Oscar Lock Lily Gladstone
Remember, they are not actors and actresses. They are “stars.”
The Red Carpet horror has begun. Camille Paglia said fashion is art and we agree, but the pandering interviews are an absolute torture. Maybe one of the actors (excuse me, “stars,”) will be in a bad mood (remember Hugh Grant?) and provide a respite from what is truly mindless.
Scarriet put aside poetry and their work on their annual March Madness, to watch all ten Best Picture nominations, plus two other films (May December for best original screenplay and Nyad for 2 best actress nominations, Annette Bening, marathon swimmer, and Jodie Foster, friend and coach.)
Let’s discuss these films.
Excess currently dominates the Oscar zeitgeist—think of last year’s winner Everything Everywhere All At Once, a zany, sentimental mess which resembled a video game and kept us in our seats for 139 minutes.
Its counterpart this year is Poor Things, a Frankenstein porn film of sexual jealousy with one really good part—Emma Stone, playing a suicide-brought-to life-with-her child’s-brain-adventurer. It’s a whimsical 142 minutes. Native American actress Lily Gladstone (the quiet victim of Martin Scorsese’s lengthy piece of sadism) will beat out Emma Stone for best actress. Poor Things will win some production Oscars—it’s a colorful delight.
Zone of Interest aims for a simple theme: the Nazis in WW II were really, really bad. One doesn’t so much enjoy this film as learn a history lesson: the Nazis in WW II were really, really bad. It’s only 105 minutes and borders on psychological torture.
Past Lives is one of those low-key foreign films which bores the average American to death. It’s about romantic fate. It’s a pleasant film of 106 minutes—therefore the most enjoyable to watch. But it won’t win awards.
Speaking of psychological torture, Killers of the Flower Moon is an earnest piece of sadism which may win some awards because it indulges in excess. At 206 minutes, it outstrips Zone of Interest in terms of psychological torture. Leonardo DeCaprio (his character is a stupid, criminal, frowning, creep and yet the romantic hero of Scorsese’s film) and Martin Scorsese apparently wanted to punish audiences to such a degree with this film that we never, never forget them. Robert DeNiro, badly cast, adds to the film’s humiliation and torture. If he wins Best Supporting Actor, it will be a crime.
It will also be a shame if Robert Downey Jr. wins Best Supporting Actor—his role at the center of Oppenheimer is inscrutable, but since it’s “history” and Oppenheimer is 181 minutes long, Downey will probably win, and Oppenheimer, with its world-historical Bomb Theme, will dominate the night. An A Bomb of Boring.
Maestro will lose because it’s about classical music. Carrey Mulligan, Maestro’s female lead, will lose to Lily Gladstone, even though Mulligan’s role is more difficult. For this reason, Bradley Cooper may win Best Actor—he’s phenomenal as Lenny, especially the older Lenny. (The younger Lenny sort of comes across as Groucho Marx.) Maestro has some clever scenes, and is not a torture at 129 minutes, and may even win Best Cinematography, though the more outlandish Poor Things and the sadistic Killer Moon will definitely compete for that. There’s something odd about Bradley Cooper. Talented, but strangely aloof. The Best Actor category is probably the most competitive. Colman Domingo in the 60s Civil Rights film, Rustin may win, if not Paul Giamatti of The Holdovers.
Barbie is ridiculous and should not have been nominated at all. Hopefully it will win nothing. It’s a gay party, (a sort of pale, weird, much less iconic, imitation of Wizard of Oz) not a movie. At 115 minutes, it’s not too difficult to watch.
American Fiction is good but feels like a TV movie; its African-American irony plays out rather predictably. At 117 minutes, it’s tragedy doesn’t feel earned; it’s really more of a clever comedy; it’s worth watching as a feel-good film.
Anatomy of a Fall is a thoughtful film. Like the likely winners Killers and Oppenheimer, it’s more of a ‘marriage’ movie than a ‘hook-up’ movie. We get the crime and also a court battle—it doesn’t feel like 152 minutes—it goes by pretty fast, which is in its favor. It doesn’t hunt for Oscar trophies like Oppenheimer and Killers obviously do; it’s just a good drama, so it probably won’t win anything.
The Holdovers (a pretty decent length at 133 minutes) is one of those pleasant, comedy, underdog movies, which maybe wins Best Picture in a previous era—not today.
May December, nominated only for Best Original Screenplay, is my pick for best picture. It’s the most complex film I saw—a film inside a film, with great performances and dramatically uncomfortable scenes. It’s a 113 minutes and I wanted it to be longer.
Nyad is a real life story about the marathon swimmer who attempts to swim 100 miles from Cuba to Key West at the age of 64! Annette Bening (Best Actress) becomes that swimmer—congratulations on a great job. Jodie Foster (Best Supporting Actress) is OK, as is the film. No awards for this one. Bening will lose to Lily Gladstone.
Zone of Interest 105 minutes Torture!
Past Lives 106 minutes Subtle look at romantic fate.
Barbie 115 minutes Crap.
American Fiction 117 minutes Predicable irony.
Maestro 129 minutes Bradley as Lenny.
The Holdovers 133 minutes Awww.
Poor Things 142 minutes Porn meets Frankenstein.
Anatomy of a Fall 152 minutes Court drama.
Oppenheimer 181 minutes Too long.
Killers of Flower Moon 206 minutes Is Scorsese a sadist?
May December 113 minutes Pervy masterpiece.
Nyad. 120 minutes Too much swimming.
3/10/24 7pm