From Driving Lessons to Struggling Smugglers: Oscar Post #2

While jotting down my thoughts about the films of 2008, I couldn’t help smiling. It was such a good year for the movies. Most of the nominated films I’ve seen have been exceptionally good.

Happy-Go-Lucky (***)

It took fifteen minutes for this film to win me over. Before that, I was uncomfortable as I usually am when confronted with someone I don’t understand. And I certainly didn’t understand the gratuitously upbeat Poppy. I’m one of the most optimistic people I know, and I’m a depressive. However, Sally Hawkins won me over; she’s so charming in an uncontrived way. She finds the right mixture of optimistic joy and commonsense. She’s not joyful because she’s found a way to escape the world but has found a way to revel in it with all its flaws and complexities.

Kung Fu Panda (***)

This proves that everyone was in fact kung fu fighting. Jack Black voices a panda with lofty ambitions and a fanboy appreciation for the Fighting Five, an elite team of kung fu fighters. His father is a duck. No one acknowledges this. Add a guru turtle and the voice of Dustin Hoffman to the mix, and you have a great film.

Revolutionary Road (**)

After much anticipation and unspoken predictions of Oscar wins, I finally saw the film. Shit, I wanted it to be good. While watching it, I was convinced that it was good, and I was just missing something. But as I thought about it more and realized the missed opportunities of the script, I realized that it couldn’t be buoyed by brilliant performers or excellent cinematography. Though dysfunctional suburban family movies are a dime-a-dozen, they’re really hard to get right. Some like Little Children and Imaginary Heroes get it right and are insightful and provocative. Unfortunately, Revolutionary Road is fit for the list of ones that missed the target completely and thus is only middling fare. (One review that I read pointed out that it’s not much fun watching a two hour argument you have no stake in.)

The Dark Knight (**1/2)

I’m not denying it’s an excellent film; I’m just saying that I didn’t particularly care for it. I felt that it captured everything I dislike about comic books without highlighting any of the things that I enjoy. The narrative was meandering; the characters were not developed; the dialogue was stilted and tried way too hard. In the end, I felt that Nolan was the real embodiment of his Joker, morally obligating me to like his movie or a boatload of fans high on viral campaigns would blow me up. Again, it’s a fine film, but I’ll stick with Tim Burton’s Batman films.

The Visitor (***1/2)

Movies about personal redemption and learning to truly live life are suppose to be overly sentimental, fit only for Hallmark Channel or those Christian movie studios that seem to be gaining ground recently. However, this film sidesteps the schmaltz while still being a heartwarming film about friendship and awakening. If I could make one change to the Oscar nominees, it would be including Hiam Abbass in the Best Supporting Actress category for her nuanced performance. Seeing Richard Jenkins name among the nominees was unexpected and exciting.

Doubt (****)

Everything about this film’s plot is expertly measured and paced. While it is seems to be about truth, the actions of the characters overshadow the facts. Their intentions become more than truth, superior to truth. What you decide about Sister Aloysius and Father Flynn colors everything. Every time I felt a conviction, felt I knew the truth, something doesn’t quite add up, but still I shoulder on. Then of course, Viola Davis arrived on the scene in a powerhouse performance that completely unbalanced Sister Aloysius. Lacking Catholic conviction, I didn’t have a prayer. It felt like I was watching an intricate mystery where the solution was irrelevant.

Frost/Nixon (****)

I knew that I would like this movie. I just didn’t think it would so damn likable. Both Langella and Sheen are so compelling, and the intellectual struggle between the two is unimaginably intense. As they sat and sparred, I was completely immersed. Though I knew the outcome and had seen the Watergate portion of the interviews in school, I found myself fretting that David Frost was going to fail and the interviews would never come to fruition. I also indentified with Nixon a lot more than I wanted to. To make me warm to someone so reviled and parodied, the film must have done something extraordinary.

Frozen River (****)

I knew from the opening shots that I would like this film. The film opens with various shots of the bleak, icy landscape of upstate New York. It evoked Bergman films in my head and sets an austere tone for the film that is only warmed by the characters. At first, they seem a shabby bunch of resigned, broken people but soon their ambitions, desires, and dreams come to the surface. These vary from lost children to doublewide trailers to toy racetracks but somehow seem just as important as the plight of the illegal aliens they smuggle into the United States. Melissa Leo and Misty Upham are both phenomenal.

Next time: I ramble on about the awesomeness that is In Bruges, the brilliance of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and the pain of The Reader. Also, I recount my time among the opium dens and whorehouses of Colombia.