Peeking at Documentary Feature, with "Won't You Be My Neighbor" and "Whitney"

I have reached the halfway mark with my Best Films Rewatch, which is very exciting. Except for the fact that I keep adding films to the list! I forgot about "The Man Without a Face" a film that had a significant affect on me when it came out. One that I watched over and over, got the movie poster for, read the book....found myself angry with Mel Gibson for what I perceived as homowashing at the time. It absolutely must be added to the list. And it is. So that makes 13 down, 13 to go.  Not bad for July.

Part of the reason I have done these summer series for the past 2 years (and talked about it for more than that!) is because I crash quite hard after the Oscars and don't want my site to die while I recoup. It's a challenge. I have other things I want to do with my life, other than what I publish here at Awards Wiz. I am writing my own screenplay. I was just asked to be 1st AD on the Oxford Community Film (a perfect step toward directing my own film), and then there is the job that pays my bills. All important.

But as I mentioned a few pieces ago, the Oscars are always looming, and I am going to talk about them today. Specifically the Documentary Feature category.

With an Oscars site comes predictions. There really is no way around it, although I've tried over the years. But Awards Wiz is more about understanding the landscape of cinema, Hollywood and the Academy while also critiquing the films in that landscape. I had a firm grasp on the Academy in the late 90s and into the mid 00s, but as the Academy began to correct its older white male problem, it has been a bit more difficult for me to predict how this body will vote. Does the Academy still vote for what they like despite the critics? Has the addition of more diverse Academy members made any sort of change with the nominations and voting? And does the fact that many of them barely register in Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have any impact on their taste in film? These are questions that are hard to answer as the Academy is changing.

Last year, when I predicted "Faces Places" to win over "Icarus" I stated that if I was wrong I would have to rethink how I look at the Documentary Feature category.

I was wrong. And again, for the 2nd year (3rd year?) wrong about Best Picture. Keeping with the mission of this site, does it matter? Perhaps...at least for my ego.

Last week I saw...."Won't You Be My Neighbor" and "Whitney." Both were incredibly interesting subjects and thought provoking.  Neither film showed us much in terms of revelations of character, but with "Won't You Be My Neighbor," the footage from the show, Fred Rogers' senate hearing testimony, various interviews with both Fred (archival footage as he has passed), his widow and former cast mates painted a perfect picture of the man and how his show paralleled the world of its time.



Interestingly enough the thing that bothered me most about both films was what was missing. "Won't You Be My Neighbor" showed a great deal of footage from the show much of it including Lady Aberlin. But where was she in the present day or flashback interviews? Check out this incredible moment from "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" with Lady Aberlin and Daniel singing about mistakes. How great would it have been to hear what Betty Aberlin had to say about this since Fred isn't around to talk about it?



With "Whitney," we know going into the film that she suffered demons. Every addict does. And although director Kevin Macdonald tries to get to the bottom of what those demons were, he doesn't succeed. The interview with the mother, Cissi, goes nowhere, forcing Macdonald to rely on her presence alone. Macdonald attempts to draw parallels from the times to Whitney's life, but it doesn't quite tie together. Whitney's sexuality with the revelation that she was molested by a family member seems to be the key that the film is going for, but not landing the interview with Whitney's supposed pre Bobby Brown lover, Robyn Crawford leaves a hole in the investigation.

The natural parallel of what happened to her daughter Bobbi Kristina was the most compelling aspect of the film, particularly when family members/friends are recounting the story, but Macdonald chooses to stick with the sexuality angle, which is fascinating as well, if not completely fleshed out. Another very confusing thing is the fact that Macdonald asks Brown about the drug use, citing it as the cause of her death, yet the cause of her death, in the telling of that fateful day is completely glossed over.



It's pretty obvious what I'm saying here, right? "Won't You Be My Neighbor" is the better film. But what does that mean for Oscar? I'm not sure yet. As the months progress and we see what else the year has to offer, we shall see. I know this for sure. "Whitney" has a chance of being nominated, and if it strikes that zeitgeist chord, can win.