A-List: Five Best Mike Nichols Movies
By J. Don Birnam
November 24, 2014
BoxOfficeProphets.com
The German-born American director’s brilliance is evident by the fact that he had such crossover appeal - not only across mediums (he excelled at movies, TV, and most notably theater), but also across genres within each medium. He helmed slapstick comedies like The Birdcage, made serious movies about current political and social commentary like Charlie Wilson’s War, and explored sexuality and obsession in darker dramas like Closer. At the same time, he directed one of the most critically acclaimed TV mini-series of all times when he took Angels in America to the small screen. It is telling that no less than one of the most lauded actresses in film history, Meryl Streep, was a frequent and beloved collaborator with Nichols.
Focusing exclusively on his contribution to film is enough to realize that Nichols was one of the most creative and meaningful voices in the world of art. Nichols made movies about sex at a time when Hollywood was at the crossroads of the sexual revolution but continuing to act as if sex was taboo as in the 1940s. Even knowing nothing about the history of censorship in motion pictures, it should not be a surprise to astute movie watchers that Hollywood could be so introspectively whitewashed. After all, today movies have been mostly stripped of sex. Directors either fear the R-rating, the reactions of more conservative audiences abroad, or our own reactionary counterculture brought on by the Reagan wave of conservatism. Whatever the reason, Nichols was not afraid to scoff at those outmoded standards and make movies that honestly explored one of the subjects at the core of our humanity.
Notable too was his ability to bring out the best performances in his actors. An exploration of Elizabeth Taylor’s movies, for example, reveals that some of her best work was done while behind his camera. Cher, not exactly someone you immediately think of as a strong actress, also benefited immensely from his tutelage. It is also arguable that he launched Natalie Portman’s career into respectability.
So what are my top five favorite Mike Nichols movies? This one is more challenging than you think because, although I admit having seen only about a dozen of his films, there is not a single one on the list that I do not like. Closer will not make the top five list even though it is such a gripping portrayal of love, obsession, and betrayal. Nichols takes a cast that is arguably pedestrian (Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, Jude Law, and Natalie Portman) when it comes to serious acting and elevates them collectively into a haunting and unforgettable piece.
The Birdcage is also a runner-up if only because I have already listed this movie when analyzing movie remakes. But it should not be discounted, as it exhibits Nichols’ versatility and talent in a movie that is arguably outside his mainstream. Nor did I have room for another hilarious Streep collaboration, the edgy Postcards from the Edge, or for the most sexually explicit of all his films, Carnal Knowledge. Both are worth watching and feature Nichols’ signature intelligence about the subject at hand, but must yield to even more impressive pieces.
Fear not, then, because indeed the list of five that remain is strong and noteworthy. And here is the most surprising thing of all that will emerge from exploring Nichols’ best work: the Academy for once got it right with him. Although none of his films ever won Best Picture, the better ones were showered with love from the Academy and received deserved awards in their own right. Despite being way ahead of his time when he began making movies in 1966, the Academy somehow realized the genius of Nichols from the get-go, a rare but welcome feat for them.
5. Charlie Wilson’s War
What turned out to be Nichols’ last film is also one of his most underrated. A movie about the perils of war and hubris made at a time when people were either no listening or somehow not understanding that concept, Nichols breathes fresh air into the languishing socio-political drama (much like he did, in my opinion, in his President Clinton satire in Primary Colors). The movie is witty and incisive. It helps, of course, that the script was penned by the brilliant Aaron Sorkin. On top of cutting dialogue helped by expert camerawork, it also features a Nichols signature: a star-studded cast that he navigates and unites marvelously. Indeed, the trio of Oscar winners featured (Julia Roberts, Tom Hanks, and Philip Seymour Hoffman) turn in impressive performances as mostly unsympathetic characters.
But the best thing about the movie is arguably the subtlety of the message and lesson it teaches the audiences (that mostly, sadly, did not care to listen): America’s role in the conflict in Afghanistan and the subsequent developments that led to 9/11. None of that is mentioned overtly, but coming out in 2007 when the country was still divided about our proper role in the post 9/11 world, Nichols made sure to add his thoughtful opinion to the conversation.
4. Silkwood
Another of Nichols’ Best Director nominations came in the 1980s thriller drama starring Meryl Streep and Cher, telling the story of a woman who became a nuclear power whistleblower and paid a heavy price for her audacity. Once more unafraid to tackle difficult but relevant subjects, Nichols’ mastery is on display here by the way he uses technical aspects of the film, such as lighting and sound/score, to create building suspense. At the same time, he successfully conveys the ennui and helplessness that the characters feel at times during their mundane lives by slowing down the tempo of the camera and the action overall.
Once more, the acting that Nichols extracts from his cast is also notable. Although no one is surprised that Streep did an outstanding job (and received one of her many nominations for it), Cher was also nominated and arguably began her own little “Oscar story” with Silkwood, culminating in her win a few years later for Moonstruck, a much more campy and trite performance than the heartfelt if melodramatic portrayal in Silkwood. The imprint of Nichols can be seen, however, because of his ability to tackle controversial subjects and get even the most reticent audience member to agree with his point of view. In the end, there is no doubt that one should be firmly on Karen Silkwood’s side in the controversy.
3. Working Girl
Perhaps a guilty pleasure of mine, Nichols’ next Best Director nominated movie (and, indeed, one of 1988’s five Best Picture nominees), is Working Girl. The movie begins with a now classic scene through the New York skyline to the backdrop of Carly Simon’s Best Original Song Winner, “Let the River Run.” By the end, one is left with one of the best romantic comedies of the 1980s, one that again evokes a lot of emotional sympathy for its characters - not in the trite way that many an Oscar winner does, but because the characters are real and Nichols makes us feel as if we know them intimately.
And to revisit the by now usual theme: the cast does some of its best career work ever even though in this case it isn’t exactly impressive as it was for Silkwood or Charlie Wilson. Thus, Melanie Griffith, Sigourney Weaver, and Harrison Ford all turn in believable turns as their respective characters - which are purposefully clichéd while three-dimensional at the same time.
Overall, however, the brilliance of this movie lies in how Nichols successfully captured a lot of what the 1980s were about: the hairdos and outfits, yes, but also the confluence of several different pulls in women’s lives as the possibility of a successful career finally began to become a reachable reality for most women in America.
2. The Graduate
Dustin Hoffman’s big splash onto the scene came in the now iconic and timeless The Graduate, the film for which Nichols won the Best Director award (losing Best Picture to the race-relations Sidney Poitier film, In the Heat of the Night). By the time Nichols helmed Working Girl, he had proven himself quite adept at weaving popular music to create a timeless theme for his film, having done so exquisitely with the Simon and Garfunkel hit “Mrs. Robinson” in the Graduate.
The story is well known - the young Hoffman returns home to disaffected parents after college, only to be seduced by the temptress Mrs. Robinson, played by the reliable Anne Bancroft and then to later fall in love with the older woman’s daughter. Sex, sexuality, teenage anxiety, and the banality of the rich are just some of the themes that Nichols successfully and bravely explores and debates in only his second-feature film. He creates a movie that is the sum of several brilliant moving parts and makes them even better by capturing real emotions from his actors, not one of which hits a false note throughout the entire film.
It should be no surprise that The Graduate became one of the highest grossing movies of its time and is now a timeless classic. What John Hughes captures about the young heart in his comedic way throughout his career, Nichols also discovered brilliantly in a single piece that transcends its own youth by seriously confronting the serious subjects it features and having lots to say about others (such as aging, and, again, money and its pitfalls). In short, there is something for everything in this movie, which its director put together as a tight and eternally relevant piece. For once, the Academy got it way right on this one.
1. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Nichols’ first motion picture remains in my view his best, if only because, well, what a way to burst out onto the scene. From the perspective of critical reception, how about these stats for accolades: the movie received a whopping 13 Oscar nominations (the record is 14); its entire cast was nominated for an acting Oscar (only two other movies have done this); and the movie received a nomination in every single category it was eligible for (only a 1930s obscure Best Picture winner, Cimarron, has achieved this).
And how about for what really matters? By the time Nichols made Virginia Woolf, the Edward Albee play was well-known and had been received positively when on the stage. How then, to make it appealing to audiences anew? And how to keep the audience engaged in a play that features mostly people talking and is set in one single room? Nichols answered these questions brilliantly. He cured the single room problem by adding a small number of moves outside the protagonists’ home. And he solved the issue of the talking-only play by using Hitchcock-like close-ups and zooms of the actors for dramatic effect. All of this worked, and the result is a gripping film that is not afraid to delve deeply and honestly into themes about sexuality. Indeed, form the very beginning, Nichols exhibited no fear in this realm.
But most notable in Virginia Woolf is the acting, which by most accounts can be attributed as much to Nichols as to the actors themselves. Rarely portrayed as anything other than a dazzling beauty at the time, Elizabeth Taylor is portrayed older, heavier, and rawer. The emotions of hatred, love, and loss that she exhibits are the best work of her career, and rightly netted her a second Best Actress Academy Award. The dynamic between the actors also works seamlessly and gives the film the realistic and believable nature that the play demands.
Mike Nichols had a brilliant career and graced us with unforgettable movies. In a somewhat unexpected twist, however, I believe his first was the best amongst his masterpieces.