To honour this, we've decided how we'd vote on a few integral categories...
Paul: A Star Is Born
I strongly suspect we will be pretty in sync on this one. For all its hype and polarising feedback, I think A Star Is Born is a hugely overrated mess. It seems so preoccupied with being fashionably rambling, driven by the characters’ emotions and with music utilised to its full extent to accentuate the drama, that it forgets to ensure that the plot builds up. Neither Ally’s ascension nor Jackson’s paralleling descent achieve the interdependent storyline that it should, the songs aren’t good enough and really it wasn’t worth the remake. I haven’t seen any of the previous interpretations but a quick trip into movie history can rectify that one.
Doug: A Star Is Born
Paul is right in this instance. A Star is Born was my least favourite by miles. One of my frequent cinema-going friends criticised my review for not getting into why I disliked it and I had a long think about it. I do think the script is lazy, the performances are fine but not excellent and apart from ‘Shallow’, I can’t remember any of the songs at all. But after really considering it, I think my biggest bugbear is that it doesn’t ever strike a real note. A scene where Gaga smashes up posters after a traumatic event felt like a writer lazily using the cliche of destruction to show grief, and actually in the moment felt false. Much of the film was filled with these unimaginative traditional choices that ended up making me not believe - or root for - any of the characters. Apparently none of the other ‘Star Is Born’ films were particularly good either, so it may be that the story itself is just a bit dull.
Favourite Male Performance
Paul: Mahershala Ali for Green Book
This was one of those performances where the actor gets to grips with an extremely vivid character and transforms. Ali may well be a shoo-in for Best Supporting Actor (again - he has already won for Moonlight) because he moves effortlessly between Don Shirley’s vulnerability, his cultivated dignity, and his bad habit of snobbishness, without losing grip on his character. Green Book is a lovely film, and if Viggo Mortensen wins Best Actor then I will also be pleased, but it was Ali who made it for me. Rami Malek and Christian Bale deserve shout-outs too, as does the cruelly-unrecognised Nicholas Hoult in The Favourite.
Doug: Christian Bale for Vice
I don’t actually warm to Bale the actor as he always picks flashy roles in which he gets to showboat. The whole thing feels a bit arrogant and self-obsessed. However, annoyingly I can’t fault him here because it may be flashy, but it’s also superb. It’s a fully realised character rather than an impersonation, and there’s certain moments where Bale hunches over, showing us Dick Cheney, but slumped and toad-like, always watching before making any move. In the somewhat too fast-paced film, Bale finds real moments of stillness and utilises them to his benefit. Also shout outs to Mahershala Ali (Green Book), Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody) and Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther).
Favourite Female Performance
Paul: Olivia Coleman for The Favourite
I mean, who else is it gonna be? Colman is a UK National Treasure, ready to replace Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Angela Lansbury when they finally pop their clogs. Here, she proves that she has spectacular comic timing, can transform into the character completely, and evoke the complexities of Queen Anne through body language and expression. It’s certainly time for her to gain the international recognition she deserves, although she may struggle when up against Glenn Close and Melissa McCarthy, both of which are strong contenders for Best Actress. Her co-stars, Weisz and Stone, are also excellent, as is Yalitza Aparicio in Roma (also nominated for Best Actress).
Doug: Melissa McCarthy for Can You Ever Forgive Me?
If this question were ‘who do you want to win’, then it’d be Olivia Colman hands down. She deserves this award, and the narrative of an actor slugging away for years, taking minor comedy roles in British television, and slowly rising to become known as one of the country’s greatest dramatic talents is glorious. An Oscar would just crown it. However. My favourite performance by an actress this year is just stolen by Melissa McCarthy in Can You Ever Forgive Me? It’s a towering performance, particularly so because of McCarthy’s utter restraint throughout. She allows us to read into her mindset, rather than showing us. She doesn’t apologise for her wrong actions, and yet imbues the character with enough warmth that we still are interested in what happens to her. Interestingly this year has been so strong with female performances - Glenn Close, Yalitza Aparicio, Rachel Weisz, Emma Stone and Danai Gurira all gave great turns, especially the latter who dominates Black Panther as the warrior Okoye.
Our Choice for Best Film
Paul: The Favourite
Again, who else was it gonna be? This is a pretty mediocre year for Best Picture nominees. The Academy can nominate up to a maximum of 10 films for Best Picture, and I don’t quite understand why they didn’t utilise the other two slots for films such as The Wife, Can You Ever Forgive Me? or If Beale Street Could Talk just to lend some variety. The list in general makes me think “meh”. But rant over, I would certainly vote for The Favourite. It has the perfect combination of humour, tension and tragedy to keep anyone entertained, and boasts a stunning trio of performances from the three leading ladies. At least one of them has to win an acting Oscar surely?! Don’t treat it as absolute historical fact, but rather as an insight into ambition, manipulation, loneliness and the ridiculousness of aristocratic life - but told from the female perspective instead.
Doug: The Favourite
It’s innovative, fresh, dynamic and a host of other buzzwords said by dreadful agency-types in Farringdon. Really this should be going to If Beale Street Could Talk because that’s the best film I’ve seen in ages, but the Academy weirdly didn’t even notice it. The Favourite features three fabulous performances by great women, an excellent blend of sharp comedy, historical detail and gorgeous sets (thanks Hampton Court Palace), and rampant lesbianism. Good work all round.
But...who do we think will actually win?
Paul: Roma
A tricky one. I’m ruling out The Favourite because I suspect that the showier, grander pieces may win it. Having said that, this decade has displayed a trend towards films which may deal with big themes but in a more artistic and technically innovative way, with The Artist, Argo, Birdman and Moonlight being prime examples. These films were all the underdogs of their respective years, and certainly not the biggest budgeted pieces. For this reason, I think Roma may well do it. It tackles it’s topics full on with heart and fearlessness; it is visually beautiful and artistically unique, which is very popular right now; and it displays Mexican life which could be one in the eye for the Trump administration. It is not my favourite of the nominees, mostly because I know it won’t appeal to everyone due to its slowness and quiet nature, but I think I’m in a slight minority here. Let’s see what goes down on the night!
Doug: A Star Is Born / Roma
Much as I hate to say it, A Star Is Born could take this. They’ve been working the publicity machine, Gaga has a troop of devoted followers, and there’s a host of new forgettable pop songs to be blared out at Heaven at 2am. However, none of the previous A Star Is Born films have won, so we must hope that Hollywood has enough taste to skim over this. If this is the case, I agree with Paul that Roma is a strong possibility. It’s artistic, a labour of love from director Alfonso Cuaron, and hits a lot of political buttons. Not to mention, it’d be the first Best Picture winner to not be in English, and I think with all the outcry about diversity issues, it’d sit well with the Academy to finally break this barrier.
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