They Shoot Oscar Prognosticators, Don't They?
Telluride Film Festival: Day 1
By J. Don Birnam
September 5, 2017
BoxOfficeProphets.com
What does it all mean for the nascent Oscar race? We know that the Venice Film Festival had some buzz for Alexander Payne’s Downsizing and Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water. Will the buzz they generated there translate stateside? And who else is making a splash? Don’t forget to follow here for live coverage of these festivals and on social media at Twitter: @jdonbirnam and Instagram: @awards_predix
“Downsizing”: An Iffy Oscar Vehicle
Alexander Payne’s dramedy about an overpopulated world in which humans decide to shrink themselves to save the planet, Downsizing, played well in Venice and also yesterday afternoon to kick off Telluride, but it got decidedly mixed reactions. I myself was not enamored, though I’m never a fan of his work. The film stars Matt Damon as he navigates life as a little person. The concept is clever and even amusing at first, but as soon as the twist gets old, there is little left to say, try as Payne might.
He tries to make it about life, about humanity, about not losing hope, about counting your blessings even when the world may seem dark, and about the humanitarian impulse of some in the face of adversity. If the list seems long, that’s because it is. The movie ambles on from point to point without ever sticking one theme to explore more profoundly. There are two very strong supporting performances, one by Christoph Waltz as Damon’s aging, circuit party neighbor, and another by newcomer Hong Chau, as a Vietnamese dissident shrunk against her will who ends up in Damon’s small people community. She is generating Oscar buzz, but even with her, I found the performance a bit over the top at times.
Still, it would be unfair to not recognize that while the Academy has never gone whole hog in for Payne, there is enough love for him that his work always seems to get a least a few spots, with Nebraska and The Descendants (not to mention Sideways) all garnering Best Picture nods.
Oscar potential: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Score, Best Supporting Actor (Waltz), Best Supporting Actress (Hong Chau), Best Art Direction.
“Darkest Hour”: Gary Oldman’s Time
Meanwhile, the Gary Oldman Winston Churchill drama Darkest Hour, made its world premiere here, and Best Actor is definitely the word for Oldman, finally, after an illustrious career. By Atonement director Joe Wright, the movie follows Churchill during just a four-week period in which he takes the reins of the U.K. at a time when the Nazis are finalizing their conquest of Western Europe. The movie is more about Churchill and his battles with internal political enemies than anything else, but it deftly shows how he transforms himself slowly from divisive and even an unpopular figure to the unquestionable leader he was.
The second half of the film also covers the Dunkirk evacuation, leading one to wonder if two films with similar themes could be headed for the Best Picture race. And of course, Wright has been here before, as he staged a Dunkirk-evaluation all those years ago in that Keira Knightley film. Also returning from that movie is the Oscar-winning composer Dario Marianelli, with another effusive, at times melodic, and at times outright startling score. Add costumes and period set decorations and this has all the makings of an Oscar contender, but I am skeptical of its ability to go all the way with its at-times slog of political banter and repetitive episodes. The film overall succeeds at its purpose: It explains who Churchill was and why his oratory was so effective. But it is ultimately Oldman that overwhelms everything else.
Oscar potential: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Oldman), Best Supporting Actor (Ben Mendelsohn as King George VI), Best Supporting Actress (Kristen Scott Thomas as Clementine Churchill), Best Score, Best Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Art Direction, Best Costumes
“Lean on Pete”: Too Dark, Too Small
My third helping of the night, of the late night, was the latest film by Andrew Haigh, the thoughtful director behind indie dramas Weekend and 45 Years. In this film, we follow Charlie, a revelatory young actor named Charles Plummer, as he embarks on a journey of self-discovery and self-preservation, and the bonds he forms with a horse race he encounters by chance one fine day. Charlie is down on his luck - his mother abandoned him at a young age, and his philandering father is not much of a presence. But he is a good kid and tries to work to make ends meet.
The movie is bleak - bleaker than Haigh’s prior work - even if expertly able to discern human emotion and the human condition. The film will likely play too small, however, to have any serious Oscar buzz.
Oscar potential: Best Screenplay
Still to Come
Other movies made their world premieres last night but alas, I am but one person, so I have not yet been able to see them. These include Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool, a potential Oscar vehicle for the always-bridesmaid Annette Bening. The reaction on the street was decidedly mixed, so we will have to wait and see. Meanwhile, Greta Gerwig made her directorial debut with the family drama Lady Bird, and that one is unclear to generate any Oscar buzz.
And on Saturday, Angelina Jolie’s movie about the Khmer Rouge, First They Killed My Father, will debut, as will the Emma Stone/Steve Carrell tennis film, Battle of the Sexes. And The Shape of Water will also play to a North American audience for the first time.
More later.