MovieManifesto

Cinema is a democratic medium, and the following three categories demonstrate the extraordinary diversity of the movies. Of course, while works in the Animated Feature, Foreign Language Film, and Documentary Feature categories accomplish their craft in decidedly different ways, they nevertheless conform with the standard filmmaking process – that is, they create moving pictures and then streamline them into a narrative. But these categories share another, more troubling similarity: They’re all a farce.

I don’t mean to denigrate the films that the Academy recognizes in these categories each year; as with most categories, the quality of the nominees tends to range from very good to mediocre. It’s the very existence of the categories that vexes me. Rewarding particular types of movies specifically because they’re made according to a certain method propagates a sort of ghetto culture, a suggestion that these pictures are somehow lesser in stature compared to “real” movies. And what’s to stop the increased proliferation of such ruthless segregation? If we have a Best Animated Feature category, why not a Best Action Film, or Best Movie Based on a True Story, or Best Picture with At Least Two Black-and-White Dream Sequences? Read More

If I were a reputable movie critic – or at least a blogger of sufficient diligence and planning – I would devote individual posts to each of the following three categories, all of which constitute critical branches of filmmaking and hardly deserve to be unceremoniously lumped together. But the telecast of the 85th Academy Awards is a mere two weeks away, and the Manifesto still has 14 categories to burn through. As such, I can only hope that the cinematographers, editors, and production designers mentioned below take minimal offense to being discussed in a single post. Something tells me they’ll get over it.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

NOMINEES
Anna Karenina – Seamus McGarvey
Django Unchained – Robert Richardson
Life of Pi – Claudio Miranda
Lincoln – Janusz Kaminski
Skyfall – Roger Deakins

WILL WIN
Over the last few years, the Academy’s thinking regarding cinematography has undergone a sea change of sorts. Whereas in the past, voters tended to favor stately, elegant compositions (witness wins for Road to Perdition and There Will Be Blood), photographers now are more likely to gain acclaim for feats of daring and bravura skill. To wit, the last three victors in this category (Avatar, Inception, and Hugo) also claimed Oscars for their visual effects. Given that Life of Pi has the latter category sewn up – not to mention that, as with Avatar and Hugo, it was filmed in 3-D – it’s difficult to envision a scenario in which it doesn’t take home the statuette for its cinematography as well.

If pressed, I can make a half-hearted argument to the contrary, though it centers on the photographers themselves rather than their films. Specifically, three-time Oscar winner Robert Richardson clearly has considerable traction with the Academy, so Django Unchained can’t be completely ruled out, though I think Richardson’s nomination is his reward. More intriguing is the case of Skyfall‘s Roger Deakins. The legendary cinematographer has been invited to the show a whopping nine times over the past 18 years but has gone home empty-handed every single time, so there’s always the possibility of a sympathy vote.

So there are your token counterarguments. Convinced? Neither am I. Life of Pi takes this one comfortably.

SHOULD WIN
Richardson’s work on Django Unchained is serviceable, but it’s hardly awe-inspiring, especially when compared to quasi-Westerns of the recent past (such as Deakins’ work on True Grit and No Country for Old Men). Janusz Kaminski’s lensing of Lincoln is similarly muted, though it does feature a spectacularly gorgeous shot of the president curtained in shadow that by all rights should have ended the film. Overall, though, Kaminski allows his work to recede into the background, letting the performances and Tony Kushner’s screenplay come to the fore; it’s the appropriate and responsible approach, but that shouldn’t equate with Oscar recognition.

The remaining three nominees comfortably earned their spots at this year’s gala. Claudio Miranda composes images of striking, elemental beauty that elevate Life of Pi‘s transcendent seafaring sequence to high art. His use of 3-D is effective without being distracting, presenting action on multiple planes that helps draw the viewer into the screen. On Skyfall, Deakins lays waste to the notion that action scenes have to be presented with clutter and confusion, and his meticulous digital framing gives urgent, vigorous life into the film’s genre elements. In the end, Skyfall may not quite be the best Bond movie ever made, but thanks to Deakins, it’s undoubtedly the best-looking.

My clear winner, though, is Seamus McGarvey’s astonishing work on Anna Karenina. McGarvey already proved he was a maestro (and perfectly paired with director Joe Wright) on Atonement, but his photography of Wright’s latest and most sumptuous film takes things to another level. His camera glides through the frame like a winged predator, circling its human prey with aroused curiosity, turning something ordinary like a waltz into an exhilarating dance between character and viewer. The result is a picture of both supple grace and breathless vitality. Splendid stuff.

MY IDEAL BALLOT
Anna Karenina – Seamus McGarvey
Life of Pi – Claudio Miranda
Moonrise Kingdom – Robert D. Yeoman
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia – Gökhan Tiryaki
Skyfall – Roger Deakins

Strong showing from the Academy in this category, as three of its five selections match my own. Read More

During the course of the moviegoing year, the Manifesto keeps a running internal document of all feats that I consider to be worthy of Oscar recognition. It’s not an official record, more of an in-the-moment recordation system that helps me ensure that nothing deserving of mention slips through the cracks come Oscar season. It’s particularly helpful for films released early in the year; while my memory is strong enough to recall what won Best Picture in 1945 or who won the World Series in 1987, absent this tally I might forget to acknowledge the creepily immersive sound design of The Woman in Black or the sleek and supple costumes of John Carter. It’s a bit like Nixon’s recording system, only not quite as many people care about mine.

Anyway, in terms of quantity, roughly 5-10 movies typically make the list in each specific field. For example, in the Best Cinematography category, the document currently lists six different films whose photography I found to be sufficiently noteworthy to scribble their names in my metaphorical notebook (three of them overlap with the Academy’s choices, but we’ll address that in a later post). Read More

Are original screenplays back in business? I invariably lament that studios these days are afraid to take risks on truly original films, preferring instead to nestle within the cozy security blanket of the built-in audience. (That I make such lamentations while skipping happily on my way to the next corporate blockbuster is no concern of yours.) After all, there’s no safer bet in Hollywood than a sequel, except perhaps a low-budget horror movie, or maybe a romance or thriller based on a thriving young-adult literary franchise. But this year’s slate of Best Original Screenplay nominees suggests that some movies can feature innovative, challenging premises while dodging the stigma of box-office poison. One nominee has already crossed $150 million, two others will likely end their run with at least $90 MM in the bank, and a fourth nearly tripled its $16 MM budget at domestic theatres alone. So let’s not start writing the obituary on original screenplays that manage to stimulate both the mind and the cash registers just yet.

NOMINEES
Amour – Michael Haneke
Django Unchained – Quentin Tarantino
Flight – John Gatins
Moonrise Kingdom – Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola
Zero Dark Thirty – Mark Boal Read More

Why group these three categories together? Because they all award craftsmen whose job is to make their movies look prettier? Or because I just randomly decided to lump three categories into a single post? As Yoda would say, it matters not. Let’s get to it.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

NOMINEES
The Avengers
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Life of Pi
Prometheus
Snow White and the Huntsman Read More