I have little, if any regard for the Academy Awards. It isn't the Academy's fault that the American Public in it's ceaseless need to rate things has expropriated the Oscar and maintains this love hate relationship with it. But let's face it, it's not like the Motion Picture Industry hasn't gleefully participated and promoted that relationship.
My first complaint is with the process. Yeah, I know, everyone bitches about the process. Ask ten people on the street if they voted for their favorites in the Academy Awards and I will bet that the majority of them will reply yes or no. Fans have a right to an opinion, but no right to vote. I swear movie fans think that if they vote online through some entertainment magazine that it might count. Truth is only members of the Academy get to vote. If people want to part of the process they do get to vote for American Idol and The Peoples Choice Awards, but not the the Oscars.
My second problem is with the concept of comparing movies, actors and other contributors and than choosing one as the best. Tell me, which is the best citrus fruit, oranges, grapefruit or lemons? No matter what film the Academy picks as it's winner there will be more than enough critic's telling them they didn't get it right. Folk's Elvis is dead and there is no way to judge one film better than another, get on with your lives.
Opinions about the best film get down to a couple of unquantifiable factors. What film did you enjoy and after a time does it still linger with you? Like your favorite music, painting or book, does the film have lasting value for you. Trust me, you will not have to consult Rodger Ebert, Leonard Maltin or the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to reassure yourself as to which are your favorite films. If they moved you when you saw them and they continue to resonate after a long period of time, they have brought something worthwhile to your life.
The Academy Awards are about jewelery, dresses and gossip magazine romance theories. For those that need that, fine enough, for the serious movie buff the Oscar's are useless. That is why they need John Stewart to make watching the presentation worth while
Monday, February 25, 2008
Monday, February 4, 2008
There Will Be Blood, He Said
I suppose this film is a success because it represents a portrait on such a broad canvas. We have the American Dream turning into a nightmare, passion to succeed morphing into an obsession and paternal love degrading into hatred.
Daniel Plainview, played brilliantly by Daniel Day-Lewis, is a man who is driven to succeed. We witness the dawn of the American Industrial age in the late 1800's. The film opens with an amazing piece of film that is totally without dialogue where Plainview discovers his first oil deposit. These scenes show his gritty and dogged determination. Suffering physical and mental pain, he endures and succeeds in convincing people to allow him to drill on their land. His personality is such that he is able to convince these folks that he can deliver a better life for all. In the end however, it is Plainview who has the money. He's the snake oil salesmen without the snake.
When an accident kills one of his workers, he takes charge of the workers child, passing the kid off as his own son. It helps him to portray himself as a concerned father and family man, the wife allegedly having died in childbirth. We watch as Plainview cons his way into the hearts of the community and gathers the oil money into his hands. He becomes obsessed with the control and no detail escapes him. His battle with the other oil companies is as important as his battle with the local preacher. The appearance of is half brother resurrects his buried feeling for his family and his youth. His obsession for money and control ferries him down a river of emotion ending in the rapids and finally the great waterfall of self destruction.
The acting in this film, lead by Daniel Day-Lewis, is superb. The photographic quality is brooding, which fits the mood. The dissonance in the score is unsettling and at sometimes distracting. Overall, the script is plodding and at times a detriment to telling the story. The total lack of any humor or comedy may be the biggest problem. Emotionally this story starts in a hole and never really gets out of it. On the strength of Day-Lewis's performance this film has received a lot of attention, but I do not think it will rank high in my list of favorites.
This film and "No Country for Old Men" are often mentioned for Award consideration. They do have some similarities. If you enjoy a film that depicts the worst side of human behavour with no redeeming qualities this and "No Country for Old Men" do well in that category
Daniel Plainview, played brilliantly by Daniel Day-Lewis, is a man who is driven to succeed. We witness the dawn of the American Industrial age in the late 1800's. The film opens with an amazing piece of film that is totally without dialogue where Plainview discovers his first oil deposit. These scenes show his gritty and dogged determination. Suffering physical and mental pain, he endures and succeeds in convincing people to allow him to drill on their land. His personality is such that he is able to convince these folks that he can deliver a better life for all. In the end however, it is Plainview who has the money. He's the snake oil salesmen without the snake.
When an accident kills one of his workers, he takes charge of the workers child, passing the kid off as his own son. It helps him to portray himself as a concerned father and family man, the wife allegedly having died in childbirth. We watch as Plainview cons his way into the hearts of the community and gathers the oil money into his hands. He becomes obsessed with the control and no detail escapes him. His battle with the other oil companies is as important as his battle with the local preacher. The appearance of is half brother resurrects his buried feeling for his family and his youth. His obsession for money and control ferries him down a river of emotion ending in the rapids and finally the great waterfall of self destruction.
The acting in this film, lead by Daniel Day-Lewis, is superb. The photographic quality is brooding, which fits the mood. The dissonance in the score is unsettling and at sometimes distracting. Overall, the script is plodding and at times a detriment to telling the story. The total lack of any humor or comedy may be the biggest problem. Emotionally this story starts in a hole and never really gets out of it. On the strength of Day-Lewis's performance this film has received a lot of attention, but I do not think it will rank high in my list of favorites.
This film and "No Country for Old Men" are often mentioned for Award consideration. They do have some similarities. If you enjoy a film that depicts the worst side of human behavour with no redeeming qualities this and "No Country for Old Men" do well in that category
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