Hello readers and listeners! In the latest episode, I will be wrapping up 2017 with a rundown of the 10 Best Films I saw last year, as well as some final thoughts before the Oscars on Sunday, as well as posting some Nomination thoughts I did for patrons on the Patreon site throughout this month. I hope you enjoy!
Episode 27- Brian’s 10-Best of 2017 & Oscar Thoughts
Viva La Resistance!
Brian Skutle
www.sonic-cinema.com
Best Picture
1. “Get Out”– I knew Jordan Peele’s social commentary horror film was great when I saw it in theatres, but it wasn’t until I watched it again in December that I understood the depths of its greatness. By utilizing a “Twilight Zone” premise thrown in a blender with “Being John Malkovich” to take on a nightmare scenario of racial appropriation, Peele is challenging the white contingent of his audience to call him out on his use of stereotypes. I’m not going to be the one to do it- Peele made a masterpiece of socially-aware horror that will stand the test of time.
2. “Phantom Thread”– Paul Thomas Anderson is a better storyteller when he is focused in on studying specific characters, and in this story of a dressmaker (Daniel Day-Lewis) and his muse (Vicky Krieps), he tells what may be his richest, most intricate story to date. That it’s only third on this list says less about the film than it does about my feelings towards the two ahead of it- this is wickedly sharp work from a filmmaker who has empathy for emotionally-stunted people, but not always sympathy for them. Thoughts of “Vertigo” and “Barry Lyndon” came to mind during this film.
3. “The Shape of Water“– Guillermo Del Toro’s beautiful riff on “Creature From the Black Lagoon,” and his most personal film to date. Del Toro, even more than he did with “Pan’s Labyrinth,” shows the ways fantasy can be used to tell stories of the heart, and I love the collection of outsiders he has written here that shine a light on 1950s bigotry, Cold War politics, and the necessity of love to help us find our place in the world.
4. “The Post”– Steven Spielberg’s drama of the free press at odds with the White House about the publication of the Pentagon Papers is a film that is both in the shadow of “All the President’s Men” while also being a fitting companion piece to it. By focusing as much on Washington Post owner Kay Graham (Meryl Streep) as her team, we not only get a timely look at what a free press means, but also a look at balancing personal relationships with the necessity of holding power accountable, and the added risks a woman like Graham takes in tough decisions vs. a man like Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks). It’s very standard-issue, at times, but also gripping in a way only Spielberg can pull off.
5. “Lady Bird”– Greta Gerwig’s lovely coming-of-age drama, seemingly inspired by her own life, has a note-perfect mother-daughter dynamic between Saoirse Ronan as a daughter trying to find her passion in life, and Laurie Metcalf as a mother who is holding on too tightly to her daughter. Ronan and Metcalf are wonderful in this film, and Gerwig wrings every laugh and tear from this material in a strong directorial debut.
6. “Dunkirk”– Christopher Nolan’s structurally-challenging look, from many angles, of the rescue attempt of nearly 300,000 soldiers at the beaches of Dunkirk, France early in World War II. It’s as technically accomplished as any film Nolan has ever made, but doesn’t go for easy emotional impact as other war films, much like Hans Zimmer’s score.
7. “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”– Arguably, the biggest lightning rod of an Oscar nominee this year, Martin McDonagh’s dark comedy touches on legal justice for victims (and the families of victims) after sexual assault and murder, police oversight with a hint of racial bigotry thrown in. It’s kind of messy in how it handles these subjects, and it’s gotten the film in trouble, but he gets pretty terrific work out of Frances McDormond, Sam Rockwell and Woody Harrelson in the process.
8. “Darkest Hour”– Joe Wright’s biopic about Winston Churchill’s ascension to British Prime Minister at a key point in WWII makes for an interesting companion piece with “Dunkirk,” but falls into a lot of biopic pitfalls before that connection, and the nuances of Gary Oldman’s performance, really take over by the end.
9. “Call Me By Your Name”– My least favorite nominee this year, I found Luca Guadagnino’s kind of boring (even if it’s really pretty) until the sexual complications of young Ellio’s life really take hold in the second half. This is a film where individual moments are better than the sum of the film. Good performances, but overall, I felt underwhelmed.
Best Director
1. Guillermo Del Toro, “The Shape of Water”
2. Paul Thomas Anderson, “Phantom Thread”
3. Jordan Peele, “Get Out”
4. Greta Gerwig, “Lady Bird”
5. Christopher Nolan, “Dunkirk”
Thoughts on Best Director: It almost makes sense that, when Nolan finally lands a nomination, it’s with probably the strongest set of candidates the category has seen in many years. I truthfully would not begrudge any of these nominees the win, even though Del Toro is whom I hope wins. He balances the visual details of the film with the emotional side of his story beautifully, and gives serious fantasy and genre fair a much-welcome seat at the Oscar table.
Best Actor
5. Denzel Washington, “Roman J. Isreal, Esq.” (Haven’t Seen)
Thoughts on Best Actor: Though I didn’t love all four of the movies I saw, all four actors are quite good, if not outright great. Oldman is the likely winner, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think Day-Lewis was good enough to win his fourth Oscar, and third in 10 years, for Paul Thomas Anderson’s controlled drama.
Best Actress
Thoughts on Best Actress: When you have acting titans like McDormond (who could very well win her second Oscar) and Streep at the bottom of your list, despite terrific work from them, you know you’re dealing with a great category. I would love to see Hawkins win this for Del Toro’s fantasy, but my heart is with Ronan for her lovely work in Greta Gerwig’s coming-of-age film.
Best Supporting Actor
2. Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
3. Richard Jenkins, “The Shape of Water”
4. Woody Harrelson, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
5. Christopher Plummer, “All the Money in the World” (Haven’t Seen)
Thoughts on Best Supporting Actor: Honestly, it’s Dafoe and no one else for me in this category, if only because this is the only nomination for Sean Baker’s fantastic film. His was one of my very favorite performances of 2017, and he’s due. Once again, though, this is a pretty good category, and there’s no shame in Rockwell winning, as I expect him to do.
Best Supporting Actress
1. Laurie Metcalf, “Lady Bird”
2. Lesley Manville, “Phantom Thread”
3. Octavia Spencer, “The Shape of Water”
4. Allison Janney, “I, Tonya”
Thoughts on Best Supporting Actress: The Academy did really damn well with these categories this year, and I’m not just talking about representation. That said, while I love Janney as much as anyone, there’s something more about Metcalf and Manville’s respective performances that just put them on a higher plane than the rest, and, since there’s usually one upset a year, I feel like this is a category with some firepower to deliver it.
Best Original Screenplay
4. “The Big Sick” (Kumail Nanjiani & Emily V. Gordon)
Thoughts on Best Original Screenplay: A pretty great list, actually, even if I’m not quite as high on “Three Billboards” as others seem to be. I feel like Peele will get his Oscar here more than Best Director, but I can see Gerwig or the husband-wife team of Nanjiani and Gordon winning here, as well, since the acting branch makes up the largest voting contingent of the Oscars. I really wish either “The Post,” “The Florida Project” or “Phantom Thread” were in place of McDonagh’s script, but that is bound to happen in such strong company.
Best Adapted Screenplay
Thoughts on Best Adapted Screenplay: Not as strong as Original Screenplay, but not embarrassing, either, even if I’m not high on “Call Me By Your Name,” in general. This is a wide-open field, and while it’d be easy to give the edge to the Best Picture nominee, I would not count out any of these screenplays for the win, especially the top two for me. “Logan” was classical film writing at its finest, and “The Disaster Artist” is an ode to the pain of making films, even terrible ones. “Mudbound” could surprise, and it’s hard to think Sorkin would be out of the mix for even one of his least-intricate scripts.
Best Animated Feature
1. “Coco”
2. “The Breadwinner”
3. “Loving Vincent”
4. “Ferdinand” (Haven’t Seen)
5. “The Boss Baby” (Haven’t Seen)
Thoughts on Best Animated Feature: This was a slow year for me seeing animated films. I may get to a couple more before Sunday, but I can’t imagine thinking anything besides “Coco” will win.
Best Foreign-Language Film
1. “A Fantastic Woman” (Haven’t Seen)
2. “Loveless” (Haven’t Seen)
3. “On Body and Soul” (Haven’t Seen)
4. “The Insult” (Haven’t Seen)
5. “The Square” (Haven’t Seen)
Thoughts on Best Foreign-Language Film: Haven’t seen any of these. May see 1 or 2 before Sunday. Otherwise, I have nothing.
Best Documentary Feature
1. “Abacus: Small Enough to Jail” (Haven’t Seen)
2. “Faces Places” (Haven’t Seen)
3. “Icarus” (Haven’t Seen)
4. “Last Men in Aleppo” (Haven’t Seen)
5. “Strong Island” (Haven’t Seen)
Thoughts on Best Documentary Feature: See Best Foreign-Language Film.
Best Original Score
4. “Dunkirk” (Hans Zimmer)
Thoughts on Best Original Score: This is a fascinating, and pretty good, collection of scores, with a much-deserved first nomination for Greenwood, and worthy second nod for Burwell. That doesn’t mean “Shape of Water’s” haunting, offbeat music won’t win easily, though.
Best Original Song
2. “This is Me” from “The Greatest Showman” (Benj Pasek, Justin Paul) (Haven’t Seen)
4. “Stand Up for Something” from “Marshall” (Common, Diane Warren) (Haven’t Seen)
Thoughts on Best Original Song: Even though I have not seen either “Marshall” or “The Greatest Showman,” this is the one category, along with Original Score, where you can at least experience the nominated work to get an idea about it, even if you really should hear it in the context of the film. While “This is Me” will certainly be formidable, I really can’t imagine “Remember Me” not winning this for “Coco.”
Best Visual Effects
5. “Kong: Skull Island”
Thoughts on Best Visual Effects: Though I did not love “Kong: Skull Island,” it’s definitely not a slouch here when it comes to its use of visual effects, although even the exceptional work in “Last Jedi,” “2049” and “Guardians, Vol. 2” are all vying for 1st runner-up status to the work WETA Digital displayed in the third part of the new “Planet of the Apes” trilogy. How they haven’t won for either “Rise” or “Dawn” is a mystery to me, and I hope this is a no-brainer decision for them this year, even if it means “Last Jedi” losing out on winning an Oscar, this year.
Best Sound Mixing
5. “Dunkirk”
Thoughts on Best Sound Mixing: For me, it’s either “Baby Driver” or nothing, in this category. My hands-down favorite film of 2017, Edgar Wright’s musical action thriller is a symphony of sonic filmmaking at its finest, and nothing else came close this year. I’m not surprised by “Dunkirk’s” inclusion here, but, as with “Interstellar,” I did not take to Christopher Nolan’s overall sound mix ideas here. In the event of a “Shape of Water” sweep, though, I would expect it to be in the mix.
Best Sound Editing
1. “Dunkirk”
Thoughts on Best Sound Editing: Despite what I said for Best Sound Mixing, I fully would hope “Dunkirk’s” immersive use of sound effects would take the Oscar in this category, with “Last Jedi” and “Blade Runner” right behind it. If it doesn’t, I fully expect “Shape of Water” (the most nominated film of the year) or “Baby Driver” in the mix, but I think Nolan’s WWII epic will be hard to ignore, here.
Best Film Editing
1. “Dunkirk”
3. “I, Tonya”
Thoughts on Best Film Editing: It’d be a shock in “Dunkirk” didn’t win this, but I can see my favorite film of 2017, “Baby Driver,” winning, as well. Nothing else is really close.
Best Cinematography
Thoughts on Best Cinematography: Rachel Morrison’s nomination for “Mudbound,” the first ever for a woman in the category, is, honestly, the most noteworthy thing about any of the nominees on the surface. That said, “Darkest Hour” is by far the least noteworthy one of the bunch, as the other four provide haunting and indelible images that bring emotional clarity to their films. Will Roger Deakins FINALLY win his first Oscar for his rich work on “2049?” He’s my pick, although I wouldn’t count out Best Picture nominees “Shape of Water” and “Dunkirk” here.
Best Production Design
4. “Dunkirk”
Thoughts on Best Production Design: Though “Dunkirk” and “Darkest Hour” recreate the past wonderfully, it’s the films that show us fantasy that should be the front-runners here, and honestly, it better be Guillermo Del Toro’s “Shape of Water.”
Best Costume Design
5. “Victoria & Abdul” (Haven’t Seen)
Thoughts on Best Costume Design: Honestly, it’s “Phantom Thread” or nothing for me. It’s a singular use of clothing in telling a story in PTA’s bold film.
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
2. “Victoria & Abdul” (Haven’t Seen)
3. “Wonder” (Haven’t Seen)
Thoughts on Best Makeup and Hairstyling: I’ve only seen one of the nominees- and I wasn’t that high on it. What else can I say besides, how did “Shape of Water” not get a nomination here? Its main character IS a makeup creation!
The following three categories I have not seen anything from, and will not before Oscar night:
Best Animated Short Film
“Dear Basketball”
“Garden Party”
“LOU”
“Negative Space”
“Revolting Rhymes Part One”
Best Doctumentary Short Film
“Edith + Eddie”
“Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405”
“Heroin(e)”
“Knife Skills”
“Traffic Stop”
Best Live-Action Short Film
“Dekalb Elementary”
“My Nephew Emmett”
“The Eleven O’Clock”
“The Silent Child”
“Watu Wote: All of Us”
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