Continuing with my kick of a series of new, once a week columns to try and build some kind of blog readership I’ve settled on Thursday’s piece, “Awards Retrospect”.
For this piece I’ll look at a particular Oscar, given in the title each week, and look at three years it was given out where I’ve seen at least the winning film/performance/script/etc, and give my thoughts, changes, and eventual winner.
And so this week we get under way with perhaps the most obvious of them all, Best Picture.
(A little note on release dates, when in doubt I’m using the one relevant to me, the UK, as will be evident later.)

1) 2007.
Winner – “No Country For Old Men”, directed by Joel and Ethan Coen.
Nominees – “Juno”, “There Will Be Blood”, “Michael Clayton”, “Atonement”.
With only one film on the list I haven’t seen, 2007 is a good place for me to start.
Michael Clayton is a very good drama about a lawyer played by George Clooney, who gives one of his best performances here, but the film suffers from a weak middle section, which takes a superb performance from Tom Wilkinson to hold the attention of the viewer. Tilda Swinton is on top form in her Oscar winning turn as a corporate lawyer, by far the best performance here, she demands the attention of the audience for every second of her sadly too limited screen time.
Juno is a weird film for me, perhaps a film I will simply never understand. Diablo Cody’s script it witty and smart as a whip, and Ellen Page is solid in the leading role, though something about the film just fails to grab me, Michael Cera on autopilot doesn’t help, but I simply will never understand the love for Juno, a solid, if unremarkable movie.
There Will Be Blood is an epic work about the oil boom in America, the cinematography is superb, and a deserving Oscar winner, but the film belongs to Daniel Day-Lewis, his Daniel Planview is one of the best screen performances of the 21st century, incredibly performed and a terror to behold.
No Country For Old Men is my second favourite Coen Brothers film, though I do have some catching up to do in that regard. The pacing is tight and the film full of tension, every role is played superbly, with special mention going to Javier Bardem, who earned his Oscar in his role as Anton Chigurh.

My nominees.
“The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”, directed by Andrew Dominick.
Jesse James was a recent watch for me, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t a superb film. Brad Pitt gives the best performance of his career as Jesse James, hitting all the right notes in his understated performance, commanding the camera without even trying. Casey Affleck’s Robert Ford is superb, a tragic figure who we see become disillusioned with his lifelong hero, and turns to the eponymous killing in the title. It is in the films final section, after James’ death that Affleck is at his best, offering a superb, convincing performance as a man haunted by his own actions. The craftsmanship is impeccable, in particular the cinematography, which creates a beautiful contrast to the inevitable tragedy of the characters within.

“Lars and the Real Girl”, directed by Craig Gillespie.
Lars and the real girl is about a socially awkward man who starts a relationship with a doll he bought from a website. To say the least the idea if full of dangers, that the film will become crude, obsessed with bad humour about sex dolls and the lead character, or that it could be simply so farcical as to lose any possible strength as a film.
So it is impressive to see the screenplay, one of the best of 2007, masterfully avoid these traps, instead creating a town full of characters who seem real, and are all kind to the slightly odd Lars.
Lars is the rug tying the picture together, as Ryan Gosling gives one of the best performances of his career, creating a character who is believably awkward, and just trying to make a connection. His performance is simply note perfect, convincing and, in multiple scenes, incredibly moving. The supporting cast turn in strong performances across the board, but none reach the level Gosling does here.
At times hilarious, at others powerful and moving, and never less than totally convincing, a truly rewarding watch.

“No Country For Old Men”, directed by Joel and Ethan Coen.
My admiration for this film has already been pointed out above, and so, as will become a feature of this column, I won’t write up the same points again.

“Eastern Promises”, directed by David Cronenberg.
One of the best of Cronenberg’s films that I’ve seen, though he’s far from my favourite director, that doesn’t make his work here any less brilliant.
The praise must begin with Viggo Mortensen, who carries the film as Nikolai, in an performance of understated menace, displaying power and control with little more than his presence. The supporting cast are strong, Naomi Watts in particular, and Vincent Cassel gives one of his better performances as Kirill, a particular highlight being the anger he displays with Nikolai during a scene involving prostitutes, while allowing a clear and effective subtext to creep through.
Cronenberg has crafted a gripping and visceral thriller, and Mortensen is spectacular.

And the winner is…
There Will Be Blood”, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

In terms of current output, sheer originality and simple, jaw dropping brilliance, Paul Thomas Anderson is the single greatest film maker working today, and while a case can be made for the spectacular “Magnolia”, this is his greatest film yet.
Gripping from brilliantly captured opening shot to the very last, There Will Be Blood is destined for status as a classic. Daniel Day-Lewis, as I said above, is simply beyond faulting, continuing to make his claim as the greatest living actor. Anderson has simply created a monster in Daniel Planview, whose greed and madness is haunting, his consuming desire for black gold and the lengths to which he will go to achieve it are horrific.
With several already iconic scenes, one of the best being the memorable “I drink your milkshake”, There Will Be Blood is, for there is no other word, a masterpiece, and not to be missed.

2) 2004.
Winner – “Million Dollar Baby”, directed by Clint Eastwood.
Nominees – “Finding Neverland”, “Ray”, “Sideways”, “The Aviator”.
Only three for five here I’ll admit, but a lot to say.
The Aviator, after the Scorsese-DiCaprio collaboration got off to a rough start with 2002s “Gangs of New York”, an overly long film with Leo still finding his feet, the pair do great work here. Leo delivers the first great performance of his I saw a Howard Hughes, the cinematography and editing are top notch, but it is the ensemble that steal the show. Jude Law is memorable in a single scene as Errol Flynn, Cate Blanchett and Kate Beckinsdable are both superb as the women in his life and Alan Alda and Alec Baldwin do great work in strong supporting roles. Much of this is due to a strong script, featuring an array of superb characters.

Sideways is a film I perhaps didn’t love as much as others, but I enjoyed it none the less. A great script is the order of the day, with Paul Giamatti in brilliant form, giving the second best performance of his career. The supporting cast are strong too, though for me Thomas Hayden Church falls some way short of his Oscar nomination. A very funny film with a superb league performance.

Million Dollar Baby starts of great, and holds that momentum for much of the duration, as a superb boxing movie. Swank and Eastwood are both great and in particular Morgan Freeman is superb, but, without giving too much away, the big twist, while an effective one, leads to a final act in a tone so different from the rest of the film that it was frankly a little ruined for me.

My nominees.
“The Aviator”, directed by Martin Scorsese.

“Oldboy”, directed by Chan-Wook Park.
Imprisoned for fifteen years, Dae-Su Oh has a matter of days to find out locked him up, and why. Min-Sik Choi is superb as Dae-Su, a performance alive with energy, full of rage just beneath the surface, and a commanding screen presence. The best performance goes to Ji Tae-Yu as Woo-Jin, understated, calculating, and simply evil, his final few scenes are incredible to behold.
The editing is probably the best of any film released in 2004, and Park’s direction could make a strong case too, neither more evident than in the “corridor scene”, which quite simply, you will know when you see it, as it’s the best action scene of the 2000s.

“Closer”, directed by Mike Nichols.
Mike Nichols is a great director, and while Closer isn’t his best work, it’s a damn fine film. The script is brilliant, crude sure, but razor sharp, and inhabited by four well crafted, if somewhat despicable, characters.
And every performance is superb, Natalie Portman is the best of the four, but nobody is less than great, and lines like “because I’m a fucking caveman” are delivered with such power and conviction that you just won’t care how bad a person anyone is, watching them is somehow a treat.

“Downfall”, directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel.
First off, Downfall is superbly crafted, the period brilliantly captured, and despite some pacing issues in the final half hour, the first two are so incredible, so powerful and so intensely claustrophobic, if it bothers you, you probably won’t realise it at the time.
But the real star of the show, in a way I have almost never seen, is Bruno Ganz as Adolf Hitler. When he has to be Ganz is nothing less than spellbinding in how horrifying he is, captivating and terrifying in a way I haven’t seen since “Silence of the Lambs”. But the film dares to make him not just a complete monster, and Ganz handles everything thrown at him with an incredible skill and conviction the likes of which you may never see. His performance alone warrants the films mention here, but it’s well done in so many other ways too.

And the winner is….
“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”, directed by Michael Gondry.

Kaufman is probably the greatest film writer of his generation, and this is simply his best film in every way imaginable. One of the most original films ever written, the leads are superbly written characters, but every major supporting player is given space to breathe and develop in a way sadly unseen in many films focused on a main relationship.
Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet each give my favourite of their performances that I’ve seen, both playing against type. Carrey is nothing short of revelatory, and will leave you wondering why he isn’t given this kind of material more often. Winslet is a joy to watch, so full of energy on the outside but great at playing the internal conflict of her character, there’s a lot more to this than it just being Kate Winslet with different coloured hair.
Dunst, Ruffalo, and Wilkinson all give great performances as developed supporting characters, Dunst and Wilkinson in particular give some great scenes together.
A modern masterpiece in the most wonderful, original and affecting way possible.

2010
Winner – “The King’s Speech”, directed by Tom Hooper. A great period piece, with the highlights being Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush, both on top form, basically shouting at each other, with hilarity ensuing when they swear. Uplifting and inspiring, and full of great performances.

“The Social Network” is classic Sorkin, wall to wall dialogue, yet utterly gripping. Every character is great, the performances superb and multiple great, quotable lines in every scene. The editing is the unsung hero here.

“Inception” is Nolan at his most inventive, the thinking man’s blockbuster, with a particularly good supporting performance from Cillian Murphy. Far from perfect, but so original and imaginative you probably won’t care.

“127 Hours” is a testament to three things, great editing, Danny Boyle’s superb direction and James Franco’s captivating tour de force performance as Aaron Ralston. The scene where Aaron acts as though he’s in an interview is easily the highlight.

“Black Swan”. When the fact that a mirror is in every damn scene of the movie was pointed out to me the second time I watched it I was very, very uneasy for the rest of the movie. Aaronofsky directs with skill and the film is well shot, with Barbara Hershey giving a great performance. But the film belongs to Natalie Portman, in every scene, the incredible Portman dominates in her best performance yet, simply mesmerising almost beyond words.

“The Fighter” is a great sports movie, with Christian Bale earning a long overdue Oscar for his great work. Whalberg, Adams and Leo are all great.

“Toy Story 3” starts strong, with all the wit of the earlier films, but I was lost towards the end, feeling it dragged and I just wasn’t moved as other were.

“True Grit” is superbly shot, and Hailee Steinfeld breaks out with the best performance in a movie featuring great ones from Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin.

“The Kids Are All Right”.
“Winter’s Bone”.

My nominees.
“127 Hours”, directed by Danny Boyle.
“Inception”, directed by Christopher Nolan.
“Black Swan”, directed by Darren Aronofsky.

“Blue Valentine”, directed by Derek Cianfrance.
Heartbreaking, utterly realistic and masterfully acted, my thoughts on the superb Blue Valentine can be found at length here: “Blue Valentine”

And the winner is…
“The Social Network”, directed by David Fincher.

My thoughts were expressed above, but I’ll leave you with this, I’ve seen this film around a dozen times, it has one of the greatest scripts in recent memory, and Jesse Eisenberg knocks it right out of the park.