Now that we're getting back there in years, I've seen fewer and fewer nominees. I had only seen one of these movies prior to about a week ago. Which is pretty cool, because I think my analysis of ones I saw a while ago actually isn't as good as ones I've seen recently. But it's also bad in a sense because I watch them so closely together sometimes that it affects my viewership (check my 2002 post for clarification). This year contains some pretty excellent stuff, and there's also a healthy amount of "meh." Want to know what's missing from the list? The Matrix. Call me crazy if you wish, but they nominated freaking Avatar because it ushered in a new era of film. Well so did The Matrix. And it actually has a plot too. A pretty original plot. But as we all know, if people are fighting and they're not speaking Mandarin, it's a no-go for the Oscars.
Nominated in its place (and I phrase it that way because it's the least deserving of this year's nominees) was The Cider House Rules. I'm not even sure what to say about this movie, it's just kind of there. The acting is solid, but not great. And although I'm a big Michael Caine fan, this isn't one of his more impressive performances, and I don't quite buy his American accent. Not to detract from his performance too much, it was definitely good, it just wasn't award-worthy. And it's unfortunate that he won for this and not something like The Man Who Would Be King, where he gives a far superior performance (and wasn't even nominated). And my next qualm is obviously not the fault of the filmmakers, since it came out three years beforehand, but I really can't see Tobey Maguire as someone besides Spider-Man. I thus can't see him as being able to woo the other main cast member: Charlize Theron. The story itself is a slightly darker version of the usual coming-of-age story. It goes exactly where you expect and everything, but the tone was a bit off for me. Because it deals with heavy issues in a not heavy way. But it also deals with them in a not funny way. So the whole movie just kind of sits there, and you think to yourself: "that's bad...I guess...am I supposed to laugh here? Not sure..." I'd also like to know how someone comes up with a story like this (the man who wrote the book adapted the movie too). It probably went like this: "so what if there was like, this place that provided babies for adoption? And then like, they also do abortions back when they're illegal. And the main dude's successor like doesn't want to participate, until he goes and picks apples with this chick who has a dark secret about her pregnancy...and then he changes his mind and becomes like the original dude! That'd be a great story." I wish I was hyperbolizing (should be a word). But I'm not, it's melodrama and I'm not a particular fan. It's not a bad movie, but it's not particularly great either.
Something that is particularly great is The Green Mile. And I'm not sure why I hadn't seen this movie before because I'm a Stephen King fan, a Frank Darabont fan,a Tom Hanks fan, a Michael Clarke Duncan fan...so I should've watched it long ago. And I think Michael Clarke Duncan should've beaten out Michael Caine for Best Supporting Actor, he does a really great job. The performance is subtle in its own way, gentle and imposing at the same time. You fear him and yet you care about him. These paradoxes should always net awards I think (similar to what I said about Joaquin in 2000). The movie itself is about "the green mile" which is a colloquial term for death row. MCD's character is falsely accused of a heinous crime, but as they soon discover he has another secret: he is a healer. And I mean, he's a healer to the point that he can cure cancer and bring dead mice back to life. The overall plot description doesn't extend too far beyond that, but it's all about the subtleties. And though the film is a bit over 3 hours long, it's all filled in with excellent stuff. It's more of an ideology-driven movie than a plot-driven movie. It's a study of human nature and the definitions of morality. And this is why I prefer it to The Shawshank Redemption. And I know pretty much no one agrees with me, like, anywhere. But I'm not saying you have to agree with me, because a valid argument can be made for either (whereas most other things I am, in fact, telling you what to think because anything else would be madness). I just feel that this film exhibits some more interesting themes and has a better overall cast. Also, this is probably one of the best adaptations from a book that I've seen, and it lost the Adapted Screenplay award to the coming-of-age movie I mentioned. What's up with that? Although I side with film adaptations above books more than most people (or at least respect both in their own right) this should be recognized by everyone as probably the best Stephen King adaptation that there is (Shawshank shouldn't count as much simply because it's a short story). So it definitely deserved the nomination, and while it's not as original as the movie that actually won, it's probably the year's second best.
A film that falls into the middle of the 1999 spectrum is The Insider. I have similar feelings toward this film that I had toward Erin Brockovich, and they're not dissimilar. This film is about Big Tobacco being sneaky and the other one is about Big Drinking Water being sneaky. Both based on true stories that were very significant. Both also have basically no suspense because you know where the story is going before you even start watching it. But this film goes to more interesting places. Because while Erin's life was strongly enriched by her efforts against The Man, Russell Crowe's character had his life torn apart. So he comes off as a lot more heroic, and I think it hurt my viewing of Erin a bit because this guy sacrificed his happiness and his livelihood to try to quell corruption. The movie implies that he's not an unhappy man in the end run, but still: he spends most of the movie in silent torture. It's also interesting that the people who helped him investigate (just as it happened in real life) weren't law enforcement, they were the minds behind 60 Minutes. This made the story a lot more interesting and effective because they could employ methods that law enforcement or politicians wouldn't be able to employ. Not because they're Jack Bauer esque, but just because they're sneaky and clever. Of course, so are the police in a lot of movies (just not so much in real life, as they must live in constant fear of public backlash). The film also features some really big names besides Russell Crowe: Al Pacino, Christopher Plummer, and Michael Gambon just to name a few. While this allows for some great performances, no one besides the main two have enough time to really flesh out their characters. Which is fine I guess, but it can be a bit of a waste when you're looking forward to a character coming back and they never do. All in all, it's a pretty solid film but I think it gained a nomination because it was timely.
Not that they would've known this, but I feel that this next movie wasn't the one that should've been nominated. The film is The Sixth Sense, and I really like it, but the next year had Unbreakable which is outstanding. These are easily Shyamalan's best work, and I think that if you watch them you'll see that though the man is clearly out of good ideas, he should direct someone else's ideas instead. Because he's an outstanding director. I keep meaning to do a blog entry about Unbreakable, because in many ways it was the film that altered my perceptions of film. But that's a story for another time. To get back to this movie: it's definitely well-done. The first time I watched it, I was watching it solely because I heard it had a big twist. Well, having seen almost every episode of the original Twilight Zone, I predicted the twist very near to the beginning of the movie. And if you're one of the 3 people in the world who don't know it already, I won't spoil it for you. Suffice it to say that even way back then, I thought the reveal and the delivery of the twist was still excellent. Upon viewing the film in more recent years, there's a lot more to it than the twist. Say what you want about Shyamalan, but he's a truly talented director, especially when it comes to how he frames his shots. Many of his shots are like gothic artwork, telling you more about the characters and the story than the dialogue (which is different from how most filmmakers work). As I said, this is especially brilliant in Unbreakable, but it's still good here. It also contains a great performance from Haley Joel Osment (where has that kid gone?) and a shockingly poignant performance from Bruce Willis. The film's plot is relatively simple (if you find the crazy and the supernatural simple, as I do). There's a kid who sees dead people and a therapist who helps him deal with it. But the delivery is excellent, and it also has some interesting ideas pertaining to the kind of heroic loneliness usually reserved for superhero films. Because he has a gift and he's separated from mankind, but he has to use it to help people in a way that no one else can. So don't let M. Night's recent reputation taint your opinion of the film.
This year's winner is truly innovative and though I wouldn't recommend it to anybody without knowing they could deal with its heavy themes, it's a masterpiece: American Beauty. I will say that I'm glad I saw it recently because that way it wasn't over-hyped for me. Plus if I had seen it when it came out I would've been scarred for life (I was 11). The film features an outstanding performance from Kevin Spacey (who's good in everything he's in) as well as some great supporting performances. The musical score is minimalist and perfect for the atmosphere of the film. The plot itself centers around various people who are trying to break out of the molds of their lives. In fact, the movie sums itself up perfectly in a much more poetic way than I ever could, when the teenage temptress Angela says: "I don't think there's anything worse than being ordinary." They're all trying to avoid being ordinary so they won't be forgotten, or so they can say that they lived for something important. The thing that struck me when I was watching it is that no matter what they do they'll still be ordinary. Because even if you break the mold of being midlife crisis dude, there were millions of guys that already broke the mold in the exact same manner that you did. So to me, one of the major themes of the movie is that nothing is original and you have to find the beauty in everyday life because it's mundane, not in spite of that fact. So that's kind of depressing...but also kind of comforting in a sense. And whatever happened to Sam Mendes? He's a very talented director and also one of the few that effectively uses symbols as motifs in his films. To be more specific, in his film Road To Perdition water/ice is used to symbolize death. In this movie, roses are used to symbolize the main character's sex drive (I tried to think of a more palatable way to put it but I can't). So for instance in all of his fantasies surrounding his daughter's friend, roses or rose petals are involved. More interestingly, at the beginning of the movie his wife is seen snipping the stems of roses in the garden (I'll let you figure that one out for yourself). The film is definitely "artsy" and there are plenty of people who would hate it, or be uncomfortable with it, or not get it. And that's fine, but I really like it and I stand by the Academy's decision with more fervor than I usually do.
Overall, 1999 had some pretty great stuff. And it's the first year in my escapades since 2008 where I watched most of them in a row because I hadn't seen them before. So that was a unique and pretty awesome experience. Of course, it also means that my blog entries will be slowing down if I watch all of the years at the same pace. But since I'm graduating soon and will thus have even more time to watch films and blog about them, that means that pretty soon they'll be coming in fast. Presuming I can watch and post from the cardboard box on the street that will be my home, unless I hear back from some jobs soon...but enough of that drivel. Next entry will include a heart-warming movie about a concentration camp, an uplifting movie about Normandy beach, and a Best Picture winner that contains Ben Affleck.
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