Lynn here, offering a little break from the frenzy of this year’s Oscars homestretch to ponder a possible future awards contender…
Fall, it seems so far away! But it’s never too early to start thinking of the potential Oscars slate for next season, especially when you’ve got an adaptation of a popular book that features two mega-hot rising stars coming off fresh Oscar nominations and one Oscar winner who’s a bona fide screen goddess. That would be The Light Between Oceans, which just dropped its first trailer yesterday. Based on the bestselling novel by M.L. Stedman, it’s directed by Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine, The Place Beyond the Pines) and stars Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, and Rachel Weisz.
Let’s break down the trailer, YNMS-style after the jump...
YES
-That cast! Is there a more beautiful real-life Hollywood couple right now than Fasskander? Is there any actor who can look more convincingly haunted than Fassy? Is there any actress who can look more heartbreakingly heartbroken than Vikander?
-Well, there is Rachel Weisz, who’s also one half of a comparably gorgeous couple and is probably thinking, “Kids, maybe you’ll be like Daniel and me when you grow up. You wish.” She also knows a thing or two about giving good cryface, as the trailer amply demonstrates.
-If anyone knows how to depict emotional strain on a marriage in a way that’s at once devastating and profoundly compassionate, it’s Derek Cianfrance; and Blue Valentine was one of my favorite films of 2010 for precisely those reasons.
NO
-I haven’t read the book, but it seems from the trailer that all of the major narrative points and turns are telegraphed from a mile away. (The baby is the Weisz character’s, right? Or at least the couple think so, and disagree over whether to tell her?)
-Apart from a few quick glimpses of happy moments with the couple and their adopted child, the actors seem to be limited to a fairly narrow emotional register: the key of sad, conflicted, and really sad.
-This is based on a novel by an Australian author that’s set in post-WWI Australia, and none of the three major characters is being played by an Australian actor? It’s not like we’re lacking in qualified candidates.
MAYBE SO
-This is clearly not a plot-driven story but one focused on moral psychology and the dynamics of a marriage. Very much in line with the themes Cianfrance has previously explored; but will it be more like Blue Valentine or the uneven The Place Beyond the Pines, which I remember describing as “1/3 great movie, 1/3 decent movie, and 1/3 bad movie”? We’ll see.
-The film looks much glossier than Cianfrance’s previous work, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing; emotional authenticity doesn’t require (or equate to) visual grittiness. Cinematographer Adam Arkapaw most recently shot Justin Kurzel’s visually striking Macbeth (also starring Fassbender), and did impressive work on TV (season 1 True Detective, Top of the Lake). But this trailer doesn’t look like any of his previous work, either: the visuals look pretty but static.
-The film is scheduled for release over Labor Day weekend, historically not a good weekend for either box office or awards hopefuls—but maybe Dreamworks is hoping it will exceed expectations and build early traction?
Overall, I’m a YES based on the talent involved. How about you?
For better or worse I’m getting a very “traditional Oscars bait” feel from the trailer, which I think the Academy is starting to move away from but is far from dead. It remains to be seen whether Oceans is more The English Patient than The Danish Girl.