missroserose | Thoughts on the Oscars

Reading the post-party coverage the next day, I have to admit that I'm sort of sorry I missed the show this year. Not because of any great fondness for the films themselves (I actually saw the majority of the nominees this year, and found them as a group to be rather lackluster), but because the ceremony itself sounds like it was fun to watch. More than one person expressed surprise at how quickly it went, considering the interminable dullness of recent years' celebrations. I've never sat through a whole ceremony myself, so I wouldn't really have a point of reference, but I'm actually regretting missing the show this year. Just a bit.

But, some thoughts from the day-after vantage point:

Benjamin Button: I have to admit to experiencing a certain controlled dosage (okay, more like "heaping spoonful") of schadenfreude on hearing about this particular film's fall from grace. In a sign that I obviously don't spend enough time in the Hollywood blogosphere, I'm frankly a bit confused as to what precipitated it -it's been my experience that "thirteen nominations including almost all major categories" is usually followed by a more notable set of wins than "three relatively minor technical awards". I'm certainly not lamenting the results; I found the film itself well-done and perfectly watchable but far too overwrought and full of itself to really be interesting. (Rather similar to Hannibal, come to think of it.) I remember hearing about a YouTube video making the rounds lampooning the striking similarities to Forrest Gump; perhaps that had something to do with it? Humor, especially satirical humor, is ever an effective weapon in puncturing pomposity and self-importance.
Slumdog Millionaire: I caught this one when it finally came to the local theaters (where it's managed to hang on for three weeks - an impressive feat in a town with a very limited number of screens and where most non-mainstream movies get one week, if that). I thought it a sweet and well-told story, but was a bit surprised that it won seven Oscars - both because of its outsider status and because it frankly didn't elevate me all that much. Sadly, I think that's more a reflection on the relative lack of truly fantastic movies this year than its own merits; that said, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to pretty much anyone (with a caveat about the interrogation scenes at the beginning for sensitive viewers). I have to admit, though, anyone who can look at the photos of the youngest actors all dressed up and grinning hugely and not at least feel a bit of joy on their behalf should check themselves into the nearest medical facility and have their DNA tested to make certain they're not some species of alien.
Milk: This one just slightly edged out Millionaire in my mind as deserving of the Best Picture and Editing awards - the seamless integration of archival footage, especially at the very end, was just stunning, and it's probably the first movie I've been to since I was a teenager that actually succeeded in making me cry. I'm not at all unhappy that Sean Penn won the Best Actor award, though I'm a bit torn about Best Original Screenplay. I think I would've given that award to In Bruges, because that kind of black, black comedy is so hard to do (witness Burn After Reading) - and Bruges not only pulled it off, it made it look like the most natural and easy thing in the world. I'd put it right up there with Juno for taking an inherently loaded premise and not just telling a good story with it, but making the story flow perfectly naturally despite the fact that it's subverting our expectations at pretty much every turn.

I may have more musings later on, or even some actual review-type blurbs on the movies themselves, but right now I've got a bit more work to do and then a yoga class to attend. Hurrah!