Phew. The King’s Speech (2010) won the Oscar for Best Picture. I was afraid that I would have to go on another rant about the Oscars this year—about it’s impenetrable boys’ club and secret agenda to further hyper-masculine action films. Yet, even with ten films to choose from for Best Picture, the Oscars still seemed like slim pickings this year. Let’s review our nominees. A trite ballet “thriller;” a film that barred women from its direction; a film more rich in special effects than in substance; a token nod to the fight for gay marriage; a guy with a speech impediment; a guy in a hole; facebook; cute talking toys gone evil; the slowest Western ever; and probably the most depressing film I’ve seen since Dancer in the Dark (2000)—but then, I haven’t seen Biutiful (2010) yet and am not sure if I can handle that one either.
First, there’s Black Swan (2010), a disappointingly trite ballet film from an otherwise reputable director. So as to divert your attention from its unfortunately dull story, our usually beloved director has inserted random bits for pure shock value—including a lesbian sex scene and many unneces
sary close-ups of nasty skin conditions. Next, we have The Fighter (2010), a truly wonderful treat of a film from a great sensitive male director. If only women directors hadn’t been prevented from directing the film by barring all women from even pitching to the producers. Apparently a film about boxing just isn’t subject matter that ladies can handle—what ever happened to Million Dollar Baby (2004)? Doesn’t anyone remember Hillary Swank as a great female boxer, or was that film really just all about Clint Eastwood? I guess women can play the protagonist in boxing films, but they just can’t call the shots.
Going down the list, we have Inception (2010), a film purported to be really deep and mind-blowing, and yet with a “wow” factor coming mostly from special effects and an ambiguous ending. The concept of entering into other people’s dreams makes for an intriguing storyline. I had expected the film to take me through a headache-inducing puzzle, and yet the film fails to make you think too hard about it until the end. They don’t tell you what you really want to know, which seems like a cheap trick to keep you analyzing it. The Kids Are All Right (2010) seems to be Hollywood’s nod to the fight for gay marriage. The movie itself isn’t very captivating, and I’m real
lly not sure how Mark Ruffalo ended up nominated for Best Supporting Actor with the likes of Christian Bale and Geoffrey Rush. Moreover, in a film about a lesbian couple and their family, Ruffalo appeared in almost all of the sex scenes. How ironic. Black Swan has one too many and The Kids Are All Right hardly has any. That said, the film is significant in its portrayal of the relative normalcy that gay and lesbian couples can achieve in relation to straight couples. Encouraging this perspective of gays and lesbians seems to be pivotal within the fight for gay marriage. Of course, not everyone within the LGBTQ community would like normalcy and/or marriage, but for now, the most visible fight for tolerance is that which we find in The Kids Are All Right.
You already know how I feel about The King’s Speech—a surprisingly captivating film about a King with a speech impediment and his relationship to his commoner speech therapist with less than regal qualifications. I could imagine Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours working better as a book, particularly when one has access to all the inner thoughts and fears of someone who is stuck in a cavern. Although there were those inevitable 
moments of “I’m watching a guy in a hole,” or more excruciatingly, “I’m watching a guy cut his own arm off,” Boyle surprisingly finds ways to keep us interested through the use of flashback and cinematically beautiful interpretations of Aron Ralston’s inner torment and/or strength (whichever way you want to look at it). The feeling of elation at the end of the film, particularly because you have been watching Ralston in a hole for the length of the film, paired with the fact that it is a true story, is almost worth the wait. Of course, that said, I’m not sure if this warrants a nomination for Best Picture. The Social Network (2010) is another one of those surprises. Who would have thought that Facebook could be so exciting? I would have avoided it altogether—I’m sorry, I just didn’t believe the hype—were it not for the fact that it was the only thing to watch on a flight one day. Oh, the power of the flashback and non-linear storytelling to pull you into a movie. I was pleasantly surprised. Also, it was interesting to learn how much of a schmuck Mark Zuckerberg really is—genius, but nonetheless, schmuck.
My inner child really just wanted Toy Story 3 (2010) to win Best Picture. It truly is a great film, one that brings you along on a clever, captivating journey through not only the complexity of emotion and experience of your basic toy, but through that of humanity as well. It certainly is a treat, and a film that I was shocked to see nominated within the Best Picture category. Although it didn’t win for Best Pictur
e, at least it took home the little golden man for Animated Feature Film. I’m not the biggest fan of Westerns, nor of the Coen brothers in general, so it’s no real surprise that I wasn’t enthralled with True Grit (2010). For those of you who also are not already fans of Westerns, I wouldn’t suggest True Grit as a first foray. It’s slow for an action film, but what’s worse, I could barely understand half the lines that came out of both Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon’s mouths. We end with Winter’s Bone (2010) a beautifully stark and depressing look into the underground drug world of rural Missouri (yes, I just used “underground drug world” and “Missouri” in the same sentence). It follows one young woman’s struggle to take care of her family. With a missing father recently released from jail, a mother who is sick, two young siblings, and no money, this proves to be a seemingly impossible feat. Director Debra Granik at least gives us a happy ending—more bittersweet than not—yet I still left the theatre trying to forget the immense sadness I had just experienced.
While I cringe at my negativity towards the Oscars in general this year, I am pleased about the choice of Best Picture. For a competition that supposedly represents the “best of the best” in films for the year, it is conspicuously lacking a certain je ne sais quoi. That said, I still revel in the whole performance of the Oscars—the fashion, the hype, the hosts, the silliness. Although I wish it wasn’t a boys’ club or that its standards were higher, I must accept it for what it is—a big performance and an excuse for a huge Hollywood party. At least amongst the hype, they are able to get it right sometimes.
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