I HOPE YOU LIKE MEDIOCRITY!!: My Predictions for the 94th Academy Awards

There are about 19-20 different films represented in the eight major categories below that I am about to predict.

Of those films, I only really loved two of them and was mostly positive towards 3-4 more.

The sad thing is that of those very few films, most of them were nominated only for acting and writing...not even for Best Picture.

This is not a year that I am going to be cheering about anytime soon.

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BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

#1 - Coda

#2 - The Power of the Dog

#3 - Drive My Car

#4 - The Lost Daughter

#5 - Dune

-I do think the tides are changing and that there won't be a huge groundswell to reward Jane Campion with a Screenplay. Frankly, I am fine with that as I felt the Screenplay of Power of the Dog was nothing special. However, if Coda does win as I think it might, I can't exactly jump for joy at that selection either as the film is essentially one cliche story beat after another. 

The only film that deserves its nomination here is Drive My Car and part of me is still hoping for a huge upset, but I don't think that will happen. The sad truth is that the film doesn't have the same sort of universal base of fans like Parasite...which also had more of an accessible feel.

Snub wise, this feels like a really weak category this year which has actually be the case for the last couple of years.

One glaring omission that I wish would've popped up here was Passing but that film was basically ignored for most of the season and to Oscar voters, it apparently didn't exist.

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BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

#1 - Licorice Pizza

#2 - Belfast

#3 - The Worst Person in the World

#4 - Don't Look Up

#5 - King Richard

-Admittedly, I have been writing this post over the course of a few days and what I originally wrote just a couple of days ago has now been completely erased after the WGA awards.

Going into that ceremony, it was of my belief that this category would be won rather handily by Licorice Pizza, especially since what seemed to be its biggest competition (Belfast) was ineligible.

Then...out of nowhere...Don't Look Up won the award which I had originally ranked 5th in the category. Even after its WGA win, I am only putting it in 4th but the truth is I honestly could now see any of the top 4 winning. 

I might be a bit too hopeful with The Worst Person in the World especially considering the fact it is FAR AND AWAY the best selection here, but I could see a case where vote splitting and passion (particularly from international voters) could propel it to a win. 

Don't Look Up is in an interesting position though as it is easily the most talked about of the nominees but also the one to receive the most vitriol (except for the small group of us who also thought very little of Licorice Pizza). I didn't hate Don't Look Up and actually thought that when it was at its best, it was quite entertaining and I loved some of the dialogue.

The sad irony is that Licorice Pizza still has a strong chance of taking it which would net Paul Thomas Anderson his first Oscar...and considering all of the times in the past where he actually was deserving to take it, how fitting of the Oscars to reward him for the worst work he has done to date.

Kenneth Branagh is also in a prime position to take this too, and he is also Oscar-less. It also doesn't hurt that his film (as bland and banal and sugar-coated as it is...and the complete opposite of what a film occurring during the formation of The Troubles should be) would appeal to the older-average age voter.

So, I am going to stick with predicting Paul Thomas Anderson and I will just view it as honoring his body of work considering if it were up to me, he would've won Oscars for Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood, and Phantom Thread. 

Best Actress and Best Picture have a little suspense but this category is a case where I don't feel very confident in my selection. I do have a NGNG prediction coming up but here is just simply a category where I think it can go to any film here EXCEPT for King Richard. 

However, the real winner here is The Worst Person in the World. 

As for snubs:

C'mon C'mon and Titane immediately spring to mind.

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BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:

#1 - Troy Kotsur, CODA

#2 - Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Power of the Dog

#3 - Cirian Hinds, Belfast

#4 - Jesse Plemons, The Power of the Dog

#5 - J.K. Simmons, Being the Ricardos

-This might be my least favorite acting category this year because I don't think any of them deserve to be here except for Kotsur. 

McPhee could still pull it off but I just didn't see his performance as being as undeniable as Film Twitter or critics made it out to be. Subtlety can work wonders in a performance but I feel like McPhee was mostly buoyed up by a great character rather than a stellar performance.

Hinds is a fantastic character actor but he is barely in Belfast and by the time the film was over, I wondered how he even gained traction for such a brief and nothing role.

Plemons is an interesting case because this role is almost a departure for him because he is known for playing darker and despicable characters and yet, here he is playing a quiet and genteel brother to Benedict Cumberbatch. I feel like I am not as angry by his nod because I love that he is finally getting recognition but, in the end, he wouldn't be on my list.

J.K. Simmons is another brilliant character actor. His win for Whiplash is one of the greatest Oscar wins of all time but the fact he made it in here proves how weak this field was this year. 

If there was any justice, we would've seen nods for the following:

Anders Danielsen Lie, The Worst Person in the World

Woody Norman, C'MON C'MON

Masaki Okada, Drive My Car

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BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

#1 - Ariana DeBose, West Side Story

#2 - Kirsten Dunst, The Power of the Dog

#3 - Aunjanue Ellis, King Richard

#4 - Jessie Buckley, The Lost Daughter

#5 - Judi Dench, Belfast

-I may not like Belfast and I may love Judi Dench but the fact that she got this nomination over her co-star Catriona Balfe is ridiculous. I feel like it is a case of them wanting to nominate a legend based on her name; there is no other reason to justify it.

DeBose has swept through this season and will win for the role of Anita just as her co-star Rita Moreno did for the same role 60 years ago. Will it be deserved? It won't be a bad win, but I can't exactly say she is my choice.

My favorite in the category is actually Jesse Buckley, who plays young Leda (the elder Leda being played by Olivia Colman). Playing such a flawed character, she manages to find ways to remain compelling as opposed to us strictly hating her.

As for Aunjanue Ellis, I may not have cared for King Richard but her presence in the film is very strong, and she stands out in the way that is more interesting than other "supporting wife" roles that are often popular with Academy voters.

This is Dunst's first nomination...which is a shame considering she has done good work over the years and was particularly robbed of a nom and possible win a decade ago for Melancholia. Here, she gets to channel an almost Gena Rowlands type role and wish she had managed to gain a major win or two throughout the season.

Some of the more horrific snubs have to be:

Ruth Negga, Passing

Toko Miura, Drive My Car

Gaby Hoffman, C'mon C'mon

And while some would probably say Martha Plimpton or Ann Dowd from Mass, both of them are lead and have no business being in Supporting. 

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BEST ACTOR:

#1 - Will Smith, King Richard

#2 - Andrew Garfield, tick, tick...Boom!

#3 - Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog

#4 - Denzel Washington, The Tragedy of Macbeth

#5 - Javier Bardem, Being the Ricardos

-Right off the bat, I am going to commend Javier Bardem as a truly wonderful actor but the fact that he managed to slip into this race after many film pundits wrote him off...even after Globe and SAG nods...is simply frustrating. 

Considering the performances that were left off in place of him (which I will list my snubs in a moment), I find that it is one of the more baffling acting nominations this year. 

As for the other 4, I honestly liked all of them. I am a tad iffy on Washington as I felt like he didn't get a good grasp on the role until the end plus he was frequently overshadowed by his co-stars, especially Frances McDormand and Kathryn Hunter.

Cumberbatch might be giving his best performance but for me, my vote would go to Andrew Garfield. His zest and passion in that role have far surpassed any interpretation of that character I have seen done live...although the fact that they truly zeroed in on it being a Jonathan Larson biopic of sorts may have helped there. 

Having said all that, Will Smith seems to be approaching the Oscars as his own coronation. The passion for him is there and the sense is that Hollywood will crown one of its most popular stars who has grown so much as an actor in the last 30 years. 

I still preferred Smith in the rather hokey but moving The Pursuit of '"Happyness" from 2006 but he does well in this rather problematic role of a tough and overbearing father.

Some of the snubs here that I would've rather seen here are:

Hidetoshi Nishijima, Drive My Car

Leonardo DiCaprio, Don't Look Up

Jason Issacs, Mass

Joaquin Phoenix, C'mon C'mon

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BEST ACTRESS:

#1 - Penelope Cruz, Parallel Mothers

#2 - Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye

#3 - Kristen Stewart, Spencer

#4 - Olivia Colman, The Lost Daughter

#5 - Nicole Kidman, Being the Ricardos

-Every year, the Best Actress category is the one that seems to send online film forums into a tailspin. This year was even more crazy to the point I am not even sure I can fully address every twist and turn but I would say the biggest shocker leading into the Oscars was how Kristen Stewart seemed to be the frontrunner only for her to lose the Globe and then got snubbed by SAG and BAFTA while Lady Gaga steamrolled through the season getting nominated everywhere and even won the prestigious NY Film Critics Circle Award...then she got snubbed for an Oscar nom when many thought the stars were aligning for her to possibly WIN the damn thing.

Then, Jessica Chastain gained traction by winning SAG and CC while Penelope Cruz defied all odds and got nominated despite no precursor love aside from critic circle wins.

Kidman's Globe win seems like a fluke now and with that organization's controversy keeping them at a low profile, I don't suspect she will be winning the Oscar...nor should she.

Olivia Colman is an interesting case because all season, some have considered her the dark horse (even I did at times), but I feel like she will be back in due time with better performances. 

The comfortable choice is Chastain and, frankly, I am on the side that really liked her performance...although I did not like her film. Many have accused her of being over-the-top and hammy...ummm...are they not familiar with how Tammy Faye used to act and present herself?  I think Chastain did a wonderful job in that.

However, I am joining the group that is going for a NGNG prediction for Cruz. 

If anyone is a true passion pick among these nominees, it is Cruz. I could see her getting a good portion of the international voting bloc, but she also has, arguably, the greatest performance of the five.

Granted, art is subjective. Also, we are talking about an organization that looked at a list of films and said "Yes, I am definitely voting for Crash over Brokeback Mountain and Goodnight and Good Luck" or more recently, "Oh my god! Laura Dern was truly outstanding in her role in Marriage Story!".

Not a bad category although the snubs in this category are particularly egregious. Here are some of my personal favorites:

Renate Reinsve, The Worst Person in the World

Tessa Thompson, Passing

Martha Plimpton & Ann Dowd, Mass

Agathe Rouselle, Titane

Anamaria Vartolomei, Happening

Tilda Swinton, Memoria

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BEST DIRECTOR:

#1 - Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog

#2 - Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Drive My Car

#3 - Steven Spielberg, West Side Story

#4 - Kenneth Branagh, Belfast

#5 - Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza

Despite the press she has gotten recently for seemingly playing down the success of Venus and Serena Williams (which I honestly don't think she meant to do and her apology was heartfelt), I think Jane Campion has this in the bag even if The Power of the Dog loses Best Picture.

I would say it is as much of a sure thing as Chloe Zhao last year and I don't see anyone taking on her on. It isn't like she can face competition from Coda director Sian Heder since she isn't nominated...nor has anyone come forward as a threat attached to a film with a strong passionate base (a la Bong Joon ho winning over multi-Director winner Sam Mendes).

I honestly think anyone else winning here would be an absolute shock.

I may not have loved Power of the Dog, but I do agree that it was very well made and I also think Campion is a director who deserves this kind of recognition. I actually think she should've won for The Piano nearly 30 years ago.

As for the snubs, the one that got the most press was that of Denis Villeneuve. Frankly, he was worthy to be here over 3 of the nominees so I do consider him an omission.

Other selections I would've loved were:

Joachim Trier, The Worst Person in the World

Mike Mills, C'mon C'mon

Rebecca Hall, Passing

Julia Doucournau, Titane 

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BEST PICTURE:

#1 - Coda

#2 - The Power of the Dog

#3 - Belfast

#4 - Licorice Pizza

#5 - Dune

#6 - King Richard

#7 - Don't Look Up

#8 - Drive My Car 

#9 - West Side Story

#10 - Nightmare Alley

-Honestly, aside from the top 3 and ranking Nightmare Alley in last, I don't really have much confidence in the ranking of the other nominees. No other films have truly had success at other award shows or shown the strength to pose a real threat...but I suppose if Licorice Pizza does take Original Screenplay then it would make an easy 4th. 

The other comment: Look at all the bland selections!

This is one of my least favorite Best Picture lineups of all time. It hasn't been the greatest year for film, but there were enough films out there that could've easily made this a better lineup. 

The logistics of this season have been rather messy and I am not even sure I have the strength to try to explain some of these stats and the history behind why it is so crazy.

Coda is in a prime position to win Best Picture despite being a non-player for most of the season thanks to its last minute surge of wins at SAG, PGA, WGA, and its win for Adapted Screenplay at BAFTA where many expected Power of the Dog to win.

Here is the deal:

 Coda only has three nominations: Picture, Adapted Screenplay, and Supporting Actor...and it could very likely win all three. The crazy thing about this is no film has won with fewer than 5 nominations since the 1930s...and it is particularly rare (almost unheard of) for a film to win without a Director or Editing nomination.

Coda winning would just simply be a stat-breaking game changer of sorts...and I think it could potentially do it because of how the dynamics of award season have changed AND, not to mention, the preferential ballot system that is used to select Best Picture (the only category in which that system is used). 

The thing about Power of the Dog is that it seems to be the film that critics have rallied behind...but it is also a film that has managed to alienate some audiences for being too slow. Not that it would really be something to consider, but if you look at something like imdb, the average rating the film has is a 6.9 out of 10...that would make it the lowest rated Best Picture winner since the 60s. Even movies that have had a more volatile response to winning like Crash or Green Book have higher ratings on imdb than that.

However, last year I would've said that Nomadland seemed like an odd film to win on a preferential ballot...but it did...and the Academy has shown slight progressive steps moving towards bolder choices (such as Moonlight or Parasite winning) but then you have a win like Green Book which makes me think that it is possible that Coda could still sneak in.

I am going to predict Coda but honestly I just don't care if I am right or wrong. 

Aside from Drive My Car (and to a lesser extent, Dune), I really really do not care much for any of the other films. I have zero passion for them and it is kind of crazy to think how critical I was last year at first of the film output but the even bleaker circumstances of Covid last year allowed for films to slip in that may not have otherwise such as Sound of Metal. 

2021 was simply not the greatest year for film and I am very pensive about what 2022 will bring. If it is any worse or about equal to this year, I might just have another slump at caring about movies like I did for the first half of the 2010s.

Time will soon tell.

My (Brief) Review of Sian Heder's CODA (w/some spoilers)

 

There is a lot of talk going around currently about how Coda could break a lot of the stats as to what gives a film the weight to win the Academy Award for Best Picture over the favorite, Jane Campion's The Power of the Dog.

A lot has changed recently with the award season where it does seem like some voting bodies tend to vote their own way rather than vote like sheep to predict what may win the Oscar...so in short, despite history not truly proving it is possible (at least in terms of recent Academy Awards records), I do think Coda has a chance to win all 3 of its Academy Award nominations: Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor for Troy Kotsur. 

You have to go back to the early days of these awards to find a film winning Best Picture with less than 5 nominations...but Coda also hasn't won any real Best Picture awards to show any weight...not to mention that its director, Sian Heder, hasn't been nominated in most places.

And yet, I still feel inclined to suspect that Coda could pull it off thanks to its warmer and sweeter aesthetic which certainly paints it in a more positive like than the polarizing Power of the Dog. I also think the preferential ballot could help it in this case (such as its win last night with the Producers Guild of America Awards)...but I will save the rest of that talk for my Oscars prediction post.

Coda is definitely a sweet movie. I can't deny that moments of it moved me a little.

I also can't deny that I didn't really like it overall.

Yes, I know, here comes Debbie Downer...but okay, let me tell you about Coda and then I will explain why I didn't have the same rapturous response to it that many have.

Coda is actually a remake of the 2014 French film La Familie Beiler (which I, admittedly, have not seen) which takes that film's setting on a farm and moves it to a fishing boat off of coastal Massachusetts. The titular Coda (child of deaf adults) is Ruby (Emilia Jones), and she is the only hearing member of her family which includes father Frank (Troy Kotsur), mother Jackie (Marlee Matlin), and older brother Leo (Daniel Durant).

They run a fishing business and Ruby's plans are to join their team full time once she graduates high school...but things take a turn for Ruby when she is compelled to join the school choir and her singing voice shows immense promise; so much so that her choir teacher Mr. Villalobos (Eugenio Derbez) wants to recommend her for an audition at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Like I said, it's a sweet movie and it was mostly enjoyable...but it also felt like I could call every plot point while it happened. 

-Girl comes from a unique and sometimes difficult family dynamic.

-That dynamic makes her an outcast at school.

-Thankfully, she has one friend who is great for her.

-Girl has immense talent.

-Girl is too shy to show off this talent.

-Girl joins choir and eventually opens up.

-Girl admires boy from afar who normally would never pay attention to her.

-Girl and Boy are made to sing a duet.

-Girl and Boy have a falling out.

-Boy fights back and ends up falling for Girl.

This cliche romance plot feels completely unnecessary in the film. All it does is further sink the film into seeming more boilerplate and bland than it might've been...but from what I understand, they followed a lot of the plot beats to a tee from the original French film.

A lot of the success from the film comes from its deaf actors. Musical theatre fans will probably recognize Daniel Durant who recently played Moritz in the DeafWest-transfer Broadway revival of Spring Awakening which also featured Marlee Matlin. However, Marlee Matlin is easily the most established deaf actor working today and her presence here is certainly welcomed.

However, the most successful aspect of this film was Troy Kotsur as Frank the patriarch. He is a brash and somewhat crude fisherman, but he provides the film with both its heart and soul. I would even go as far to say that he singlehandedly made the film worth watching in some ways. 

Near the end of the film, we get a scene where Ruby sings the song she sang as a duet for her father: Marvin Gaye & Tami Terrell's You're All I Need to Get By. Since he is unable to hear her, he puts his hands to her throat to feel the vibration from her vocal chords. 

This moment is what I think will really drive a potential win for Troy Kotsur at the Oscars next Sunday. As he watches and feels her singing (and Emilia Jones is a very good singer), tears stream down his face as he smiles with great pride...which was built upon him and Matlin watching the audience react very positively her performance just moments before.

I hadn't planned on writing about Coda to be honest. It didn't really drum up a lot of passion for me but now, it has a very good chance of winning Best Picture and I felt like I should address that it is a film that just feels too slight and twee. I love that these deaf actors get a chance to get work but what I REALLY hope is that it gets them better roles in better films that would certainly be far more worthy of their talents.

I wanted so much more...but maybe this will be enough to propel Durant and Kotsur to get work and to particularly allow Matlin to maintain a career that she has deserved a lot more from ever since Children of a Lesser God.

RATING: 2.5/5

My Review of Paul Thomas Anderson's LICORICE PIZZA (There are spoilers...if you can call them that...)

Whenever I think about the greatest film directors in the English Language, my vote for the best is Stanley Kubrick. In the years since his passing, the one director I have always said comes close to the level of his consistency is Paul Thomas Anderson.

Following his solid debut with Hard Eight, Paul Thomas Anderson had a streak of films that ranged from being quite good to flat out masterpieces such as Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch Drunk Love, There Will Be Blood, The Master, and Phantom Thread. 

With that filmography, I cannot help but be excited when someone announces that P.T.A. has a brand new film coming out. However, I can't deny that with the release of his last couple of films, I kept thinking to myself: "Will Paul Thomas Anderson ever release a dud?"

Yes. 

In 2021, he did.

A lot has been written online in articles or on forums or on various Letterboxd accounts that Licorice Pizza has issues.

Take your pick:

1) It hints at a pedophilia.

2) It has a white man talking in an offensive Japanese accent.

3) The movie doesn't really have a plot and kind of drifts along.

The first two points are certainly problematic but the truth is that I found myself baffled by how aimless and erratic and messy this film was.

Licorice Pizza begins in 1973 as we see 15 year old child actor Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman, son of the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman) getting ready to get his photo taken on high school picture day. 

Although, don't get too settled in the high school locale because you aren't going to see young Gary set foot in this high school again.

When getting in line, a young worker with the group taking the photos catches his eye: Alana (Alana Haim). He immediately tries flirting with her but she rebuffs him as a 25 year old woman should to a 15 year old....but she is intrigued by his candor and accept his invitation to dinner with the caveat that she is only showing up as his friend.

When Gary's mother is unable to accompany him to NY for a press tour, Alana agrees to be his chaperone. Gary still has romantic intentions despite the age difference and is, of course, very jealous when Alana begins dating his co-star Lance...which ends rather abruptly when he proclaims himself as an Atheist to her devout Jewish family.

This is when the movie then takes a sharp turn.

Gary finds himself in a shop being enticed by a glorious new item: the water bed.

Oh yes, remember when water beds were considered the best possible option for your sleeping pleasure? Side note: I do recall as a kid being fascinated by water beds and wishing that I could one day have one of my own. I also wanted to work as a cashier as a child so let's just say I thankfully grew out of some questionable idiotic goals in life.

Out of nowhere, it appears that 15 year old Gary has become a businessman and is selling waterbeds...and he has brought along Alana to be his partner and has his 8 year old brother and his other teenage friends assisting.

Are you lost yet?

Do you feel very confused and like I am not making any sense?

Well now you get to share in the bewilderment I felt as I watched the rest of this movie unfold. 

Like I said before, Licorice Pizza has had its fair share of criticism online and from certain critics but it is still getting rapturous praise overall and has managed to do fairly well on the awards circuit in terms of nominations. For me, I consider this to be a case of: "Did I watch the same movie as everybody else?".

There was simply no cohesive storyline...and while some movies can work with essentially having no storyline (for some reason, the first movie that came to mind was My Dinner with Andre which isn't to imply Licorice Pizza comes anywhere close to that), there was this sense that PTA wanted to tackle multiple topics but didn't seem to care to try to organically flow into those stories or even care to try to make them make any sense.

You have this rather bizarre relationship leading through the film that I frankly didn't care about. I feel like I don't fault either of the actors with this as Hoffman and Haim perform well together but they can't manage to find anything in the text/direction that makes me want to support them...and SHOULD we even be supporting them?

In the end, she is a 25 year old woman and he is a 15 year old guy...and while you may say she has no romantic intentions towards him, that isn't where the film eventually takes us.

On one hand, I don't want to sound like some kind of sexual prude either. Age gaps are nothing to be judgmental about...as long as the person is over 18. I do have to wonder if the film would be getting the kind of controversy it is getting had the gender roles been reversed.

In 2021, we actually have a prime example of this.

In Sean Baker's Red Rocket, we watch the character Mikey played by Simon Rex pursue the character of Strawberry (Suzanna Son), who is 17 years old. For the record, Rex is 47 years old so you are looking at a THIRTY YEAR AGE DIFFERENCE.

There is one simple answer to this: Red Rocket didn't get widespread attention but also, even from those who DID see it, I only rarely saw anyone bring up the age difference despite the fact it was far more egregious.

Oh, and an older man with a younger girl seems to be more acceptable to society...yay sexism...

Aside from the age difference controversy, the other bit that has generated even more vitriol are the scenes involving a white man speaking to his Japanese wife with an offensive Japanese accent. It is being played for laughs but it really offers ZERO bearing to the plot (if you can call it a plot) or any kind of worth to the film as a whole.

Then you get these random bits involving Sean Penn and Bradley Cooper. 

Sean Penn plays actor Jack Holden (based on William Holden) who is meeting with Alana to see if she could possibly work in his upcoming film but then that descends into Holden wanting to perform a motorcycle stunt with Alana onboard the bike with him. After she falls off and he completes the stunt solo, Gary runs to her to see if she is okay and then we never see Holden again.

The movie takes another turn as Gary and the gang are set to install a waterbed at Jon Peters' and Barbra Streisand's house. Peters' is played by Bradley Cooper and while he does make the most of his limited screen time, I am beyond thrilled that he got snubbed for an Oscar nomination. It is a shame that he was even in the conversation for it.

The scene progresses as follows:

-Peters snarks at and insults Gary

-Peters has an offensively gay assistant 

-Alana, Gary, and the boys prepare the waterbed and then proceed to flood the house and speed away only to find Peters flagging them down because he has run out of gas.

**Oh yeah, the gas crisis has begun and it is now affecting everyone it seems**

-They take Peters to the gas station and he proceeds to threaten a random stranger to cut line and receive gas.

-Gary and the gang abandon Peters there and proceed to find his car and bash his windshield.

-And like clockwork, THE TRUCK IS OUT OF FUCKING GAS and they are trapped.

**I would say you can't write this stuff but PTA already did.**

Then, because apparently Alana can drive like she has been a stunt driver since childhood, proceeds to coast the large truck backwards down the Hollywood Hills without hitting a single car and then coming to a stop on main thoroughfare...and keep in mind, this is the greater LA Metropolitan Area....and there is not a single car around. I don't care if there is a gas crisis; it is freaking LOS ANGELES, a city notorious for its traffic.

As the boys fill up the truck with gas, Alana sits on the curb and just happens to notice she is in front of a campaign office for a Mayoral candidate named Joel Wachs (Benny Safdie). Looking for a new change, she decides to go work for him...and yet, STILL gets Gary and the boys involved with filming a campaign commercial for him.

Alana seems sexually intrigued by Wachs as he is, you know, age appropriate and when she gets invited to a dinner by him, she is in for a rude awakening. 

Wachs is gay and he is there battling with his boyfriend Matthew (Joseph Cross). Wachs is concerned he is being followed so he wants Alana to pose as Matthew's girlfriend so they can leave together. Matthew is devastated and heartbroken with being cast aside and here is what was rather shocking about this scene:

Matthew became the only character in the film I even gave a damn about and he was barely even onscreen. Less than 5 minutes easily.

Considering how screwed up the whole situation was and how inappropriate it was for Wachs to put Alana in this position, I found myself connecting with Cross' Matthew in a surprising way and I had wished we could've somehow seen more of him.

Before Alana and Matthew part ways, he makes a comment how men are the worst...but somehow, that makes her long for Gary more.

Like clockwork, Gary and Alana run for each other (not since Forrest Gump has a movie made characters run for seemingly no reason other than they just feel like running) and we end with them literally running towards each other, kissing, and her saying "I love you".

Cliche, party of one, your table is ready.

Licorice Pizza is a baffling film. I cannot even begin to tell you how much I sat there not understanding how this film could even manage to receive a rave review.

The sad truth is that in the first half hour or so of the film, I actually really really liked it and was enjoying it...but the shift with the mattress business just felt so random and out of nowhere and implausible that it made it hard for the film to pull me back in.

The film certainly didn't try to. If anything, it was like PTA wanted to create a series of vignettes and failed at making it flow properly. I suppose it is hard to make things flow when you have next to nothing to hold your movie up.

And just for the record, the title of the movie (which references a record store chain that used to be all over LA) has no direct correlation to the film. The original title, Soggy Bottom, made more sense because it tied into the mattress storyline...and yet that title sucked.

PTA was quoted as follows: "If there's two words that make me kind of have a Pavlovian response and memory of being a child and running around, it's 'licorice' and 'pizza' [...] It instantly takes me back to that time." He added that the words "seemed like a catch-all for the feeling of the film [...] that go well together and maybe capture a mood."

Well...there is a lot of running around in this movie...and a lot of randomness...the title fits in an ironic way...but it would've been just as fitting to call this movie "Red Vines Lasagna" or "Twizzlers Manicotti".

RATING: **/*****

My Reaction to the 2022 Academy Award Nominations

 

I have grown rather disenchanted with the concept of "award season".

I still follow a lot of it; I still get intrigued to watch a lot of the contenders...but is there really much of a point to it?

I feel like it has become more and more about the campaigns and the fabricated buzz that is put out about movies and performances rather than the true quality of the content. 

With how COVID has reshaped everything in the last two years, I certainly get the sense that a lot of these films aren't reaching audiences. 

A friend of mine on Facebook stated she wasn't even sure what films would be in consideration this year...and this isn't surprising. I feel like the only reason I know about a lot of these films are because I have been following film forums over the past year. One thing that is very telling is that even living in a city like New York, I don't see as many advertisements around for films like I used to.

This past Saturday, I saw an ad on the subway for Licorice Pizza and it was the first public ad for a movie that is considered a true awards contender that I have seen around. Mostly, TV seems to be dominated the ad campaigns as I would see a ton of posters around for stuff like Ted Lasso, Succession, and Mare of Easttown. 

Even something like West Side Story which got strong notices and awards buzz all season and got the theatre community abuzz is actually a financial flop. As of this writing, it has only made $62 million worldwide against a $100 million budget. Many state that it is simply due to COVID and while that could be true to an extent, it becomes a weaker argument when movies like Dune (**** Oscar info below***) and particularly Spiderman: No Way Home are killing it at the Box Office. Also, in the case of Dune, it still managed that high gross even being available on HBO Max.

Other films like The Power of the Dog, which is streaming on Netflix, have taken the approach of opening in limited theatres to qualify for awards before being put on Netflix full time. 

A movie like that, which got immense critical praise, has not had as strong an embrace from the general public. Even I, who tends to like movies that a lot of people may deem slow and boring, found a lot of that film to be a bit too sluggish despite its strong qualities.

So yes, I am feeling a bit less enthused this year. I didn't even feel like doing a predictions post like I tend to do every year because I simply didn't care. 

Having said that, some of the categories did have a certain unpredictable quality this time around which still left me intrigued for the nominations, so I guess that is something.

So here are the nominations for the big 8 categories: Original Screenplay, Adapted Screenplay, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Lead Actor, Lead Actress, Director, and Picture.

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Best Original Screenplay:

BELFAST

DON'T LOOK UP

KING RICHARD

LICORICE PIZZA

THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD

THOUGHTS: I think this is going to be the year that Paul Thomas Anderson finally wins an immensely overdue Oscar...although it is a shame that he will get it for a film that is arguably one of his weakest. The dark horse nomination that really came through here was The Worst Person in the World, the Norwegian film that had its awards campaign pretty much obliterated by Neon. I think had it gotten better exposure, it could've achieved a couple of other major nominations.

However...CAMPAIGNING SHOULDN'T DICTATE WHAT SHOULD GET NOMINATED!!

So yes, I think Licorice Pizza will take this. I suppose worse films have won this category and I would be thrilled to see PTA have an Oscar...but the truth is The Worst Person in the World is the deserving winner here.

THRILLED that Being the Ricardos was snubbed! That was easily one of Sorkin's weakest scripts.

What Screenplays were left out of the equation that deserved more attention? Mike Mills' C'mon C'mon has been basically ignored all season. Its WGA nomination was more a "desperate" nomination because they had to deal with a couple of these contenders not being eligible for that award.

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Best Adapted Screenplay:

Coda

Drive My Car

Dune

The Lost Daughter

The Power of the Dog

THOUGHTS: I thought there was good chance that Drive My Car would slip into this race but I knew it was by no means a lock. I was so happy to be right here!!

Even though it clearly deserves this award, The Power of the Dog seems to be in a prime position to sweep this season. Jane Campion deserves lots of praise but I simply didn't connect to Power of the Dog that strongly and didn't think its Screenplay was its strongest suit. 

As for snubbed contenders, I do think Joel Coen's adaptation of The Tragedy of Macbeth was worthy even if it may have truncated the material a bit too much. Otherwise, I am mostly happy with these nominations.

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Best Supporting Actor:

Cirian Hinds, Belfast

Troy Kotsur, Coda

Jesse Plemons, The Power of the Dog

J.K. Simmons, Being the Ricardos

 Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Power of the Dog

THOUGHTS: It is nice to see a veteran actor like Hinds get a nod here, but I honestly feel like he did nothing of real note in Belfast. I also love J.K. Simmons but I don't think he did anything in Being the Ricardos to warrant a nomination. 

In the case of Jesse Plemons, you could argue he fits that bill too but I would argue that his sterling and somewhat subdued and kinder presence feels refreshing considering his previous catalog of work. Maybe he wouldn't make my personal lineup in the end but it is nice to finally see him get some recognition.

For me, this category comes down to Smit-McPhee and Kotsur. I actually prefer Kotsur's sweet and emotional patriarch in Coda but I feel the steamrolling sweeper that is KSM will take this and I would still support that in the grand scheme. It is another subtle performance but his presence is undeniable.

As for the snubs, I am thrilled that we have no Jared Leto here for his cartoonish Italian caricature that he seemed so proud of creating. I also think Jamie Dornan getting snubbed for Belfast was expected at this point and I do feel he was another example of a performance that just simply had nothing there to warrant a nod.

Mike Faist and David Alvarez from West Side Story were also more worthy than most of the nominees above.

As it stands, this is easily my least favorite acting category of the night. 

My dream nominees here would've been Masaki Okada for Drive My Car, Woody Norman for C'mon C'mon, and Anders Danielsen Lie, The Worst Person in the World.

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Best Supporting Actress:

Jessie Buckley, The Lost Daughter

Ariana DeBose, West Side Story

Judi Dench, Belfast

Kirsten Dunst, The Power of the Dog

Aunjanue Ellis, King Richard

THOUGHTS: This was a crazy category in that Caitriona Balfe, who got in at every major precursor prior and was seen as a potential spoiler at BAFTA, got snubbed in favor of the veteran candidate from her film. I can't deny the brilliance of Judi Dench but she was so unworthy of this nom at the expense of her co-star, who was one of the only things I liked about the overrated Belfast.

Over a month ago, I predicted a nom for Jessie Buckley but then it seemed like a bit of a pipe dream. I am very glad to see her slip in here as I actually find her to be my favorite candidate on this list!

Dunst finally getting her first nomination is richly deserved! She was robbed a decade ago of a nom for Melancholia.

Ellis is also a very solid nominee who was easily the best thing about King Richard. 

Ariana DeBose is the frontrunner right now and seems poised to sweep. I feel like I am fine with that but I really don't see her as undeniable.

The real crime is that they snubbed Ruth Negga for Passing. At first, it seemed like a potential longshot but then she picked up nods at the Globes, SAG, and BAFTAs. 

Passing getting pretty much ignored all season is a crime to me as it deserved nods for Picture, Screenplay, Actress, and Cinematography in addition to Supporting Actress.

Other candidates who were snubbed here include the likes of Ann Dowd in Mass, but the truth is she was truly a lead and her film seems to have disappeared into the abyss with voters.

I also would've given love to Gaby Hoffman from C'mon C'mon who got a lovely showcase as the harried sister of Joaquin Phoenix and mother of Woody Norman. 

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Best Actor:

Javier Bardem, Being the Ricardos

Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog

Andrew Garfield, tick tick...BOOM!

Will Smith, King Richard

Denzel Washington, The Tragedy of Macbeth

THOUGHTS: I want to begin by saying that Javier Bardem is a fantastic actor...and I want to follow that with the fact that he simply didn't deserve a nomination for this performance. I really hoped his Globe and SAG nods were just flukes but...here we are.

This is seeming more and more like Will Smith could end up receiving his first Oscar. There is certainly a lot of goodwill towards him and his performance plus the film is a BP nominee. 

Would he be deserving? I will say that there have been far worse acting winners and he did do a good job playing a character that was rather abrasive and frustrating. 

However, I would still probably rank him 3rd or 4th in this category. I think Cumberbatch and Garfield give their best performances to date while Washington, despite not being the highlight of that film and having a slow start in terms of wowing me, does do good work overall.

I think Smith is going to take this but I am not ruling out Cumberbatch yet.

SNUBS: It was never going to happen but Hidetoshi Nishijima gave one of the strongest performances this year in Drive My Car...and frankly, I wouldn't have opposed seeing DiCaprio pop up here for Don't Look Up, which I considered to be better than his previously nominated performance in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. 

Joaquin Phoenix's genteel work in C'mon C'mon was unfairly ignored all season and, to nearly the same level, so was Simon Rex's charismatic cad in Red Rocket.

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Best Actress:

Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Olivia Colman, The Lost Daughter

Penelope Cruz, Parallel Mothers

Nicole Kidman, Being the Ricardos

Kristin Stewart, Spencer 

THOUGHTS: The sad truth about this category is that if I were to a pick a frontrunner right now, it would be Nicole Kidman...and she is easily the weakest on this list.

In my original review for Being the Ricardos, I acknowledged she gave a good performance but it still didn't impress me on any real level. She got certain essences of Lucille Ball but she didn't quite get there.

However, the other 4 are pretty solid nominees even if a couple of them wouldn't make my personal lineup. 

I had a feeling Stewart would still show up here despite her SAG and BAFTA snubs but she is no longer the shoo-in that many expected her to be.

Cruz was a critical darling who still managed to get in on passion.

Colman has been on fire for the last few years and I actually wouldn't count her out yet. She could pull off a shocker and win a second Oscar just three years after her first; this would be a similar trajectory to that of British actress Glenda Jackson who pulled off that feat in the 70s.

Jessica Chastain is an interesting case. Her film was not very well received nor was it seen by many, but she still overcame the odds. Also, I would argue she was worthy to win a decade ago for Zero Dark Thirty. I have heard people bash her performance here as being very fake and brash, but honestly, I felt she very well captured Tammy Faye Bakker. Do some people not realize that she was a very flamboyant and emotional human being who presented herself in a rather colorful manner?

I actually am happy to see her get a nod though I do have to state that there are some snubs here that really infuriate me even if they may have been longshots.

Renate Reinsve's work in The Worst Person in the World might have been my personal choice for Best Actress this year but she would've been in close competition with Tessa Thompson from Passing, a performance I actually took to even more than Ruth Negga's.

Then you have the people who didn't really take off at all, like Tilda Swinton in Memoria.

The real shocker of the morning is the snub of Lady Gaga. At first, I really didn't buy into this...even after she won the NY Film Critics Circle Award...but then when she managed to get the BAFTA nom, I bought into the potential of her being a possible frontrunner.

Last year was crazy because a different person won every major precursor, but this year, we are at a point where I honestly don't know if I feel safe truly predicting until the SAG winner is called out. Also, BAFTA is now deemed irrelevant as none of these nominees even made their lineup!

None of these nominees come from a BP nominee so that stat also goes out the window.

I still think Kidman is poised to get her 2nd Oscar while Colman is the runner-up. 

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Best Director:

Kenneth Branagh, Belfast

Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog

Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Drive My Car

Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza

Steven Spielberg, West Side Story 

THOUGHTS: The biggest shocker here is that Denis Villeneuve was snubbed. Many were suspecting the big snub would come from either Branagh (that was me) or Spielberg or even PTA...and frankly, Villeneuve more than deserved this nom over Branagh.

 A lot of people did suspect Hamaguchi to slip in here (including me) due to the Director branch being more open to International selections which we've seen in recent years with random (and deserved) nods going to the likes of Pawel Pawiloswki for Cold War or Thomas Vinterberg for Another Round...and the fact that Bong Joon ho actually won for Parasite when Sam Mendes swept most of the precursors.

In the end, Hamaguchi would get my vote but I do have to commend Jane Campion who did stellar work on The Power of the Dog...and she has swept through the season in a similar manner that Chloe Zhao did last year.

It would also be nice to see another woman win as she would only be the third to do so...and it is especially fitting for her as she was only the second woman to even get a Directing nod back in 1994 for The Piano.

As for snubs I would've loved to see, the ones I want to give a shout-out to are Julia Ducournau for Titane, Rebecca Hall for Passing, and Joachim Trier for The Worst Person in the World.

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Best Picture:

Belfast

Coda

Don't Look Up

Drive My Car

Dune 

King Richard 

Licorice Pizza 

Nightmare Alley

The Power of the Dog

West Side Story

THOUGHTS: There is only one real surprise here for me ---- Nightmare Alley? Really?

I honestly didn't think that had a shot anymore. I suspected that last slot would go to either The Tragedy of Macbeth, tick tick Boom, The Lost Daughter, or Being the Ricardos...or if I was being really hopeful: The Worst Person in the World. 

It also seems especially shocking considering it got no other major nominations aside from a couple of techs.

I actually did predict the Drive My Car nomination and I am thrilled to see it here. I know it won't happen but I am going to will it into the universe for an upset. The sad thing is it doesn't have the guild support that Parasite where I could see the trajectory for it to win. 

I found Belfast to be overrated but I do think that it could still be a dark horse here, even though it did miss the crucial Editing nomination. 

I still consider King Richard to be a mostly average film that has no business being nominated here.

Don't Look Up is polarizing but I have warmed up to it since having watched it back in December. Would it make my personal top 10? No...but I don't loathe it like many seem to.

Dune was a spectacle of the highest order. It is a selection I do support.

Coda and West Side Story were very well made but would probably miss my top 10 in the end.

Licorice Pizza is well made but it still seems very slight as a film...especially if you were to unfairly compare to other works by PTA.

And I have admittedly not seen Nightmare Alley yet so I can't comment....

You've probably picked up on the trend that I was a big fan on the criminally underrated and unseen C'mon C'mon and that I feel it deserved to be here. I also feel like The Worst Person in the World should be here in addition to Passing and Titane (which got shafted from the International Feature shortlist so that was definitely never happening) or A Hero, which got snubbed today as well which was quite surprising.

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WILL I DO A FINAL PREDICTIONS POST?

Yes. I do plan to do a final predictions post. Plus, depending on how it goes and how I may feel after the fact, I may do another post on a reaction to the ceremony itself. 

The Oscars will be in late March this year so more than likely, I will do a prediction post either a week prior or sometime during the weekend leading up to the ceremony. I will be moving to a new apartment soon so unless I get really compelled to write something else, this may be the last post of mine for a couple of weeks or more just so I can focus on that. 

But for now, that's that.

My Review of Joel Coen's THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH (or The Scottish Play, as it is often referred...)

 

Am I superstitious?

As Michael Scott would say, I am "a little stitious".

I have always had an aversion to things related to odd numbers as opposed to even...especially the #13 and numbers that add up to 13. To further add to this, the new apartment that I will be moving to in less than a month has "13" as part of the street address. 

I am just going to try to ignore that...

As a big theatre person, one of the biggest superstitions is that you can't say "Macbeth" before a performance as it could lead to immense bad luck. 

I would say that this is just pure heresy...but...I was involved in two productions in which someone decided to utter the word "Macbeth" as opposed to the appropriate phrase in its stead: "The Scottish Play". 

In the instance of the first production, we had a few set pieces break and they couldn't move as they were supposed to and another actor injured their hand on broken glass. 

In another production, an actor fell and strained their back, another had a spill during a choreographed number, and meanwhile a trap door we were using stopped working which created concern that it might give out during the performance which caused a lot of us to have redo blocking and choreography on the spot as we couldn't risk stepping on the trap door.

So yes...needless to say, I would only ever say "The Scottish Play" if I was actually standing in a theatre...and especially if I was a part of the cast or crew of a production.

That was my long-winded (and only semi-related to the topic at hand) introduction to this review on Joel Coen's adaptation of that perennial Shakespeare classic: The Tragedy of Macbeth.

In terms of its placement in Shakespeare's canon, I think most would agree that it is near the top of the list. It would be for me as well, definitely a top 5 contender.

**Side note: If anyone was curious, my top 3 favorite Shakespeare plays are Othello, King Lear, and Measure for Measure.**

Film adaptations of Shakespeare tend to not get the same level of buzz and acclaim...most likely due to those who may have an aversion to not understanding the older prose.

This adaptation is something of a departure for Joel Coen, who is now on his own as a filmmaker after his brother Ethan chose to not continue a filmmaking partnership and instead focus on writing for the theatre.

If I can commend anything from this film, it is that of Coen's direction and his artistic staff.

Film is a visual medium and the world that was created for this adaptation was stark and striking. Many of the images reminded me of the German Expressionist work from the 1920s and early 1930s by the likes of F.W. Murnau or Fritz Lang. I also could see influences of early Ingmar Bergman films such as The Seventh Seal or Wild Strawberries. 

On top of that, the ensemble at hand rose to the occasion. As Macbeth, however, I was sort of mixed on Denzel Washington at first though his interpretation grew on me as the film progressed.

Frances McDormand was a great Lady Macbeth and her "Out damn spot!" scene was very memorable and some of the finest work of her career.

If I am going to single out anyone else though, I have to single out Kathryn Hunter who gets the task of playing all three of the iconic witches.

Hunter is a highly respected and regarded British theatre actress known for her ability to contort her body in every shape imaginable and having a distinctive guttural voice and dark eyes that seem to pierce through your soul.

While only onscreen for less than 10 minutes, she leaves a lasting impression and it is truly a shame that she will more than likely miss out on an Oscar nomination...but yes, we know, the Oscars are FAR from perfect as are any awards body.

The film does suffer from one rather significant flaw though: the truncation.

On one hand, a running time of 1 hour and 45 minutes seemed very pleasing but the truth is that the lesser runtime sort of cheapened the outcome for in terms of watching Washington and McDormand have their descent into madness. It didn't feel earned and it practically came out of nowhere.

Coen did streamline the story but I think it could've used another 20-30 minutes to really pad out the middle and give the material the weight it deserved.

However, despite that rather unfortunate flaw, the film overcomes it thanks to its cast, direction, and the overwhelmingly gorgeous visual aesthetic that felt so fresh and modern and also like a relic of older films from the past that had almost an otherworldly creepiness about them.

So yes, with those boosts, the film will get a lofty rating from me.

The Tragedy of Macbeth will be RATED: 4.5/5

My Review of Fran Kranz's MASS (w/slight spoilers)

Every year, there is always that one film that you think is going to wow you based on the subject matter and the buzz that surrounds the film.

Ever since Mass premiered at Sundance in early 2021, the buzz was that the main quartet of the film gave truly astonishing performances and that the film was quite riveting...especially considering that the bulk of the runtime is set in one room with this quartet of actors.

When it comes to films, this kind of setting can be incredibly difficult to pull off. Stage-to-film adaptations are notorious for not always adapting well to the screen if a director doesn't know how to give it more of a cinematic flair. 

In recent years, we've had something like Ma Rainey's Black Bottom which sort of had erratic results under the hands of theatre director George C. Wolfe or if you really want to see a theatre director crash and burn while directing a film, the legendary Hal Prince gave us A Little Night Music, one of the most lifeless musical films ever made with shots/blocking that are amazing in their ineptness. 

A great example of a movie that works really well with just people sitting down in one space talking is Louis Malle's My Dinner with Andre, though the lively mix of debate and the witty rapport drive that film thanks to the charismatic personality of Andre Gregory and the uniquely quirky Wallace Shawn.

In the case of Mass, you have actor Fran Kranz (not exactly a household name but he has been in films like The Cabin in the Woods and has had supporting roles on the Broadway stage) making his writing/directorial debut with this film...and no, it isn't adapted from a play. Mass does seem like it could've been a play prior to this, but you can tell there are moments where Kranz tries to liven up the room with the blocking.

However, the film does feel a lot like a debut in terms of its direction...but I will go more into that later.

Mass revolves around two grieving couples: Jay & Gail (Jason Issacs & Martha Plimpton) and Richard & Linda (Reed Birney & Ann Dowd) who are meeting in a private room located at an Episcopal Chruch. As they talk, you don't really know what exactly they are meeting about (unless you already heard about the film to the extent I did) but you soon realize that Hayden, the son of Richard & Linda, had been responsible for a school bombing/shooting that killed nearly a dozen people, including Evan, the son of Jay & Gail.

Six years have passed since the tragedy, but both sets of parents agree to meet and talk about the ordeal. As expected, Richard & Linda are questioning a lot of how they navigated raising their son while Jay & Gail are bitter and hope to seek to cause further pain on Richard & Linda.

As I stated, these four actors are fantastic. 

Ann Dowd is always first rate, and she is one of the best performers out there at conveying dismay and heartbreak.

Jason Issacs gives the best performance of his career as Jay, and I would argue he disappears into the role as it was hard to place him as the same man who played Lucius Malfoy.

Reed Birney, who is mostly known as a theatre actor and who was fantastic in plays like The Humans and Man From Nebraska, is perhaps the one who doesn't seem to get as much of a showcase, but he manages to find a sterling strength that is also more aloof than the others. One key thing about him is that he actually has a business trip to fly off to that afternoon, so you almost get the sense that he has one foot out the door. I would argue that the subtleties of that were masterfully displayed by Birney.

The MVP was Martha Plimpton, who has been someone who has been doing stellar work in the Theatre and on TV for many years, but never seemed to find immense success in film. Here, she is the one I would say feels the most "lived in" with her role. Within her first seconds onscreen, you can just feel the palpable sadness and bitterness and fatigue that she has been living with for so long. The truth is that she deserves to be nominated for an Oscar...and frankly, I wouldn't be opposed to her winning.

The sad truth is she won't...and that is due to the unfortunate truth that film award campaigns are simply unfair and truly political. Mass is distributed by Bleecker Street which is a small company that doesn't have the funds to properly promote their films to degree of some of these other studios. Due to that, it is very likely you won't see any significant nominations for Mass. It's a shame as these actors are far more worthy than some of the contenders who have actually won Oscars in the last few years.

I also want to state that the atmosphere of the church is very well done as it just feels so much like a small-town church with its sort of homey and outdated decor. The actors portraying the church volunteers also fit very well into that world, but...

And here's where this review is going to take a turn...

I honestly was underwhelmed by Mass as a whole.

As an acting showcase, it pretty much delivered. I could argue giving nominations to all four of these people (though Birney might miss out on my list), and they did the best that they could with this script.

The script to Mass, while not bad by any means, just seems to play at one-note and doesn't have many layers. I could honestly see the argument that a film about the aftermath of a school shooting should not contain some kind of joy or levity...but I feel like the film needed SOMETHING to bring it out of its constant state of despair.

The film is sort of bookended with scenes from the church workers. I did state that they did well in establishing the atmosphere, but they also felt very unnecessary. I really want to give them props for creating a very real seeming environment but all it did was sort of give the film a very slow start and then brought it to an end that dragged. So yes, I guess you could say those were the films attempts at levity...but it came from the absolutely wrong place.

Look at a playwright like Eugene O'Neill, a man who was known for writing rather dire and depressing plays that mirrored his rather tragic life, but his work often had humor sprinkled throughout in ways that might surprise you.

Look at something like Long Day's Journey into Night, which at 4 hours in length often makes many want to run away. However, we watch Mary Tyrone, a very bitter and depressed woman battling a drug addiction also finding rather humorous ways to insult the quality of the home they live in. Some productions don't play this tone up and they often suffer because of that...whereas the recent revival with Jessica Lange worked because they played up a lot of that subtle humor. 

By contrast, look at Eugene O'Neill's Beyond the Horizon, an earlier work of his that won the Pulitzer and was a great success but is now barely discussed today. In college, I did a scene from this play in acting class and adored it...but man oh man, was that play a huge depressing pill looking back on it! Well written but just pure drama to the max.

O'Neill eventually learned that good levity does wonders...and I feel Kranz does show potential in finding that tone later.

I also think the cheeky use of the old hymn Blest Be the Ties That Bind as another part of the bookend was a mixed bag. Old hymns still carry a certain amount of power when used (and a project I am working on now might actually utilize some of these in an unusual way), and I do think it sort of worked here even if it felt a little overbearing.

I would also argue that the film could've gone further with the topic of gun use. The film could've chosen to delve into debates about gun control and political strife, but it seemed to only squarely set on them trying to psychoanalyze why young Hayden decided to do what he did. There is a certain intrigue to that, but I am not sure it needed to be stretched out for over an hour. 

Mass feels like a story that I would've come up with in high school or early college when I was still actively doing playwriting. I was always drawn to either dark comedies or incredibly bleak tragedies for topics. 

For example, I had a play (that I still have a desire to return to, but I would need to rework it) that was about a Pastor's family whose youngest child is kidnapped and eventually found murdered...and there was a dark twist about who actually murdered the child and that it was a connection to the family.

I still think there could be something intriguing in that story, but how I conceived it at the time was insanely melodramatic. Case in point: I had a scene where the Pastor/father is standing at a fire place and starts screaming while tearing pages from a Bible and throwing them in. I LOVED the symbolism of that...especially as a person who has fervent issues with organized religion to this day.

Now, it just reads as too much.

I wouldn't say Mass is at THAT extreme, but I do feel like it teeters on the brink in a lot of ways. I think the fact that the actors didn't play everything on an explosive emotional is what helped keep most of the film on a bearable level. I could see a lesser actor wanted to scream and yell and cry constantly, but the right pitch was found with these performances.

So, there you have it.

The actors.

Reed Birney, Ann Dowd, Jason Issacs, and Martha Plimpton.

They make the film worth seeing, but I also suspect I would never sit through the film again. 

Mass RATING: 3.5/5 (the actors save the day immensely)