So I had originally planned to make a video on this topic, but with the 87th Academy Awards less than 48 hours away (as of me writing this), time is not on my side, and thus I'm reduced to a written format. This piece will involve me giving my opinions on the nominations in some of the major categories at the 2015 Oscars, specifically ones where I have viewed all the nominations, and have enough knowledge to form a coherent analysis, as well as making a prediction for what is most likely to win, what could win, and what I believe in my opinion should win. I'll also be touching briefly on some things that weren't nominated and I believe should have been, as well as some things that were nominated and I believe shouldn't have been. Without for ado, let's begin, shall we?
Best Original Score:
The Nominees:
The Grand Budapest Hotel - Alexandre Desplat
The Imitation Game - Alexandre Desplat
Interstellar - Hans Zimmer
Mr. Turner - Gary Yershon
The Theory of Everything - Johann Johannsson
Poor Alexandre Desplat; he's had a great 2015, receiving his 7th and 8th Oscar nominations for two wonderfully fitting, original, and memorable soundtracks, in two absolutely stunning films; but once again, I simply don't think this is Desplat's year. Whilst the scores for both films were excellent (The Imitation Game being my slight favourite of the two), they both lacked a certain, flair. Zimmer, like Desplat is no stranger to praise in film music, having won an Oscar for the score of The Lion King, and as per usual he's done a wonderful job with the soundtrack for Interstellar; it fit the movie very well, added a whole new dimension to certain scenes, but would it be wrong of me to say it was run of the mill for Hans? Interstellar's score was very good, but it wasn't great. Gary Yershon is by far the least well known name in this list, but that didn't stop him from putting out a very good score for Mr. Turner, a film which I didn't manage to see unfortunately; having not watched it, I can't give too much of an opinion, but as a standalone soundtrack, Yershon did a great job, though it does pale in comparison to the competition. Finally we have Johann Johannsson, who I first became aware of after he scored Dennis Viellenueve's 2013 thriller Prisoners, a great film, with an exceptional score. Now, Johannsson is nominated for his work with The Theory of Everything, a film I thoroughly enjoyed, with a stellar soundtrack to boot. It is everything that a score should aspire to be, and for me it's a clear winner, especially after winning the Golden Globe.
I'm surprised to see no nominations for Gone Girl, Whiplash, and Birdman. Gone Girl marks Trent Reznor's fourth interaction with director David Fincher, and it may be the Nine Inch Nails' front-man's best work to date, it's such a dark and powerful score, perfect for the film, and if nominated would've been a serious contender. Whiplash is a film you sort of forget has a score, due to a lot of diegetic musical audio, but the soundtrack from Justin Hurwitz is exceptional, and the jazz instrumentals give the film a whole new level. Finally, Birdman's unusual drum only score, which is used to great effect, and creates mood, tone, tension and emotion that you'd think impossible from a single percussion instrument, but they did it, and it was, for lack of a better word, awesome.
Will Win: The Theory of Everything
Could Win: The Grand Budapest Hotel / The Imitation Game
Should Win: The Theory of Everything
Best Film Editing:
The Nominees:
American Sniper
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Whiplash
Whilst I thought that both American Sniper and The Imitation Game were edited well, it was only to a standard you'd expect from a major production with a massive budget. It was clean, concise, and made the film flow well. It wasn't anything particularly groundbreaking. Boyhood is an interesting one because of the whole "filmed over 12 years" thing, it should win purely on principal that it takes a damn good editor to cut down 12 years worth of footage, into a coherent and entertaining film, just shy of 3 hours. The Grand Budapest Hotel, like almost all of Wes Anderson's films can be described as immaculate, each shot done to perfection, and that's clear in the editing; it is easily one of the best looking films of the year. Finally, Whiplash. Just, wow. The editing really stood out to me throughout the film, and thinking about the final act of the film, I can't even begin to imagine how that was shot and edited. A technical masterpiece.
I thought that Gone Girl deserved a nomination here again, Kirk Baxter (David Fincher's editor for his last four films) did a wonderful job as always. Birdman is nominated in 9 categories, and this isn't one of them much to my amazement. The difficulty that must've been involved in successfully making that film look like one continuous shot is astounding, and deserves to be recognised.
Will Win: Boyhood
Could Win: The Grand Budapest Hotel / Whiplash
Should Win: Whiplash
Best Cinematography:
Nominees:
Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ida
Mr. Turner
Unbroken
Following an Oscar in 2014 for Gravity, Emmanuel Lubezki looks set to steal the show again, with his absolutely stunning work in Birdman. The whole film is fantastically shot, lit, and composed. It's pristine. Wes Anderson's usual cinematographer Robert Yeoman is nominated here for The Grand Budapest Hotel, a film I've already stated is quite simply one of the best looking films of the year. The style is very clear, and very memorable for anyone who's seen an Anderson film before. Whilst Ida was, much like living in Poland where the film takes place, quite boring, dull, and depressing; one thing it had going for it was that it looked fantastic, but it's a black and white film, competing against four very vibrant, and colourful contenders. Once again, I haven't had chance to see Mr. Turner, so I can't really say much for the cinematography; the nominees name was however mispronounced as "Dick Poop" instead of Dick Pope, so that was pretty cool I guess. Finally we have one of cinemas greatest cinematographers Roger Deakins, working on a fairly okay film in Unbroken. The fanboy in me wants this to go to Deakins, purely because it's him, I don't think his brilliance was able to truly shine with Jolie's directing, and the films often bland settings.
I'm being to sound like a broken record, but once again I think Gone Girl deserved a nomination here. Jeff Cronenweth did a wonderful job, and the film just looks so good.
Will Win: Birdman - Emmanuel Lubezki
Could Win: Unbroken - Roger Deakins
Should Win: Birdman - Emmanuel Lubezki
Best Adapted Screenplay:
Nominees:
American Sniper
The Imitation Game
Inherent Vice
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash
Okay, hold on a second; can we just talk about how insane it is that Gone Girl isn't nominated here? I'll admit it, I have a bit of a Fincher bias, but that doesn't take away from the fact that it was one of the best films released in 2014, and it was an extremely well done adaptation from Gillian Flynn's novel of the same name. If it was nominated, it'd have my vote for sure, but it isn't.
Will Win: Whiplash
Could Win: Any Of The Other Nominees
Should Win: Whiplash
Best Original Screenplay:
Nominees:
Birdman
Boyhood
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Nightcrawler
This is definitely one of the most hotly contested categories at this years Academy Awards. Whilst Birdman and Boyhood are battling it out for best picture, each of the nominees for this Oscar stand a good chance of winning. Birdman's dialogue is nothing short of perfection, and it is probably one of the most original and entertaining story ideas I've seen, not only this year, but ever. It's comedy and a social commentary, and neither quality feels lacking for the other. With Boyhood, Linklater takes a fairly ordinary story, of a young guy growing up, and the struggles he faces with family, friends, himself, and just life in general; but the fact that we spend 12 years with these same characters, played by the same people, adds a whole new depth to it all. It gives it so much more reality, so much more emotional weight. It seems odd to find Foxcatcher in this category, considering that it's a biopic (one of about a dozen released this year it seems), but nonetheless; it's here. The story is interesting, it's original, it's non-conformist. The dialogue is excellently written and delivered, and the progression of the story is beautifully paced, albeit slow for some. If any film is going to cause trouble for Birdman, it's The Grand Budapest Hotel. This is Anderson's third nomination in this category, and it's by far his best film, and his strongest entry. The quick-witted, snarky, and surprisingly touching dramatic comedy has been sweeping up awards alongside Birdman, and for good reason. It's going to be a close race. I do feel sorry for Nightcrawler. It's a fantastic film. Highly original, with a wonderful screenplay; but in every other category, it seemed to finish in 6th place, and in the Oscars 6th place is basically the same as last place. The story is gripping, and the dialogue is hilarious and dramatic. I would love for Nightcrawler to win, and on a weaker year it probably would, but it's up against some serious competition.
The most shocking thing about this category is the lack of a nomination for Interstellar, Christopher Nolan's 2014 sci-fi epic. Too scientific for the Academy? Who knows.
Will Win: Birdman
Could Win: The Grand Budapest Hotel / Boyhood
Should Win: Birdman / The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Directing:
Nominees:
Wes Anderson - The Grand Budapest Hotel
Alejandro González Iñárritu - Birdman
Richard Linklater - Boyhood
Bennet Miller - Foxcatcher
Morten Tyldum - The Imitation Game
Of the 5 directors nominated for this prestigious award, only 2 have been here before, and unless you're a bit of a movie nerd, it won't be the two you think; Iñárritu and Miller. To start off, it's no surprise to see Anderson here, he's a critical success and The Grand Budapest Hotel is an incredibly good film, earning the most nominations (9), along with Birdman; and whilst I think it has a very good chance of picking up several of those (including Best Original Screenplay), this category is pretty much a two horse race. Perhaps another year Wes. After his nomination in 2006, Bennet Miller is back again. Foxcatcher is a strange film; you don't see many people talking about it, I can't imagine people raving about it still in a year, but it was surprisingly good. I'm surprised Tyldum is up here, because as I said earlier, as good as The Imitation Game was; it wasn't anything special. The directing was not one of the stand out areas of the film, for me at least. Iñárritu's directing of Birdman is on another level entirely. He threw conventionality right out of the window and turned everything we thought we knew about movies on its head; I am so genuinely excited to see what he does next. As incredible as his directing was however, he's up against Linklater, for Boyhood. Boyhood is a landmark in film-making. It is a testament to the infinite capacity of an artist's creativity. Its scope and the sheer magnitude of the project was unheard of before this. It was a massive risk what he did, and a lesser director would've quickly crumbled, but Linklater persevered, for 12 years, and created a milestone movie. Something so prolific, it will be held aloft as some of the greatest directorial work in cinematic history.
I would've liked to have seen David Fincher finally get his much deserved director nomination, especially over someone like Miller or Tyldum, but sadly it was not to be. Also surprised to once again, see no sign of Christopher Nolan.
Will Win: Richard Linklater
Could Win: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Should Win: Richard Linklater
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