Let’s face it, you probably haven’t seen most of the 2022 Academy Award Best Picture nominated films. Who has the time? Don’t fret. I put in the work for you. Allow me to guide you through the thickets.
Films You Probably Ought to Skip
Drive My Car
…off a cliff, maybe! At least, that’s how you’ll probably feel at the halfway point of this film. Which, by the way, at about 90 minutes, is the amount of time it takes to FINISH the ENTIRE emotionally impactful Best Picture nominee Belfast. But we’ll get to that wonderful film in a hot minute.
Drive My Car’s protagonist, Yūsuke Kafuku (played woodenly by Hidetoshi Nishijima), is a theatre director and actor who takes a residency in Hiroshima, where, through a lame plot device courtesy of the film’s writers, he requires a driver to get to and from his workplace. Kufuku makes his drive intentionally long (so long…) in order to give himself time to practice lines from his play. As a viewer, those interminable lines are all you need to know about Kufuku’s lack of talent.
There are a bevy of examples of great films that clock in at over three hours: Godfather Part II, Gandhi, The Right Stuff, etc. It’s not an easy task to keep an audience interested, especially in the age of the smart phone. In this respect, Drive My Car has a hubris problem. Filmmakers know that editing makes a film great. But too often, they convince themselves their work is so transformative, the laws of time and space don’t apply. “No, it’s the OTHER guys that need to edit down their work, not me.” They are usually wrong.
There are bright spots. Park Yu-rim as Lee Yoo-na, a deaf actress cast in Kafuku’s play, brings a spark of humanity to the film, as does her on-screen husband, Gong Yoon-soo (Jin Dae-yeon). But the tediousness of this film overwhelms their efforts. As an anonymous director and member of the Academy put it, “Without the critics’ awards, I don’t think a single Academy member would have checked out Drive My Car.”
At one point in the film, Kafuku gazes into the ocean while riding a ferry. I found myself hoping that he would break the Fourth Wall, grab the camera and toss it into the water. Thus ends the film and the viewer’s misery.
West Side Story
The duty of every reviewer is to take his craft seriously. To not finish a film, yet review it, is a cardinal sin.
Please forgive me, oh Lord, for I am a sinner.
If you liked the original, you’ll probably enjoy Spielberg’s version. But, for me, 30 minutes of West Side Story was all I could take. Still better than Drive My Car, though. Check out those first 30 minutes, or even the entire film, on Disney Plus.
Solid Films You Might Want to Check Out
King Richard
King Richard features a memorable performance from Will Smith as the father of professional tennis’ Williams sisters. Look for Smith on-stage tonight as the Best Actor winner. With Venus and Serena as executive producers, there’s a certain amount of hagiography here, but the film is a tightly-made biopic of the sort we are used to seeing. If you are looking for an inspirational story, or just simply like the Williams sisters, check out this film on HBO Max.
Don’t Look Up
Is satire even possible anymore? Considering the state of our politics, the answer might be “no.” However, Don’t Look Up gives every Netflix subscriber the ability to judge for themselves. The film imagines a scenario where a planet-killing comet hurtles toward Earth, but the political and cultural elite barely seem to care. Don’t Look Up drips with Oscar winners (Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence, Mark Rylance, and Cate Blanchett), so the performances are top-notch. The screenplay is funny and the ending seems about right. Watch this and then watch some primetime cable news for perspective.
Power of the Dog
Benedict Cumberbatch drags this Western into Oscar contention with his performance as Phil Burbank, a sexually-repressed gay cowboy. In a classic case of “we hate the things we are,” he centers his aggression on the sensitive teenage son (Kodi Smit-McPhee as Peter) of his brother’s new wife. His brother George, in an understated performance by Jesse Plemons, is an expert at enduring Phil’s overbearing nonsense, but Peter and his mother Rose (Kirsten Dunst) are tormented by the brute.
This is not a happy film, so seekers of a just-so story should look elsewhere. But it is expertly acted and the storyline is well-crafted. Those who love a well-told, melancholy tale should head to Netflix and give it a shot. Should be avoided by traditional Western fans and Sam Elliott.
Top-notch Films for Almost Everyone
Dune
The lone science-fiction entry amongst the nominees, Dune is undeniably the most fun of the lot. But this isn’t just some piece of eye-candy. Josh Brolin, Timothee Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, Stellan Skarsgard, Zendaya, and Javier Bardem give this film real heft and do justice to Frank Herbert’s vision. Speaking of eye-candy, did I mention Jason Momoa appears in this film? But it’s not only Momoa that makes this film look spectacular; the cinematography and visual effects are stupendous. Look for this film to win a multitude of technical Oscars tonight.
Though unlikely to win Best Picture, Dune might just deserve it. I liked it enough that I’m ready to watch it again on HBO Max.
Nightmare Alley
Filmmakers love making film noir for good reason: it continues to connect with audiences and critics alike. Darkness imbues our world and the smart filmmaker harnesses it to a good story. Nightmare Alley does so expertly thanks to an all-star cast that includes Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette, Willem Dafoe, Richard Jenkins, Rooney Mara, Ron Perlman, Mary Steenburgen, and David Strathairn.
Stan Carlisle (Cooper) drags himself up from nothing with the help of a group of carnies making their way in depression-era America. The story of Carlisle and his rise (and fall) might be described as rote if it weren’t so well-told. As Cooper transforms from average man to con man, Cate Blanchett’s psychologist Dr. Lilith Ritter insinuates herself into his life and transforms the story into something that deserves this Best Picture nomination. If you like mysteries, thrills, Cooper’s adorable punim, the wonderful weirdness of a Willem Dafoe character, or just an engrossing story, check out this film on HBO Max.
The Crème de la Crème
CODA
Other than Oscar-winner Marlee Matlin, you are unlikely to have heard of many of the actors who appear in CODA. But you will soon. With talented deaf actors portraying the roles of the Ruby Rossi’s (Emilia Jones) parents and brother, this film seeks and achieves authenticity. A child of deaf adults (hence the term CODA), Ruby Rossi is immersed in her family’s insular world in Gloucester, Mass. The natural difficulty of her family relating to the hearing world and the isolation of working on a fishing boat create a bubble for Ruby to inhabit. But when she joins the high school choir in order to chase a boy, she discovers a legitimate talent for singing. This inherently draws her away from her deaf relatives and their fishing lifestyle, but broadens Ruby’s horizons.
Yes, this film is formulaic. But these formulas exist for a reason. We grow to care about Ruby and her family and root for her in her quest to reach beyond the familiar. This film is recommended for all those who seek a warm, fuzzy feeling and like to root for the underdog. Well-acted, well-written, and expertly directed, this film makes a strong case for Best Picture. Check it out on Apple TV+.
Licorice Pizza
With Licorice Pizza, genius filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood, Phantom Thread, Punch Drunk Love) has gifted the world with an emotionally impactful film set in a faithfully reproduced 1973 San Fernando Valley. Led by a pair of newcomers, this film follows a 15-year-old child actor Gary Valentine (Cooper Huffman) as he pursues the skeptical 25-year-old Alana Kane (Alana Haim) when he meets her at his high school on school photo day (she works as the photographer’s assistant).
Valentine’s status as a child actor affords him access to an alluring world that Kane embraces with gusto. Much of the film centers on the back-and-forth between the pair as each takes a turn flirting while the other takes a turn playing hard-to-get. Meanwhile, they encounter various larger-than-life Hollywood celebrities (thinly disguised versions of real people) of the era that lead the pair on various adventures.
The music, the electricity between the protagonists, the supporting character performances, the outrageous plot points…all these things combine to make this film one of my favorites of the year. It’s available for rent or purchase on various streaming services. Give it a shot!
Belfast
Famed director Kenneth Branagh gives the viewer a look into a family living in 1969 Belfast at the beginning of The Troubles that engulfed Northern Ireland for over two decades. Seen through the eyes of nine-year-old Buddy, the film depicts one of the last neighborhoods where Catholics and Protestants can live together in peace. But that peace is shattered as Buddy’s Protestant family is pressured to take sides against their few remaining Catholic neighbors.
Filmed in black-and-white, Belfast has a big, beating heart, with good humor and great cinematography. The film’s score is entirely composed of Van Morrison songs, which gives each scene a vibrancy and realistic feel. But what stands out most are the performances of Dame Judi Dench and Ciaran Hinds as Buddy’s grandparents. The pair engage in a teasing relationship that underlies the family bonds that are at the heart of this film. There are many moments in Belfast where poignancy is soon followed by a laugh…and back again. In that way, it mirrors the real world of struggle that the people of Northern Ireland experienced during this difficult time. Ultimately, it is a story about family sticking together. I left this film with a full heart. It is available for rent or purchase on various streaming services.
