Sunday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences will collectively select the year’s best films, performances and technicians. However, we don’t always agree with the Academy’s choices. Today, we’re going to look at several categories and who we would want to win, if we could make that choice. Tripp and Wes have advised me that they have not seen enough of the nominees to make what they feel are credible choices, so today’s article will feature only mine and Peter’s opinions. In addition, Peter has only submitted choices in the top categories, so I’ll be alone for most of the rest. Here’s who we feel should win this year’s Academy Awards.
Best Picture
Wesley Lovell: If I were to take sides in The King’s Speech/The Social Network smackdown, I’d pick The Social Network easily. However, I don’t consider either the best of the year, so I’d have to give this prize to Black Swan which is deliciously inventive and visually compelling. (Should Have Been Nominated: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World)
Peter J. Patrick: The Social Network. Yes, it’s a film that’s about the way we live now – Wael Ghorim, the Google executive who started the peaceful revolution in Egypt used Facebook to communicate – but it shouldn’t win just because it’s topical. It should win, because as flawed as it may be, it was the most satisfying film released last year. (Should Have Been Nominated: Never Let Me Go)
Best Director
Wesley Lovell: Darren Aronofsky’s vision in Black Swan is succinct, yet mysterious. It’s the hand of a man who understands his cinematic history and knows how to blend and adapt that into a multi-layered feature. All of the directors here (except Hooper) have that skill, but Aronofsky’s work in Black Swan stands easily above the others. (Should Have Been Nominated: Christopher Nolan – Inception)
Peter J. Patrick: On the surface, The Social Network is a writer’s and an actor’s film, but Fincher’s twenty to over a hundred takes on practically every scene is what accounts for the seamlessness that makes it look as though the dialogue just comes flowing out of the mouths of the actors without any effort. (Should Have Been Nominated: Matt Reeves – Let Me In)
Best Actor
Wesley Lovell: While there are certainly more challenging roles offered to actors this year, Colin Firth does such a terrific job as a stutter-afflicted British Royal that it’s hard to imagine a performance more deserving of this award. (Should Have Been Nominated: Ryan Reynolds – Buried)
Peter J. Patrick: Colin Firth is an actor who has been giving marvelous performances on film for nearly thirty years. It’s nice to see him finally receiving the acclaim he has long deserved. (Should Have Been Nominated: Ryan Gosling – Blue Valentine)
Best Actress
Wesley Lovell: Another trophy for Black Swan which gives Natalie Portman her most significant and challenging role to date. She’s always been an intriguing actress to watch, even when she’s slumming for a paycheck. That she carries out her performance with grace and effortless style is a testament to her talent. (Should Have Been Nominated: Emma Stone – Easy A)
Peter J. Patrick: As the more successful partner in a long-term lesbian relationship, Bening’s performance is alternately bold and vulnerable, sweet and sad. Hers is probably the most rounded character of this year’s Best Actress nominees. (Should Have Been Nominated: Carey Mulligan – Never Let Me Go)
Best Supporting Actor
Wesley Lovell: For once, I’m not as solidly for one specific nominee. I think that Christian Bale, Mark Ruffalo and Geoffrey Rush are all quite deserving of praise. But I have to pick one and that forces me to choose Bale. He is the only nominee that so effectively delves into his character that the real Bale seems to disappear entirely. It’s a difficult task and while I appreciate subtlety in my performances, sometimes a knock-out works. (Should Have Been Nominated: Andrew Garfield – The Social Network)
Peter J. Patrick: A tour-de-force performance from an actor who has been turning in consistently strong work since the world discovered him in Steven Spielberg’s Empire of the Sun, which he carried on his thirteen year old shoulders 23 years ago. (Should Have Been Nominated: Andrew Garfield – The Social Network)
Best Supporting Actress
Wesley Lovell: I almost feel forced to choose the only lead in this category. Even though I think she should have been nominated in Best Actress, she is present in Supporting Actress and I feel no remorse in selecting Hailee Steinfeld for her brilliant debut in True Grit. She has a natural style that belies her young age and when you have such challenging dialogue as the Coens are wont to give, it would be easily to be consumed by it, but she stands up to three terrific actors, Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin, and manages to put them to shame. (Should Have Been Nominated: Elle Fanning – Somewhere)
Peter J. Patrick: Amy Adams continues to show her versatility as an actress with with her portrayal of the seemingly dumb, but actually very bright girl of lead Mark Wahlberg, a performance that reminds me a lot of Karen Black’s in Five Easy Pieces. (Should Have Been Nominated: Vanessa Redgrave – Letters to Juliet)
Best Original Screenplay
Wesley Lovell: While the category’s title references the origin of source (whether adapted from another medium or originated for the screen), there’s no doubt that the title Original should also apply to the screenplay itself. Few of the other nominees touch on compelling or inventive tales that we haven’t seen many times before. Inception clearly breaks away from the pack for its concept is so new and fresh that none of the others can compare. And while there might be better dialogue writing (Another Year) or more clever bon mots (The King’s Speech), Inception just has the better overall package. (Should Have Been Nominated: Easy A)
Peter J. Patrick: Inception is not an easy film to read, and that’s what makes it so good. Nolan makes us think until we’ve finally figured it out even if the way we interpret it may not be the way he does. It’s genius.
Best Adapted Screenplay
Wesley Lovell: Perhaps The Social Network, my personal choice here, should have been considered “Original” for all of the liberties it takes with its subject. And, truth be told, it’s one of the more frustrating elements of any screenplay. However, the overarching story has more to do with our progress as a society than it does as a strict biopic. The Social Network‘s clever dialogue and careful examination of determination, frustration and friendship work so well in combination, that I’m hard-pressed to find a reason why its discrepancies should be that concerning. (Should Have Been Nominated: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World)
Peter J. Patrick: The clever dialogue is only part of Sorkin’s brilliant screenplay. Fashioning a film that is constantly on the go out of what could have been people just sitting at computers and in lawyer’s offices, proves we are in the company of a master storyteller.
Best Animated Feature
Wesley Lovell: Running up against Toy Story 3 is probably the most unfortunate thing that could have happened to How to Train Your Dragon. In any other year, Dragon might well have been my choice (it certainly tops a handful of Pixar films of the past), but Toy Story were it not animated, could well have been a serious threat for Best Picture. It’s the perfect embodiment of the power of storytelling and filmmaking, and how the medium can break down the barriers between art and entertainment. (Should Have Been Nominated: Despicable Me)
Best Original Score
Wesley Lovell: Of these scores, The King’s Speech is probably the least impressive and this comes from one of Alexandre Desplat’s fans. The score for 127 Hours sets the film’s tone and pace, How to Train Your Dragon‘s composition is soaring and majestic, and The Social Network‘s music is subtle and controlled; however, the fifth score stands heads-and-shoulders above the rest. Inception‘s driving, pulsing score is not only one of Hans Zimmer’s most original, it’s one of his most important. Without the grand orchestral-electronic blend, the film wouldn’t have felt as complete as it does. And when every note and crescendo punctuates accompanying scenes without feeling obtrusive or unwieldy, you have a score that deserves recognition. Once you’ve heard it, you can’t get it out of your mind, and that haunting quality makes it easily superior. (Should Have Been Nominated: TRON Legacy)
Best Original Song
Wesley Lovell: I’ve listened to snippets of the four nominated songs and were the choice of making a selection, I would abstain. However, having to select one song, I would go with “If I Rise” from 127 Hours simply because it’s the only one I could imagine listening to more than once and not being utterly irritated. (Should Have Been Nominated: “Healing Incantation” – Tangled)
Best Editing
Wesley Lovell: I almost put Inception down as my choice before remembering that the Academy inexplicably left it off the nominations list. This forces me to look at other potential votes in this category. Black Swan, 127 Hours or The Social Network would be suitable choices, but my personal choice would probably be 127 Hours for making so many disparate images fit so perfectly well together. (Should Have Been Nominated: Inception)
Best Cinematography
Wesley Lovell: It’s refreshing to see an Oscar list for Best Cinematography that is predominantly filmed indoors. The Academy used to have a penchant for gorgeously shot exterior locations. Of these, it’s a hard choice for me between Black Swan and Inception as both feature similar elements. I think both are on even footing when comparing shot compositions, but forced to choose, I would pick Black Swan simply because it is a more accomplished film in terms of lighting. (Should Have Been Nominated: Buried)
Best Art Direction
Wesley Lovell: In this lot, the only understandable choice would be Inception. Alice in Wonderland is ostentatious without being really distinctive; Harry Potter is fine, but derivative of the previous films; The King’s Speech lacks depth and precision; and True Grit doesn’t have a lot that really makes it stand out. That doesn’t mean that Inception is a default choice. To create a film that embodies dreamlike reality while still feeling surreal, the art directors did a terrific job. (Should Have Been Nominated: Never Let Me Go)
Best Costume Design
Wesley Lovell: Of the costumes I’ve seen, the most original belong to Julie Taymor’s Tempest and when it comes to this category and its endless string of period recreation winners, Tempest stands out even further. Though a win by I Am Love wouldn’t be too disappointing. (Should Have Been Nominated: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World)
Best Makeup
Wesley Lovell: I haven’t seen any of these nominees, so I don’t feel comfortable making any proclamations. (Should Have Been Nominated: Black Swan)
Best Sound Mixing
Wesley Lovell: The mix is a combination of sound effects, dialogue and music into a cohesive whole. No film more exemplified that balance than Inception. The only other nominee that comes close in terms of quality is The Social Network. (Should Have Been Nominated: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World)
Best Sound Editing
Wesley Lovell: Creating new sounds is an integral part of the Sound Editor’s job. These technicians must not only create new sounds, but make sure that existing sounds are infused into the narrative in creative, innovative and evocative ways. . Three films really stand out on this list with Inception holding a slight lead over Toy Story 3 and TRON Legacy. (Should Have Been Nominated: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World)
Best Visual Effects
Wesley Lovell: There are a number of films that should have been here over the ludicrous inclusions of Alice in Wonderland and Iron Man 2, two films that define what it means to create garish, unnecessary effects that tickle the fancies of visual effects voters. Inception blends traditional special effects with CGI to create a seamless whole. The film’s effects are in service to the plot, not in spite of it like too many films these days. (Should Have Been Nominated: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World)
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