The 81st Academy Awards

There are 3 types of Oscars. Those that Slumdog Millionaire (2008) should have won (and did win), those that Slumdog Millionaire should not have won (but did anyway) and Best Supporting Actor. OK, there might have been a few other notable categories stuck in between all of that, but for all practical purposes, that was it last night at the 81st Annual Academy Awards. Danny Boyle's critically acclaimed and universally adored Slumdog Millionaire took home 8 statues while top nominee The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) left with only 3 awards. Heath Ledger was posthumously recognized for his supporting role in The Dark Knight (2008) which was a surprise to no one.

There were a few surprises in the awards categories, namely for Best Foreign Language Film (Departures), and possibly Kate Winslet for her leading role in The Reader (2008). Since Waltz with Bashir (2008) and The Class (2008) were the only Best Foreign Language Film nominees being marketed to American audiences, I assumed it would be one of those that won the award. It also seems odd that Kate Winslet could win the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for her work in The Reader and still win the Oscar for Best Actress for the same role. Meryl Streep should have won for Doubt (2008) but apparently the Academy feels that she has been recognized enough for her work already (she has been nominated for 15 Oscars).

I'm not the kind of guy that likes to yell, "Snub!" everytime his favorite movie isn't nominated for a category. However, I don't feel that Slumdog Millionaire should have won Best Cinematography or Best Film Editing. Looking at the other nominees, it is clear why it won both of those awards. The Wrestler (2008), however, had better editing than Slumdog Millionaire, yet it wasn't even nominated. Perhaps this is becuase of the film's low-brow main character: a professional wrestler. Hmm...

That said, who won the awards didn't really matter. The real "star" was Hugh Jackman. He was simultaneously able to torture the audience with his singing and dancing and bore us with his humorless jokes. The most interesting part of the Oscars, however, was the new presentation format. For the acting awards, a montage of past winners for that award was shown and 5 of them actually presented the nominees. It was very touching and nostalgic. For awards of the same category, the same presenters were used. This helped speed up the show and kept it moving along quite well. One thing I didn't care for was the tacky design of the proscenium arch; it looked as if a 70s hippy was allowed an unlimited budget for bead curtains.

The true highlight of the night was Dustin Lance Black's moving acceptance speech after he won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for writing Milk (2008). I'll let him do the talking:

The Wrestler (2008)

Darren Aronofsky’s latest offering, The Wrestler, is a departure from his previous films in style and subject but not in emotion. To those who have seen his previous films, this is no surprise. Requiem for a Dream is a slick, fast-paced movie about the consequences of drug use, while Pi is a gritty black-and-white film about hidden codes and mathematical equations. And The Fountain is a sort of sci-fi chronofuck (to coin a phrase) with megastars Rachel Weisz and Hugh Jackman. The Wrestler, on the other hand, is a heavy-hitting, hard-rocking, down-to-earth, yet larger-than-life tour de force. (If you are counting hyphens, that’s 10 so far).

The Wrestler follows the legendary, yet aging, pro-wrestler Randy “The Ram” Robinson (Mickey Rourke) on what originally seems to be his quest to reclaim his position at the top of the pro-wrestling world. His true quest, however, is a little more complicated. The Ram appears to continue to wrestle because he needs the money, as he is living in a trailer park. However, his entire life falls apart when he has a heart attack following a match. The doctors of course tell him that if he wrestles again, he will most likely die. Realizing his own mortality, The Ram feels like it is as good of a time as any to try to reconnect with his daughter (Evan Rachel Wood). Side note: during a scene of the two of them arguing, a man in the audience yelled, “YOU ONLY HAVE ONE DAD, BITCH!” It was awkward.

Eventually, The Ram realizes that he can’t be happy unless he is wrestling. Artists paint, rock stars sing, and The Ram wrestles. It is what he does. Despite the warnings, he agrees to one final match, a 20th anniversary rematch of one of his biggest fights.

The first thing that pops out of any Aronofsky film is the usually lush electrorock score composed by his friend, Clint Mansell. In The Wrestler, however, Mansell’s influence is barely noticeable beneath the 80s metal that dominates the soundtrack. I’m not saying this in a bad way, it is just an artistic decision, a decision that demonstrates one of the main themes of the film: longing for the past. Both The Ram and his exotic dancer friend, Cassidy (Marisa Tomei) proclaim, “[the] 90s fuckin’ sucked” and obviously yearn for the good ol’ days when The Ram was at the top of the wrestling circuit and Cassidy was the top dancer at her club.

Perhaps to add to the realism, much of The Wrestler is shot like a documentary. Aronofsky uses handheld cameras and follows Rourke’s character around giving the movie a Gus Van Sant-on-crack feel. The viewer experiences the movie alongside The Ram, not as him or as an innocent bystander. This also serves to present The Ram as a larger-than-life character; the viewer rarely sees his face in these scenes, The Ram seems like an inaccessible celebrity. In other scenes, however, his face is shown, and Rourke charms the audience, not an easy feat.

Mickey Rourke deserves all of the hoopla surrounding his performance. He was able to portray such a complex character: a tough, badass, sensitive, nostalgic, pro-wrestler. Rourke takes all of this and roll it together and came out with a believable Randy “The Ram” Robinson. His supporting cast, however, was a great disappointment. Evan Rachel Wood was so terrible that I almost started yelling profanities at her à la the classy, classy gentlemen mentioned above. Tomei was mediocre at best, but she at least fit the part well and was not afraid to show off her body in such an unflattering way.

The truth is that Aronofsky could have made this film about a character from any walk of life. It just seems that he wanted to challenge himself, the actors, and his crew (including Mansell) by making an emotionally compelling film about a pro-wrestler. While some might not be able to see past The Ram’s tights-wearing, head-banging exterior, and some might watch the film solely for the wrestling aspect, I on the other hand, was moved by the emotion in this film. Aronofsky (and Rourke) strike again.

Total hyphens: 21
Grade: Between B+ and A-

Gran Torino (2008)

Is anything year more terrifying than Meryl Streep in Doubt? Yes. His name is Clint Eastwood. He stars, directs, and even sings on the soundtrack of Gran Torino. In the film, he plays a badass racist old widower named Walt. He channels bits of Harry Callahan in his acting, but also shows a more tender side, á la Frankie Dunn from Million Dollar Baby. At first glance, Gran Torino seems like a film about generational gaps, but rather it is about the similarities that different people share as an outspoken racist war vet, Walt, befriends his new neighbor: a troubled, misguided Hmong youth, Thao.

The meeting of these two characters revolves around Walt’s mint condition 1972 Ford Gran Torino: Thao attempts to steal the car in order to be initiated into a local gang. The gang is the cause of a few physical altercations and various other shenanigans in the neighborhood, most of which are stopped by Walt and his military-issue rifle. To repay Walt for the trouble caused, Thao’s mother orders him to work for Walt. Thao’s new chores include washing the Gran Torino. Blatant enough as the gesture is, Thao’s sister, Sue, feels the need to point out the irony. Little moments like this happen throughout the film and Eastwood crams the symbolism down the audience’s throat. I’m not saying that glaring symbolism is a bad thing, in fact I am in favor of it. The target audience (or the audience most likely to watch this film) seems to be predominantly Dirty Harry fans, and they might not be scouring the film for its hidden meaning. Eastwood makes sure that the audience can’t miss the morals of the story.

As the film progresses, Walt becomes more lovable. His racism seems to be an unchangeable part of him and he is simply accepted by his Hmong neighbors for who he is. His racist remarks aren’t taken personally, but it is rather seen just as a part of his vernacular. It is almost as if Eastwood is trying to say, “Love your racist grandparents. They’re probably just misunderstood.”

Another message Eastwood attempts to convey is that love is the only thing worth living for. In an emotional conversation with Thao, Walt talks about the love of his life, his late wife and how much she meant to him. Walt encourages Thao to go after the girl of his dreams lest he regret it later.

Eastwood’s score parallels the movie well in both the images and the themes. Whenever Walt grabs/loads/cocks his rifle, a militaristic drumroll begins to play. At first I felt the music was slightly cliché, but it agreed well with the boldness and forwardness of the rest of the film.

Major Spoiler Alert
Click to read spoilers

Also embedded in the film is an awkward religious message. Walt refuses the religious advances of Father Janovich until the violence in the neighborhood escalates and “Thao and Sue will never find peace in this world as long as that gang’s around.” Walt finally listens to the priest and attends confession. Inspired (by God?), he now knows what he must do: sacrifice himself for the well-being of his new friends. He embarks on a suicide mission and ensures that the gang members are put away for his murder. Walt had no reason to live after his wife passed; he just needed to find a reason to die. The police find him lying on the ground with arms extended just like Jesus on the cross.

With Gran Torino, Clint Eastwood has added yet another fine film to his already outstanding career. It is a powerful and emotional film led by Eastwood’s terrifyingly badass portrayal of Walt. Through Walt, the film shows that just as insignificant personal differences can cause racism, they can also help to overcome it.

Grade: B

The Reader (2008)

According to IMDb, “The Reader opens in post-WWII Germany when teenager Michael Berg (David Kross) becomes ill and is helped home by Hanna (Kate Winslet), a stranger twice his age.” After he recovers from his sickness, Michael returns to thank Hanna for her kindness. Hanna changes clothes and catches Michael watching her; it seems as if this is exactly what she wanted him to do. Realizing he’s been caught, Michael immediately flees the scene, only to return on a later date. Upon his return, Michael is greeted with a chore: shoveling coal. It seems as if they both know the result of the task: Michael will need a bath. Hanna’s apartment, much like the character herself, has no illusion of privacy and she is able to sneak a peek at Michael as he bathes. They make love without mentioning the age difference or the nature of their relationship. None of it matters. The secret affair continues and Michael begins to read some of his schoolwork (The Odyssey, The Lady with the Little Dog, etc.) to Hanna. As they see more of each other, more books are read, their sexual affair continues, and their emotional bond strengthens. One day, Michael goes to visit Hanna, book in hand, only to find her apartment empty. He is heartbroken, and attempts to forget about her as he enrolls in law school. Upon observation of the Nazi war crime trials, Michael crosses paths with Hanna again; she is the defendant, accused of multiple war crimes.

SPOILER ALERT
Click to read spoilers

Hanna is convicted, and sentenced to life in prison. Years pass and Michael is now portrayed by Ralph Fiennes. He sends tapes of himself reading The Odyssey and other books to Hannah resulting in one of the most beautiful scenes of the movie: Michael is reading a passage from The Odyssey as the camera pans around the inside of his house showing myriad books. This turns into a montage sequence including Hanna listening to the hundreds of tapes that he sends to her.

The first half of the movie, with David Kross as Michael, plays out as a beautifully tender yet fiercely passionate love story interrupted by Hanna’s involvement with the SS. The second half, save for the scene mentioned in the spoiler alert above, is a rather convoluted mess. Nico Muhly’s nebulous, unmelodious score occasionally detracts from the film, adding to the film’s convolution. Ralph Fiennes was not great in this movie, but David Kross showed a lot of potential and Kate Winslet portrayed Hanna brilliantly. The film acts as not much more than a simple love story with a web of complications, but it is a compelling and beautiful love story, that is worth watching.

Grade: B

People's Choice Awards

In case anyone actually cares (hint: if you do, you shouldn't), the Nielsen Ratings slut, The People's Choice Awards, has once again plagued American airwaves. See the losers winners here. The Dark Knight swept up all major categories, exercising its blockbuster prowess in true Hollywood fashion.

Other notable awards include the Favorite Game Show award which was given to Deal or No Deal--the show to watch if you aren't Smarter Than a Fifth Grader and can't spell Jeopardy correctly.

Barackroll won Favorite User Generated Video. If you haven't seen the video, I recommend you check it out. But that is about all you should take from the PCAs. Avoid pretty much all of the TV shows (Two and a Half Men) and movies (27 Dresses) that won awards here: they are invariably terrible (with the exception of The Dark Knight which was slightly better than terrible).

Skins (Series 1)

I normally don't post things about television, but Skins is possibly one of my favorite shows. See Film School Rejects' review of the first season of the British teen soap opera here. The second season (series) of Skins wrapped up last April and the third series is about to start (on British TV channel E4 of course).

You can check it out on BBC America or buy the DVD. Not that I condone this type of thing, but I'm sure you could find it online. Maybe you could find it here.

Grades
Series 1: A
Series 2: B+

Oh and I forgot to mention. Skins is where the wonderful Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire) got his start.

Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

In Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) is one question away from winning 20 million rupees on India’s version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? He is suspected of cheating and is being interrogated: how does he know the answers to the questions? The movie plays out mostly through flashback as Jamal recounts the events in his life where he learned the answers: as a child he remembers meeting a movie star, the answer to the first question. As his childhood is told in episodic vignettes, a love story starts to bloom.

Slumdog Millionaire may be a love story, but the film is as gritty as it is charming. The majority of the shots in the flashback scenes use some form of Dutch angles; there are very few level shots in the film. This contributes to craziness and disorder experienced by so-called slumdogs. The children are homeless and are threatened by rival religious sects and kidnappers. In the scenes that take place during the filming of the game show, however, the camera moves much more gracefully mimicking what would happen on the American TV show.

At the beginning of the film, a question is shown on screen asking the viewer how Jamal made it to the final question on Who Wants to be a Millionaire? The answers: a) he was lucky b) he knew the answers c) he cheated d) it is written. Fate plays an obvious role in the film as Jamal relies on fate on multiple occasions. Fate never fails to reunite him with his lover and always seems to guide him in the right direction. Jamal gradually learns to respect fate and relies on it as he answers the 20,000,000 rupee question.

The perfect balance of grit and charm is what makes this movie so special. All the tribulations Jamal must go through makes his reward that much sweeter, a sentiment that the audience is able to share. Slumdog Millionaire is unabashedly emotional and possesses candor that speaks directly to the heart in a take-it-or-leave-it-put-it-all-on-the-line manner. The result is an emotionally compelling film that leads the viewer on a journey through time, fate, and the tragically beautiful slums of India.

Grade: B+