The Fall of the House of Gucci

Jesus Christ what a long, meandering mess. Adam Driver and Al Pacino are doing their best, I think, but the script is ridiculous, and Jared Leto is... honestly I have no idea what he's doing. It's clear that the character he's playing (Paolo Gucci) is a very silly nut of a man, but the whole thing feels like a weird bit, and the lines he says are so out of place – he's the only character who speaks like this – that he feels like he's just in another movie altogether. The worst part is that this movie just doesn't care about the Guccis themselves. It doesn't even really care about Maurizio (Driver's character); the film just likes him more than the others, which isn't much at all. House of Gucci doesn't really make fun of the Guccis, but it thinks this insane story of betrayal and murder is more interesting than them as people.

And then there's Lady Gaga, who is much much worse than she was in A Star Is Born. I've always thought that in that movie Cooper and his team edited around her in very smart ways, but here she's front and center, and although the movie thankfully sort of forgets about her for a stretch of act three, she's clearly the centerpiece of the film, the reason for it to exist, even. And she just can't really act. Sure, she can move around and say lines and wear clothes fabulously, but there's really nothing there that she's doing or giving away. She is, like Jared Leto, just doing a kind of long bit. It's crazy because the part is honestly perfect for her. But she just doesn't give the character any kind of life. Patrizia doesn't quite feel like a cartoon – although she is very silly and I laughed out loud several times – but she also never feels like she's a human at all. Just a kind of image of a person. It's a very bad performance in a movie that never works.

(Tom Ford makes an appearance in this movie, as a character, and he has the role of saving the Gucci brand. Ford has apparently said in interviews that he didn't like this movie either.)

Oscar Noms 2017: 6 of 13

Part 1 - La La Land, Moonlight, Arrival
Part 2 - Manchester by the Sea, Hacksaw Ridge, Lion
Part 3 - Fences, Hell or High Water, Hidden Figures, Jackie
Part 4 - Florence Foster Jenkins, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Passengers, Rogue One
Part 5 - Deepwater Horizon, Kubo and the Two Strings, Moana, A Man Called Ove

Part 6:

Captain Fantastic

1 Nomination

• Actor: Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises)

Director: Matt Ross

Cast: Mortensen, George MacKay, Frank Langella, Samantha Isler, Annalise Basso, Nicholas Hamilton, Shree Crooks, Charlie Shotwell, Kathryn Hahn, Steve Zahn, Ann Dowd, Trin Miller, Erin Moriarty, Missi Pyle, Elijah Stevenson, Teddy Van Ee

I am rather surprised that Matt Ross wasn't nominated in the Original Screenplay category, as well. This was one of my favorite movies of the year, though, so I will take what I can get. It is not perfect, but I didn't care about any of this movie's flaws. I was only paying attention to what I loved about it. But let's talk about Viggo Mortensen and how this is only his second nomination ever. His performances in The Road, The Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Ring, A Dangerous Method, and A History of Violence have all had some awards buzz around them, but this is only his second Oscar nomination, despite the chatter. This is pretty stunning when you think about it. In any case, I am glad more people are talking about this movie, and I sure hope more people see it. The truth is that Captain Fantastic is an ensemble picture, and this lead performance, although it is clearly the lead of the movie, often takes a backseat to the work done by the ensemble as a whole.

Will Win: N/A

Could Win: N/A

My Rating: #11 out of 91

Elle

1 Nomination

• Actress: Isabelle Huppert

Director: Paul Verhoeven

Cast: Huppert, Laurent Lafitte, Charles Berling, Anne Consigny, Jonas Bloquet, Christian Berkel, Judith Magre, Virginie Efira, Alice Isaaz, Raphaël Lenglet, Vimala Pons, Arthur Mazet, Lucas Prisor, Stéphane Bak

I really really liked this movie, but it is a very troubling film and I have really recommended it to no one. This is primarily because Elle is a film about rape, it is a smart film about ethics and rape and desire, and it asks the audience to do a lot of thinking. The central character is as complex as most Huppert characters; in fact this is a kind of classic Huppert performance – the kind we are used to seeing in more recent Huppert films like The Piano Teacher, Merci pour le Chocolat, and Gabrielle. It is odd, really, that this film has finally scored her her first Oscar nomination. After appearing in numerous Oscar-nominated films (from 1980-1991 that includes Heaven's Gate, Coup de Torchon, Entre Nous, and Madame Bovary), she is only now being recognized by the Academy, even though she has, since then, become an enormous star internationally (nominated for 16 César Awards). In any case, this is her first nomination and it is well deserved – especially since she was also so great this year in L'Avenir. But back to Elle for a second, just so you who haven't seen it have a bit of an idea of what this film is: Huppert's character is raped very early on in the film in a scene that is very difficult to watch. She then decides to take revenge on her rapist. She must figure out who her rapist is first, but meanwhile she is attempting to seduce her married next door neighbor (or is he attempting to seduce her?). There are also plenty of other things with which she must deal: an ungrateful son, a theatrical mother, the remarriage of her ex-husband, an affair with her best friend's husband, sexual harassment at work. This is a complex, fascinating character study that thrills with Hitchcockian levels of suspense. It is also filled with mysterious surprises until the very end.

Will Win: N/A

Could Win: Actress

My Rating: #20 out of 91

Loving

1 Nomination

• Actress: Ruth Negga

Director: Jeff Nichols

Cast: Joel Edgerton, Negga, Terri Abney, Sharon Blackwood, Will Dalton, Alano Miller, Chris R. Greene, Nick Kroll, Michael Shannon, Jon Bass

I really enjoyed this movie. This is the first Oscar nomination for a Jeff Nichols movie, which I don't think I understand given his amazing output. (Nichols had two films out this year and I liked the other one even better.) But I am glad Negga is getting attention for her performance. Loving is not your typical Nichols movie, either. It has no real science fiction qualities to it, and it is not really a mystery, but it is essentially a story of the South, which is what Nichols does, and it is also – for a movie whose outcome we already know – a film absolutely chock full of suspense. This is, of course, also one of the things Nichols does really, really well, and he uses his techniques of suspense here excellently. It is worth noting, too, that Loving's script and photography are also both very good, and the film's central performance – by Joel Edgerton – was also one of the best of the year.

Will Win: N/A

Could Win: N/A
My Rating: #26 out of 91

Nocturnal Animals

1 Nomination

• Supporting Actor: Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road)

Director: Tom Ford

Cast: Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Isla Fisher, Ellie Bamber, Armie Hammer, Andrea Riseborough, Michael Sheen, Laura Linney, Karl Glusman, Robert Aramayo, Jena Malone

I adored this movie. It is my #3 for the year. It is a really difficult film, and I understand why so many people had so much trouble with it, but I both really enjoyed the movie and thought it interrogated many interesting things. In fact, I loved it. It's creepy and mysterious and violent, but it is also sexy and unsparing and sad. Nocturnal Animals is a film about revenge, about being unfair to the people in our lives and then about suffering the consequences of that unfairness. Nocturnal is also about art or about trying to make something that expresses how the artists (or non-artist) feels. Let's just be honest and say that I have a lot of trouble articulating why I loved this movie as much as I did, but I thought it was brave and intriguing and gorgeous, while also being very difficult – which is why I've really not recommended it to anyone. As for Michael Shannon's nomination, this came as rather a big surprise to everyone, I think, but it is well deserved. Isn't it odd that Shannon now has two nominations and that they're for Revolutionary Road and this movie? So strange.
Will Win: N/A

Could Win: N/A

My Rating: #3 out of 91

Back to:
Part 1 - La La Land, Moonlight, Arrival
Part 2 - Manchester by the Sea, Hacksaw Ridge, Lion
Part 3 - Fences, Hell or High Water, Hidden Figures, Jackie
Part 4 - Florence Foster Jenkins, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Passengers, Rogue One 
Part 5 - Deepwater Horizon, Kubo and the Two Strings, Moana, A Man Called Ove

Oscar Nomination Wish List

The nominations are tomorrow at 8:18am, and I am pretty excited. I tell people this is like my Christmas morning, and I guess that's fairly true. What I really love about nomination morning is the surprises, though, so what I am really hoping for is for strange things to happen, unexpected people to get in, shocking inclusions.

Here are things I am hoping for for Tuesday morning. Many of these are longshots, but I will be crossing my fingers anyway:

• Isabelle Huppert, Best Actress for Elle
• Annette Bening, Best Actress for 20th Century Women
• Down with Florence Foster Jenkins in all categories including Best Actress. Meryl Streep needs to give us all a break.
• Up with Deadpool in all categories. I haven't seen it yet, but who cares. 
• Paul Verhoeven, Best Director for Elle (it could happen!)
• Down with Jackie in all categories
• Tom Ford, Best Director for Nocturnal Animals 
• Up with Nocturnal Animals in all categories
• The Red Turtle for Animated Feature
• "Take Me Down", Best Original Song for Deepwater Horizon
• "Gone 2015", Best Original Song for Miles Ahead
• "Drive It Like You Stole It", Best Original Song for Sing Street
• Andrew Garfield, Best Actor for Hacksaw Ridge
• Jay Wadley, Best Score for Indignation
• Alexandre Desplat, Best Score for The Light between Oceans 
• Moonlight in all categories (I'm hoping for it to appear in some surprise categories)
• Saela Davis, Anna Rose Holmer, and Lisa Kjerulff, Best Original Screenplay for The Fits 

I guess that is enough dreaming...

Single Men

I really loved Tom Ford's first movie A Single Man. I have heard people say that it is too ponderous, too slow, too pretty, and (even) too gay, but I don't buy any of those criticisms. I found it totally engrossing, erotic, and beautiful. I think it is going to be one of my favorite movies of the year, actually.

I think it is important that we remember, also, that this is Tom Ford's first film. He is not a filmmaker, or at least, hasn't been one for long.

A Single Man is about a day in the life of a gay man (Colin Firth) who has lost his longterm boyfriend (Matthew Goode) in a car accident. The film is about grief and loss, mostly, but also--and this is very important, A Single Man is about memory and the ways that memories surge up within the present, how the past is still alive as we interact in the present. We cannot escape memory, and absence, in this film, is as present as the moment in which the main character is currently living.

The film, then, spends a lot of time in memories, and in exploring specific perspectives--like staring at a woman's lips, or at a naked torso. Sometimes the character is simply overwhelmed with grief and the film attempts to capture only the sensation of drowning. It is a bold, fascinating experiment. And I loved it.

A Single Man is very gay. A part of its project is to explore the lack of validation our culture gives to longterm homosexual relationships. Much of the film is also about beauty and how beauty can give us a reason for living after we have suffered much grief. (So the film dwells on the blue of a child's dress for longer than we might think important, or slows down the exhalation of smoke from an attractive man's lips in order to explore the beauty of such an image and the power of that beauty as a reason for being.) This could, I suppose, be called a gay aesthetic--a Wildean aesthetic--but I did not find this a distraction from the movie. I thought, rather, that the film was about these moments in a very important way.

I want to also mention that the film contains two of the best performances of the year, by both Colin Firth and Julianne Moore. Firth is just brilliant, and Moore gives a fierce, searing performance. She tears into her role and what she comes up with is really extraordinary. To go back to Firth for a moment, the film is with him for almost its entirety, and we get so much from him, understand so much about him, that even when he is silent and brooding and not telling us what he is thinking, we understand.

If you haven't seen the documentary Chris & Don: a Love Story about Christopher Isherwood (who wrote the novel A Single Man) and his lover Don Bachardy, the films go very well together, and Ford's film reflects Isherwood's philosophies beautifully.

At any rate, I loved this film, and plan repeat viewings. I won't see it again this month--too many movies to see!--but I will definitely be watching A Single Man again.

And I really hope Tom Ford makes another film or two. This one is superb. And it is one of the most visually striking, inventive, and consistent first films I have ever seen.