Enough people have asked if my husband and I are still watching all the Oscar Best Picture nominees so I decided to post my thoughts ahead of Sunday night’s awards.
In full disclosure, we didn’t make it through all ten Best Picture nominees. We missed Barbie, Maestro and Poor Things. Also, there are a few spoilers below. Nothing huge, but read with caution. These are posted in the order that we watched them.
Anatomy of a Fall: A young boy who is blind is the star witness in the trial of his mother who is accused of murdering his father by pushing him from the second story of their remote home. It begins not quite in medias res, but close enough. Close enough for the audience to not get to know any of the characters and thus not develop sympathy for any of them. In that way, we are an extension of the jury with little backstory to help us figure out what we believe. Superb acting by the wife and son, but this won’t be my pick for best picture. There were several times when I was expecting a big twist, and somewhat relieved that there wasn’t one. (For those who need to know, the dog does not die.) But if you believe as I do that dogs are a good judge of character, perhaps Snoop does – in the end – provide additional evidence of what is true.
The Holdovers: Paul Giamatti plays a bitter and cranky teacher at a prep school where he once was a student. He gets stuck supervising a student over Christmas break. From there, it’s pretty predictable; there’s conflict, revelations of similarities, and several touching moments of camaraderie which all lead to one coming to the other’s defense. While overall it was a decent film, it felt like a story told many times over and far too similar to Dead Poet’s Society.
Killers of the Flower Moon: I read Killers of the Flower Moon with my book club and loved it, so I was looking forward to this movie. Martin Scorsese is a brilliant producer and the talent of the cast had me excited. Unfortunately, the movie fell flat.
Unlike the book, the first half of the movie is spent developing the relationship between Ernest and Molly. I was hoping that this expansion of the storyline would help with character development and create empathy for the Osage people. Unfortunately, I don’t think it did; it just served to make the movie longer. I think we all would’ve been better served if Scorsese had stuck to the book’s storyline and just focused on Tom White and his investigation.
Past Lives: Childhood friends reconnect after 14 years on social media. Nora’s family immigrated to the US from South Korea and she’s now a writer in residence in New York City. Nora halts what has felt like an intense reconnection to focus on her writing. Shortly after, she meets and falls in love and marries another resident writer. 12 years later, Hae Sung visits New York.
A simple story that is incredibly intense. Phenomenal acting. (Greta Lee, the actress who plays Nora, is also in Morning Show – but plays a very different character. I look forward to what she does next.) This movie is for anyone who longs for a life they used to live and can’t help asking themselves, “What if?” This is our favorite of the movies we watched.
American Fiction: A writer who happens to be black takes exception that his craft is always considered through the lens of his race. In a moment of frustration, he writes a “black novel” under the pseudonym of a fabricated ex-con, and the book is immediately a success. At the same time, he’s caring for his mom who’s losing her memory. So, this is both hilarious satire and intense family friction. (The scene of the writers discussing which book should win the award is incredibly well-written and maybe has the best line from all the movies we watched.) For me, this was the most entertaining of the movies, and I think the themes that it explores make it worthy of consideration for Best Picture.
Oppenheimer: Does this one need a summary? Meh. Another great cast and a good story but overall, just so-so. I enjoyed learning about Strauss’ betrayal of Oppenheimer and their relationship. There was some amazing cinematography that you’d expect but the best thing I have to say about this movie is that maybe it is close enough to what actually happened that I won’t ever have to sit through another telling of the atomic bomb.
The Zone of Interest: A portrait of an SS officer – Commandant of Auschwitz – and his family, who live next to the camp. It is based on a book that was a fictionalized account of a real person. Rudolf Höss is on his way up the Nazi ladder but his wife, Hedwig, only wants the stability she’s found in their perfect home, with its expansive garden, greenhouse and situated near a picturesque river. Meanwhile, she can’t protect her children from absorbing the horror that is taking place next door. (Cue similarities to The Boy the Striped Pajamas.) There’s a lot to unpack in this one, but as was our initial impression, it will likely be disappointing to some. That said, this one has stayed with me and I find myself thinking about it more than the others. For that reason, I’d probably put this one third behind American Fiction.
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