I Don't Hate the Oscars This Year

Usually, I'm not that into the Oscars as there are usually a lot of films that are nominated because they are "important" issue films or overdramatic Oscar bait. (See Million Dollar Baby, Crash) This year, however, I am very interested in the awards, especially in the best picture category. I still won't watch the three hours of filler that comprise the show(if it even happens), but I'll be checking the papers the next morning with some enthusiasm. This is the first year I have ever seen all five films nominated for Best Picture, and while there is only one of them I really want to win, I could be okay with any of them. 

Juno is this year's big indie film. I kind of expected a nomination for it simply based on all the Little Miss Sunshine comparisons. Basically, both films were indie films that managed to cross over to mainstream audiences and take in some big box office. While it is a quality film, I believe its these qualities that have made it a Best Picture nominee.

Michael Clayton is the nominee that I am the most surprised about, as it seemed to have garnered the least attention out of the five films. It's a great film and is very similar to Sidney Lumet's The Verdict starring Paul Newman. Michael Clayton also has my favorite final shot of 2007, featuring a steady shot on George Clooney as his cab drives around. It's very similar to the final shot in The Graduate where the camera is just running, there's no dialogue, and the effects of the events of the film are seen in the tired eyes of Clooney. Again, loved the film, but still not my pick for Best Picture.

Atonement probably has the most beautiful cinematography of the bunch and the most use of the "c" word on film. It's never actually said, but you see it typed almost a million times. That's right, a million. The previous record holder was She-Devil starring Roseanne. Joe Wright has made a film more erotic and depressing than any others this year, but I don't quite think its "the" Best Picture.

No Country for Old Men, or NCFOM as my mom called it when she confused the shit out of me with a text message, is almost my pick for Best Picture. Almost, so close. It is beautifully shot, well written, incredibly acted, but there is still one who trumps it.

There Will Be Blood is without a doubt, my favorite movie out of these nominees and quite possibly, of 2007. I had never seen a Daniel Day-Lewis movie, nor had I seen a Paul Thomas Anderson movie prior to this film. Just based on the strength of There Will Be Blood, I went out and bought Gangs of New York, Magnolia, and Boogie Nights the following week. This film is great in every way. Day-Lewis is so wonderfully single minded and insane, in anyone else's hands, it would fall flat or be seen as over the top. This is a man who hates people so much, he just wants to make enough money so he won't have to interact with anyone. Paul Dano as Eli Sunday is just as crazy and greedy, but he masks his ambitions with the church. The music is just as haunting and scary as the score to The Shining and makes a film that no one would think to classify as a horror movie feel exactly like one. The overall package is so wonderfully put together by P.T. Anderson that all I can say is that I love this movie. It deserves Best Picture, but if it doesn't get it, I won't be as disappointed thanks to the nominees this year that are almost just as good.

On a side note, it's worth noting that Atonement, There Will Be Blood, and No Country for Old Men each have a title that just scream out for a titular line in the film, yet don't fulfill the viewer's desire for one. Each would have been just a little bit better if the following lines were in them:

"This is my...Atonement."

"This is simply...No Country for Old Men."

"There Will Be Blood...oh, yes, There Will Be Blood."

That's just another point for There Will Be Blood as it had the opportunity to squeeze in not one, but two mentions of the title into one line. Hopefully, these lines will find their way into deleted scenes on the DVDs.