Tick, Tick... Boom!
2 Nominations
- Actor: Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge)
- Film Editing
Director: Lin-Manuel Miranda
Cast: Garfield, Alexandra Shipp, Robin de Jesus, Vanessa Hudgens, Joshua Henry, Jonathan Marc Sherman, MJ Rodriguez, Judith Light, Bradley Whitford, Ben Levi Ross
I was stunned that I liked this as much as I did, but, listen: Tick, Tick... Boom! was the best musical of the year, followed closely by Belle and Encanto. What's amazing about this is that Belle and Encanto are animated films and Tick, Tick... Boom! isn't, although it does have some cool fantasy sequences – that work well and lean into the theatricality of the piece. It's a pretty stunning achievement, honestly, and I'm glad Garfield has shown up here. He's just great in this. The film editing nod from the editors branch means that they thought it was the best musical of the year, too. Musical films win in this category every once in a while – Bohemian Rhapsody, Whiplash, Slumdog Millionaire – but this movie is just happy to be at the ceremony, I think. It's a small scale movie of a minor musical theatre piece, but Miranda, Garfield, and company knocked it out of the park.
Will Win: N/A
Could Win: N/A
My Rating: #11 out of 58
Parallel Mothers (Madres Paralelas)
2 Nominations
- Actress: Penélope Cruz (Nine, Vicky Christina Barcelona, Volver)
- Score: Alberto Iglesias (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Kite Runner, The Constant Gardener)
Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Cast: Cruz, Milena Smit, Israel Elejalde, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Rossy de Palma
I loved this movie, but I didn't write about it when it came out. It seemed to demand a little too academic of an analysis from me, and I was really busy that month. But here goes: I know a lot of people have had trouble making sense of the first section and last section, which are very seriously about genocide in Spain, and the long middle section, which is sexy and pulpy and brazenly melodramatic. But here's the thing. Melodrama is about the dividedness we experience in side the self. The very purpose of melodrama is to speak about how none of us is single. We are simply not one. Coupling is impossible in melodrama because we are already not one and so we can never be two. We are divided. Our loyalties are split – as Janis's loyalties are split between love for Spain and love for her father, between love for her lover and love for motherhood as such, between her love for Ana and her love for Arturo. But also the question of the pulpy melodrama at the center of Parallel Mothers is a question of paternity/maternity. What does it mean to build a legacy? To have a child? To love it? To want it to last longer? And then to want also to draw back on those in the past. The parallel mothers are, in many ways, all those mothers in the village, raising their children on their own in the fatherless town. The final, gorgeous, heartbreaking shot of Parallel Mothers brings these two plots together flawlessly. This could be your father. This could be your lover. Fascism in Spain broke up the family line. It took babies out of the hands of their fathers. So, I think that what seems like tonal dissonance in this film is actually a perfect parallel.
2 Nominations
- Actress: Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty, The Help)
- Makeup & Hairstyling
Director: Michael Showalter
Cast: Chastain, Andrew Garfield, Cherry Jones, Vincent D'Onofrio, Sam Jaeger, Gabriel Olds, Mark Wystrach, Louis Cancelmi
This is a good enough movie, and I enjoyed myself quite a bit. It's also a rather gay movie, even though there are almost no gay characters. The whole thing just has a very gay sensibility. Jessica Chastain is excellent as Tammy Faye, and she manages to be nuanced and sensitive and give us a portrayal of Tammy Faye's depth as a human even when Tammy Faye herself is the shallow caricature we are seeing on television. It's pretty amazing actually, and she is the favorite to win best actress (although I am betting against her). Obviously, also, the Tammy Faye makeup is iconic, and so this film just had to be nominated in that category. It could potentially win that one too.
Will Win: N/A
This is a good enough movie, and I enjoyed myself quite a bit. It's also a rather gay movie, even though there are almost no gay characters. The whole thing just has a very gay sensibility. Jessica Chastain is excellent as Tammy Faye, and she manages to be nuanced and sensitive and give us a portrayal of Tammy Faye's depth as a human even when Tammy Faye herself is the shallow caricature we are seeing on television. It's pretty amazing actually, and she is the favorite to win best actress (although I am betting against her). Obviously, also, the Tammy Faye makeup is iconic, and so this film just had to be nominated in that category. It could potentially win that one too.
Will Win: N/A
Could Win: Actress, Makeup & Hairstyling
My Rating: #38 out of 58
The Worst Person in the World (Verdens Verste Menneske)
2 Nominations
- Original Screenplay: Joachim Trier & Eskil Vogt
- International Feature: Norway (Kon-Tiki, Elling, The Other Side of Sunday, Ofelaš (Pathfinder), Nine Lives: the Story of Jan Baalsrud)
Director: Joachim Trier
Cast: Renate Reinsve, Anders Danielsen Lie, Herbert Nordrum, Hans Olav Brenner, Helene Bjørnebye, Vidar Sandem
This is another one of the best movies of the year. I'm telling you: the Academy got a lot right this year. This deserves both of its nominations and actually a bunch more. The three main acting performances are extraordinary, with Renate Reinsve leading the pack. I defy you not to fall in love with her. She's incredible. I love Joachim Trier's movies; I think he has deep insights into human behavior, and this film is no exception. There are just extraordinarily wise sections of this film that ask you to think deeply about your own choices and what you're willing to risk. It's so good. I recommend that you see this movie, and I am not one to recommend movies, usually. But The Worst Person in the World is sexy and funny and wise and dynamic and heartbreaking all at once.
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