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Some Old Contenders Renewed

Meanwhile, as is their wont, NYFF showcased some of the best that they had liked from past film festivals, all the way back to Sundance. Most of these movies received warm to hot responses in New York, cementing their places in the Oscar races. I will not rehash the Oscar chances here of movies I had already covered, including Call Me By Your Name which did well throughout the season or Lady Bird which again wowed at least a portion of the critics, but I’ve linked to my past coverage.

But let me take a look at a couple of movies that had played before New York but that I had not yet had a chance to handicap, to see where they go from here.

The Florida Project: An Emotional Ride That Could Make Waves

Bar none, the best new movie I saw at NYFF was The Florida Project, by Tangerine director Sean Baker. The intrepid young indie filmmaker is back with another human, hyper realistic story, this one about a housing project-like motel in Central Florida, living in the shadow of the Magic Kingdom, its own tragic kingdom of sorts. In the units live a number of families, all struggling to make ends meet, all under the watchful eyes of manager Bobby, a strong Willem Dafoe.

But the movie belongs to a young and marvelous actress by the name of Brooklyn Prince, who will assuredly receive awards recognition at the very least as a breakout star. She plays Moonee, a young girl whose tattooed and unemployed mother is a bad influence and role model, to say the least, a six-year-old with an attitude and a sass to go along her endless desire to play around with her friends all day.

Offering an unapologetic but respectful and nuanced version of yet another group of people that Hollywood and our society forgets (purposefully), The Florida Project is the most intimate and real movie I have seen all year. I urge you to seek it out and to keep it on your radar because the movie will do well with Indie voting groups and has great Oscar potential.

Oscar Potential: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (Prince), Best Supporting Actor (Dafoe), Best Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Cinematography

Mudbound: As Netflix Goes, So Goes the Nation?

On the other side of the ledger is potentially Netflix’s Southern race epic Mudbound. Perhaps the only movie with any significant non-white cast, the only one that may save us from another god awful #OscarsSoWhite disaster, Dee Rees’ Mudbound follows two families living in a small town in rural Mississippi on and around World War II. They are led by matriarchs (Carey Mulligan and Mary J. Blige), but each has to deal with different demons inherent in their respective skin colors.

The movie is well made and well-intentioned, but becomes conventional for the most part in its first half, more a showcase for nice costumes, great lighting, and moody shots and dangerous moments. In the second half, it picks up considerable steam when a favorite son of each family returns home from the war, each a broken man, and each with also different obstacles ahead. The two form a bond and friendship that teaches each of them something about the other’s race, and the audience is along for the ride.

The big problem is that Netflix and the Academy are seemingly at a standstill over the future of the medium, and I do not know that the Academy is ready to blink just yet. In a regular world, Mudbound would be, well, bound, for at least a handful of Oscar nominations. But with the politics surrounding Netflix, a goose egg is certainly likely.

Oscar Potential: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Art Direction

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