One Category at a Time: Documentary

After last year's high watermark in the category, this year's contest for Best Documentary is a puzzlingly vague one to try and anticipate. Presumed frontrunner and critical darling Project Nim was surprisingly left out of the discussion (although James Marsh already has an Oscar, so I won't lose too much sleep over it). What we're left with is a quintet of films which have received little precursor attention apart from three collective guild citations.

My Awards nominations: Documentary

Inevitably, I never get out to as many documentaries a year as I would like. I usually only see five or six a year, so a nomination from me isn't always an indication of how good I think a doc is (last year's atypically rich crop being the exception). So if I catch other docs later on that I really dig, I'll retroactively amend this slate of nominees Best Documentary accordingly.

Buck (Cindy Meehl):

A nicely shot biography of an inherently likable character; the warm and humane Buck Brannaman, the expert horseman who inspired The Horse Whisperer. His way with the animals is fascinating to observe.

Hell and Back Again (Danfung Dennis):

Given it's thematic similarities to The Hurt Locker or Restrepo, it would be dangerously easy for viewers to dismiss this topic as old hat, but Hell and Back Again possesses an equally potent emotional gut punch, not to mention an artistic quality that previous Iraq war films have not.

If a Tree Falls (Marshall Curry):

A very interesting account of how peaceful environmental protest degenerated into destructive acts of so-called eco-terrorism. The film is carefully objective, simply presenting the situation and the players to the audience, allowing us to make our own judgements on the many debatable grey areas.

The Interrupters (Steve James):

A gripping but upsetting time-capsule version of Chicago at its most horrifying. We actually witness conflicts unfold in front of the camera. At the same time, his film is an inspiration, replenishing our hope with his tactful exposition of the interrupters' own redemptive backstories.

Project Nim (James Marsh):
The film avoids ever feeling too clinical or obsessed with the science of the situation. Rather, Marsh bubbles the emotions to the surface of this sobering tale; Not only Nim's emotions, but those of his human teachers and caregivers.

Just missed: Senna

More 2011 Reviews

Some more miniature reviews to add to the pile.

WGA nominees announced

We have to remember not to put too much stock into these nominees. Many screenplays in the hunt for Oscar recognition were not signatories of the WGA, thus were not eligible. Anyway, here they are:

Original Screenplay
50/50
Bridesmaids
Midnight in Paris Being the only viable Best Picture contender, I imagine this is the winner
Win Win
Young Adult

Obviously, The Artist, which was ineligible, is likely to replace one of these on the Oscar ballot. I say Bridesmaids is the weak link. The Academy and I may not always agree but they usually try to keep it classy. However, Young Adult may be a bit too acerbic and sour to win them over, but if any branch is willing to give Diablo her fair shake, it's the writers.

Adapted Screenplay
The Descendants Here's your winner... (sigh)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Help
Hugo
Moneyball

The Adapted Screenplay situation looks fairly close to my predicted Oscar five. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy wasn't eligible, but I'd expect the Academy to prefer it to Dragon Tattoo. War Horse never was a writer's showcase, so it's still strong for a Best Picture nomination. But for the win? I don't know. A Screenplay nomination is uber important.

Documentary Screenplay
Better This World
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
Nostalgia for the Light
Pina
Position Among the Stars
Senna Winner?

Disappointing that Project Nim didn't show up here. I thought it was quite well written. At any rate, Pina and If a Tree Falls are the only two nominees on the documentary branch's shortlist, and I seriously doubt Pina's chances anyway, so this doesn't help us much in predicting Best Documentary.