When not writing mobile phone reviews or aerating strangers on Call of Duty, I’m partial to the occasional cinema trip. Fortunately, I have seen the majority of the films nominated for the 2009 Oscars, and thought I would divulge my humble and honest opinions regarding potential winners of the various categories.
So without further ado, let’s get this show on the road!
Best Actor:
- Richard Jenkins - The Visitor
- Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon
- Sean Penn - Milk
- Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler
Straight away, Brad Pitt’s nomination sticks out to me as a ‘fake nose’ nomination, a la Nicole Kidman in the Hours (and she won!). Benjamin Button is a great film and Brad Pitt is integral to its success, but as his physical form changes his is the only character that seems emotionally the same throughout.
More a feat for ‘computer technicals’ rather than acting gravitas, Pitt is simply outclassed up against the abrasive performance of Langella as Nixon, or Sean Penn’s deep and nuanced Harvey Milk.
The winner? Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler, hands down. Defying the cries of stunt-casting as he plays a washed up star with one last chance to shine, he brings such an emotionally rousing and believable performance to this tale of a man who just cannot live without the cheer of the crowd. The film itself may be cliched and predictable, but is only Rourke’s brilliant work that allows it to be mentioned in the same breath as the four above.
That is why he deserves to win.
Best Supporting Actor:
- Josh Brolin - Milk
- Robert Downey Jr. - Tropic Thunder
- Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt
- Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
- Michael Shannon - Revolutionary Road
First surprise, this is the only acting nod for Revolutionary Road! It’s got Jack and Rose back together, Mr. American Beauty directing, and the only nod is for Michael Shannon. Who? Oh, it’s because he’s “playing a mental”, leaving Kate’s Oscar tirade in Extras ringing in my ears…
For me, this is only between Ledger and Downey Jr. due to Doubt’s sensitive subject matter, and the fact they stole the show in their respective movies. Also, they were both utterly transformed. The Oscar clarion call has been ringing loud and clear for Heath’s performance as the Joker since release, and justifiably so.
The ability to take a single phrase like “Why so serious?” and cement it into cinematic history, as well as his untimely demise is testament to the depths he went to bring out such a memorable performance. He was an actor that exorcised the demons of his rom-com past, and had so much potential as a ‘real’ actor ahead of him.
Robert Downey Jr. in blackface for an Oscar? I was entirely ready to hate this performance for obvious reasons, but he is hilarious. Does the fact that his character Kirk Lazarus symbolises the crazy lengths method actors go to (see above?), and that he was the funniest thing this year make it justifiable? Not sure… Okay, I’ll give it to Ledger, but Rob deserves an honourable mention for sharing Kate’s opinion on how to bag an Oscar…
Best Actress:
- Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married
- Angelina Jolie - Changeling
- Melissa Leo - Frozen River
- Meryl Streep - Doubt
- Kate Winset - The Reader
Hathaway? Hasn’t paid her dues, still a Disney actress in many people’s eyes. People have never forgiven Mira Sorvino or Marisa Tomei for winning Oscars, and they were for Best Supporting Actress. Heads will roll if she takes it from under the noses of names like Jolie and Winslet.
As for Winslet, the irony if she wins for being in a film set during the Holocaust will not be lost on many (see above ‘Extras’ link)! I also felt her portrayal as a wife steadily broken down in Revolutionary Road was stronger than tram conductor Hanna Schmitz. But come on, six nominations and no wins? It’s about time…
However, I think Melissa Leo could clinch it with Frozen River. The relatively unknown film topped a bevy of end of year lists, and rightly so. Leo plays a hard up woman who tries to eke out a living by trafficking illegal immigrants from Canada to the US. The human aspect of this role, her turmoil between doing the right thing by her family and her fellow man against the right thing in the law’s eyes is truly moving.
As for Jolie in Clint Eastwood’s Changeling? I don’t know, it just felt like an Oscar vehicle /acting showcase rather than a truly great movie, something Million Dollar Baby didn’t have at all…hence the 7 nominations and 4 wins for that against Changeling’s 3 nods.
Best Supporting Actress:
- Amy Adams - Doubt
- Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
- Viola Davis - Doubt
- Taraji P. Henson - The Curious Tale of Benjamin Button
- Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler
I loved Penelope Cruz in VCB! In the midst of a love triangle, Cruz grabs the role of Juan Antonio’s artistically gifted yet tragically flawed wife Maria Elena in both hands, and proceeds to take over the whole movie. The narrative structure of VCB allows for the character to be steadily built up in our minds long before she appears, the constant references to her gifted nature as an artist and fiery temperament only serves to set the stage for her to chew up the scenery upon arrival. And boy, does she.
Marisa Tomei gives an equally moving performance in The Wrestler, mirroring Rourke’s character as a stripper just past her prime and looking for some kind of solace in a life she just isn’t happy with. This Supporting Actress nod, she deserves.
Taraji P. Henson gives a performance of a lifetime in Benjamin Button, a far more emotive performance as his surrogate mother Queenie. She is the one that goes through the journey I expected of the protagonist. The protectiveness over someone different, the unconditional love that transcended race, disability and even time, she gave all the love to Benjamin and I felt it just wasn’t reciprocated by Pitt’s character.
Cruz for the win!
Best Animated Feature:
Beauty and the Beast is the only animated film ever to have been nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. WALL-E should have been the second.
Best Picture:
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- Frost / Nixon
- Milk
- The Reader
- Slumdog Millionaire
The big one. All ensemble pieces, all films with strong performances as much as being brilliant at capturing slices of history. Both Benjamin Button and Slumdog Millionaire deal with the passage of time in clever and interesting ways, telling the story of how chance encounters and circumstance can carve out peoples’ lives so strongly.
Frost / Nixon and Milk deal with pivotal moments in American political history, brilliantly coincidental with new milestones being created today.
The Reader deals with a pivotal moment in world history, events which are epic in scale but given intimacy and immediacy by being viewed through the eyes of individuals.
For the universal scope of the story, the excellent performances, the quality of the almost invisible special effects and the life-affirming ending, I’ll say Slumdog Millionaire The Curious Case of Benjamin Button for the Oscar. Yes, definitely. Yup.
