Nominees: A Separation, Midnight in Paris, House of Pleasures, Take Shelter, Source Code, Trust, Moneyball, The Artist, The Rabbi's Cat, Hotarubi no Mori e
Oscars pick: The Artist
Nominees: The Descendants, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, The Help, Hugo, Midnight in Paris, Moneyball, Tree of Life, War Horse
2011 was a year where film looked nostalgically upon itself, in The Artist, My Week With Marylyn, Hugo and, in casting a wider net to include art and music, Midnight in Paris.
I waited longer than Oscar did to finally award Scorsese -- such an odd thing considering his brilliant contributions to the world of cinema. My favorites from the man came in strong years where I preferred another -- and in weaker years, what he offered wasn't his best (or rather, a favorite of mine). He just never seemed to be at the right place at the right time... until now.
Hugo is about things and people who are forgotten and rediscovered (the story concerns an orphaned boy who endeavors to repair an automaton his dad was working on before he died). And it's centered around one of film's great innovators, the father of special effects if you will, George Méliès – which is why if ever there was a picture that should have been filmed in 3D, using every FX trick in the book, it's Hugo. The movie is a love letter to the magic of motion pictures and to the people who make dreams come alive (and used every invention at their disposal to do so)
The 3D is remarkable, not only for the depth of field, but also for those scenes that mirror silent film techniques (a character falls and you see footsteps above her, as in Hitchcock's The Lodger) as well as modern flourishes, such as a beautiful moment where papers spin around our young lead actors. Scorsese also has fun with it, especially with close-ups (as in a scene in a bathtub). I'd add, that much like Herzog with Cave of Forgotten Dreams, Martin didn't use it as a gimmick, but as an essential piece of the filmmaking puzzle. And I'm selecting Hugo as a theatrical 3D feature, my first under that criterion. The effect was woven into the production and was as key to the storytelling process as score, editing, lighting, and so forth. (For me, it's just not the same watching at home in 2D).
Anyhoo -- Performances are strong, direction and Oscar-winning cinematography from Robert Richardson is without peer - and I like that the movie isn’t cynical. It's a good family film with a good heart. In one scene, after Hugo takes his young friend Isabelle to see her first motion picture, she later thanks him and adds... "It was a gift." That sums up this movie and the film going experience in total, perfectly.
There were several films that mounted a serious challenge to Hugo. Chief among them two amazing foreign films: A Separation -about the breakup of a marriage- which addresses complex moral issues as well as complex relationships and societal issues. And House of Pleasures. Which Roger Ebert described as, "a morose elegy to the decline of a luxurious Parisian bordello, circa 1990, a closed world in which prostitutes and their clients glide like sleepwalkers through the motions of sex."
I also adored Woody Allen's magical Midnight in Paris, which is my favorite from the director since Crimes and Misdemeanors in 1989.
Oscar winner The Artist was a joy, and while it wasn't my "Best Picture" I thought it was a cute, pleasant romantic comedy.
Other's I liked in the year include, The Skin I Live In, Harry Potter, The Descendants, Tree of Life, Super, The Adjustment Bureau, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy, Contagion, The Ides of March, Incendies, The Adventures of Tintin, Limitless, Griff the Invisible, Rio, Another Earth, Mozart’s Sister, Project Nim, Le Havre, Tyrannosaur, Buck, X-Men First Class, and Ann Hui's warm and human A Simple Life, which features some nice acting from Deanie Ip and Andy Lau.
Honorable Mentions:
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy * Sam Shepard, Blackthorn * Brendan Gleeson, The Guard * Michael Fassbender, Shame * Peter Mullan, Tyrannosaur * Peyman Moaadi, A Separation * Naseeruddin Shah, Michael * Matthias Schoenaerts, Bullhead * Jean Dujardin, The Artist * Aksel Hennie, Headhunters * Anders Danielsen Lie, Oslo, August 31st
Honorable Mentions:
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady * Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene * Charlize Theron, Young Adult * Lauren Ambrose, About Sunny * Olivia Colman, Tyrannosaur * Lubna Azabal, Incendies * Adepero Oduye, Pariah * Rachel Weisz, The Deep Blue Sea * Viola Davis, The Help
Supporting Actress: Carey Mulligan, Shame
Special Award - Best Ensemble: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Ciaran Hinds, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch, Kathy Burke, Roger Lloyd Pack, Tom Hardy, John Hurt
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