In Contention

By Josh Spiegel

December 21, 2010

They're getting the band back together.

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In the world of movies, domination is boring. You may have noticed over the past two weeks that one movie appears to be dominating the various critics’ group awards: The Social Network. The Social Network is many things: a relatively successful film (especially considering the lack of huge movie stars and the stigma of the movie being about something that’s not particularly cinematic), a well-liked piece of entertainment, and one of this writer’s choices as one of the best of the year. Apparently, though, winning every award in sight is not getting The Social Network points for some film writers. Clearly, there’s not much excitement for awards watchers if the same movie wins every single award; where’s the fun in that? Having said that, watching people squirm is weirdly enjoyable, with the added bonus of the movie being deserving of the accolades.

But we all have our favorites. Some people champion unique films (with the caveat that I have yet to see True Grit, The Fighter, The King’s Speech, and Blue Valentine, I’m pretty sure my film to champion this year is Black Swan) to fight off the presumed winner. This year, even going into December, most people assumed that the Best Picture Oscar would be down to two films: The Social Network and The King’s Speech. Both are receiving raves, both are doing well at the box office, but they also represent a generational divide. Would the Academy voters bestow love on an old-fashioned story about the royal family in World War II, or on the story of how one of the most popular sites on the Internet came into existence? Old school or new school? The narrative is exciting, but only if people throw up unlikely victors in the path of these rivals.




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As we get closer and closer to Christmas, however, a few movies have indeed stepped up to ward off Mark Zuckerberg and the King of England. There’s the aforementioned Black Swan, which got a heaping helping of nominations from the Broadcast Film Critics’ Association last week. This film, set in the world of ballet, is a dizzying drama about a ballerina at the breaking point. (And, for all you dudes out there, two hot chicks get it on! By the time that scene shows up, you’ll be too hooked by the movie to remember that’s why you came.) Natalie Portman delivers a career-best performance, and is supported by a fine cast and by Darren Aronofsky’s assured, insane direction. In short, this movie may end up being a threat in a few categories, but there’s still the assumption that the Academy won’t go for it because the voters are too old, they don’t get it, and so on.

Black Swan has a chance, but the real underdog is The Fighter. The Fighter ended up with plenty of nominations for this year’s Golden Globes, and is poised to be the uninvited guest in the Best Picture category. To clarify, the movie was always assumed to be a contender, but until the last couple of weeks, it wasn’t clear if The Fighter would be a first-tier or second-tier nominee. As of this writing, it seems like we’re now looking at a three-picture race, in no small part to the awards the movie’s performers (including Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and Melissa Leo) are receiving and to the Golden Globes. As you may or may not know, these awards are voted on by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group of foreign journalists who…well, they love celebrities, it seems. And partying.


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