Also, you're your own unique individual who can love or hate whatever you like. Obviously.
Regardless, what started as a one-off idea for a blog post about five years ago became an annual tradition, and now Oscar season has genuinely become one of my highlights of the year. Despite how much the Academy and their stupid decisions infuriate me, I just enjoy writing about them too much to truly hate them, and with so many nominated films to talk about, it feels like a film reviewer's Christmas. I've legit been looking forward to this for months! Right, no more dilly-dallying: it's time to unwrap my presents.
Best Picture
Wow, I'm genuinely kinda shocked. This might be one of the strongest best picture rosters I've seen in years. Not only is there nothing on this list that I would classify as Oscar bait, at least not in the traditional sense, but of all the titles on this list that I've seen, almost all of them I think are quality films deserving of the recognition. Almost all of them. Also, release date-wise, there are only three films on here that are taking the piss, which I think might be a record.Ford v Ferrari
I briefly talked about this film last year, although in all honestly, that post was more of a Disney rant in disguise than a proper discussion of the film, that disguise being about as sophisticated as a pair of Groucho Marx glasses, but it's actually a pretty great film and nearly made my top five of the year. There's something about motorsport films like this and Rush that separates them from other sports movies. Maybe it's something thematic, like the relationship between man and machine or the power and ingenuity of human engineering. Or maybe it's just that the adrenaline rush of fast cars zooming past each other naturally lends itself to a visual medium like cinema. At any rate, whatever the magic ingredient, Ford v Ferrari has it in spades, with its expertly crafted racing sequences serving as the rich peppercorn sauce to the juicy steak of the background politics of the Ford motor company and the relationship between Damon and Bale's characters. I suppose you could say it all comes together like a well-oiled machine. I can't necessarily see it winning the top prize, but then, to be honest, it was a welcome surprise to see this film in the lineup in the first place, so I guess anything's possible. 8/10, Medium Recommendation
The Irishman
Next on the list of 'films that only just missed out on my top 5', Martin Scorsese's latest gangster epic. I've got to admit, I've never really enjoyed gangster films. I can't quite place what it is about them, but I've seen a lot of the greats and very few of them really hold my interest. Goodfellas in particular, often considered one of Scorsese's best, is a film I've just never really found particularly interesting, so when initial reviews of The Irishman started comparing them, I got the impression this wasn't going to be the film for me. Adding to that was The Irishman's infamous 209-minute runtime, which to be fair has turned off a lot of other people I know, too. But I gave it a chance one Sunday morning/afternoon, and I'll be damned if I didn't find myself utterly hooked. I'm not gonna pretend that I didn't feel the length at all, but the key point is I was never bored. I don't know if it was the writing or the acting or direction, most likely a combination of all three, but I found myself very absorbed in this decades-long tale of a gangster's rise and fall. And over such a long runtime and such a long period of these character's lives, it's almost impossible not to feel for them as *ahem* the ending draws near, let's say. To top that, the film's forty-minute-or-so epilogue is a very moving and personal reflection on mortality, and one that feels very much like Scorsese is expressing himself directly through the film. It's such emotionally honest filmmaking and its exactly the kind of thing this art form is all about: expressing an emotion or idea in such a way that an audience can feel it alongside you. I don't have any real criticisms of it, but the only reason it hasn't got a higher rating is just personal taste really. It is still a gangster film, and probably the best one I've ever seen, but there is kinda a ceiling on how much they can interest me it seems, so while I did enjoy it, it's not like I constantly find myself thinking about it. But if you love the likes of The Godfather or Goodfellas or Once Upon a Time in America, I'm sure you'll love this too. And if you are concerned about the runtime, there was a great suggestion on Twitter of how to split it up into a four-part mini-series, if that's more your thing. 8/10, High Recommendation
Jojo Rabbit
Probably the most surprising film on this list, I genuinely wasn't expecting a whole lot of Oscar buzz for Jojo Rabbit, but hell, six nominations is quite a hefty buzz. Of course, as per my last post's decree, Jojo Rabbit isn't a 2019 film because it didn't go on general release here until New Year's day, but whatever. Had a lot of fun with this one: Taika Waititi is probably one of the best comedy directors working at the moment, and I know a lot of my friends probably feel similarly. It's especially interesting that Jojo Rabbit has been getting so many Oscar nominations considering that it seems to be quite a divisive film amongst critics. I've seen a lot of people decrying that this film is tasteless for trying to make light of Nazi Germany and I guess for skirting around the Holocaust or something. Personally, I don't get it. I mean come on guys, it's hardly "too soon". For one thing, we've been taking the piss out of the Nazi's for ages, why is it now suddenly a problem? God, don't show these people the Wolfenstein games, they'll have a fucking heart attack! Plus, with some of the more disturbing trends in American politics at the moment, maybe a piss-take of just how ridiculous the Nazi ideology was (and I guess, still is) might not go amiss. For another thing, even if you think this film isn't saying anything meaningful, which I would completely disagree with, whoever said a World War II film has to be Schindler's List or Downfall to be valid? Films can exist as just entertainment, and there shouldn't be any restrictions on what can and can't be used as a setting or topic, especially in comedy. Being able to make fun of something is the surest sign that we've moved on from it, but if we keep roping off topics as being too taboo or un-politically correct to make comedy out of, how do we ever expect society to move on? But then I do have a pretty dark sense of humour, maybe this stuff just bothers me less. Politics aside, this is a supremely entertaining film, and yet is still surprisingly heartfelt and emotional at points. As long as you're not some curmudgeonly old person with absolutely no sense of humour, I see no reason why most audiences shouldn't enjoy this film. But I really don't see it as an Oscar winner, at least not for Best Picture. I mean, if ever there were two words to describe the Academy voters, 'curmudgeonly' and 'old' would be some of my top choices. And maybe some other, ruder ones... 8/10, Medium Recommendation
Joker
With eleven nominations, Joker is currently leading the pack this year, which is honestly kinda crazy considering this is still technically a comic book movie, despite its artistry. Not that comic book movies haven't won Oscars before, but to put it in perspective, if Joker were to win all of its nominations, it would be tied for most wins with Titanic, Ben-Hur and Return of the King. And while Joker is still probably my subjective favourite out of the Best Picture noms (rewatch pending), I'm not sure I'd say it's the best. Not that it's not a good film, and not that it isn't going to be a film that's remembered and talked about for years to come, but there are other films here that I think are better and probably more deserving picks, not to mention safer, which is normally the way the Academy leans. And if you haven't read my thoughts on Joker yet and consider yourself a fan of essays, you can read my review from last year here. 8/10, High Recommendation
Little Women
One of only two films on this list I haven't seen, and that is something I plan to rectify in the next few days. It's been getting rave reviews from critics and audiences alike, and I've been actually quite eager to see it, even before it got nominated. And I'm afraid until I watch it, that's all I've really got to say. Tell you what, since I will probably be seeing it this week, I'll update this post once I do with my thoughts. In the meantime, having seen Lady Bird, it's clear Greta Gerwig has some definite talent as a writer-director, and I have no doubt that Little Women will be not only a really well-made film, but a strong contender for Best Picture.
Marriage Story
Probably one of the more humble films on this list, Marriage Story is very much a character-driven work, with the story of a divorcing couple and the toll their fight for custody over their son takes on the relationship between the three of them, made only worse by mercenary-minded lawyers trying to convince each party to fuck the other one over. As with any character-focused story, the performances are everything, and luckily Marriage Story boasts some stellar acting, in particular from Adam Driver. What I liked most about the film is that neither side really hates the other, and the divorce starts almost amicably, only for them to be slowly turned against each other by the money-grubbing ways of the American legal system. The problem with this, and my only real criticism of the film, is they add a point about Adam Driver's character having cheated on Scarlett Johansson, presumably to better justify why she's divorcing him, but it seems like such an unnecessary conflict that just kinda jars with the rest of his character. It also makes it a little harder to sympathise with him, even though he seems to be the one the audience is supposed to be rooting for. It just seems like such an out of place and misjudged detail. Other than that, I don't really have a huge amount to say about the film, but I did really enjoy it and I could easily see this being the Academy's choice, since while it's not exactly Oscar bait, it's the kind of performance-heavy drama that they tend to like. 8/10, High Recommendation
1917
I feel like I'm about to receive a lot of flack for the following paragraph, but alas, here goes. The premise of 1917 is that in the World War 1 trenches, the Germans have set up a trap for the English, but communications with the attacking force have been severed and so two young soldiers must travel by foot to deliver a warning to the frontline before it's too late. To complement this, Deakins' cinematography imitates a single take, ala Birdman, that follows the soldiers as they travel through the scarred and war-torn French landscape, and in theory giving the film a sense of unfolding in real-time, with every second passing feeling like another second closer to disaster, an idea reinforced by the rather excellent tagline; "Time is the enemy". All in all, a great idea on paper. However, in practice, the film seems to buckle structurally under the weight of this technical achievement. Not collapsing exactly, but I definitely wouldn't want to stand under it if it were a bridge, put it that way. I get this sense that the story is fighting the cinematography and that the film is struggling against the one-take conceit like a challenge to overcome rather than an enhancement. Around the middle of the film, for example, they just straight-up cut to black and rejoin the protagonist several hours later, presumably because someone realised they needed to scribble forward in the timeline a bit and couldn't figure out any other way to do it. One of the problems with long takes is you're removing an entire aspect of filmmaking, the cut, and as a result, you lose a lot of control over the pacing and, perhaps more importantly, the rhythm. Consequently, 1917 could be charitably described as episodically structured, and uncharitably described as repetitive. The characters just move from one setpiece to another like they're on a sightseeing tour: they arrive at a place, something happens at the place and they move on to the next place, repeat. And it's not that this wouldn't work, it could very easily, it's a pretty standard format for a Hero's journey, but unfortunately, because there's no rhythm to the edit and the camera is just doing the same thing kinda movement throughout, it becomes visually monotonous, and it draws attention to the issues with the story, and the characters aren't developed enough to overcome this and get me emotionally involved in the story. To be fair, this only started to bother me around the middle of the film, and the first hour or so is actually pretty strong, with the exploration of the abandoned and very eerie German trench probably being my personal highlight of the film. It's also possible that, especially with the jump in the timeline, the film just loses its sense of urgency, because once we reach the frontline and the film moves towards its climax, it recaptures that spark. Ultimately, as impressive as the oneish-take is, I've seen the same thing done before and better, and not at the cost of the story. I saw a reviewer quote the other day on a Facebook ad that went something like "a stunning technical achievement", and that's probably the best way to sum it up: it's being pushed as a technical achievement more than it is a story. A very well made, yet still surface-level spectacle. It sounds like I hate this film but I really don't: for the most part it's great, and there are sequences of absolute brilliance, but when the cinematographic gimmick is pushed so hard in the marketing and it's clear that that's what we're supposed to be wowed by, it's disappointing when that turns out to be the film's downfall. But hey, everyone else seems to love it, so what do I know? 7/10, High Recommendation
Once Upon a Time In Hollywood
Ten nominations. Ten. TEN! What are people seeing in this film? It genuinely baffles me: it's Tarantino at his most self-indulgent, not to mention its bereft of drive or direction, presumably starting life as an almost self-insert fanfic about the Manson murders that then got a whole other unrelated film inexplicably tacked onto the beginning of it. My opinions on this film can be read in full here, and they really haven't changed much in that time. Compared to the other contenders on this list, I cannot see this film winning the Best Picture, but then I guess the old Academy voters are notoriously big on nostalgia and self-congratulations, so maybe a film about how great Hollywood was in the 60's will tickle that pickle for them. But come on Academy, don't fuck this up. 5/10, Low Recommendation
Parasite
Gee, well I'd love to tell you all about Parasite, but unfortunately it's STILL NOT OUT YET in the UK, and I don't want to pirate it because I respect Bong Joon Ho and the South Korean film industry too much to undermine it like that. All this stuff about how we need to support foreign and independent cinema, I'm absolutely on your side but I can't support if you don't give me a chance to see your film! America has had it for two or three months now, what are you doing to it that's taking so long? Are you rewriting the subtitles to include a phonetic cockney accent or something? Just release the damn thing! While Parasite has clearly done very well with critics and audiences, I believe there has yet to be a non-English language film to win Best Picture (do correct me if I'm wrong), especially while the Best Foreign Film category exists (regardless what they change the name to), so my prediction is the same as with Roma last year: Parasite will win Best Foreign film instead of Best Picture. Maybe history will change, maybe I'll be one of the naysayers who'll be laughed at after Parasite becomes the first non-English best picture winner. But this is the Academy we're talking about, so don't hold your breath.
And to conclude, here's a recap of my predictions. The Irishman, Little Women and Marriage Story are my front runners for the win, but 1917 also wouldn't surprise me. Joker and Ford v Ferrari are less likely but still in with a chance, I'd say. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Jojo Rabbit just don't seem like the kinda thing the Academy would vote for, and Parasite is highly unlikely to win just because the foreign film category already exists and the Academy are rarely ones for breaking the mould. If forced to pick just one, my money's on Little Women, and although Joker is technically my favourite of the bunch, The Irishman would probably be the one I would crown Best Picture if I had such power. Although there are probably better things I could be doing with my time if I had that kind of power.
Notable Omissions
It's rare for the Academy to ever show much appreciation for the horror genre, despite it being home to a lot of the more creative and thematically interesting of what cinema has to offer. Midsommar got no nominations at all, and while it's not really a surprise considering the above, it's still pretty disappointing as Midsommar was definitely one of the year's highlights. Not to mention Ari Aster is clearly very talented, between this and Hereditary, but I guess until he makes a period drama or something the Academy's not gonna give him the time of day. My film of the year, of course, was Knives Out, which I feel is quite conspicuous in its absence, and considering the Agatha Christie roots of the film, you'd think the older demographic that is the Academy would have been kinder to it. Finally, the other film that I'm surprised has gone completely unmentioned is Uncut Gems, which while I haven't seen yet because, as ever, it ain't getting properly released until the end of the month, has been getting stellar critical and audience praise, and I was half expecting Adam Sandler to get a Best Actor nomination. It's possible the producers of these films didn't want or bother to create Oscar campaigns, which would be fair enough; more power to them, if anything. But still, disappointing.
And now, the rest!
Best Director
It surprises me that Martin Scorsese, probably one of the most legendary film directors still working today, has only ever won one Oscar for his directing. The Irishman was an absolute tour de force, and I could easily see him winning for that, especially if the Academy, in turn, snubs The Irishman for Best Picture. On the other hand, Sam Mendes' direction is actually pretty good in 1917 despite everything, and one could argue that Todd Phillips is worthy of recognition for transitioning from shitty Hangover sequels to something as regarded and competent as Joker. You know who shouldn't be on here? Tarantino. No, he's not a bad director all things considered, and I like most of his work, but this was his worst film to date and he really doesn't deserve any awards for it. As per usual with the Oscars, there's been some outcry about the lack of diversity in the award nominations, especially at the lack of female directors, and while I don't think anyone should be entitled to an award just because of their gender or race etc, what I will say is Tarantino is taking up a valuable spot here, that could have been better awarded to someone like Greta Gerwig, or any other director that actually made a good film this year rather than three hours of cinematic wank.
Best Actor
If it were any other year, Adam Driver would surely crush this category. Marriage Story was a film made by its performances, and amongst them, Adam Driver's frustrated husband and father trying to do what he can to save his relationship with his son in the midst of a breakup he never asked for, is probably one of the film's strongest. You really grow to feel for him and the emotion he puts behind it is so utterly believable. Unfortunately, Joker also came out this year, and there's basically no way Joaquin Phoenix won't win. The Academy has shown a preference for transformative performances in the past, and Phoenix seems to have ticked that box quite well. Also, it's not like his Joker isn't a great performance. It's utterly fantastic, and I imagine the film probably would not have worked nearly as well without such a stellar performance at the centre. Ultimately, my money's on Phoenix to win, but really I'd want both him and Driver to win. Maybe they can share.
Best Actress
I'll be honest, the only one of these I've seen is Marriage Story, and while Scarlett Johansson was by no means bad, I wasn't as into her performance as much as I was Adam Driver's to be perfectly honest, and she's probably not going to be the one taking home the statue. Out of the nominees, my gut says Saoirse Ronan just because I know how good she is, but with the transformative performance thing in mind, an argument can probably be made for Renée Zellweger in Judy as well. Consider my opinion abstained.
Best Original Screenplay
This is the only nomination Knives Out has gotten, which, again, is pretty disappointing, but on the other hand, this is at least one that it absolutely deserves. Knives Out was such a fantastically put together mystery thriller, with so many fantastic reveals, red herrings, payoffs and characters that all weave together perfectly. On the other hand, 1917's weakest point was story-related, even if its dialogue was generally pretty good, and I assume we can all guess which of the nominated films here I think shouldn't belong. The award is probably down to Knives Out, Marriage Story or Parasite, and I'd like to think Knives Out will snag it, but I think Marriage Story has a really strong chance too.
Best Animated Feature
Everyone rejoice! Frozen 2 is nowhere to be seen, even if it inevitably got a Best Song nomination. Toy Story 4 is here, however, which I guess is to be expected but look, Pixar, I love you guys but there are other animation studios, it's not just you guys. Luckily, we've got some reasonably diverse choices for animated feature this year, with the indie I Lost My Body and Klaus both making the list, as well as Studio Laika's stop motion Missing Link. While its story kinda fell apart towards the end and kinda just stopped rather than concluded, I Lost My Body was for the most part really entertaining and full of creative spirit and visuals, and while it occasionally frustrated, there were parts that made me feel quite warm and fuzzy. Meanwhile, I managed to persuade my family to put on Klaus this Christmas Day rather than Finding Dory, and while I was in the midst of flu and wasn't able to give it my full attention or mental faculties, I did still enjoy the film a lot, and again, a lot of creativity and passion was on display. Let's face it, Toy Story 4 will win, but if we dare to dream for a second, I think Klaus would probably be my pick. Although while I haven't seen it, I would also be supportive of Missing Link winning, just because Studio Laika need some goddamn respect for seemingly single-handedly keeping stop-motion alive. That shit is crazy difficult, not to mention just such a uniquely characterful artform.
Best Cinematography
Well you already know I'm not a massive fan of 1917's cinematography: not only did it hamper the film rather than add to it, but it also just wasn't that visually interesting overall, at least not compared to Deakins' other works. I take no pleasure in saying any of this, but yeah, 1917 just isn't my pick, although I'm sure it will be the Academy's. Looking at the rest of the nominations, The Lighthouse has yet to surface this side of the pond, and that really only leaves Joker and The Irishman. Look, even if I wasn't predisposed against it, Once Upon a Time wasn't particularly interesting visually anyway. Besides 1917, nothing really jumps out at me, so let's just say The Lighthouse cause it was in black and white and I'm an edgy bastard.
Best International Feature Film
I mean, Parasite is going to win this. Hands down. No competition. What's more interesting to me is the title change from 'foreign film' to 'international feature'. Is this supposed to be some kind of anti-xenophobic move? Like is 'foreign' now too alienating a word? Or are the American public so triggered by the concept of foreigners that the very word triggers them? I mean, I have nothing against the name change, besides it maybe being a little more of a mouthful to say, (foreign film just rolled off the tongue, ya know?) I'm just very mildly bewildered, is all.
Best Supporting Actress
Laura Dern is sure to win this one for her amazingly punchable lawyer in Marriage Story. It's probably the performance that sticks out the most besides Adam Driver's, and she became such a pivotal part of the conflict, carefully driving the wedge further between them while smiling that sickly smile as she did. I love how much I hated her!
Best Sound Editing/Mixing
Oh my god, just make it one category! It's clear you want to, since again you've got nearly identical lists for each category, with just one film conspicuously different, presumably just to justify that "no, really: these are two completely separate things". Ad Astra has Oscar-worthy sound mixing but not sound editing, and Rise of Skywalker has Oscar-worthy sound editing but not mixing. Go fuckin' figure.
(also kinda sad this is the only nomination for Ad Astra, I think it deserves a nomination for cinematography at least)
Best Costume Design
"Normally, period pieces are a safe bet", I thought as the nominations were revealed. Then I looked through them all. "Oh." Let's just say Little Women, since it's the oldest of the periods being emulated here and I have no other grounds to really judge this on.
And I think that's about everything I have to say there. As usual, part two will be up in February as soon as I can after the ceremony. But this year, if you want to join in the festivities (and presumably don't care about fucking up your sleep schedule) I shall be live-tweeting my reactions to the results on the official Ciné Rambles twitter! Oooh!
Have I mentioned this yet? I don't think so. There's now an official Ciné Rambles twitter account, where you can also find my micro-reviews of recent releases. There's a link here and in the sidebar if that's something that takes your fancy. Otherwise, stay tuned for an Extra Rambles later this month, since the Oscars have now messed up my blog schedule, on top of everything else.
Ah, what am I saying? You can't get angry when Christmas comes early.
