The show itself was just fine. Shorter than usual, some nice speeches, a truly special moment when Marketa Irglova came back to deliver her lovely speech, some great jokes from John Stewart (the Norbit one was a favorite of mine).But that's not why these were the best Oscars ever. No, it was because of the winners. If you had asked me for my personal Oscar lineup, regardless of the official nominees, I would have said this:
Best Picture: No Country For Old Men
Best Director: The Coen Brothers
Best Actor: Daniel Day Lewis
Best Actress: Marion Cotillard
Best S. Actor: Javier Bardem
Best S. Actress: Amy Ryan
Best O. Screenplay: Juno
Best A. Screenplay: No Country For Old Men
So as you can see, the official winners matched my dream lineup in 7 of 8 cases. That has never happened. I have trouble even remembering a year when the Best Picture matched my #1 film (Schindler's List is the only one that leaps to mind) let alone almost all the major awards.
I am happiest about Marion Cotillard, who pulled off the one real upset of the night. I found Julie Christie wonderful in Away From Her, and I have a real soft spot for Ellen Page's great Juno performance, but Cotillard's work was transformative in the same way Daniel Day Lewis' was. And boy, is she ever cute.
I was also happy to win this year's small prize — which I can now reveal is a loaded Jaguar XF.
8 comments:
So, just so I have this straight, this is the best Oscars because it matched your picks. I see. Well, from my vantage point, any Oscars that fails to nominate let alone award best picture to Once is missing the boat. And while I appreciated No COuntry, I didn't love it nor do I think it was the best film of the nominees, let alone best film of the year. I certainly agreed with Daniel Day Lewis for actor, and I was fine with Swinton for supporting actress. Didn't see french woman in La Vie, but I'll assume she deserved it. Disagreed with Bardem who in my view played a one note schizo--exactly the kind of role Clay normally criticizes the Academy for rewarding while the far more interesting performances of Hoffman in Juno and Wilkinson in Clayton were dissed (not to mention the BETTER performance in No Country by Jones). Certainly, I was fine with the Rat winning best animated and, of course, loved Once getting song (the only bone the academy threw to this wonderful picture). Didn't see taxi doc, but I was surprised that the great No End in Sight lost. So, anyway, for me, I can't say it was the best Oscars. Loved Stewart, who I thought got only more comfortable and better as the night went by. And was glad that the show came in relatively short, though thank god for DVR with the montage of 80 years of winners....
Dana
Well, obviously you won't agree that they were the best ever if you didn't agree with all the winners!
I understand your lack of appreciation for No Country For Old Men. But for me, I knew it was the best film of the year the minute it ended and I think it was the rare film that rose above the competition for critics, the Academy and film fans alike.
Not sure what you mean about me faulting the Academy for rewarding "one-note schizo" performances. I can't really think of any winners fitting that mold. I usually criticize them for rewarding impersonations. Bardem was one of the only actors this year who created a character that will go down in film history (I think Day Lewis did as well).
What I meant re Bardem was that he had the "showy" performance (like Hannibel, Rainman, Ray, etc) but not necessarily the most nuanced or difficult performance.
And I DID appreciate No Country, but just didn't think it was the best film of the year. And, unless I am missing something, I don't think it was a popular fan favorite. that honor goes to Juno.
And by the way, I found the Cohen Brothers to be insufferably smug and arrogent in their acceptance speeches. So it was hardly as if, from a pure emjoyment of the Oscar show standpoint, I felt anything but mild annoyance in watching them take the prize.
Dana
I don't mean fan favorite in terms of box office... more in that it's the kind of film the geeks (myself included) go nuts about. For example, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind had the geek cred and the critics cred, but not the love from the Academy. Lord of the Rings had all three, but I wasn't as into those films as most.
I didn't find the Coen Brothers smug at all. They were just their oddball selves. I would have been shocked and disappointed to see them anything but deadpan.
I enjoyed this year's awards too and agree that John Stewart was a classy host. I would have liked Michael Clayton to have won more awards, probably Wilkinson for supporting actor along with Swinton. No one could beat Daniel Day Lewis so Clooney was out. I hated all the songs from Enchanted and could have done without those perfomances, but was happy about the Once win. I agree that the best actress award was appropriate as she was amazing. All in all, I'm so happy the show went on. Mom
Mom says, By the way, had Dad known what the small prize was, he would have entered the contest. Hope we can get a ride some day.
Amy said...
I thoroughly enjoyed this Oscar show, especially Jon Stewart's witty asides, and the "Falling Slowly" performance and subsequent victory for Glen and Marketa.
As for the Coen brothers, I thought their speeches were quintessential Coen; I loved Joel's description of their early attempts at filmmaking, and I got a particular kick out of watching Frances McDormand barely able to contain her joy. My only disappointment comes from seeing two of my favorite filmmakers win the award for a film that did not spring from their minds (to play on Daniel Day Lewis's description of Daniel Plainview as Paul Thomas Anderson's brainchild).
When I do my film unit, I hold the Coen brothers up as the perfect example of auteurs, who so utterly create the world that ultimately fills the screen. When they quipped that they had only adapted Homer and McCarthy, I couldn't help but wonder if it was a bit of a mixed blessing for them to be so universally recognized for an adaptation, as O Brother hardly is a "faithful" adaptation of The Odyssey. Clooney's Ulysses bears little resemblance to Homer's, yet Bardem's Anton Chigurh very much belongs to Cormac McCarthy. I would rather see their own creations of H.I. McDunnough, Marge Gunderson or Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski take a much deserved spot in film history than have the Coen brothers' names forever attached to someone else's creation.
So... just as I felt a bit of disappointment that Steven Spielberg won awards for his "grown up" movies rather than those more fanciful films I loved him for, I would much rather have seen the Coen brothers make that long-deserved trek to the podium for Fargo, Miller's Crossing, The Big Lebowski, or one of their other equally eccentric, equally brilliant masterpieces.
I see that point, though I hardly think the Coen's original creations will be lost in anyone's memory. I wish those films had been awarded, too (and Fargo was, for screenplay and actress). But that doesn't take away from the fact that (in my opinion) they were absolutely deserving of their multiple awards for this masterpiece, which -- though it was born in the mind of McCarthy -- was also completely their own.
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