1. Revolutionary Road
2. The Wrestler
3. Man on Wire
4. Slumdog Millionaire
5. Doubt
6. Let the Right One In
7. Milk
8. Vicky Cristina Barcelona
9. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
10. Rachel Getting Married
ALSO RANS:
The Visitor
The Dark Knight
Burn After Reading
The Reader
Synecdoche, New York
WALL-E
Trouble the Water
In Bruges
Iron Man
NOT SEEN:
Happy-Go-Lucky
Waltz With Bashir
Up the Yangtze
Encounters at the Edge of the World
My Winnipeg
Wendy and Lucy
Flight of the Red Balloon
Frozen River
Paranoid Park
NOT REALLY A 2008 FILM TO ME:
4 Months 3 Weeks 2 Days
I saw Revolutionary Road Friday night on a screener, and I must say I was quite impressed with it. I think Di Caprio gave his finest performance, and Winslet was terrific. I find it hard to believe that she could have been better in The Reader, but I will wait until I see that one. As I stated in a prior comment, I was enamored of the ‘ambiguity’ in Doubt, and wasn’t really too thrilled with Curious Case of Benjamin Button. But I’ve seen most of the others and liked them all well enough.
Fine list.
Excellent list, Pierre – I thought I was the only one who left 4 Months, 3 Weeks in 2007!
Some very good films here. As I’ve stated I think ‘The Reader’ would be my top film, but ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ and ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ would be next-up.
Thanks for the comments, folks. This year I had certain reservations about all of the better films, so the process of whittling down was more complicated for me.
Some people simply don’t like DiCaprio’s work in Rev Road, and some don’t like how his role has been pared down from the novel. Although I didn’t read the novel, I accept the apparent rationale to provide more of a showcase for Winslet. (I consider this role a better fit for her than The Reader.) And besides, I think Leo’s work here is fine.
I tried to find places for The Dark Knight, The Visitor, and WALL*E but just couldn’t make it work despite my admiration for the attempts made.
Interesting list, Pierre, but personally, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Milk and Rachel Getting Married were no better than alright. They’d only get in my top 30 films of the year because the year was so utterly dreadful. Nice to see other people’s lists on here, though. Should be more.
Well Allan, all three films you mentioned there have strong adherents, and I personally think RACHEL is an excellent film, while MILK pushes chose to a Ten Best list. Pierre is in the majority with his love for the Woody Allen as well.
All in all, an impressive list and runner up lineup.
I agree, it’s great to have it posted here too.
I think I must agree with Pierre on “Vicky Christina Barcelona” Sam. I saw the DVD last week and was impressed. Furthermore I am expecting Penelope Cruz will win an Oscar. I am not quite the fan of “Revolutionary Road” as Pierre is, but it’s still a formidable achievement. Nobody can really argue it’s being placed on a best list.
I can see where you’re coming from, Allan. In the case of VCB, I ended up giving weight to what I saw as its underlying message. I tried to avoid measuring how “funny” it was compared to his earlier, “funny” films. With RGM I also gave weight to its underlying messages, but I do admit having to extend mercy to Demme for what I consider to be a couple of lapses in editing judgment. With Milk, I found myself not being moved as much as I thought I’d be, but I was grateful for what he didn’t do with the film as much as for what he did do.
Joe, I thought for a long time that Cruz was a solid frontrunner, but somehow I feel this presumed lead has been getting stale, with Viola Davis gaining favor as a solid stage performer who has turned in a standout performance in a fine ensemble piece.
As Allan suggests, I’m a little alarmed with the tepidity I feel about this list.
Thanks, Sam, for taking the initiative to post this list, though the light of day doesn’t make me feel any better about the placements, which were made in yesterday’s wee hours.
Pierre: I will agree that Viola Davis does seem to be on even kneel with Cruz at this point, and that race can go either way. Today’s BAFTA win for Penelope, however, may offer us a further clue as to how that race may ultimately end up. It’s a real barn-burner.
I agree, Sam, about this race once again heating up in light of Cruz’s BAFTA win. Personally, I’d rather see her get it, though Davis, who clearly seems quite talented, could probably use it more to broaden her career.
Rourke, in accepting his award, proved that, although he’s a potty-mouth, he can be a charming, forgivable one.
Mr. ‘de Plume’ do you think the BAFTA win gives us a strong indication that Mickey Rourke will take the Oscar, rather than Sean Penn?
I personally think it’s Rourke’s.
Frank, I do not think that the BAFTA win is a strong indication, as you say, that Rourke will take the Oscar because Penn’s film as a whole didn’t make as strong a a showing there, nomination-wise, as it did with AMPAS. I realize that The Wrestler’s screenplay didn’t get a BAFTA nomination, nor did Aronofsky. It simply seems to me that Milk has more supporters within the American Academy than it does in England.
That said, I’m a bit skeptical of those who believe that Penn will take the Oscar. Mind you, Penn’s performance was very good — better, I feel, than his Oscar-winning performance in Mystic River. Because he received this Oscar quite recently, some say his chances of winning another are diminished. That factor alone, however, doesn’t convince me he won’t win this time. When one combines this fact with another factor, though — that involving likeability — Penn’s Oscar odds become less favorable.
Quite simply, Sean Penn isn’t that well liked in Hollywood. He’s not a party animal in the mold of Michael Caine, for example. His political views, and the way he expresses them — including his sometimes critical views on Hollywood in general — have turned off a lot of industry professionals over the years. Penn received his Oscar despite these factors, but I don’t think the Academy as a whole is overly anxious to do it again.
Granted, Mickey Rourke is no Tom Hanks. His personal life and lack of professional accomplishments in recent years leave something to be desired from an Academy standpoint. But Hollywood does love a success story. Those who overcome personal travails may be forgiven by the film establishment (Robert Downey Jr., Elizabeth Taylor, and Anthony Hopkins come to mind). As they say in the newspaper business, “It’s good copy.”
The momentum of this sentiment can work in Rourke’s favor. That, combined with the bravura nature of the performance itself, could give him the edge over Milk as long as enough Academy members don’t freak out with anxiety over what Rourke might say at the podium were he to win.
I believe that, because of the politics surrounding Milk — given high visibility by California’s Proposition 8 — Academy members will want to award Penn’s film in some way, especially in light of the still-simmering controversy over the surprise loss suffered by Brokeback Mountain and accusations of homophobia within the Academy. But such concerns could be mitigated if Dustin Lance Black were to win the screenplay Oscar.
When I sit at home in my chair trying to predict Oscar races, I try to imagine how a prototypical Academy voter would feel as the winner ascends the stage to accept the award. In the case of Best Actor, I think this imaginary voter would get a bigger rush were Rourke to win — as long as that feeling was accompanied with the satisfaction of also having voted for Milk’s screenplay.
But one never knows. Milk could take screenplay and best actor. Still, at this point, I believe Rourke has a bigger edge over Penn than some may think. Penn’s popularity within the Academy’s actors branch, as evidenced by his SAG victory, may not put him over the top because, as we know, SAG and the actor’s branch are different enough demographically to muddle the picture in a race as close as this one.
Wow, this is a (simply) brilliant analysis of the Best Actor race, that everyone should read before jumping the gun on predictions or in making a choice for their Oscar pool. I am myself leaning towards Rourke, but I’ll admit, as Pierre so eloquently poses, that there are mitigating factors that could throw the race either way. But Penn’s popularity (or shall we say lack thereof) may influence the entire memebership, as opposed to the actor’s branch alone, to bypass a previous (and recent) winner.
I agree with Pierre that the BAFTA win isn’t significant, but still think Rourke is (narrowly) treading the inside track here.
Viola Davis just wasn’t in Doubt much, compared to Amy Adams, she should be in BEST ONE OR TWO SCENE CAMEO performance. The BAFTAs nominated Adams not Davis, which speaks for itself. Adams gave the best performance, but Cruz will win.
Cruz indeed may win, Allan. But I don’t feel Davis’s limited screen time would be a decisive factor affecting such an outcome.
The Academy has been known to reward roles whose time is brief (eg, Anthony Quinn, Beatrice Straight, Anthony Hopkins, Frances McDormand). Other factors make her a strong contender. Davis’s performance, itself, is a showy one that nevertheless stands out in a film full of strong performances. Not only that, she has a good reputation for being an accomplished stage actress (a selling point that Jennifer Hudson, for example, did not have). On top of that we have Meryl Streep’s seal of approval in that she singled out Davis for praise during her own SAG acceptance speech. You can’t beat that for a testimonial (“Give this girl a film!”).
This brings me to the subject of race. Though strides have been made in Hollywood regarding people of color behind and in front of the camera, we’d be naive to think that race is no longer an issue. I believe that, still, there are people in the Academy who might give more relative weight to race when marking their ballot, whether or not it would be a conscious decision.
I, too, am disappointed, Allan, that the excellent work of Amy Adams has been lost in the Hollywood shuffle. Hers was a more difficult role, and, fine actress that she is, Adams rose to the occasion. What works against her, though, could be the nature of her Doubt role. AMPAS likes to reward either “saints” (Susan Sarandon/Dead Man Walking) or “sinners” (Elizabeth Taylor/Susan Hayward/Charlize Theron/etc.). To the Academy way of thinking, the Adams character isn’t the kind of strong role model — in either direction — that the Academy seems to enjoy singling out.
So, after all my analysis, I agree that Cruz has the edge — helped along, I’m a bit disappointed to say, by the babe factor.
Again, Pierre I must commend you on a thorough and most insightful look at the Best Supporting Actress race. The fact that Adams isn’t a saint or sinner, and the ‘babe’ factor for Cruz are all part of this complex mix in trying to ascertain the results.
Also, your chronology of past winners who appeared fleetingly in their films (that Beatrice Straight reference is penultimate, methinks) speaks volumes. Davis had that one huge scene, which just happened to be the most compelling segment in the film, and a sure scene-stealer, that could easily (based on the past examples) give her the win.
The ‘race’ factor is still there too, especially since we have had several African-Americans win in recent years. On the other hand, Meryl did give here that influential “boost.”
At the end I too will call for Cruz, but it’s a really close race.
Thanks, Pierre, but I’d rather Cruz get it than Davis. I mean, I loved Judi Dench in SIL, but that was a creer award, not really deserved. Davis has effectively one scene…Adams had a tougher part, as you say, and yet many – Sam included – thought her nomination generous when the announcements came out.
The race thing may still count, after all it won Halle Berry an undeserved award, and Denzel an undeserved but overdue award. (The irony is thgat year they gave it to the wrong black actor, should have been Will Smith). Washington shoul dhave won for Malcolm X
Hmmmm. Some very interesting ideas here. Well, I believe that there is always (or most of the time anyway) one major surprise among the four acting awards. So, I will predict that the surprise will occur in supporting actress, since we all know who will win supporting actor. I’m thinking Viola Davis.
Allan, I’d better clarify my own sentiments about Davis vs. Cruz and all the rest. My preference is Cruz, though I really like the work that Adams and Marisa Tomei did in their respective films.
Ever since she won her Vinny Oscar, Tomei has had to endure criticism regarding her acting skill. I happen to think she’s quite good and delivered a very effective performance in The Wrestler.
But I’m still rooting for Penelope.
Thanks, Sam, for your kind and encouraging remarks.
I also think that Woody Allen movies usually do well in providing the roles for supporting Oscars.
Whenever I see a “Hmmmmm,” I always wait for the other shoe to drop. . . .
But it hasn’t, at least not yet.
David, you may very well be right. Another factor that Davis has going for her is that an Oscar win for her also would be a top ‘o the Academy’s hat to the stellar Doubt ensemble.
yes, sir I did drop the other shoe, but rather in agreement.
You sneaked your comment in, David, while I was composing mine.