OSCAR WATCH 2007

BEST PICTURE &

BEST DIRECTOR

by debbie lynn elias

With the Academy Awards only days away, the nominations picture is not as clear cut as it was only a month ago. Seemingly “sure things” have now turned into “maybe nots” and longshots are emerging as frontrunners.

As I have said many times before, for years, the Best Picture and Best Director nominees were synonymous. Recently, however, has not proven to be the case and this year is no different with dark horse Paul Greengrass picking up a directorial nod for UNITED 93 but not for Best Picture and LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE nabbing a Best Picture slot but nothing for first time directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. And don’t be too surprised if the winners of each category aren’t mirror images either. So, let’s take a look at our last major categories of nominees and who I think should win and who I think will probably win.

The field of Best Directors is one of the finest and the most international slate in years. In the last 10 years, the award for Best Director has gone to a foreigner 6 of those times. What will this year bring? With three of five nominees being foreigners, we have Martin Scorsese for THE DEPARTED, Clint Eastwood for LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu for BABEL, Stephen Frears for THE QUEEN and Paul Greengrass for UNITED 93. Without a doubt, personally and professionally, my heart and vote goes with Marty Scorsese. And while I don’t believe THE DEPARTED is his best lifetime work, his directorial efforts here are clearly superlative to that of his contemporaries. He breathes fresh life into the “gangster/cop” crime genre, eliciting and enticing the performance of a lifetime from Mark Wahlberg, and even giving Jack Nicholson new levels of charismatic grittiness. Based on the Hong Kong film “Infernal Affairs”, Scorsese returns to his directorial roots, exhibiting his mastery at building tension while keeping the story and multiple subplots moving without convolution or conventionality, so that by film’s end, it seems hard to believe two hours passed. A perfectionist almost to a fault, Scorsese’s innate directorial sense and dedication to the “humanness” of filmmaking as opposed to CGI is a welcome sight on today’s movie palette with THE DEPARTED. Already a Golden Globe and DGA winner this year (not to mention 8 nominations and never a win), Scorsese is the man to beat. Current Vegas odds: 9 to 5.

And if there is anyone who might be able to beat Scorsese, that’s Clint Eastwood. Long known as “the man with no name”, Clint Eastwood is a now a household name, not only as an actor but as a director. Almost a guaranteed nominee annually for the past few years, Eastwood took on one of his most challenging endeavors with LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA and “Flags of Our Fathers”, two companion films, one in English from the American perspective and the other, the Oscar nominated LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA. Told from the Japanese perspective, IWO JIMA, chronicles the real life of General Tadamichi Kuribayashi and his 40 day battle against the American troops on Iwo Jima. Heartfelt and heartwringingly fraught with emotion, Eastwood opens our eyes, and although shot in black and white, shows us once again that there are two sides to every story and not everything is black and white. (Interesting footnote, the film was shot in Iceland because it looked like Iwo Jima but was cheaper.) Far superior to “Flags of Our Fathers,” the Academy made a wise choice in nominating Eatswood for his work in IWO JIMA. And as historical, enlightening and emotional as LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA is, the script appears weak in spots and the film is perhaps too one sided. Although it is told from one perspective, it is void of balance. I believe there should have been more interest and information put forth to make this more of a stand alone film than as a companion piece to another in order to get the “whole story.” Nevertheless, the Academy voters love Clint. But do they love him enough to bestow him with gold once more? Not my pick, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he is the Academy’s. Current Vegas odds: 10 to 1.

And speaking of a whole story, hot on everyone’s heels is Alejandro Inarritu for BABEL. Initially garnering very little press and exposure, a fire has been lit with the marketing of the film, bringing the chatter about it just to the boiling point now, as voting ends and Awards night approaches. Probably best known for his award winning and critically acclaimed “21 Grams”, with Babel, Inarritu brings us a multiplicity of stories (much like last years’s Best Picture winner “Crash”) with international, culture, political and racial underpinnings. In BABEL, two young Moroccan boys tend to their family’s herd of goats. Unfortunately, one of the boys decides to “test” his rifle, which is stolen, leaving the bullet from the test shot in some unsuspecting target that sets of an intercontinental collision of strangers. A young American couple, a deaf Japanese teenager which a non-communicative father and a Mexican nanny who takes two American children across the border without permission. Shot in four countries with five languages as dialogue, although well executed and interplayed, Inarritu falls short in that the individual stories become so convoluted it becomes difficult to follow the interconnections of the various plots. Still, last minute buzz may help grab Inarritu additional votes but I doubt it will be enough to garner Oscar gold.

One time frontrunner Stephen Frears has somehow fallen from the limelight since his nomination for THE QUEEN, although the film itself is back in the Top Ten and has remained there now for weeks since the nominations were announced. Gifted and talented beyond a doubt, Frears is responsible for helming some incredible works, not the least of which was “The Grifters”, “High Fidelity” and last year’s Oscar nominated “Mrs. Henderson Presents” (one of my faves) with Judi Dench, who was nominated last year and now again this year as Best Actress for “Notes on a Scandal.” With THE QUEEN, Frears tackles the task of telling the “unauthorized” and hypothetical behind the scenes events involving Queen Elizabeth II immediately after the death of Princess Diana. Sequestering herself behind the walls of Balmoral, The Queen must come to terms with the dichotomy of her sense of duty and upbringing, her desire to “be a grandmother” and the difficulties of retaining a private life in light of public outpourings over Diana. Carefully balanced and emotionally stirring, Frears guides Helen Mirren as she essentially becomes THE QUEEN and does an exemplary job of retaining the dignity of the monarchy while giving this very public figure but private person a humanness not ever, if often seen. Interestingly, there is only one American in the cast, James Cromwell, who tackles the often comedically maligned Prince Philip. Initially viewed as favorites on nominations morning, Frears and THE QUEEN seem to have lost some steam in the homestretch in terms of voting buzz. As solidly structured as this film is, it lacks a little something in comparison to the obvious work put into films like THE DEPARTED, LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA or BABEL.

Our last Best Director nominee came out of nowhere. A complete surprise nominations morning, Paul Greengrass is the darkhorse here. And I don’t see him rising from the back of the pack. UNITED 93 was a story that needed to be told. A docudrama that retells the story of the passengers and crew of United Flight 93 on that fateful morning of September 11, the film is told in real time and recreates the flight from takeoff to hijacking to heroism. Compassionate, effective , upsetting and even bone chilling, in the telling of this one chapter of such horrific events, Greengrass is able to evoke a sense of American pride and instill a sense of patriotism, and gratitude, in everyone who watches this incredible work. Oscar worthy? I don’t think so, but the nomination in and of itself is another testament to one of the most somber days in America’s history.

Moving on to our BEST PICTURE nominees, we have: THE DEPARTED, LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA, BABEL, THE QUEEN and LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE. Don’t expect to see the Best Director and Best Picture go hand in hand. This category is turning into a free-for-all, tarting with the odd film out - my pick - LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE. The little independent that could, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE is the best of the best. From downright slapstick comedy, to dry wit and sarcasm, to family values, family dysfunction, to life and death, winning and losing, happiness and sadness, homosexuality, extended generational families, teen angst, parental frustration and the cutest little girl in the world as one of its stars, there is something for everyone here. Reminiscent of an uplifting depression-era Shirley Temple flick, writer Michael Arndt captures almost every conceivable emotion, all of which are convincingly emoted to a tee by each actor. There is something that everyone can connect with - without thinking. You just see it and feel it. With a nothing-is-as-bad-as-it-looks and silver lining undertones, the film just grabs you by the heart and fills you with rays of sunlight. Already grabbing the SAG, a Golden Globe and 2 BAFTA’s, the momentum has steadily increased making it one of the most talked about films in recent weeks, and since many of the Academy voters are also SAG voters, this may be indicative of what boxes are being checked on the ballots. Vegas odds are 4 to 1. I’ve got my gold on LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE to bring home Oscar gold.

But, hot on the buzz and blogger trail is BABEL. As I mentioned, much like LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, it has been gaining its own momentum thanks to some saavy last minute marketing. Unfortunately, however, I think this may be a case of too little too late. Compounding the lack of “notoriety” is also the deja vu aspect. BABEL is very similar in theory to last years’s winner, “Crash” - just with sub-titles. And despite some very outstanding aspects of the film, for the same reasons Inarritu should not win Best Director, BABEL should not win Best Picture. Currently odds are running 5 to 2.

THE DEPARTED and LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA are tough calls. THE DEPARTED was a frontrunner along with THE QUEEN, but it seems to have lost some media hype. It does, however, have an added advantage of coming out on DVD this past week before Academy voting ended and voters could have their ears bent by their friends who didn’t get screeners. If there is any real competition for LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE at this point, I would have to say it comes from THE DEPARTED. A 2 to 1 odds favorite, overall excellence, cohesiveness, and superior craftsmanship make this a top rate contender so I wouldn’t be surprised or disappointed to see THE DEPARTED grab Best Picture. As for LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA, we essentially have a foreign film with English sub-titles shot in a foreign country but directed by an American. I think the more appropriate category would have been Best Foreign Language Film (in which case, PAN’S LABYRINTH would beat it hands down). I appreciate the work, the effort and the film, but in considering a Best Picture award, you have to look at the entire picture and every aspect, including balance of storytelling and the myriad of emotions evoked with the film. Interest does not always make for a connectable relationship on which to build a Best Picture. That is where LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA FALLS SHORT. And as for THE QUEEN, there is no doubt Helen Mirren will walk away with the Oscar for Best Actress, however, should the film win for Best Picture. Possibly, but again, as a whole, it doesn’t fully encompass life the way LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE does.

Let me briefly mention the other three Best Picture categories: Best Animated Feature, Best Foreign Language Film and Best Documentary. No holds barred, no questions asked, HAPPY FEET deserves and should win Best Animated Feature, although a win by CARS wouldn’t be surprising - just disappointing. As for Foreign Language, had Guillermo del Toro not brought us the visually horrific yet radiantly stunning PAN’S LABYRINTH, I would have gone with Denmark’s entry by Susanne Bier - AFTER THE WEDDING. As it now stands, PAN’S LABYRINTH gets the gold in my book. And lastly, Best Documentary Feature. It comes down to two frontrunners - DELIVER US FROM EVIL and AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH. DELIVER US FROM EVIL is Santa Monica resident Amy Berg’s compelling work about child molestation in the Catholic church, profiling Oliver O’Grady, who confessed to sexually abusing children for over 20 years, yet still went free before ultimately being convicted. Having served jail time, he now resides in Ireland and is under the eyes of the church - a church that was aware of his doings as far back as 1973. The other potential winner is from Al Gore and director Davis Guggenheim - AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH. Our former Vice-President takes us on the road as he lectures, informs and entertains us on the ramifications of global warming and our need to reverse this calamitous situation. This is a very difficult call for me. Both are superb works, but I may have to give the gold to Gore.

So, you’ve read some my picks. What are yours? And even more importantly, what will be those of the Academy voters? We’ll all find out this weekend when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences brings us the 79th Annual Academy Awards. Catch all the action on ABC starting at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time. And don’t forget, I’ll see you at the movies.