Oscar Season: American Hustle

My quest to take in all the best picture nominees continues...

Next on the list is American Hustle.

This film has been the talk of Hollywood since long before it was released.  The sheer sexiness of the cast was enough for me to do my part for their box office numbers.  Even Christian Bale with his comb-over and beer gut is appealing in his own special way.

But, why is it in the list of the best pics of 2013?  To be honest, the movie was a little slow for me at the beginning.  Towards the end, things really got good and I'm glad I stuck around.  Writer, Eric Warren Singer, and Writer/Director David O. Russell have created an ensemble piece, a complex and engaging story based on real events, and a well-rounded contender worthy of Academy consideration.

Many have panned this movie, opining that it is undeserving of an Oscar nomination, but as a whole, I'd argue it was pretty air-tight.  Maybe not epic, but more well-done than many of the films out last year.

Of course, it all comes back to the acting for me.  Christian Bale completely disappeares into his character.  He is no longer the dashing Welshman who has charmed us since Newsies, but a self-reinvented con man from the wrong side of the tracks.  Amy Adams slips effortlessly in and out of her own fabricated persona.  Jennifer Lawrence captures a character far beyond her own life experience. Bradley Cooper gets sucked into a dangerous game completely unaware of his actual role in the whole thing.

Despite the fact that Irv and Sydney are unequivocal criminals, I was on their side throughout the film.  And despite the main story of this film being about the FBI ABSCAM sting, the film was also a love-story about two people deeply entwined while at the same time being divided by social obstacles, such as Irv's unhappy marriage, jealousy, and the necessities of their business.

To ice the cake, the production team also nailed the re-creation of the late 70s and 80s--the music, the hair, the clothes. Yeah, baby.

Oscar Season: The Wolf of Wall Street

This weekend I (finally!) took in the controversial smash, the Wolf of Wall Street, the tale of stock tycoon Jordan Belfort.  I'm always amazed at how Martin Scorsese, who seems like a sweet grandfather of a man, can cut to the core of the darkness of the human soul.

So, why was this one nominated?  First off, for a movie that was a few minutes shy of 3 hours, it sure seemed to go by quickly.  While Terence Winter already had an incredible story in Belfort's memoir, which almost seems too fantastic to be real, he turned it into a masterpiece of an adapted screenplay.  The music was phenomenal.  The cinematic flourishes were subtle, but effective.

Most of all, it came back to the acting for me.  I was enthralled with each and every character: Jonah Hill as Donnie Azoff, with his Chiclet teeth and WASP-wannabe ways; Rob Reiner, the morally-conflicted father, Max Belfort; beautiful, sweet, gold-digging Naomi (Margot Robbie); vigilant and humble Agent Patrick Denham (Kyle Chandler).  Even Matthew McConaughey, who makes a tiny appearance, leaves a big impression. The king of the film was the Wolf of Wall Street himself, Jordan Belfort, masterfully played by Leonardo diCaprio, who became more and more wolf-like throughout the film.  The character was detestable and likeable at the same time.  The development of this arguably sociopathic character was a tantalizing trainwreck.  I knew I was supposed to hate what was going on, and I found my skin crawling, but at the same time, it was totally titillating.

The trouble with the movie, and Belfort's story in general, is that there is no redeemable moral lesson here.  The moral lesson is that morals are irrelevant.  But, when do Scorsese's movies ever offer a moral lesson?  I mean look at the Departed.  (spoiler 

alert) Good and bad, everybody dies.

My hope is that viewers are smart enough to realize that even material riches beyond one's wildest dreams are not worth destroying the lives of innocent people.  I think a percentage of the audience, though, will take away from this story that if you're smart enough, you can get away with anything.

Oscar Season: August: Osage County

This past week, I began the formidable task of scrambling to catch up on the 10 Best-Picture Academy Award Nominees for 2013-14.  I’m a little behind this year, so I've got my work cut out for me.

The first feature I watched was August:Osage County.  I watched the film on a SAG screener while doing incredibly mind-numbing temp work.  Though not an ideal viewing format, I could still appreciate why this film was nominated.

There were two things that stood out to me most.  One, was that I could feel the heat of Osage County radiating from my computer screen.  The cinematography, the music, perhaps even the filter of the lens brought me right into that dust bowl of misery. 

Even more than that, the acting hit all the right spots.  Meryl Streep, as the pill- and disease-addled matriarch, Violet Weston, bears the scars and disease of a lifetime of anguish, often taking it out on her family.  Her daughters, played by Julia Roberts, Julianne Nicholson, and Juliette Lewis, struggle to cope with her degeneration, while at the same time dealing with the demons in their own personal lives and relationships.  Each character, lead and supporting, is deeply complex and the threads of dysfunction are sewn deeply into the fabric of this family. 

The film, which was originally a play by Tracy Letts begs the question, can the fruit of a poison tree ever learn to be sweet, or are we damned to pass on the pain we have endured from those who came before us?

It’s not a happy one, but very few Oscar nominees are.  And, though the subject matter is painful, there is humor throughout.  A good drama will always allow for the funny, just like in life.  I know that at my grandmother’s funeral a few months ago, I cried of course, but I laughed almost as much.  That is the beauty of being human.