2009 Calvin Awards: Best Overlooked Film
February 11, 2009
BoxOfficeProphets.com
The staff at BOP's clear-cut choice for Best Overlooked Film is In Bruges, which won this category by the widest margin since its inception. Barely. Mulholland Drive won in the inaugural voting by a tally of 100-64 over Hedwig and the Angry Inch. In Bruges wins this year by an impressive margin of 101-64 over the second place film. Why is our staff so captivated by In Bruges? Well, speaking for myself, a trip to Bruges, Belgium was among the nicest vacations of my life, and the movie's incidental scenery reminded me of those days of constant chocolate abuse. Speaking for everyone else, In Bruges is a masterpiece of intrigue, regret, redemption and suicidal dwarves. Focusing upon a pair of professional hitmen, one of whom has just accidentally killed a small boy, In Bruges somehow manages to make the viewer root for the character to overcome what he himself describes as a life-defining action that can never be undone. In Bruges is funny on the surface level, but hidden in plain sight in the storytelling is an existential examination of the nature of man and sin within as well as outside the confines of religion. This is a philosophically challenging character study wrapped up in several over-the-top comedic elements. Universally praised by our staff as excellent, In Bruges is a cinematic triumph and the easy choice for Best Overlooked Film.
The Visitor, our choice for second best overlooked film of the year, is Thomas McCarthy's follow-up to The Station Agent, which finished sixth in this same category back in the 2004 Calvins. It tells the story of a lonely economics professor still suffering from the loss of his wife. Forced to attend a symposium based upon themes from a book he co-authored, the widower visits his Manhattan apartment, only to realize that a couple (incorrectly) believe themselves to be the proper tenants there. He befriends the Syrian man and Senegalese woman who live there and is taught how to play various three-beat percussions instruments by the man. The story grows more complicated when the Syrian man is detained by police after a toll booth misunderstanding and threatened with deportation. What follows is a moving examination of loneliness and immigration.
Man on Wire, a documentary about a daredevil stunt from the 1970s, is our third favorite overlooked film this year. Director James Marsh makes the odd choice to recount the story of how Philippe Petit came to walk a high wire from one side of the Twin Towers to the other using a cinema style generally utilized with bank heists. Flashbacks are used to describe the preparations for this illegal attempt and still photos display the act itself. One of the oddest and most dangerous stunts ever accomplished has the simplest of explanations for why it happened. Petit has famously said, "When I see three oranges, I juggle; when I see two towers, I walk." Under this logic (?), he felt the need to study the terrain by claiming to be a magazine journalist interviewing the construction workers at the top of the tower. Eventually, he learned the hours when the top of the Twin Towers were unmanned, and he picked one such opportunity to make his mark. An officer arrived midway through the performance and so in the moment was Petit that he taunted the man, leading to a rough handcuffing after it was over. Since no footage exists of these sequences and they unfortunately impossible to replicate now due to the madness of terrorists, an actor is used to recreate the actions as best as possible now. Man on Wire is harrowing in its presentation of one of the craziest stunts anyone has ever pulled in the name of celebrity. In the opinion of our staff, it is the most exciting documentary since Murderball.
Frost/Nixon and Let the Right One In round out our top five in the category. As was previously mentioned, Frost/Nixon has tremendous support from those who managed to see the movie prior to the voting deadline. It actually received the most first place votes of any title in the category this year, but did not have anywhere near the overall depth of support that the top three films garnered. By now, you already know the movie tells the story of David Frost's interview with Richard Nixon wherein he trapped the recently reprimanded but pardoned former President into admitting his wrongdoing. It is a powerhouse series of acting performances and a magnificent movie. Let the Right One is a much different sort of film from the expensive Hollywood production directed by Ron Howard. Based on Sweden's answer to the Twilight series of novels, Let the Right One in, it tells the story of a 200-year-old vampire trapped in the body of a 12-year-old. This girl, Eli, meets a child named Oskar who appears to be the same age. Oskar is being tormented by bullies as well as any number of other suburban horrors such as drug dealers and pedophiliacs. Eli and Oskar form an odd friendship that begins to grow as Oskar becomes more and more aware of Eli's pale skin, inability to enter rooms sans invitation and constant thirst for blood. Their relationship is a gripping tale of gothic horror, making Let the Right One In one of the buzz movies of the year. A Hollywood remake is already in pre-production and planned for release in 2010, but why would you wait for that version when the original is out on home video in March?
Our sixth, seventh and eighth favorite overlooked films of the year are a trio of critical darlings. What Milk , Rachel Getting Married and The Wrestler have in common is that they all have attained huge recognition for their lead actors, Sean Penn, Anne Hathaway and Mickey Rourke. What is remarkable about Milk and Rachel Getting Married, however, is the fact that several less heralded actors offer magnificent performances in each title. Neither of these is the single character focus that The Wrestler is. Mickey Rourke is basically Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood away from being out there on his own in it, but Milk's bit players steal the show while Rachel Getting Married moves a shocking number of small parts in and out of the spotlight at various times. All three of these are highly entertaining movies with anchor performances that are in serious contention for Oscars glory. Picking any of them on any given evening is really just a question of mood. They are all great choices for a couple of hours of entertainment.
Rounding out the top ten are 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days and Towelhead. The former film is a Romanian import that challenges the notion of a Seinfeld joke. That show presupposed that any conversation with a Romanian would start and end with "that Ceauºescu was some bad dictator" and there would be nowhere to go after that. This movie explores the lives of a pair of teen girls, one of whom suffers an accidental pregnancy. Her country has not legalized abortion, so she is forced to set up an illegal abortion at a hotel. This proves to be more difficult than anticipated and the movie gets a lot less cheery from there. BOP recognizes that the subject matter is inflammatory and we understand that it is not for everyone, but several members of our staff were impressed by its examination of day to day life inside an oppressive regime. Our final selection, Towelhead, is the latest film from Alan Ball, he of American Beauty and Six Feet Under. As is the case with several other suggestions for Best Overlooked Film of 2009, it's not the cheeriest of subject matters. A 13-year-old Lebanese girl is forced to deal with pubescence as well as cultural differences in harsh fashion. First, she is sent away from her home by her mother, who is jealous of the way her boyfriend looks at the too-young girl. When she gets to her home with her religious zealot of a father, she experiences difficulties caused by his "women are to be seen and not heard" attitude. Even worse, the married dude next door who looks a lot like Harvey Dent keeps hitting on her. Eventually, while she is babysitting his son, he...well, he does some stuff that would make even Two-Face a bit uncomfortable. Towelhead is a film that challenges our notions about cultural mores and makes for fascinating viewing in our changing political climate.
Just missing the top ten are The Wackness, Bigger Stronger Faster, Tell No One, The Fall, Synecdoche, New York, The Reader, Transsiberian and Redbelt, most of which are rather unhappy stories. Clearly, BOP was in a dark place this year and we really related to the more twisted stuff. If you are ever ultra-happy and looking to make yourself feel a lot worse, BOP has kindly provided a great list of the Buzzkills of the year in the form of our Best Overlooked Films of the 2009 Calvins. You're welcome (?). (David Mumpower/BOP)
Best Actor
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Best Album
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Best Director
Best DVD
Best Picture
Best Scene
Best Screenplay
Best Supporting Actor
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Best TV Show
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