hot on the heels of my documentary recap, AMPAS has released their shortlist of 15 docs eligible for this year's Academy Awards.

Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer
Enemies of the People
Exit through the Gift Shop
Gasland
Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould
Inside Job
The Lottery
Precious Life
Quest for Honor
Restrepo
This Way of Life
The Tillman Story
Waiting for Superman
Waste Land
William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe

Disappointed though I am that the wonderful Catfish didn't get so much as a sideways glance from this branch, I can't be anything less than delighted that Banksy's pointed and hilarious Exit Through the Gift Shop has survived this first screening process. It remains the funniest and one of the most well edited films I've seen this year, and I'd LOVE to see it nominated.

Review - Exit Through the Gift Shop

“Time will tell whether I'm a rabbit or a turtle,” are the last words we hear spoken by Thierry Guetta at the end of Exit Through the Gift Shop, the delightful documentary of which he's the subject, and by that late point of the film we would expect a quote no less bizarre and baffling from the eccentric Frenchman. That's because we've been exposed to an hour and a half of his flamboyant, ceaselessly entertaining antics.

The film chronicles the rise of Guetta from a camera-obsessed foreigner in L.A., to a street artist tag-along, to a self-proclaimed street art documentarian, and finally to a street artist with his own pseudonym; Mr. Brainwash. At first, Guetta innocently recorded well known graffiti artists in their element with the intention of putting together a film about the street art subculture, even earning audience with the mysterious and seclusive Banksy, whose large-scale creations defied the odds and caught the attention of the world earlier last decade. But upon realizing that Guetta was no film maker, Banksy decided to turn the tables and make a film himself, one that would follow Guetta on his quest to put on his own large-scale art show.

By the halfway mark of the film, it threatens to end up as a one-note character study about larger-than-life personality. But Banksy has bigger plans. Throughout the movie he has us questioning, “is this guy for real?”, and 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 Guetta 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.

It's also worth mentioning that Exit Through the Gift Shop is the best comedy of year. So far no other film from 2010 had me laughing more. Guetta's ambition and charisma are so over the top that sometimes it makes you wonder if he's putting on a Borat-esque performance. A sharp sense of comic timing from editors Tom Fulford and Chris King helps punctuate every hilarious phrase that leaves his mouth.

Alas, I fear this type of light material is not usually to the Documentary branch's liking (I'll be surprised if it makes the shortlist), which is a shame because it absolutely deserves nominations for Best Documentary and Best Film Editing. To have sifted through the tens of thousands of hours of Guetta's amateur movie making alone merits some kind of Iron Man award.

***1/2 out of ****