Best Picture Nominees Rundown
One thing that you can always bet on is the Oscars, even after an entire year of film releases upended and either delayed or skipping theaters, selecting a collection of movies for the Best Picture category that are either safe choices, or something completely different. The last ceremony had an absolutely amazing victory for international cinema with Parasite taking home the trophy, so hopefully the next recipient will be equally deserving, be it fresh and original, or something comforting that got us through the year. In this blog entry, Mike and I will give our thoughts on each of the competing films while Tyler lashes out on one particular flick that he has a natural bone to pick with.
Jacob Krehbiel
The Father
Based on director Florian Zeller’s play, The Father is possibly my favorite of the nominees. It’s a devastating film that flawlessly takes us into the mind of someone losing it more and more every day. It was also extremely intense because every time I felt like Anthony Hopkins’ character could potentially get a grasp of reality, something comes along to pull the rug under both me and him. Hopkins also makes us have extreme pity for him even when his lesser qualities slip through due to his illness. I also felt extremely sorry for Olivia Coleman as his daughter as she tries constantly to rebuild her relationship with her father, failing every time. It all builds to a heart-wrenching conclusion where Hopkins truly shines his brightest throughout the whole movie. For such a simple premise, this movie nails it in every way it can.
Judas and the Black Messiah
This is a hugely gripping, empathetic, and inspiring portrait of the black panther movement, its leaders, and even the ones who regretfully led to its almost demise. The phrase I would use to describe this film is “refreshingly uncompromising”. It never stops reminding you of the very real and very intimidating threat that the police were against African Americans in the ‘60s (and still do). It helps that Shaka King shoots it just like a 70s guerilla movie, which makes it immersive and “fly-on-the-wall”.
The performances are top-notch as well. I never once questioned Daniel Kaluuya as a leader with a cause like this; Fred Hampton’s charisma, his passion, and even his sensitivity are all displayed here in amazing clarity. Lakeith Stanfield is also both timid and determined as William O’Neal, always finding himself at a crossroads as he struggles to bring down the movement to clear his name from the FBI’s list, while he grows to believe in the Black Panthers' mission. Dominique Fishback deserves mention as well as Hampton’s wife, Akua Neri, who’s both poetic and tender. Jesse Plemmons is also unbelievably cold and intimidating as the FBI agent who recruits O’Neal.
Overall, this movie is a great new statement from a promisingly down-and-dirty director.
Mank
There’s a lot to appreciate in Mank: the performances, the chemistry between Gary Oldman and Amanda Seyfried, the set design, the score, that it’s just a real shame that it doesn’t come together as it should. I’m sure if I watched it again, I would appreciate it more, but I didn’t need to rewatch Citizen Kane, the movie this so clearly wants to replicate (in more ways than one), to understand why it was called the greatest film of all time. I’m perplexed that David Fincher (and his late father Jack Fincher who wrote the script) felt the need to amend so much of Herman Mankiewicz's story (him being the sole scriptwriter of Kane and being a socialist who advocated Upton Sinclair for California governor) when they’re also trying to tell a story about legacy and standing up for your values. Overall, a really frustrating experience.
Minari
Minari’s smaller setting may turn off some people, and it may not have as much staying power as other A24 “slice of life” movies, at least not for me since Moonlight is still hard to beat, but it still is a disarmingly tender, sweet, and enchanting movie about a Korean immigrant family struggling to balance tradition and American norms. What makes this movie stand out though is the relationship between Yuh-Jung Youn and Alan Kim as they play a grandmother and grandson who grow closer and closer as the story goes on, even when that relationship starts with pee-drinking and name-calling during cardplaying lessons. It helps also that director Lee Isaac Chung manages to make a small patch of Arkansas beautiful to look at and make us truly feel like a part of this world the Yi family have chosen for themselves. Stick through the credits to hear the hauntingly beautiful “Rain Song”.
Nomadland
One of my favorite kinds of stories in film is the one that examines a life that isn’t represented as much as it should, and Chloe Zhao’s Nomadland shows us a lifestyle that many of us can’t imagine living but at the same time secretly want to. At the same time, it manages to present us an objective look into it, revealing its less romantic aspects as well, like lack of plumbing, losing the ones you love who still live in houses, and having to rely on your van’s strength to have a home. Frances McDormand shines like she always does and we can expect her third Oscar with this. Every one of the actual nomads depicted here should receive recognition as well, especially nomad YouTube star Bob Wells, who reveals his real tragic life near the film’s end. Truly among the best of this year’s line-up.
Promising Young Woman
Empowering, fresh, and most of all, hard-hitting, Promising Young Woman is a spectacular debut from director and writer Emerald Fenell with an amazing turn from Carey Mulligan, who just oozes charisma, determination, and strength in probably her most iconic role ever. Every scene is either a tense nailbiter or a blistering, angry commentary on the fear women have of living in the current climate of sexual predators and those who enable them. The finale may be a downer at first, but holy hell, if it doesn’t become a bang later on. This is a great entry in the current feminist film canon and only a sign of what’s to come with Fenell.
Sound of Metal
An empathetic story without feeling like a LifeTime Movie of the Week, this movie about a drummer losing his hearing is an unexpectedly quiet one, with anger and frustration at their absolute boiling point beneath the surface. Riz Amed shows a lot of sensitivity when he’s not throwing things out of anger over his new handicap. A stand-out scene for me was when Amed is talking with a deaf boy by tapping on a metal slide. Paul Raci may be the best actor though as the caregiver of the disability shelter most of the movie is set in. It’s one of those rare performances that you totally forget about the person behind it. The ending is somewhat vague, at least it was to me when I first saw it, but overall, it's a rich, emotional, and gripping experience with the best sound design out of any of these nominees by far.
Trial of the Chicago 7
This movie is the very definition of a “crowd-pleaser”; it’s a historical drama that touches upon a relevant subject, it’s got its quips, it’s got memorable performances, it’s got its rugged heroes, it’s got its snarly villains, it’s got its nail-biting scenes, and it’s got its stand-up-and-cheer moments. It’s a flick that checks all the boxes, which is both a strength and a weakness. While I did have a good time with Aaron Sorkin’s latest, it just wasn’t memorable or challenging enough to register with me. If you just want to see something “inspiring” during these times of unrest, then this movie is absolutely for you. Again, there are no real flaws with what it tries to do. Just don’t expect to be completely blown away by it, like a more nuanced movie probably would.
Tyler “Bio” Rodriguez
I mostly agree with Jacob on the Best Picture nominations, so I will defer to him on that. Except one, I disagree with him on one film in particular.
Mank
Oh how I have a lot to say about this film. Do I review it as a feature film or as an adaptation of plagiarism by a Hollywood hack? I’ll start with the former. Based on a decades old script by David Fincher’s late father Jack, Mank tells the story of Herman J. Mankiewicz, a popular writer in the Golden Age of Hollywood, best known for writing the screenplay for the often touted greatest film of all time, Citizen Kane. Is that what this film is about? No, not really. It's more about socialist Upton Sinclair's run for governor of California and the role Mank played in that election. Sinclair by the way is played by Bill Nye the Science Guy for what amounts to a cameo, an interesting choice. This subplot takes up a pretty good chunk of the film. Another major subplot is his relationship to the infamous newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst and his mistress, the actress Marion Davies. This is some of the best stuff in the film, Charles Dance and Amanda Seyfried are absolutely wonderful and honestly steal the show from Gary Oldmen’s Mank. I would charitably call one third of the film actually about the making of Citizen Kane so if that’s all you're interested in, you will be very underwhelmed. The movie also assumes you have seen Citizen Kane, I dare say it will not make sense if you haven’t.
So what did I think about it? Middling at best. It feels like a script from the 1990s, the classic tortured genius who’s not very likable but it's because he is so talented! Yeah there’s a reason these types of stories don’t come out as much, it's a dated point of view. The acting runs the gauntlet from great to kinda bad. British actor Tom Burke plays Orson Welles for the three or four scenes he shows up in, and he’s not great. He certainly doesn’t make you forget Maurice LaMarche. Gary Oldmen is good but I would hardly call it his best performance. Amanda Seyfried though, this is some of her best work and the film is far worse off when she isn’t around. Editing wise it's fine, although every time it references Kane via editing, the movie looks worse off for it. Cinematography is quite good, but even Erik Messerschmidt is no Greg Toland. Score is quite forgettable to be honest. Overall it's a middling by the numbers biopic that relies on dated cliches and makes several bizarre plot decisions that frankly take away interest. I would leave it at that, but there’s a massive shadow hanging over the film and her name is Pauline Kael.
Famous, or infamous depending on your outlook, a critic for the New Yorker, Kael wrote a book length essay about the making of Citizen Kane called Raising Kane in 1971. She claimed that Orson Welles wrote next to nothing and it was Mank who wrote Kane. Mank was long dead by this point but Welles was still alive until 1985 and didn’t take such an accusation lying down. His close friend Peter Bogdonvich countered the essay with his own, titled the Kane Mutiny. Basically Welles and Kael were at each other's throats for the rest of their lives. I’ll give you once guess who the obnoxious film critic in Welles last film, The Other Side of the Wind is meant to be. This may sound like the question of authorship isn’t settled, but it certainly is. Welles historian Robert Carringer in 2004 proved rather definitively that both Welles and Mank were the authors of the screenplay, and that’s not the only thing learned since Kaels death in 2001. A lot of the research for Raising Kane was actually done by UCLA professor Howard Suber, and he wasn’t credited or paid despite a promise by Kael. He didn’t even agree with her conclusions. So we have a vindictive writer who lied about the authorship of the greatest film ever made, and she’s a plagiarist. Plagiarism by the way is an academic crime that will get you the writing evuvilent of the death penalty.
I bring all this up because Mank is blatantly based on Raising Kane. It's been watered down from its original draft but it's still very clearly there. When combined with a host of historical inaccuracies big and small, it very much takes any enjoyment out of the film. Knowing the real Mank wasn’t much of a socialist and didn’t feel bad about making Fox New style attack ads certainly hurts the film’s message and themes. Overall the film is a five out of ten as a movie if you ignore the elephant in the room which I certainly can’t. I profess to really liking Orson Welles, flaws and all, so this movie really angered me. Can’t recommend it in good faith. If you want a better making of Citizen Kane film, one that actually gets into the editing and cinematography, just watch RKO 281.
Michael Kaye
Judas and the Black Messiah
https://letterboxd.com/coachkaye42/film/judas-and-the-black-messiah/
Minari
https://letterboxd.com/coachkaye42/film/minari/
Nomadland
https://letterboxd.com/coachkaye42/film/nomadland/
Sound of Metal
https://letterboxd.com/coachkaye42/film/sound-of-metal/
Tune in at the Oscars Sunday Night 8 ET/ 5 PT on ABC to see which movie will take the gold!