New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

7. Fences

Of the nine this year, Fences is the first I’d probably mark down for Best Picture if the list were ten (I would have liked to see Captain Fantastic, Jackie, or Elle join the list). But, of those, it is the lowest on my ballot not because there is anything wrong with it, but because of its more limited scope.

The acting in the film is stupendous, really a clinic and lesson in the art. It is probably Denzel Wahington’s best performance ever, and the story takes turns that surprised and kept me interested. The underlying theme - that the sins of the father are repeated onto the son - is as old as time and yet was powerful and impactful here. I actually did not find Viola Davis’s performance to be as stunning as others, mostly because it depended so much on hysterics, but I surely can’t begrudge the infinitely talented actress her upcoming win. The film, however, did not speak to me on any personal level, which explains its relatively lower ranking.

6. Hell or High Water

This movie is one of those surprising ones that I did not expect to like but that left me with much admiration in the end. Some have called it a cheaper version of No Country for Old Men, but I’d argue that it’s better, because it does not rely on this oafish central character to spook you.

The movie, much like Hacksaw Ridge, is within the pure core of the Academy’s central constituency - older, white, male voters. And it has a sharp instinct about some of the troubles that ail modern society, and looks at it from a different perspective. For all the praise that Moonlight rightfully gets for looking at groups that we don’t normally look at, I’d argue that this movie does the same.

The relationship between Jeff Bridges’ character and his Mexican-American-Indian partner is particularly instructive and revealing, the joinder of two worlds that did not necessarily want to mix. Chris Pine’s performance perhaps demerits a degree or two from an otherwise well-crafted film, whose most powerful weapon is its cutting screenplay. It would be a worthy winner.

5. La La Land

The elephant in the room, of course, is the movie that is going to win. Whenever a project becomes super popular, there is a tendency amongst its defenders to knock opposition to it as “trying to be contrarian.” Trust me, I know all about this as an ardent defender of the movie Titanic, and having witnessed firsthand how some people knock it simply because others love it.

So do not misinterpret my fifth place vote for La La Land as a knock on it. I have deep admiration for original projects such as these, and if you’ve read this column for anytime you know the incessant parade of sequels, remakes, and reboots drives me insane. Further, the creativity behind La La Land cannot be denied, and how can a true movie lover complain about a paean to movies themselves?

Undoubtedly, La La Land is in many ways flawless. It is one of the most refreshing, interesting, and inspiring movies of the year. If there were 100 more guys as talented as Damien Chazelle, the industry would not face the problem it faces today.

And therein lies the core of my one, but central, knock on the film. The answer to the problem it poses (what to do about fading memories, changing times, evolving tastes) is wholly unsatisfactory to me. The answer La La Land provides is “worry not, bury your head in the sand, all will be OK, stick to your nostalgia.” Frankly, a younger me would probably be crying on the streets singing this message high. But time and experience have changed my perspective, both personally and sociologically. I will never stop deeply revering the past, but the future is in the future. La La Land’s answer to all that ails us is to look backwards, and I think there it is fundamentally mistaken. I’d simply prefer a more forward-looking film.

Continued:       1       2       3