The 2012 Oscars

BEST FILM
Millions of people around the world are probably now scratching their heads over an 'old' movie winning Best Film. Hopefully a small fraction of these people actually go out and see The Artist now, it's a wonderful movie and it's nice to see something so positive and winsome get a bit of recognition for once. I think most of the other nominees were worthy of mention, it would still be quite easy to boil the list down to just five films, but I think that's not really the way it should work (as the whole process is basically about boiling it down to just one film anyway).

The Artist (full review)
A glorious return to the early days of cinema, this was a predictable case of the frontrunner winning, but a year ago I doubt anyone could predict that a silent black and white film would be on everyone's lips as the Best Film winner of 2012. As you might've guessed from above, I support this win wholeheartedly and I hope it inspires people to get outside of their comfort zone and really enjoy something a bit different for once. The Artist's nostalgia and inventiveness both justifies and earns the Best Film tag, I love that this movie beat out the usual Oscar-baiting types of movies that also got nominated.

Hugo (full review)
This was my number one pick as I quite easily liked Hugo the most out of any of the Best Film nominees, but if it was going to get beaten then I'm more than happy for it to be beaten by The Artist. Martin Scorsese continues to show that he's at the top of his game with this movie. I'd argue that this is the best film he's made since Casino, and it couldn't be a more different film so maybe he should experiment with other genres and demographics a bit more. More family adventure films Marty!

Midnight in Paris (full review)
I haven't been keeping up with Woody Allen's career so I can't really comment on this in the context of his last few films. What I can say is that it's an urbane and witty piece of filmmaking that's as uncompromising and artistically valid as Terence Malick's The Tree of Life. Allen is fiercely courageous in bringing his own brand of intellectualism to the screen... it isn't a film that will appeal to everyone but I have to applaud him for just making the films he wants to make and doing it with such verve and passion. I enjoyed it a lot.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (full review)
Probably the most controversial of the nominees, and not for the right reason either. In the past a film about a tragedy like 9/11 would've been seen as brave and envelope-pushing, but now it's very much the done thing when it comes to Oscar season and so Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close feels like far too easy and obvious a choice for Oscar recognition. The film isn't as bad as everyone makes it out to be, but I won't be the one to defend its many flaws either. It's just a shame because it's based on such a fantastic novel and the chance for this novel to reach a wider audience has now been squandered. Perhaps it was the casting of Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock that pushed so many people away from this film. What I find unforgiveable is simply the fact that this got nominated and Drive didn't.

The Descendants (full review)
I like this movie but it didn't seem 'big' enough to warrant all the attention. I guess this was the token indie nomination for 2012, there always seems to be at least one of these. It's an enjoyable flick but no one could justify a Best Film win for it. The best thing about its loss here is that writer-director Alexander Payne will keep striving for greatness, and I'd love to see him keep making superior quality indie films with that hunger behind them.

The Tree of Life (full review)
I think this was the most unexpected nomination of the lot. Malick has invented a unique film language all of his own, and I can imagine many Academy voters getting stuck halfway through this just because they didn't get it. It's more a work of art than a film so it's probably hard to justify any serious contention, but I'm still glad it got nominated nonetheless. This film is deep, and I don't mean that in an ironic or facetious way. It's the closest we'll probably ever get to seeing a film made by God.

Moneyball (full review)
Sports movie! I really enjoyed Moneyball but again, it just didn't feel like a serious Oscar contender to me. It's a great and hearty true story that combines the entertainment factor of sports with some worthy messages about the failure of sportsmanship in America. I can definitely get behind a film like that, but when you watch this next to something like Hugo or The Artist it's pretty clear that it just isn't up to scratch.

War Horse (full review)
Some people groaned at the nomination of Spielberg's War Horse but these are clearly also the same people who would (unfairly) not give this movie the time of day. This is a film for fans of epic old-school filmmakers like David Lean, John Ford and King Vidor. It's a bold and unashamedly sentimental look at a devastating piece of history, and I challenge the sceptics out there to watch it and not be impressed by how effortlessly Spielberg can tell a complicated story like this in such a visually simple way.

The Help (full review)
I'll back this movie as well. Sure, it's Oscar-bait, but everything about it is so perfectly pitched that it's hard to argue with its success. This film is like Forrest Gump without the mental retardation or embarrassing right wing agenda, and how can you not like that? Much like War Horse, I'd award points to this film because it dares to be a little old fashioned in an era of sceptics and hipsters.


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
This one was pretty much a dead certainty, my only fear was that Max Von Sydow could split the 'old man' vote somehow. I was backing Plummer and was glad to see him get it. I loved his acceptance speech, it was so witty and relaxed and pleasant. What a class act.

Christopher Plummer (Beginners)
Plummer is part of a disappearing generation of great older actors, and he didn't get nominated for the first time until 2009's The Last Station. A Best Supporting Actor nomination was probably the best he could hope for, so it's great to see him get some real recognition with this win, and it's great that it was actually for a performance that deserved it. His depiction of an elderly gay man who comes out of the closet in his last few years of life is very endearing, and Plummer makes it sing without being over the top.

Kenneth Brannagh (My Week With Marilyn)
I found it interesting to hear that Brannagh wasn't even the first choice for the role of Laurence Olivier in this film, it was originally meant to be Ralph Fiennes. I could see Fiennes doing it, but for Brannagh there's that shared history of both Olivier and Brannagh being the kings of screen-Shakespeare in their respective eras. Brannagh is uncanny as Olivier, and I'd love to see him win an Oscar for something one day, he's a great actor and director and I think he's underrated in both fields. Just compare his acting in things like Harry Potter to his Shakespearean work, and then he goes and proves himself a more than adept mimic as the great Olivier as well (and he doesn't do it a sentimental way either).

Max Von Sydow (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close)
Look, I like Max Von Sydow, the guy is a living legend, and yeah he usually doesn't get roles with much substance to them these days (usually he gets cast in the role of sinister old man) so it's nice to see him in the important but all-mute role of 'The Renter'. It's a slightly quirky role and he's emotive enough without overdoing it, but (having read the book) I just think the character's depth wasn't achieved. It's a hard character to put on the screen, and whilst Von Sydow does the best possible job with the script he's given, it isn't Oscar worthy.

Jonah Hill (Moneyball)
Definitely not! You can't nominate a comedian just for not being funny. I still can't believe Hill got nominated for this, all he did was not act like an arsehole. That's nomination worthy? It just feels like the Academy is (as usual) desperately trying to prove it's still hip by putting someone younger in there next to Nolte, Von Sydow and Plummer. I generally like Jonah Hill, but this nomination should've been Albert Brooks for Drive.

Nick Nolte (Warrior)
I love that Nolte got a nomination for this, he was a standout in Warrior and his performance showed a certain depth of experience that's hard to fake. There was real restraint in his combination of unexpected vulnerability and toughness, I loved it, it was a great characterisation and Nolte has long been an undervalued character actor. He's always had an unusual but strong screen presence, and hopefully he'll get more chances to show this now.


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
We all knew that Spencer had the Oscar, this one was in the bag, and I guess I can't really fault it too much. Second hottest favourite was probably Bejo for The Artist, but if I had to choose from the nominees I would've chosen Melissa McCarthy... her performance will live on beyond the Oscars in a way that none of the others will.

Octavia Spencer (The Help)
Everyone loves a sassy black lady, and when you team it up with a sympathetic political agenda it's pretty much unbeatable. The author of the novel The Help actually created the role with Spencer in mind, so half her work was already done for her. It's a character designed to evoke inspiration and empathy, and Spencer did it with enough strength for it not to seem manipulative, and I don't really think you can overvalue how effortlessly she does it.

Berenice Bejo (The Artist)
Bejo is charming in this film but I guess charm alone doesn't do the trick when you're up against Octavia Spencer and the potent message of American civil rights that Spencer's character represents. Bejo is fun in The Artist but she isn't really the 'supporting' actress in the film, she's the leading lady to Dujardin's leading man, so it feels odd that she's in this category in the first place. That aside, I can take or leave her work in this film, she's great and all but it just didn't grab me.

Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs)
I really don't agree with McTeer's nomination. I guess she got it for the double-combo of gender-bending and adopting an Irish brogue, but I was just never convinced by any of it. She's meant to be a woman living the life of a man in 19th century Dublin, but to me she looked more like K. D. Lang.

Jessica Chaistain (The Help)
Chaistain virtually came out of nowhere in 2011 with both this role and her work in The Tree of Life, and the two performances couldn't be more different from one another. Her character in The Help is a buoyant and flighty creature unsuited to life in the deep south of 1960s America, ostracised by the women in her community and uncomprehending when it comes to their ingrained racism. It's a great character and Chaistain does the character justice, but as it's her first nomination she was probably just considered lucky to even get nominated.

Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids)
I love that McCarthy got nominated for this, and I really wanted her to win it but I knew it would never happen so I just had to be happy with the fact that she got nominated. Great comedy work doesn't always get the recognition it deserves at the Oscars, and I'd like to think that McCarthy's nomination for Bridesmaids is in the spirit of Kevin Kline's Oscar-winning work in A Fish Called Wanda. McCarthy really threw herself into her Bridesmaids role with such enthusiasm and a truly impressive lack of dignity, she stole the whole movie as far as I'm concerned.


BEST ACTOR
Dujardin was the favourite but I'm still a little surprised that he won. I never underestimate America's love for their own, so I was afraid Clooney or Pitt might take it because they've been waiting a little while. Dujardin deserved it though and the power of his acting defied 'the rules', so it's great to see him rewarded for an iconic performance. I guess those other eager Hollywood veterans will have to keep chasing the dream.

Jean Dujardin (The Artist)
Physicality was pretty much all that Dujardin had to work with in The Artist, and he doesn't so much as work with it but lets it do all the driving. He embodies three archetypes of the silent era - the dashing action man, the physical master of comedy, and the swooning matinee idol. For anyone else this would be positively schizophrenic and fragmentary, but he marries these personas together so joyfully that every second he's on screen is an absolute pleasure.

George Clooney (The Descendants)
Apparently it's a big deal that Clooney played a 'regular' guy in this film, but when the most interesting thing you have going for you is the fact that you're not wearing a suit, well, it doesn't exactly say much, does it? Clooney has a magnetic screen presence, so if he's in a well-written role like this he's still pretty much untouchable, but I'm not ever going to believe in a Best Actor win for him unless he breaks the mould a bit more and gets outside of his comfort zone.

Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)
Everyone loves Gary Oldman and his ability to disappear into a wide range of quirky roles, so it's amazing that this is his first actual nomination. I guess it was always going to take something special yet underplayed to finally get him noticed, and that's what this role is. George Smiley is one of the great modern literary characters, it's a role that requires subtlety, and Oldman does stillness just as oddly watachable as he does animated. He was never going to win this award (especially when put next to an A-lister like Brad Pitt) but at least now he's on the scoreboard.

Brad Pitt (Moneyball)
I just don't get this nomination. It's starting to feel like Pitt is now getting Oscar nods just for hanging around long enough and accumulating enough fans. I've always felt that Pitt is best when put into smaller character parts (Twelve Monkeys, Snatch, Burn After Reading) that allow him to be a little bit more colourful. When he's given a lead role he always seems to fall short of achieving any actual emotional depth, and Moneyball is no exception. He's too distant in the role. And for some reason he was always eating.

Demian Bichir (A Better Life)
I love these Oscar curveballs where they nominate some nobody from a small independent film, but who are they really kidding? Bichir's prize is just to be nominated, I reckon he would've had the least votes out of any of the nominees simply because he doesn't have any history behind him and his film was too small in scope. But having said that, his performance feels so authentic that I'd happily rank him as one of the top three nominees in this category. It took me a while to realise he was the crooked politician out of the TV show Weeds, which just goes to show that the right role can give any truly talented actor the opportunity to really shine.


BEST ACTRESS
This was the one I was least sure about. I couldn't make my mind up about whether it would be Viola Davis or Meryl Streep (though I was personally backing Michelle Williams). Seeing Streep get it felt good, the last time an actor broke that two-award barrier was Jack Nicholson's Best Actor win in 1997 for As Good As It Gets, and Streep is easily as good as him if not better. While her peers (De Niro, Pacino, Hoffman) flounder and struggle to recapture their former glories, Streep is still at the top of her game after nearly five decades, making her the greatest actor of her generation.

Viola Davis (The Help)
I don't really get this. Davis is a good actress, but she felt like a bit like a supporting actress in this film. It's a good role and she's good, but yeah, I don't see it as an Oscar frontrunner and for me it's probably the weakest of the five nominees. Hopefully it at least means she'll keep getting good roles.

Meryl Streep (Iron Lady)
The Streepster is a machine. She's unrecognisable as Thatcher, and that's not just down to the extraordinary make-up job (including the false teeth and nose). She comes across as the real deal - voice, mannerisms, body language - it's all completely new for her. She must be pushing 60 now and she's still able to diversify in ways that no other actress (or actor) can touch. Sorry if I'm gushing a bit, but she's a living legend and part of the reason she isn't deified like De Niro or Brando is simply because she's a woman, and that's not cool at all.

Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs)
I think Close did an amazing job in this role. It was a dream project that she spent nearly three decades trying to get onto the screen so she must be a little bummed out that she didn't get the big gong. I think the issue with this role is that the film wasn't accessible enough (period drama based on play = niche audience) and that Close's character didn't have any big moments or a satisfying story arc.

Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn)
Williams was fantastic as Marilyn Monroe. I was sceptical because she didn't really look the part to me, and Monroe is such a huge icon that it's a big ask for anyone to do her justice. Despite all that, Williams managed to physically embody the iconic aspects of Monroe's public persona whilst also delving into the personal world of a fragile and tortured artist, and that's a pretty big achievement. This is Williams' third Oscar nomination and I'm thinking she'll at least have a few more before she's done.

Rooney Mara (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo)
To be honest, Mara was not on my radar at all prior to this nomination. I can't say I've noticed her in anything before, so I went into The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo without any preconceptions. She does a good job but I'm not convinced that this was all her, I think a lot of it was just down to Lisbeth Salander being such an original and interesting character. I'll reserve judgment until I see her in a few more things.