Print"Why should I watch the Oscars this year?” a friend asked me. “I haven’t seen any of the films.”
The 81st Academy Awards are this Sunday, and the movies nominated for Best Picture have one thing in common: It’s likely that only film buffs have laid eyes on all five. The Oscars started in 1927 as a way to gain more publicity for films—but as times have changed, the awards have become notorious as an opportunity for conservative, old moviemakers to laud grandiose films that are often described as “safe” and “boring” rather than movies that are truly innovative. And at $12 a film (plus the cost of a subway ride), most Columbia students have neither the time nor money to watch five “important” movies when they can watch less consequential movies involving romances or explosions one theater over.
But looking at this year’s nominees, one really should ask if the films don’t deserve their praise. Sure, popular and critical hits like The Dark Knight and WALL-E went largely unrecognized, and art-house favorites like Che and Synecdoche, New York were similarly snubbed. Still, the five Best Picture nominees are each there for a reason. Milk and Frost/Nixon engage historical stories to reflect current political issues in the realm of civil rights and media relations, respectively. The Reader questions how national identity should be shaped by history—an issue the United States will grapple with as the Bush era comes to an end. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button questions human relationships in an ever-changing world. And a win for Slumdog Millionaire at the Oscars would usher in a new age of globalization in film culture.
Even more than the years in which popular films like Lord of the Rings: Return of the King or The Departed won, these five nominees each force the viewer to look at the world through different lenses. Read on to see why you should not only see each of the five nominees for Best Picture, but why each one deserves to walk home with a golden statuette.
—Peter Labuza
Directed by Ron Howard and adapted by Peter Morgan, from his original theatrical script, Frost/Nixon focuses on the historic interviews that took place between the British talk show host David Frost and Richard Nixon after the former president’s infamous resignation. The exceptional cast of Frost/Nixon, many of whom reprise their original Broadway roles, brilliantly maintains all of the intensity of the original stage production. Michael Sheen, as Frost, gives a compelling performance in the film, as do Sam Rockwell, Oliver Platt, and Kevin Bacon.
But it’s Frank Langella who deserves the most applause. Langella doesn’t present Nixon as a one-sided villain or as a misunderstood hero. He refrains from over-exaggerating the character, instead giving a sensitive and intelligent portrayal of the disgraced president. One of the most haunting scenes is Nixon’s thunderous tirade during a midnight phone call to Frost, in which Langella fervently roars, “We’re going to make ‘em choke on our continued success, our continued headlines, our continued awards and power and glory!” The heated exchanges between Langella and Sheen during the famous Watergate interviews are similarly riveting.
Frost/Nixon’s story is strikingly relevant after a presidential election in which the media played a starring role. The film echoes the year’s most revealing and influential interviews between the press and presidential candidates. It bluntly acknowledges a savvy politician’s talent for producing the most appealing answers and a journalist’s ability to uncover the truth. It would only seem appropriate for a film that explores the complex relationship between the media and politics to win Best Picture this year.
—Eve Rotman
Milk has a special quality: unlike its competitors, it will most likely stand the test of time. The compelling film tells a real tale, one that ignited the hearts of San Francisco and the country at large in the 1970s, when Harvey Milk became the first gay man elected to a major political office. With this kind of social upheaval, it would have been difficult to craft an uninspiring film.
Yet the real success of Milk is that it explores both the man and the movement. The simplicity of the film allows this movie to do what Brokeback Mountain could not—Gus Van Sant’s sparse directing, with a minimal score and few sentimental moments, gets the audience as close as possible to Harvey Milk. We see that this is not primarily a film about a gay man, but rather a biopic that is honest with its characters.
The timing of Milk is also a crucial element of its importance. Between the continuing struggle for gay rights and the election of a president from a minority group, many of the issues the film tackles came to a head in 2008. Milk functions not only as a story of the past, but also as a statement for today.
—Will Ewing
In any other year, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button would not be a long shot for Best Picture. But with adorable Indian children, biopics, and presidential scandals hogging the spotlight, Brad Pitt and his entourage are getting lost in the shuffle.
Despite such stiff competition, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button deserves the ultimate prize. Much like another classic film, Forrest Gump—also penned by Button’s screenwriter, Eric Roth—Benjamin Button follows one man through life’s trials and tribulations. Its beauty lies not only in director David Fincher’s ability to tell a story in the style of magical realism that avoids coming off as overdone. Benjamin Button touches on the transience of life and love, while still leaving its audience uplifted. The movie’s message of overcoming obstacles and taking life as it comes is particularly relevant in today’s fast-paced world.
Pitt proves once again why he is more than just a tabloid fixture, and lead actress Cate Blanchett brings her usual poise and grace to the table. Button also scores with its lush cinematography and art direction. Truly transporting us to an imaginary world set in familiar history, the film is a theatrical tale worthy of recognition. In a year that paradoxically brought both a grave economic crisis and the promise of change for the better, Benjamin Button shows us that though life is not perfect, it can still be beautiful.
—Jenn Mayer
Despite what many moviegoers may say, Stephen Daldry’s The Reader is not just “that Holocaust flick that stole The Dark Knight’s Best Picture nomination.” In the words of film critic Roger Ebert, it’s actually “about not speaking when you know you should.” In our current times—defined by two wars, an economic crisis, and a seemingly universal tendency toward strident individualism—The Reader asks us to speak up for what we believe is right and shows us what will happen if we choose to be silent.
Photographed beautifully by veteran cinematographers Roger Deakins and Chris Menges, the film features Kate Winslet in one of her most breathtaking performances to date—and the best of any actress this year. Winslet plays former Nazi death-camp guard Hanna Schmitz, whose struggles are much more complex and multifaceted than one would imagine. We realize, watching her and her 15-year-old love interest, Michael Berg (David Kross plays the teenaged Michael and Ralph Fiennes plays him as an adult), that human nature—our fears, our preconceptions, our consciences—can indeed lead to disaster.
Of all the films nominated for Best Picture this year, The Reader best exhibits what makes a cinematic masterpiece: it is visually gorgeous, it presents its subject matter truthfully, and it leaves its audience thinking.
—Daniel Valella
Slumdog Millionaire’s biggest success is showing how optimism can rise from the ashes of desolate conditions. Using the game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire? as a framing device, Slumdog tells the life story of street-kid Jamal (Dev Patel). Each question Jamal is asked on the show gives way to an anecdote which reveals a hardship that Jamal has undergone. This way, we are able to piece together his past and discern his current motivations for being on the show. Its unique narrative presentation is Slumdog’s greatest strength.
It is refreshing, in a year where every picture nominated is a “message” movie, to find a film with, arguably, no hidden agenda or political motivation. Instead, the movie simply creates a hopeful tale intended to move its audience. In a time of economic crisis, it is no surprise that people are responding to a film that offers both an honorable character to whom they can relate and a happy ending, despite all the suffering. The optimistic atmosphere that has been prevalent in our country since Barack Obama’s election is reflected throughout the movie, and the fact that Jamal rises above his circumstances will give audience members hope for the future. All in all, Slumdog Millionaire’s rousing ending offers an alternative to the crop of tragic films also nominated for Best Picture and meets the true goal of what movies are supposed to do—provide the audience with an escape from their lives, even if just for two hours.
—Andrea Lopez