One Category at a Time: Adapted Screenplay

This past weekend saw the awards race continue to take a turn for the worse as The King's Speech strolled through the DGA and SAG awards that aught rightfully have gone to more deserving films. It's likely heading for a sweep of sorts, much to the detriment of the superior Social Network, but there's at least one category where Fincher's film won't be in direct competition with the kingly juggernaut.
Needless to say, anybody other than Aaron Sorkin nabbing the Adapted Screenplay prize would be an utter shock and embarrassment. What he accomplished with The Social Network is one of the finest pieces of intelligent and artful screenwriting in years.

That being said, the rest of the field is still a respectable bunch. True Grit is wonderfully written by the Coens, as always, featuring period-appropriate dialogue and an excellent sense of timing. Toy Story 3 is also one of the year's best scripts (although it should be competing in the Original category), lingering on the verge of greatness for the first 90 minutes, and then finally not only meeting it, but exceeding it with that potent, beautiful ending. Danny Boyle's innovation as a filmmaker continued exploring tricky and challenging territory with his and Simon Beaufoy's unique work in 127 Hours, and Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini did a fine job at building intrigue in the grainy Winter's Bone.

It's a shame David Lindsey-Abaire's Rabbit Hole or Polanski & Harris' The Ghost Writer couldn't find room here, but at the end of the day, it's a moot point.

The Academy 'Likes' Aaron Sorkin.

Will win: The Social Network
Runner-up: True Grit

Should win: The Social Network
Should have been nominated: Rabbit Hole

My Award nominations: Original Screenplay

It's a crowded field this year, and there are a couple of scripts I really wanted to include in Best Original Screenplay, but five is the limit, and they are:

Another Year (Mike Leigh):
A devastating study of middle class monotony, manifested by a handful of beautifully written characters. His humour feels organic and genuine, his tragedy equally so. The character arcs are a subtle extension of character bakcstories that sneak up on the audience before the final crushing scenes.

Four Lions (Jesse Armstrong, Sam Bain, Christopher Morris, Simon Blackwell):
This wickedly funny farce about an incompetent quintet of British-Muslim suicide bombers not only features some of the year's most hilarious dialogue, but also a razor-sharp satirical edge, mocking the idiocy of multiple philosophies regarding terrorism in hysterically grotesque fashion!

Inception (Christopher Nolan):
An ingenious and wholly original concept from Nolan's head-spinning imagination is what gives rise to the roller coaster ride that is Inception. Beyond the cerebral heist storyline, his script is a complex and literally layered character study about grief, regret, and coming to terms with both, from which stems a surprisingly moving payoff.

The Kids Are All Right (Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg):
Void of snappy one-liners or bold dramatic flare, the comedy and tragedy of this story stem organically from the characters and the complex relationships they share with each other, lending the whole film an understated realism. The authenticity of the dialogue and characterizations is what makes the story so relatable and affecting.

Toy Story 3* (Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich):
Another wonderful yarn, brilliantly spun as always by Pixar's unrivaled storytellers. The script moves with purpose, pushing forward the many themes explored by the two originals while still preserving their charm and wit. A droll, insightful, and timeless fable that concludes with one of the most poignant and moving endings in recent memory.

Just missed: Black Swan, Blue Valentine, Fish Tank, The Illusionist, Inside Job

*Yes, I'm aware the Academy is classifying Toy Story 3 as Adapted, but I don't consider a sequel of an original concept to be an adaptation, especially since they had to concoct a completely new story for the film.

Best of the Decade #4: Finding Nemo (2003)

Finding Nemo is a film best described with superlatives: of all Pixar films to date, it is the most moving, most resonant, and most sincere, presenting the fears and struggles of parenthood through a funny, touching, and truly original story.
Thanks to the meticulous effects animation and production design, it is also the most gorgeous computer-animated movie you're likely to see, relishing in vibrant colours set against an oceanic backdrop of deep pastel blue. Equally as vibrant are the characters, fleshed out by perfectly written dialogue and an exceptional voice cast, boasting standout performances from Albert Brooks and especially Ellen Degeneres. Another important character is the one-of-a-kind music of Thomas Newman, who captures the emotional ebb and flow of the story like no one else could.

All said, Finding Nemo is an unrivaled gem of a movie, the acme of refined and intelligent family entertainment, and quite simply the best animated film of the decade.

BRILLIANT SCORE ALERT:


(For those keeping track, this gives director Andrew Stanton the distinction of being the only film maker with two movies in my top ten of the decade.)

Best of the Decade #7: WALL-E (2008)

The opening scenes of this masterpiece from Pixar play out as a dark Kubrikean science-fiction; a disturbing painting of the ravages of environmental indifference and mass consumerism on our planet. But at the heart of it, WALL-E is a love story of beautiful simplicity yet surprisingly deep in its subtextual implications. The ultimate message is one of hope for the future of humanity, presenting the two robots as a kind of futuristic Adam and Eve. Some might even perceive one particular scene as being the pseudo-sexual conception of a new humanity, whereby WALL-E puts his "seed" into the "egg-shaped" EVE (this character's name is no coincidence). The next generation of humans is even meant to resemble babies in space, sucking up liquid meals, virtually no bone density, unable to walk. It signifies human civilization in infancy, a civilization of which WALL-E and EVE are virtual father and mother.

As for the somewhat blunt environmental message, the film makes a point of suggesting that our new technology (and consumption thereof) is not to blame for the environmental crisis, but our own contentedness to sit back and assume everything is OK. The machines are not an enemy that needs to be fought. Our story's savior is one such machine himself. It's human kind's paradigm that needs to be confronted; Man cannot rely solely on his machines, but with machines, he can achieve more than he ever could alone. It's through that combination of the old and the new that civilization will evolve (an idea poignantly evoked during the gorgeous end credits).

The film-making itself is a testament to the combination of the old and the new, where the classics of the silent era are emulated with the most visually stunning of modern technology. High praise must be sung for writer-director Andrew Stanton, who recognizes that a picture is worth a thousand words. WALL-E is made up of thousands of said pictures, each one as effective and filled with emotion as the wordiest of dialogue. WALL-E speaks a different type of dialogue. One with a more universal appeal. With WALL-E, Pixar has created a perfect marriage of the most modern film making techniques and the most ancient ones, hearkening to a time when the movies didn't rely on sound to get the point across.

Not that I've got anything against sound. On the contrary, Ben Burtt's exceptional sound effects for this picture intelligently help convey the thoughts and moods of all the robot characters. His achievement here almost equals his groundbreaking accomplishments on Star Wars over 30 years ago. Credit also Thomas Newman for his equally inventive score.

It may not be perfect, but WALL-E represents one of the decade's cinematic milestones; utterly gorgeous in its visual and audio design, brimming with thoughtful and important ideas, and above all else, a genuinely moving romance that overcomes all odds.