Oscar narratives being pushed out of Telluride & Venice
Monday, September 2, 2019 at 12:00PM by Nathaniel R
Hmmm... let's see Joaquin Phoenix Joker and Adam Sandler Uncut Gems for Best Actor (blargh and double-blargh*), Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson for Marriage Story, A24's Waves for everything, Renee Zellweger's second Oscar for Judy, Christian Bale for Ford v Ferrari, Ad Astra for something or other (or will this go the First Man route of being wildly praised at its festival bow and then too "reserved" emotionally to actually catch on?) and... what else... what else.... Sure we missed something.
It all feels dizzying right now since everything just began happening all at once, as is tradition this week of each year. The numbers of course don't add up. If you accept preemie buzz with no caveats about anything that happens after this week, we already have the Best Actor lineup (Phoenix, Driver, Sandler, Bale, and Banderas) and the supporting actor winner (Brad Pitt, OUATIH). But this is a small sampling of the movies and performances to come in the next few months of the year...
The Oscar race is a marathon, and not a sprint (though it is a shorter marathon this year which could change things slightly... we think mostly likely in the form of no surprises since whatever sticks early is likely to just be what Oscar voters on having no time to shift and begin to think for themselves after the precursors). This cacophony of online voices is but the first wave of critics and pundits trying to force narratives into reality from the high altitudes of Colorado, and the canals of Venice. Some of these narratives will land and some will dissipate as other titles emerge or meet wider and probably less enthusiastic "first!" responses.
We shall see. Excited for Oscar season yet? We leave for TIFF in just a couple of days and then things really explode... at least in front of our movie-mad eyeballs. Chris and I will try to type at you as much as possible from Toronto as we soak up the cinema.
Waves has won raves but will that be enough? Family dramas often struggle at the box office and which of the ensemble will emerge as an Oscar nominee?
* The double-blargh should be explained. This is nothing against Adam Sandler per se, just about the typical Oscar business of non-superb actors having a much easier time winning buzz if they surprise on strange occassions (even if they have no interest in challenging themselves for 95% of their working career) whereas routinely brilliant actors are often taken for granted; just ask Tilda Swinton with her one & done Oscar bout, Kirsten Dunst with her zero nominations, or Annette Bening and Glenn Close with their never-winning status despite multiple statue-worthy performances.
Reader Comments (59)
I think last season broke you! I hope this isn’t true...
Adam Sandler, ugh. Regardless of how good he is in his new film, he has cheerfully produced so much cinematic swill over the years that it would suck for him to get an Oscar.
Nathaniel - while I genuinely think you are no. 1 among the prognasticators, I have to disagree with you re: the Joker.
My take on the Joker is this: I am not a comic book fan and for the past 10 years Marvel and DC have churned out a horde of safe and CG heavy comic book films with not much depth. While all the publicity and public enthusiasm has been with them, they have never been bad (in Marvel's case) but they have never been great either. As diverting as the Avengers films were, they were just enjoyable popcorn fare playing it safe. And that goes for the cinematography and everything.
I agree with you that there has been an oversaturation of superhero films, and I would have agreed with you if this Joker film did not appear to be vastly different in tone and execution. However, because of the fact it is, I can't understand taking umbridge with *this* film when you could have taken umbridge with Thor 3 or Antman 2.
If they suddenly want to give me a comic book film in the style of a 70s character study with a brauvara performance from one of the great actors, then count me in! At least they are bringing it into the realm of cinema for me. I think the increased 'Oscar buzz' is a reflection of that maybe.
I just left Telluride. Uncut Gems is probably the worst movie of the year. Marriage Story is more Adam Driver’s film than Scarlet’s. Parasite, Beanpole, and A Hidden Life were great. A Portrait of a Lady on Fire and Waves were entertaining but had questionable politics and poor filmmaking, and during our student discussions with them, it was clear that there was not enough intention.
@3rtful what a sad commentary on the state of the film industry and us as a nation if your initial comment regarding Sandler is his personal politics. I am more than willing to discuss his performance or the merits of the film. His political beliefs have absolutely no place in this discussion.
Luke: First: Has everyone willfully forgotten Logan, and how much easier to defend that one is? Second: Really? Thor: Ragnarok? The movie whose message pretty much amounts to "dissolve the United States government and legal structure entirely and just start over"? And the reason that it should be done is not about white dude ennui (like Joker), but about any society getting its basic structure from believers in colonialism not being justified in the 21st century? THAT'S the movie you loop in as the castrated, "safe", version of popcorn? Hi: You played yourself. You could have just used Spider-Man: Homecoming or Doctor Strange or (unfortunately) Captain Marvel. There are more than enough instances of Marvel being "safe" to pick a random two and not look stupid. Instead, you cite not only, easily, THE MOST INCENDIARY MARVEL MOVIE, but probably one of the two or three most incendiary movies PERIOD, from a raw message standpoint, of the last decade.
Volvagia: If you go back and read what I wrote, I specifically referred to the *Avengers* films as popcorn fare playing it safe. In particular I was thinking of the last two, Infinity War and Endgame which have received hyberbolic rave reviews. They are hugely entertaining but not, in my view, particularly great films.
Now Thor: Ragnorak happens to be one of my preferred outings in the MCU universe, and the political angle plays a part in that. Would I call it particularly incendiary? Uh, no. I would argue it is still *packaged* as popcorn entertainment, and 9 out of 10 viewers probably didn't pick up on the politics at all. Nevertheless, it is certainly one of the better films because of some of Taika's stylistic and tonal diversions from the Marvel formula.
I was merely citing TR and AM2 off the top of my head as examples of films that, before release, could have met anybody's ire for seeming like just another unoriginal superhero film. What excites me about the Joker is for once it looks they have actually made an effort to craft a film rather than merely throwing tons of CGI at the screen (much like Logan before it, which I loved).
It's not incendiary politics I am looking for, but rather a great movie without the superhero gloss. For the past 10 years these have few and far between.
Hmm, I'd agree that Thor Ragnorak has some interesting political stuff sandwiched in between the usual MCU antics, but tonally it was anything but "incendiary." Calling it that is a not a little hyperbolic.
A relative who is a TIFF member told me with great disappointment that in the members presale, Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out” was sold out.
And you, Nathaniel, are going to TIFF! It looks like great fun, with movies that writers and readers here would love. There’s a new Annette Bening movie (with Bill Nighy) in which Bening is supposed to be totally utterly wonderful.
There are new movies by Wayne Wang, Michael Winterbottom, and Julie Delpy. There’s a special showing of that star studded mystery classic, “The Last Of Sheila”.
I know you will have a great time, Nathaniel, and come back refreshed at how really great movies are enthusiastically received.