The Oscar nominations and a sense of disappointment

Well now, that was kind of disappointing, wasn’t it?  The films are rather dull and there were no real surprises in the acting nominations (Gary Oldman aside).  There is a yearly accusation that the Oscars are pretty dull but this is the first year I can recall when I have failed to be excited by so many elements of the awards.  I admit that this may have something to do with the fact that I haven’t seen many of the Best Picture nominees (3 to be exact) and therefore many of the big hitters, but by this point of the year I have usually seen (or at least been excited about seeing) most of the expected nominees.  They just haven’t really sparked my imagination this year.  I admit that I was sorry to miss The Tree of Life and I’ve heard enough good things about Midnight in Paris to hope to catch it at some backwater cinema but few of the nominees really grabbed me in a way to make me rush to the cinema on opening night.

It disappoints me that there are no real envelope pushers in amongst the Best Picture list.  I’m not naïve enough to think that Oscar has ever really been about such a thing but (although it has tried on occasion) but I wonder if the voters often look for ‘Oscar-worthy’ films rather than good films (how else can we explain the inclusion of Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close?)  Is this an old-fashioned vote?  Is there a collection of old-timer academy members running the show and when the (currently) younger crop take over we’ll see a change in the scheme of things and braver films rewarded?

But they have been in the past; certainly the recent past.  There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men were hardly hand-wringing Oscar classics and yet they lead the race and had all the form during the precursors.  Oscar also has a tradition of rewarding ‘brave’ acting performances (beautiful made ugly – Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman; controversial storylines – Halle Berry, Tom Hanks; disability – Daniel Day-Lewis, Dustin Hoffman) and yet there is a distinct lack of this kind of nomination this year, Rooney Mara aside.

Perhaps, after a few years of trying to look cool and edgy (Crash, Precious, No Country for Old Men), the academy have decided it is time to reward some of the good old-fashioned pieces of work – family fare; relatively gentle and undemanding films.  Could this explain the snubbing of Bridesmaids and Girl with the Dragon Tattoo when it came to Best Picture?  Wasn’t the reason for extending the list to 10 to reward these ‘outsider’ films?  The non-Oscary box-office and critical successes?  And in a year that presents only 9 nominees for Best Picture this is particularly baffling and rather a slap in the face for films across the board.  Were there really only 9 good films this year?  Sorry.  Were there really only 9 Oscar-worthy films this year?

It certainly does seem like there’s a theme this year – nostalgia and Hollywood glamour.  This has happened before (the Western year, the Lord of the Rings year) so shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.  It really feels like they wanted to reward those films that celebrated cinema and old-fashioned film making.  Hugo and The Artist, the biggest successes nomination wise, both celebrate the history of film, War Horse is a back-to-basics, luscious Spielberg movie (plus a reward for doing what he does best rather than throwing in his lot with new technologies for Tintin), Michelle Williams and Kenneth Branagh are playing iconic Hollywood legends, Woody Allen is a former glory boy back to his best and Meryl Streep, well Meryl Streep was in a film so bound to get nominated. 


Theme aside I still think it's a pity that Drive was not nominated (more on the snubs at a later date); it's sad that so many challenging and rewarding films fell by the wayside as they so often do in big ceremonies.  The Oscars don't mean much to a lot of people but I've always loved them in a predictable kind of way while looking to the Independent Spirit Awards for the interesting winners.

But I've only seen 3 of the 9 'best pictures of the year' so what would I know?  Come back in a week and I may be proclaiming War Horse to be the greatest thing I've ever witnessed.  But I don't think so.  Come on Oscar voters.  Throw up a couple of surprises on the big night and you've got every chance of winning me over again.

The Help

Tate Taylor has created a bright, broad and sassy film that probably won't be bothering Oscar as was predicted given the subject matter due to a lack of hand-wringing (although Octavia Spencer is gathering well-earned steam) but it is good fun, moving and worthy of much praise.

The Help is the story of the civil rights movement boiled down to the basics.  Aibileen and Minny are maids working in Jackson Mississippi  - an area not exactly known for its liberalism - who come forward with their stories for a book to be written from the perspective of the coloured maids of the town.  The writer is a wealthy while girl, Eugenia 'Skeeter' Phelan, who has been encouraged by a publisher to write about what disturbs her and hits upon this topic after her best friend writes a bill to make it a requirement for all homes with coloured help to have a separate outdoor bathroom for them to use as they carry different diseases.  With the civil rights movement hotting up the publisher encourages her to complete the writing "before it all blows over".

While the tone may be a little too light for some (I'm currently reading the book and even only 72 pages in there is more depth and darkness) Taylor has succeeded in showing the lives of these women as they work in the houses of people who become enemies and those that become friends.  Through Aibileen and Minny we see both sides of this experience as their work goes unappreciated and their skills belittled, at least until Minny finds a somewhat happier household to work in. 

As the villain of the piece Bryce Dallas Howard brings a sickly sweet brittleness to Hilly Holbrook and makes her genuinely dangerous, smiling through her threats and slowly but surely destroying people's lives.  Octavia Spencer is absolutely wonderful has the outspoken, sassy Minny - a woman who knows her place but doesn't have to be happy about it.  She bubbles with attitude but is a big softy underneath as we get to witness and enjoy while her relationship with Jessica Chastain's outcast Celia Foote develops (another brilliant Chastain performance - what a year she's had!).  Emma Stone is little more than the reporter of events but the friendship with the woman who raised her is an integral part of the plot and Stone convinces as the courageous girl who won't sit back and let people fob her off with half-truths and weak excuses. 
But Viola Davis is the emotional centre of the film.  Her middle-aged, vastly experienced Aibileen is downtrodden and heartbroken but stoic and strong.  Hers are the eyes through which we see the others and hers is the courage which changes the course of the film.  Viola Davis played another put-upon, sore-hearted woman in Doubt and moved me to tears in one scene so it is just wonderful to see her carrying this film with such warmth and depth of character.

Taylor's glossy adaptation is a thoroughly enjoyable watch - 3.5/5