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

WGA winners

Adapted: Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
Original: Christopher Nolan, Inception
Documentary: Charles Ferguson, Inside Job

GREAT trio of winners. Even if I might have preferred to see The Kids Are All Right bring a prize to Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg, it's great to see Christopher Nolan receive his due for one of the most impressive filmmaking accomplishments of the year.

Aaron Sorkin continues to clean up, deservedly so, and Charles Ferguson snatched up a major award for his excellent breakdowns and effective explanations in Inside Job.

Hooper, Ferguson take DGA honours

Well fuck.

I might have known this was going to happen. The King's Speech director Tom Hooper is probably in the driver's seat now. Having won the DGA (with BAFTA likely to follow) and directed the film that's going to win Best Picture, I'd say his "coup de directeur" is in full swing. I guess critics' darling The Social Network was just that; a critics' darling.

But maybe Fincher can still come out with a win on Oscar night despite this guild hiccup. Is there a precedent? Turns out the most recent case is when Chicago's Rob Marshall snagged the guild prize away from Polanski and Scorsese in 2003, only to lose the Oscar to more deserving and more overdue Polanski (nice move, Academy!). However, I don't think Fincher has achieved quite that level of "overdue" just yet, and remember Chicago was a musical, the directors of which haven't been taken seriously as Best Director winners since Bob Fosse won for Cabaret nearly 40 years ago!

In more pleasing news, the DGA awarded their documentary honour to perceived Oscar frontrunner Charles Ferguson for his excellent Inside Job. Being the only documentary this year nominated by all four major guilds, I'd say it's a safe call, although the delightful Exit Through the Gift Shop is an intriguing spoiler possibility. People just love that movie. I'll jump for joy if it manages a surprise win.

DGA Preview

They announce tonight. If either Hooper, O'Russell, or Aronofsky want any chance of overtaking Fincher, they'd better do it here. The most likely spoiler is Hooper, now that his film seems poised to take Best Picture at the Oscars, but something seems to say that Fincher is winning no matter what.

Meanwhile, Inside Job's Charles Ferguson will likely have it out against Restrepo's Tim Hetherington and Sebastien Junger for the documentary prize, seeing as their films are the only ones cited by both the DGA and AMPAS. I'm putting my money on Ferguson.

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

DGA Doucmentary nomiees!

Shame on the DGA for ignoring Banksy and his wonderful achievement in Exit Through the Gift Shop, but I can't say I'm surprised. In lieu of him, I should hope this goes to Charles Ferguson.

Alex Gibney, Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer
Charles Ferguson, Inside Job
Lixin Fan, Last Train Home
Tim Hetherington, Sebastian Junger, Restrepo
Davis Guggenheim, Waiting for Superman

Review - Inside Job

Charles Ferguson's hard-hitting documentary Inside Job will leave you feeling right pissed as you leave the theatre. And I mean that in the best possible way. It's a searing expose on how Wall Street greed and irresponsibility lead to the global economic crisis of 2008, which succeeds both as an enlightening lesson in the follies of the structure and the people governing our financial system as well as a witty and compelling piece of entertainment.

To argue that Inside Job is anything but dense would be false, as the amount of research that went into this film and the complexity of their findings are nothing short of staggering. But even more staggering is Ferguson's ability to refine, streamline, and present his investigation in a self-contained 100-minute format that someone with absolutely no knowledge of the financial industry (such as myself) can follow, and without oversimplifying or sacrificing the integrity of the information. His organization of the movie into five distinct chapters helps guide the audience through the purpose behind the thick explanations (of concepts like the derivative market, collateralized debt obligations, credit default swaps, and the securitization food chain) and what conclusions to draw from them.

His position is clear: The people responsible for deregulating the stock market, thus encouraging unwise high-risk investments that but billions of tax payers' dollars on the bubble while waltzing away with their own six-to-eight-figure incomes, must be held accountable. Of course, many of those at whom Ferguson points a finger declined to be interviewed for the film; probably the smartest move they've made in the last ten years, as he is an informed and tenacious interviewer who nails his subjects to the hot-seat and makes 'em sweat. He relishes in showing us the awkward silences and helpless stammers of interviewees who know they've just been asked a question that implicates their guilt.

A nod for Best Documentary had better be coming, and by all the buzz it's received since Cannes, I cant imagine that it won't get in. It could even win.

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