Note: This is a new site that's been in the works for quite some time. The idea is big - maybe a bit too big - but we like where it's headed. Please enjoy this review of the movies nominated for Best Picture in 2013.
2013 was a quite strong year in the Best Picture category. I felt that 7 or perhaps 8 (I'm still a bit on the fence) were well deserved nominations. I've listed them below in order from worst to first, with a couple of paragraphs dedicated to each. Thanks for reading.
Nebraska - I like road trip movies, but I wasn't ecstatic about spending time with Will Forte, who I find to be intolerable. The best thing I can say about his performance in Nebraska is that it wasn't terrible. It didn't help that his character was poorly drawn. He was essentially the straight man for the Midwestern caricatures that dominated the landscape. Nothing about him changed until the end, when the script called for a redemptive moment. That moment, by the way, felt totally unearned and tacked on.
If it sounds like I hated the film, I sort of did. Part of that was due to my expectations going in. I'm a fan of Alexander Payne, and given the premise, I was hoping for something more along the lines of Sideways, which brilliantly walked the line between dark comedy and drama. Nebraska was no Sideways. Having said that, there's no way one can write more than a couple of sentences about this flick without mentioning Bruce Dern, who melted into the role of a grumpy old man who may or may not (but probably does) have dementia.
It's too bad that his performance was wasted. Nebraska was a beautiful film with a creative concept that could have been executed well, if only the screenwriter had bothered to fill in the landscape with more than one believable character. 2.5/5
American Hustle - There's a story (perhaps urban legend) circulating about American Hustle that goes something like this: Christian Bale, ever the consummate professional (when he isn't yelling at the lighting guy), approached David O. Russell about some plot inconsistencies he noticed during filming and was rebuffed, with the director saying something along the lines of, "I don't care about the plot. I care about the characters."
I care about characters, too. A lot. But story is important. The story in American Hustle isn't bad - it's an above average psychological whodunnit that rewards multiple viewings. That story, fortunately, is elevated by the performances of a cast that ended up being an embarrassment of riches. Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner (whom I normally dislike, but not here), Bradley Cooper, Louis CK (!), and especially Jennifer Lawrence all made this film extremely watchable, and a movie that I will most likely own. But it's thin in places (the eyeroll-worthy mafia scene comes immediately to mind), and I sort of wonder why it was nominated for Best Picture. It's the characters and the actors, obviously, but a Best Picture should be more than that. 4/5
Captain Phillips - Paul Greengrass is one of the finest action movie directors of our time. I love everything he's done. When he adapts a story from recent history, it's guaranteed to be thrill ride that doesn't let up until the satisfying ending. Captain Phillips does not disappoint in this regard. It's such an accomplishment to get that reaction from viewers when they already know how the story is going to end. There's no mystery as to what Captain Phillips' fate will be - this story is still fresh in our collective consciousness, as it was just in the news a couple of years ago. The thrill is found in getting there.
Part of the genius is that Greengrass trains us how to respond. The pirates attempt a hijacking and fail, so that when the second attempt is successful, we know just what went wrong and why. It's a devastating moment, made all the worse by Tom Hanks' nuanced portrayal of the captain. There were times when it got a little too blockbuster-ish - some of the supporting characters are literally "the no name guy who butted heads with the captain but respects him enough to help him in times of crisis" and "the loyal second mate." Despite that, it's a tight story with a satisfying payoff. 4/5
The Wolf of Wall Street - Based on disgraced Wall Street executive Jordan Belfort's poorly written memoir, The Wolf of Wall Street is a Martin Scorsese project through and through. The famed director pulls no punches, reaching into his bag of tricks to breathe some semblance of meaning into this tale of empty debauchery. Long takes over Belfort's shoulder remind viewers of Henry Hill in Goodfellas; when Belfort talks on the pay phone, there's some Travis Bickle (Taxi Driver) to him. References to Sam Rothstein in Casino are too numerous to count. Belfort is meant to be the latest in a long line of enigmatic Scorsese protagonists - but it doesn't quite work. Belfort is nothing more than some jerk who got rich ripping people off. He's the new Gordon Gekko, sans Daddy issues. Even his on-screen persona is fake - his signature quirk is a page out of his mentor's handbook.
I don't mean to insinuate that the story isn't compelling - DiCaprio is amazing in the title role, and there are more than a handful of memorable, perhaps iconic, scenes. Jonah Hill should get special mention as Belfort's right-hand man, and Kyle Chandler is a sensible (if a bit understated) villain. And yes, Scorsese did recycle some of his signature shots, but they're just as mesmerizing this time around. It's a fun 180 minutes, but it's also 180 minutes with a guy that I felt wasn't quite worthy of all that time. That the real Jordan Belfort showed up in a cameo at the end sealed it for me - either he doesn't get that the joke's on him, or (more likely) he doesn't care, because he has money (still!) and you don't. Sure, I need more of that in my life. 4/5
Philomena - I wasn't ready for this film. I knew the very basics going in - an older lady looks for her long-lost son with the help of a jaded old man and ends up turning him into a softie. It sounds trite, like a dozen other movies released every year, none of which have the good fortune to have Judi Dench attached, which probably (in my mind) explains this particular vehicle's critical acclaim.
It was so much better than that. Philomena (both the film and the titular character) has layers. There's a steadfastness about her, but she's not as simple as she lets on. Her traveling companion, Martin Sixsmith, thinks he's better than her, and by most standards, he is. "I now know what a lifetime of Reader's Digest, The Daily Mail, and romantic novels will do to a human brain," he confides to his editor when he finally gets a moment away. That naivete, as it turns out, is a well-tuned defense mechanism. She knows it's unlikely that her son, adopted against her will at 3, has thought about her much in the interim, so she pretends not to pick up on clues left behind for her, until she breaks. Dench's performance here makes the emotional lows and highs of the search that much more impactful.
In a moment of brilliance, Martin interrupts Philomena's story about why her child was taken away with possibly the best two word audience surrogate quote ever: "F---ing Catholics." You might think Phil would argue with him, given her nature, but she stands silent. When she finds the truth about her son, it feels like a victory earned, and not just a convenient plot contrivance. So, too, is her redemptive turn at the end.
Another part of the formula that made this seemingly routine story feel fresh was the way Sixsmith's foil wasn't overdone. Sure, he was bitter and cynical, and that gave Philomena a trump card of sorts in their discussions, but they never felt forced. His demeanor was never cold, and in fact it was because he wanted to be Philomena's advocate that he allowed his natural negativity to rise to the surface.
There were some problems - that the extended stay in America ended up being her idea seemed like a too-easy solution to manufactured conflict, for one, but overall, it was the nuance that set this film apart. 4.5/5
Gravity - Gravity is a beautiful picture, which is to be expected when Alfonso Cuaron is involved. Cuaron, famous for his amazing long takes that punctuated an already great film in Children of Men, ups his game here. The view from outer space is SPOILER ALERT gorgeous, and Gravity perhaps gives us a taste of just how magnificent the view is. At the very least, it's light years ahead of any other attempt at capturing said view.
The story, unfortunately, is a bit on the thin side. It would be unfair to compare Cuaron's work to Avatar, another film lauded for its visuals, because James Cameron's script was borderline insulting. Gravity is adequately tense for the standard thriller, and Bullock is convincing enough to carry the narrative by herself. REAL SPOILER ALERT THIS TIME Her survival was certainly a triumph, but it wasn't anything we haven't seen from a dozen other flicks. I suppose I might be guilty of expecting the story to rise to the impossible heights set by the cinematography. So be it. 4.5/5
Her - Her takes place in a weird, discomfiting version of the future, where people not only fall in love with their operating systems, but it's not really seen as all that strange. Then again, try going back in time 10 years and telling people that not only will "Twitter" and "tweet" be commonplace words used by adolescent and professional alike, but that we will be content to communicate with each other 140 characters at a time. Sure, a phone that becomes self-aware is a bit far-fetched, but an extremely personalized version of Siri? That seems extremely likely.
Theodore, expertly played by Joaquin Phoenix, is as at home in this world as an awkward introvert can be. He has no qualms telling his phone, out loud in a crowded elevator, to "play melancholy music." The thought of uttering that phrase in that context makes my skin crawl, but this a brave new world we're talking about, where the men wear high-waisted pants with no belts and no shame. The story is still pretty unbelievable, even considering the advance of technology as discussed above, and it would probably be inaccessible if Spike Jonez wasn't willing to hold our hands a bit along the way. I mean that in the best possible manner. When Theodore begins dating his OS (no, really), he first tells a small child, who laughs at him. Eventually, he tells his neighbor/friend, played by Amy Adams in her second best role in an Oscar nominee this year, and she pauses, before saying, "I think anybody who falls in love is a freak. It's a crazy thing to do. It's kind of like a form of socially acceptable insanity."
And there is Jonez' thesis. Why is it socially acceptable to be crazy in love in public, but not to talk to your phone? I'm oversimplifying, but the movie really does a great job of putting a spotlight on human emotion and how we can be easily manipulated (and in turn, manipulate others). For me, it was an unexpected human story that dragged a bit because of the nature of the premise. (One way to create conflict in a "man loves machine" story? Have the machine suggest a surrogate for herself. Awkward...and probably unnecessary.) I don't think Her is the best of this crop, but it's certainly the most unique. It has to be seen to be believed. 4.5/5
Dallas Buyers Club - Is there anybody that's elevated his game more than Matthew McConaughey has in the last 12 or so months? His too-short appearance in The Wolf of Wall Street is a standout moment in its own right, but barely deserves a mention alongside his work in True Detective (As of this writing, there are two episodes left in Season 1) and here in Dallas Buyers Club. It would have been very easy for McConaughey to slip into his typical Texan role that he puts on for the various advertisements he stars in around the Lone Star State, especially in a film that opens on a rodeo scene. However, his transcendent performance punctuates what would have already been a great film.
A movie focused on homosexuality and set in 1985 Dallas is probably going to be a bit preachy. There's no questioning which side of the fence Dallas Buyers Club is on, but it gets there not through long-winded monologues or weepy, half-hearted midnight confession sessions, but through regular old human empathy. After being diagnosed with HIV, Ron Woodroof's struggle is against the health care system that isn't interested in helping him stay alive, so having a common enemy with the gay community brings them together. The story of how he fights the system is plenty interesting, but it's the secondary characters of Eve and Rayon that really grabbed me. Their stories were expertly intertwined with Woodroof's, and Jared Leto was simply amazing. 5/5
12 Years a Slave – 12 Years a Slave is based on the memoir of Solomon Northup, a free man living in New York who was kidnapped and sent to the South to be sold. He was a slave for 12 years, as the title suggests, and director Steve McQueen wanted audiences to feel every moment. The camera lingers on gruesome scenes long past the point of discomfort. In a year where it seemed that every Best Picture nominee had multiple “don’t watch this movie with your parents” moments, 12 Years runs away with the title of “Hardest to Sit Through.”
It would be easy and reductive to characterize the film as yet another in a long series of generic “racism is bad” Oscar Bait pictures, as some already have. To do so misses the point entirely. Too often the villains in this genre are caricatures that are easily dismissed as the unfortunate realities of a bygone era. Here, the white slavers justify their actions – often to the slaves themselves! – using arguments we are all too familiar with today. One character appeals to economics (“My sentimentality extends the length of coin”); another asserts that he has the right to do what he wants with his property. Two of the slavers quote Scripture, claiming God is on their side of the argument. What’s forgotten, and not pointed out to any of the slave profiteers until almost two hours have elapsed, is that they’re dealing with human beings. The point is hammered home by the way Solomon slowly surrenders bits of his identity to avoid being detected.
Above all, 12 Years a Slave is humanizing. McQueen cuts right to the heart of the issue of slavery, and in doing so, his theme becomes universal, while still remaining true to the source material. Too often, Important Movies leave too much distance between history and audience, effectively bailing them out from having to do the hard work of reflection. Not so with 12 Years a Slave. What an outstanding achievement. 5/5
