The 87th Academy Awards are scheduled to broadcast on ABC on February 22. As the date approaches, people everywhere have had the chance to catch up on the eight movies nominated for best picture. The films nominated have been met with much praise, as well as much criticism from critics and audience alike. I believe the competition this year for this award will be fierce, as each of these films have shared incredible stories of so many unique people, including a preacher, a scientist, a sniper, a drummer, an actor, and a concierge. Eight films have been nominated for this year’s best picture and we will simply have to wait to see which one deserves the Oscar.
The Imitation Game
Producers: Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky and Teddy Schwarzman
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode
Synopsis: As World War II engulfs Europe, a group of English mathematicians are assembled at Bletchley Park to work in secret on cracking the code of a captured German Enigma encryption machine. With England’s fate hanging in the balance, the group’s leader, the brilliant, eccentric Alan Turing, must hide his homosexuality or risk arrest and persecution by the country he is fighting to save.
Every part of this movie comes together to create a brilliant film. Through Benedict Cumberbatch’s character Alan Turning and Keira Knightley’s character Joan Clarke, we watch a beautiful relationship from between the two as them and their team fight to mathematically defeat Hitler. The drama, though exaggerated in order to increase the profit of the movie, is intense and and riveting. It’s hard to imagine yourself pulled to the edge of your seat watching a group of geniuses solve math equation, but this movie makes it happen! The unfairness of Alan’s life, how he practically won World War 2, but was persecuted and prosecuted for his homosexuality, strikes you deeply, and gives you a deeper sense of what humanity means in us.
American Sniper
Producers: Clint Eastwood, Robert Lorenz, Andrew Lazar, Bradley Cooper and Peter Morgan
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller
Synopsis: Already skilled with a rifle before he joins the Navy SEALS and departs for Iraq, Chris Kyle becomes one of the most skilled snipers in U.S. military history. As he rotates through four tours of duty, however, Kyle must deal with the high levels of stress and the toll on his personal life that are an unavoidable part of his harrowing work.
If we simply look at the film as a piece of entertainment, American Sniper came out as a powerful and engrossing movie. Bradley Cooper engages the audience incredibly well as his character, Chris Kyle, goes through the intense hazards of war. The struggles he is forced to face are powerfully raw and honest, reminding us all of the emotional, physical, and mental scars all our soldiers bear when they go to war. Many audience members, however, have criticized the movie for its politics and nationalism, calling it “jingoistic and racist.” In a Rolling Stones article titled, “‘American Sniper’ is Almost Too Dumb to Criticize'”, Matt Taibbi argues that because Hollywood was so determined to make this film NOT political, thus it became political. “But to turn the Iraq war into a saccharine, almost PG-rated two-hour cinematic diversion about a killing machine with a heart of gold (is there any film theme more perfectly 2015-America than that?) who slowly, very slowly, starts to feel bad after shooting enough women and children…that was a hard one to see coming.” (x)
With this in mind, I am personally very curious to see how the Oscars will take on this film, and if any awards were to be given to this film, how the audience will react.
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Producers: Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher and James W. Skotchdopole
Starring: Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Zach Galifianakis
Synopsis: Best known to the public as Birdman, the superhero he once played in a series of films, Riggan Thomson hopes to reestablish himself as a serious actor by mounting his own dramatic production on Broadway. With his self-doubt hindering the project, Thomson also finds himself threatened by the presence of a high-profile, egotistical movie star in his cast.
Critics have praised almost everything they can about this movie. From the music to the acting, Birdman presents a film that seems to give you the idea that you know exactly what is going to happen next, and then completely surprises you a moment later. Michael Keaton’s character, Riggan Thomson, struggles to battle his own personal demons and many can connect to his need to validate himself as the actor he once was. What may put this film on top is simply its cinematography and to create the sensation that you are actually a part of the play on stage. From Matt’s Movie Reviews, he creatively mentions that the film, “Laments the current state of the film industry through a fantastic, intimate and trippy journey into the artist’s mind, where the battle between integrity and celebrity takes no quarter during an era of blockbuster movie dominance.” (x)
Selma
Producers: Christian Colson, Oprah Winfrey, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner
Starring: David Oyelowo, Carmen Ejogo, Tom Wilkinson, Ledisi Young
Synopsis: The life of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. is examined through the dramatic events surrounding the historic 1965 freedom marches from Selma to Montgomery. Determined to fight the injustice and discrimination that African-Americans continue to face in southern states despite the Civil Rights Act of 1964, King chooses Selma as the starting point for the peaceful protest marches that will focus the world’s attention on the city and its response.
With an overall critic review of 98%, Selma may be one of the most emotionally moving film we will see in 2015. By just looking at one specific time in Martin Luther King, Jr. life, the film is able to capture a more intimate look at his life and his struggles, something we overlook when we learn about him in our education. Liam Godd, a reviewer on Rotten Tomatoes, comments, “A number of historical dramas fall into the trap of sugar-coating the details of its subject matter in order to stress the qualities of its protagonist. Selma doesn’t fall into that trap.” (x) As we know, Selma was only nominated for Best Picture, as the Oscars failed to nominate David Oyelowo for Best Actor and Ava DuVernay for Best Director, snubs that many people have commented on after the nominee announcements. With this knowledge, I am sure many hope Selma wins this category and gets what it absolutely deserves.
Boyhood
Producers: Richard Linklater and Cathleen Sutherland
Starring: Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette, Lorelei Linklater, Etham Hawke
Synopsis: Over the course of 12 years, a young boy named Mason experiences the joys and difficulties of childhood. Mason, the child of divorced parents (both of whom are facing their own set of challenges) along with his sister Samantha, learns to navigate through a world in which the strengths and frailties of the adults around them have a profound impact on their own lives.
Also tied with Selma on the reviews, this film took on a rather ambitious idea of having to film their cast over the course of 12 years. While there are points where the film becomes a little too realistic and it drags, you don’t seem to mind that much, as you can easily relate that feeling back to your own family. The idea of a coming-of-age movie has been done so many times, yet this unusual take on the idea helps make the film memorable. The film is also risky, in that it’s taking on a subject that is so normal for us, the subject of family and our boring lives of consistency. In Tim Grierson’s review, he mentions, “…Boyhood is profound in such a casual way that its weighty themes feel nonchalant, effortless. This movie might make you cry for reasons you can’t quite articulate. You won’t be alone in feeling that way.” (x) It is just for that reason alone, that Boyhood has a very high chance of winning Best Picture.
The Theory of Everything
Producers: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce and Anthony McCarten
Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Charlie Cox, Emily Watson
Synopsis: Stephen Hawking is a brilliant Cambridge graduate student when he learns that he has a progressive motor neuron disease and may die within two years. For Jane Wilde, Stephen’s fellow student and future wife, the prognosis represents not a certainty but a challenge that her faith and Stephen’s passionate determination can overcome.
A film with a stunning cast, The Theory of Everything analyzes the genius of Stephen Hawking and his relationship with his future wife Jane Wilde. Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones both master their characters (each have been nominated for an Oscar) and bring alive a romance that touches everyone watching The film has met with a few negative reviews, saying that the movie has fallen “to common and seemingly unavoidable sanctimonious clichés in the biopic catalog” (x). While the film may be a little cliché, I believe it is the actors’ performances that makes this movie so magical and endearing.
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Producers: Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham, Mathieu Amalric, Adrien Brody
Synopsis: As the owner of a once-luxurious Alpine hotel relates its history to a visiting writer, he describes his youth as a lobby boy at the Grand Budapest, where he was the protégé of the hotel’s concierge, Monsieur Gustave. Gustave runs the five-star establishment with panache and an iron fist, while also offering his services as a lover to the older, wealthy women guests.
The strongest qualities of this film were its incredible humor and creative presentations. Ralph Fiennes plays a character that presents a humorous personality in an ironically dark story. The mix between funny moments and gruesome/heartbreaking moments produces an incredible unique story of friendship and drama. While many critics have their own opinion on why they loved it or not, most agree that the cinematography of this film is incredible. Aaron Mesh comments, “With apologies to Willy Wonka and his wallpaper-licking visitors, the titular Alpine resort is the most edible-looking lodge in cinema: a multitiered, pink-frosted castle designed to endure as an ambrosial memory.” (x)
Whiplash
Producers: Jason Blum, Helen Estabrook and David Lancaster
Starring: Miles Teller, J. K. Simmons, Paul Reiser
Synopsis: Andrew is a 19-year-old music conservatory student who is determined to become a great jazz drummer. His talent and fierce passion draw the attention of the school’s most intimidating teacher, Terence Fletcher, who believes that students excel not through praise and encouragement, but through relentless humiliation and fear.
Take that image of the one really scary teacher or coach you had in high school or college and now triple that. That is the character of Terence Fletcher, played to perfection by J. K. Simmons, who spends most of the movie humiliating his students and believing that the words “good job” are destructive for any pupil. Miles Teller also shines as the drummer, Andrew Neyman, who refuses to quit under this abusive teacher and struggles to be the best drummer he can. Negative comments, if any, point to how emotionally draining this film is. Elliott Noble accurately says, “Come the last beat, you’ll probably be exhausted. But you’ll also feel entertained, inspired and wonderfully alive. The ovation starts here.” (x)
I think all these films have an amazing chance to win the Oscars. Whether it’s Selma, Whiplash, or The Imitation Game, I would not be surprised with the selection. Enjoy the Oscars and good luck to all the nominees!