October is a very strange month for me here at Awards Wiz. Last year, I was so convinced that it was going to be a bum Oscar year that I tried to change lenses early on not to disappoint myself--focusing on films that had very little chance to get much recognition by the Academy.
This year, I already have "A Star is Born," a serious contender that I absolutely love as well as "BlackKklansma," and "Black Panther" films I love enough to be thrilled if they get Best Picture nominations. This is also a year that I could be over the moon with a Spike Lee win for Best Director, even if I think someone else deserves to win. That may sound weird, but that's also how many members of the Academy vote.
I haven't seen so many of the films that are in contention--"Roma" and "The Favourite" being the most obvious, so how can I really report on the landscape of race until that is remedied. I did see "First Man" which was important. I feel that film has landed (ugh) with a bit of a thud. I'm not out there talking to Academy voters, but you can feel these things. It's a really good film. Chazelle is such a great director, and we know from "La La Land" that he isn't afraid to pay tribute to other films/directors. It absolutely worked in "La La Land." In "First Man," particularly with the family scenes, I felt as if he was playing at Malick directing "The Tree of Life." It worked, but it felt borrowed. Once we went into space things changed significantly. That was Chazelle. And it was brilliant.
One of two things will happen with "First Man." I don't see many critics naming it the best film of the year. Probably won't happen with "A Star is Born" either, unless some who gave it great reviews have the balls to come out fully for a popular film. So, it will go under the radar for the next couple of months. Then, it will either coast under the radar to Best Picture/Director nominations...maybe Best Supporting Actress with a few tech noms as well or it won't. It will have been forgotten. We shall see.
There isn't much to be said about the Gotham nominations that hasn't already been said. If you haven't seen the list of noms, check those out somewhere. I will say a couple of things though.
First Reformed and Roma
This was exciting. I had heard great things about this movie but opted to skip it until I could see it at home. Sometimes you have to make those choices when navigating a balanced life! Yesterday, this film got a much needed boost. We know the Gotham's are very, very specialized as each category has a small, select nominating committee and the films in contention are supposed to be independent and American. But when I googled "First Reformed" after the nominations it was EVERYWHERE. For industry folks and Oscarwatchers it was brought, even if only for a day, to the forefront of conversation.
I watched it last night, and it is a remarkably directed/lensed film. It is written and directed by Paul Schrader and lensed by Alexander Dynan. Schrader wrote "Taxi Driver" and "Raging Bull" and directed the likes of "Affliction" (which received an Oscar win for James Coburn and a nomination for Nick Nolte) and "Auto Focus" (which got a little traction in the race for Willem Dafoe and Greg Kinnear). He could have a Best Actor contender on his hands again with Ethan Hawke, who is utterly fantastic.
Is this a Best Picture contender. Maybe? It certainly could get in for screenplay and actor.
Also, why wasn't "Roma" nominated for Best Feature if they could nominate Yalitza Aparicio for Breakthrough Performance. Well, they could have if they had really wanted to. Does it matter? Who knows. If "Roma" starts to run with this thing, it doesn't matter if it's black and white and foreign. Just ask "The Artist." Although I would say that was the most boring year I have covered and the least deserving and forgettable Best Picture in quite some time.
Glenn Close and Toni Collette
I honestly can't see Toni Collette getting an Oscar nomination. Or at least, I couldn't. I am so glad people enjoy "Hereditary" and her performance in it. If I go through this season trashing the film and digging at the love for her work in it (if you didn't know, I was not impressed by either the film or her and found the direction terrible) I will have to accept the same for "A Star is Born."
I love Toni Collette, and as long as other deserving women aren't turned away because of this performance, fine. Will it happen? We shall see....I have a feeling the critics might go for her more than Lady Gaga and Close. But they might just sweep for Olivia Colman in "The Favourite." But Colman will need wins, not special "three way actress" prizes like the Gothams gave. We saw something similar with Timothee Chalamet last year...which did not matter in the long run. Not for the nomination at least.
Private Life
I absolutely loved this film, and while "Roma" was left off for Best Feature another Netflix film, "Private Life" got in for screenplay. Tamara Jenkins was nominated for an Oscar for "The Savages" back in 2008, and 10 years later she might get in again. Keep an eye on this one.
I could probably say more, but it's time to wrap this one up. My lovely GALECA, Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, Advisory Board membership will soon provide me with access to screeners, but in the meantime I will be doing my best to catch up with what is on Netflix ("22 July") and Redbox as well as what comes out in theaters. I missed "Colette" but I will see "Halloween" eventually as well at "The Hate U Give" which is out in Oxford today.
In the meantime, I will be heading to Arkansas to take a break from the world. Hopefully I can fill my creative well and come back next week ready to write more about the Oscars.
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