Feature - Filmic Forays Oscar Round-Up 2019

The run-up to this year's Academy Awards was anger-making. Not the fact that certain films I loved didn't make the cut (see below). Nor that the Academy has this weird habit of very occasionally chucking a foreign language picture into the mix, as if English language films are fundamentally superior. Nor indeed their (thankfully abortive) idea of a 'Popular Picture' category, that threatened to widen the divide between populist and so-called prestige cinema. Nope - something much more galling happened than any of those...

In an effort to create a snappier Oscars broadcast, ABC decided that four statuettes be awarded during commercial breaks, with edited highlights to be broadcast later. The categories they chose to cut included cinematography and film editing. Think about that. The cinematography Oscar - that's the award for the person responsible for setting up every shot in the movie. Cinematography is the filming part of film. And film editing - that's how the narrative is shaped in post-production, the bit that more than anything turns a mass of shot footage into a well-crafted final product. But according to ABC executives those artisan parts of the process weren't so important. It's all about the STARS and never mind what insignificant bod pointed the camera or snipped the reel. Makes me flaming furious!!!

Okay, I feel purged of wrath, not least since ABC reversed their absurd decision in the face of utter outrage. But it still infuriates that they were intending to do it in the first place. However... let it go, Ed. And let's get back to why we're really here. 

I'm writing this part a couple of days before the ceremony, so here's how we'll do things regarding key awards categories. In each case I'll give my own choice, followed by my prediction for the winner, and then I'll leave a space for the actual winner (to be filled in after Sunday night's event). It's always fun to add a predictive element. Off we go...

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Who I'd Like to Win - Regina King for If Beale Street Could Talk
Who I Predict Will Win - Regina King for If Beale Street Could Talk
This I think is a slam-dunk, despite a very strong line-up. King was scene-stealingly magnificent in Beale Street - I mean she exuded quiet power and then she damn well broke your heart. Amy Adams should be showered with Academy Awards in general and her performance in Vice is top drawer, while Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz matched each other's prickly brilliance in The Favourite. But Beale Street deserves some proper love and King needs to be seen a whole lot more. She really is that good.
(Where the hell were they?: Claire Foye in First Man, Cynthia Erivo in Bad Times at the El Royale)

And the Winner IS... Regina King.
(So that's good.)



Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Who I'd Like to Win - Richard E. Grant for Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Who I Predict Will Win - Mahershala Ali  for Green Book
Frankly I'd just love to see the delight on Grant's face if he won the statuette. The viral video in which he expressed his delight at the nomination was joyful enough (click here to share in his glee), so imagine how he'd react to an Oscar win. Plus he's as good as he's ever been in Can You Ever Forgive Me. However Ali is a shoo-in here and deservedly so. He transformed himself in Green Book to play the uptight Dr Don Shirley and the result was superb.
Where the hell were they?: Nicholas Hoult in The Favourite

And the Winner IS... Mahershala Ali.
(No surprise there, and no complaint either - Ali is a class act and Green Book proved his versatility, while demonstrating how meticulously he can construct a performance. Grant picked up the equivalent award at the Independent Spirit Award - check out his lovely acceptance speech by clicking here - which is a splendid thing.)


Best Actress in a Leading Role

Who I'd Like to Win - Olivia Colman for The Favourite
Who I Predict Will Win - Glenn Close for The Wife
Don't get me wrong, Glenn Close supporters, your favourite is the favourite and her performance in The Wife is a high-point in a magnificent career. But most Brits are rooting for Olivia, since we love her, her Queen Anne has made her an international star and the speech would be muddled, hilarious and moving. Actually Melissa McCarthy's would also be pretty entertaining, and she rocked it in Can You Ever Forgive Me. But no, I won't begrudge Close the Oscar for a single second.
Where the hell were they?: Viola Davis in Widows

And the Winner IS... Olivia Colman!!!
(Liv's speech... Muddled, check. Hilarious, check. Moving, check. Watch her in interview re her acting process and you'll discover that she doesn't really have one, or none that she can easily identify. Simply put, she's one of the most instinctively brilliant actresses around today. Glenn Close's seventh near-miss tinged the moment with sadness, which Colman duly acknowledged.)



Best Actor in a Leading Role

Who I'd Like to Win - Viggo Mortensen for Green Book
Who I Predict Will Win - Christian Bale for Vice
I've been a Viggo fan since his Lord of the Rings days and he immersed himself completely in his Green Book role of Tony Vallelonga, turning in a performance that was as funny as it was unexpected. But Bale transformed himself even more as Dick Cheney, in a career that has seen him regularly shape-shift to stunning effect. Yes Remi Malek could steal it with his Freddie Mercury strut, but I'm calling the Dark Knight himself. See if I'm wrong.
Where the hell were they?: Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly in Stan and Ollie; Ethan Hawke in First Reformed

And the Winner IS... Remi Malek.
(Robbie Collins from The Telegraph - whose opinion I generally respect - says this performance is plain bad, but personally I agree that Remi rocked it - and us. However while not having seen Willem Dafoe in At Eternity's Gate yet - shame on me - I'd have gone for either Mortensen or Bale over Malek.)



Best Adapted Screenplay

Who I'd Like to Win - If Beale Street Could Talk
Who I Predict Will Win - BlackKklansman
This is a tough one (which is always a good sign for a filmic-writing year). I haven't seen The Ballad of Buster Scruggs yet, but it's the Coen Brothers, so the writing is going to be great. As for the others, they've all earned their place, but I loved how Beale Street told a poetic love-story infused with burning political anger. BlackKklansman has the latter along with a lovely seam of absurdist humour, however, which I think will clinch the Oscar.

And the Winner IS... BlackKklansman.
(I'm very happy for Spike Lee and co - this was a terrific script with a message for our time, boldly realised on the screen. Both If Beale Street Could Talk and Can You Ever Forgive Me? would have satisfied as well.)



Best Original Screenplay

Who I'd Like to Win - First Reformed
Who I Predict Will Win - The Favourite
The screenplay for First Reformed is one of the best and most challenging that Paul Schrader has ever written and I love the fact that it's got some recognition from Oscar. This is another tricky category to predict, with Green Book and Roma both in with a shot, but I'm opting for The Favourite - caustic, bizarre, funny and tragic.
Where the hell is it?: Bad Times at the El Royale 

And the Winner IS... Green Book.
(It's a perfectly good screenplay - a great springboard for the two central performances - but it's not the most original 'Original'. I was hoping against hope that First Reformed would take that one and give all concerned their moment in the Oscar sunshine.)



Best Production Design

Who I'd Like to Win - Black Panther
Who I Predict Will Win - Black Panther
The competition includes the court of Queen Anne, Cherrytree Lane and the Moon, but come on - have you seen Wakanda???

And the Winner IS... Black Panther.
(Told you. Wakanda Forever.)



Best Costume Design

Who I'd Like to Win - Sandy Powell for Mary Poppins Returns
Who I Predict Will Win - Sandy Powell for The Favourite  

Sandy Powell has had her work cut out this past year, so it'd be nice to see her get some Oscar love. But Ruth Carter might nip in and take it from under her nose for Black Panther. (That's me hedging my bets again...)

And the Winner IS... Black Panther.
(Can't argue with that one. Still gutted for Powell though.)



Best Music (Original Score)

Who I'd Like to Win - Mary Poppins Returns
Who I Predict Will Win - If Beale Street Could Talk
I loved the music for both of these along with that for BlackKklansman (its main theme is still in my head months after seeing it). However I'd love the Poppins writers to be rewarded for the remarkable work they did in crafting music that complimented the original film, while being memorable in its own right. Shelve those hopes... Nicholas Brittell's score for Beale Street is awesome in its beauty and will (probably) walk away with this one.

And the Winner IS... Black Panther.
(I clearly need to listen to Ludwig Goransson's score some more. Wakanda cleaning up here in the technical awards.)



Best Music (Original Song)

Who I'd Like to Win - Shallow (A Star is Born)
Who I Predict Will Win - Shallow (A Star is Born)
The Place Where Lost Things Go in Mary Poppins Returns will seriously trouble your tear ducts, but there's no denying the song-writing dynamite that is Shallow. And when Lady Gaga belted it out impromptu alongside Bradley Cooper, it was surely the most spine-shivering cinematic moment of 2018. The cert of all certs or I know ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

And the Winner IS... Shallow.
(Thank God. I set myself up to look really foolish there.)



Best Film Editing

Who I'd Like to Win - Vice
Who I Predict Will Win - Vice
The decade-spanning satirical history-lesson that was Vice certainly required the showiest editing of this group and Hank Corwin came up with the goods. He chopped up the original footage and reconfigured it into something that's constantly surprising and contributes hugely to the effectiveness of the dark humour. (Just a shame when he gets up to accept the award it'll be during an add break. Grrrrrrrrrr...)

And the Winner IS... Bohemian Rhapsody.
I guess the Live Aid finale stole it where the editing was concerned. Still surprised though. I thought Hank Corwin was a shoo-in for Vice.)



Best Cinematography

Who I'd Like to Win - Roma
Who I Predict Will Win - Roma
I've a bit of catching up to do re this category (have yet to watch Cold War and Never Look Away), but if there's a film from last year that has more gorgeous cinematography than Roma, I really need to see it. Director Alfonso Cuaron operated the camera himself, and damn he knows his stuff. Crisp black and white wide-frame photography capturing the Mexican landscapes, both urban and rural, in exquisite detail. Beauty in every frame, even - strangely - when Cleo the maid is mopping dog turds from a parquet floor. Again an ad-break award. I'm starting to seethe all over again...
Where the hell are they?: Linus Sandgren for First Man

And the Winner IS... Roma.
(This makes me happy. Towering visual ambition. And stunning in every frame.)


 
Best Director

Who I'd Like to Win - Yorgos Lanthimos for The Favourite
Who I Predict Will Win - Alfonso Cuaron for Roma
I hate to choose a favourite here (seriously, no pun intended). On one level it'd be great to see Spike Lee acknowledged for BlackKklansman. However I loved the bizarre quality that Lanthimos added to The Favourite with every choice he made. But then again I have a growing sense that his is Cuaron's year - and there's no arguing with the superb job he did with all aspects of Roma.

Where the hell are they?: Lynne Ramsey for You Were Never Really Here, Marielle Heller for Can You Ever Forgive Me?

And the Winner IS... Alfonso Cuaron.
(Again yes. I wanted the spoils more evenly distributed between Roma and The Favourite, but there's no denying what a great job Cuaron did here.



Best Animated Feature

Who I'd Like to Win - Isle of Dogs
Who I Predict Will Win - Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse
Isle of Dogs is joyous in every regard, and one of my favourite films of last year - an intricately constructed Wes Anderson movie right up there with The Royal Tenenbaums and The Grand Budapest Hotel. But while I haven't yet reviewed Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse, I've seen it and it's a visual wonder. Not my bag and not my fave, but undeniably a superb animated feature and a comic-book crowd-pleaser.

And the Winner IS... Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse.
(I'd better write a review for this one now. Everyone else has.)



Best Picture

Who I'd Like to Win - Roma
Who I Predict Will Win - Roma
I've actually talked myself into this choice, having been on team Favourite since early January. While I love Yorgos Lanthimos' period drama for its anarchy, savage comedy and gloriously nutty performances, Roma impresses me a little bit more every time I'm reminded of it. Okay - I've got a feeling it'll land the big prize due to the fact that a Mexican winner will piss off supporters of Donald Trump, but set that aside. It's a truly brilliant piece of cinematic art and a rare occasions when the Academy realises that - hey - film is international!
Where the hell are they?: First Man, If Beale Street Could Talk, Bad Times at the El Royale

And the Winner IS... Green Book.
(Don't get me wrong - I thoroughly enjoyed this winner, and its Oscar success won't get me reevaluating the crap out of it or backtracking on how entertaining an experience it was. However this is a classic Academy safe-choice, the kind of winner I didn't think we'd see again following the triumph of genuine originals like Moonlight and The Shape of Water. Telling a crowd-pleasing story in a solid fashion with some classy central performances is great, but it shouldn't be enough to bag the big prize of the night. Best Picture should be about ground-breaking ambition and sheer cinematic craft on every level. Never mind - Green Book is still a lovely film.) 


  

Final Oscar Thoughs:

For all the numerous controversies surrounding this year's ceremony, they all count for little so long as a diverse range of cinema - including the challenging and cutting-edge - is being included in the choices. And while some omissions are grating, some groups (female directors, anyone?) under-represented, there's a far wider and more interesting range of films up for the main prizes than say even five years ago. 

Let's be honest - on one level movie awards, including those from the august Academy, are bullshit. How do you gauge whether Roma is worth more or less than The Favourite? Or whether a vibrant mainstream entertainment like Black Panther is one iota less important than either? It's hardly an exact science. However, so long as the awards season demonstrates than there are numerous ways in which cinema can be great, that's what matters and what makes the occasion worthwhile. And it's what is gradually, steadily starting to happen, whatever you or I think of the overall winner. (And even if the people in charge of the show are prone to some truly dumbass decisions.)

I hope you had a happy Oscar Night and will get busy catching up with the films you missed. Till next year...