4 Should-Be Best Picture Nominations
The Oscars miss frequently and it's boring to dwell on. Hopefully, “Roma”, Alfonso Cuarón’s masterpiece will bring home the Best Picture tonight. The film is gorgeous, filmed in black and white and with a removed objectivity, like a crisper “Killer of Sheep” (1978), and tremendously moving. But if it doesn't win, to my mind it doesn't make it less the actual “Best Picture” of the year (“Fences” is still the best movie of 2016 and my mind cannot be changed on this).
That said, I feel it worthwhile to mention briefly four other movies from this year that were deserving of Best Picture nominations this year:
First, Reformed: That this film was not nominated is perplexing to me. It's not as though it came from lightweights or unknowns, as it was directed by Paul Schrader (the man penned freaking “Taxi Driver” and “Raging Bull”) and Ethan Hawke (more on his underappreciated year later). If any movie this year would give “Roma” a run for its moneu, it's this one. The film is a beautiful meditation on faith, loss, and fanaticism and Ethan Hawke’s performance is astounding and heart wrenching.
Mandy: Full disclosure: Nic Cage is in six of my top ten all time favorite films (seriously*). I can, of course, remain intellectually honest and admit it he accepted a role that he had no business accepting, as has happened all too frequently in recent years. But his frequent misfires do not outweigh the amazing body of work this actor has built and it is into this camp that “Mandy” belongs: this is vintage, wild Cage doing what he does best. This film is a psychedelic odyssey with a high level of gore and grossness, and as such some will not be able to buy in. This is a shame, however, as at the heart of this film is an Alexandre Dumas-esque romantic revenge story with the same level of satisfaction.
Blaze: Ethan Hawke was great this year. In addition to his incredible “First, Reformed” performance, he directed this Blaze Foley biopic and plays a pitch perfect Townes Van Zandt. Calling this a “biopic” feels wrong, as it doesn't follow the same formulaic pattern with which we are all well acquainted, but rambles in the same way Foley seemed to. What's most impressive about this work is that it manages to serve as homage that can be appreciated by Foley fans and an introduction for those unfamiliar with his music, while still managing to keep the mystery of this strange and idiosyncratic artist alive (it is a “biopic” in much the same way “I’m Not There” was a Dylan biopic, albeit “Blaze” is much more accessible for non-fans and has more of a straightforward narrative).
Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse: In discussions of cultural topics, WFB Jr. Jr. is wrong quite frequently, such as his asinine unwillingness to admit that Battlestar Galactica > Star Trek (sorry, trekkie nerds). I always counted his affinity for Spiderman among these wrong positions. But of all the millions of recent Spiderman flicks, I finally got the appeal through a slightly aged, downtrodden Peter Parker (voiced by Jake Johnson) and a young Miles Morales (Shameik Moore). “Spider-Verse” is fun, adventurous, funny, and dazzling to look at. As good as “Black Panther” is, this is the superhero movie that should have received the nomination.
*Here they are:
La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc (Dreyer, 1928)
Freaks (Browning, 1932)
Gospel According to St. Matthew (Pasolini, 1964)
Woman Under the Influence (Cassavetes, 1974)
Rumble Fish (Coppola, 1983)
Raising Arizona (Coen, 1984)
Wild at Heart (Lynch, 1990)
Bringing out the Dead (Scorcese, 1999)
Adaptation (Jonze, 2002)
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (Herzog, 2009)
- John Dos Passos Dos