ALT OSCARS: 2005
A more somber year at the movies, with many of our top films of the year dealing with heavy material, from forbidden love to political retribution to mass tragedies. Buckle in for a dark year at the movies.
by Nate Lemann
AND THE WINNERS ARE…
Best Supporting Actor: George Clooney, Syriana
This year was a victory lap for Clooney: not only did he write and direct the critical darling “Good Night, and Good Luck”, but he also turned in an unrecognizable performance as a jaded and washed-out CIA operative who begins to grow a conscience…but maybe too late. Clooney plays the jagged edges of the man with such emotional clarity and specificity that it was a preview of what was to come 2 years later in “Michael Clayton”. Gyllenhaal was a close second, his role in “Brokeback Mountain” containing many levels of haunted vulnerability. Harris and Stormare both play the devil (one figurative and one literal) to really great, fun, and chilling effect. Amalric is the under-sung MVP of “Munich”, the literal manifestation of the murky and amoral world of political assassinations.
Best Supporting Actress: Michelle Williams, Brokeback Mountain
The roles this year man seem very minor but nominees this year pack powerhouse punches of emotional heft. Bello is a babe in the woods of a world that becomes apparent is filled with a violence she never realized her husband carried with him. Henson was a breakout in “Hustle & Flow”, the film that launched her into stardom. Swinton, still unknown until her big breakout 2 years later, plays the angel Gabriel with a flavor of moral corruption and toying that takes you by surprise. Williams and Hathaway are heartbreaking in “Brokeback”, coming to terms with the lies their respective marriages are built on. Williams is especially haunting in her meek manner, devastating in her unraveling.
Best Adapted Screenplay: Josh Olson, A History of Violence
“V for Vendetta” is a widely successful adaptation of Alan Miller’s less heralded comic book, injected with a real pathos and meditative thoughts on the nature of rebellion. “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” brought both Shane Black and Robert Downey, Jr. back from the proverbial grave. Roth’s “Munich” script is both harrowing and deeply meditative on the themes of vengeance and generational wars. “Brokeback” has a script filled with gutting and heartbreaking lines. “A History of Violence” however elevates a pulpy story into something deeper and more probing about the nature of violent men and what it costs to leave a life of bloodshed behind, escalating into a fever pitch by the end.
Best Original Screenplay: George Clooney & Grant Heslov, Good Night, and Good Luck
Brewer’s script is inventive and injects tons of humor and energy into this character study. “Crash”, while a punchline now for its controversial Best Picture win, is still a pretty interestingly constructed mosaic drama (that was a bit too preachy, though). Apatow and Carell packed a comedic punch with their amusing tale of a man stuck in arrested development. “Kingdom of Heaven” is the sweeping epic that really doesn’t get made anymore. Clooney and Heslov’s script for “Good Night, and Good Luck” is really a perfect potboiler, capturing the escalating scrutiny and importance of the fight they have laid before them.
Best Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote
It was going to be impossible to argue against the Academy’s choice this year in this category: Hoffman is one of the great actors of the last 40 years and he was at his most transformative in his portrayal of famed writer and socialite Truman Capote. His performance at first feels like a generalized impression but you come to realize that the surface-level feeling you get in his New York socialite crowd is a mask he wears to hide his more insecure self. As he gets closer with the killers that would inspire “In Cold Blood”, we get to see more nuanced shades of this larger-than-life character and how he even comes to care for them. Ledger was a close second, giving his best performance outside of the Joker. Strathairn finally broke through as Edward R. Murrow, getting the acclaim this great character actor so richly deserved. Cruise is a very convincing absentee father coming apart as the world burns around him. Weaving’s vocal performance plus intimidating physical prowess is very unheralded.
Best Actress: Natalie Portman, V for Vendetta
Adams is a breath of fresh air in her breakout performance in “Junebug”. Hoffman is fairly good in a role that she could not play in today’s Hollywood. Linney is as always incredibly believed in the very underrated “Squid and the Whale” (I am of the belief she is our most underrated actress working today, easily taking for granted how talented and natural she always seems to be). Reese [FIX THE SLIDE SPELLING] won the real award but really is more of a supporting actress in this. Portman goes through the literal ringer in “V for Vendetta”, with her standout moments in the enhanced interrogation bits of the movie to be the most powerful performance of the whole film. Her rebirth scene is beyond spiritual, reaching a transcendence that soars beyond superhero blockbusters.
Best Cinematography: Adrian Biddle, V for Vendetta
Lesnie is once again taking icon making imagery to new heights in this remake of the landmark monster film. While “Sin City” is a mixed adaptation of the Frank Miller graphic novel of the same name, you can’t argue that this film doesn’t look absolutely gorgeous, translating the noir-tinged source material to vivid life. “Kingdom of Heaven” is maybe Scott’s largest production ever and most sweeping scope he’s ever captured on film. Januez’s work on “War of the Worlds” looks like a painting come to life, with his use of light as a harbinger of doom so exquisitely done. Biddle, however, wins the award for me. His work on “V for Vendetta” is a masterclass in capturing counter-culture iconography in both stirring and bone-chilling ways. This movie became a cultural touchstone for many rebellious groups for the simple reason that the iconic shots from this film inspire one to question authority in a very awe-inspiring ways.
Best Director: Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain
While all of the other directors on this list were operating at the top of their respective games, with Clooney and McTeigue never better, Lee really takes the cake with this one, adapting a for the time controversial novel into one of the most romantic films of all time, a story of taboo and forbidden love that expertly stays away from more melodramatic tones. Lee understands the story is best served in more naturalistic performances, not over-heightening the drama, capturing a tone that perfectly sets up the tragedy to come in the back-half of the film. Lee can go grand but wisely is more restrained in this expertly told love story.
Best Picture: Munich
It is a hard choice to make but I think the award has to go to Spielberg’s “Munich” just inching out “Brokeback Mountain”. We haven’t spoken much about Spielberg’s other big movie release from 2005: recounting not only the horrific Munich Olympics Massacre as well as the decades long war of retribution that followed, Spielberg expertly interrogates the concepts of righteous vengeance and the never-ending cycle of violence with diminishing return of satisfaction. It is one of his more nuanced and haunting works, more in the vain of “Schindler’s List” in terms of tone than his more blockbuster fare and to great effect.
OTHER FILMS OF NOTE: We have not discussed two of the must underrated films of consequence. In three years, both “The Dark Knight” and “Iron Man” will take theaters by storm and usher in a new age of cinema. Those films would not have existed if both “Batman Begins” and “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” weren’t as successful as they were. The former was a breath of fresh air for a franchise that felt dead after leaning too far into camp. The latter was a welcome return to screens for Robert Downey, Jr., proving not only that he still had the acting chops but he could also responsibly lead a film without causing any backroom drama. Both films are widely entertaining in their own ways and were some of the best mainstream hits of that era of Hollywood.
NEXT WEEK: 2006 and the year of more prestigious, high-minded mainstream hits that took over the box office…
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