Oscar Buzz Part 2
09 January 2010
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Ok so yesterday we started looking at the movies that could be in contention for Best Picture at next month's Oscars in the second part we add the likes of An Education and Invictus to that list.
Nine: Back in 2003, Chicago shocked the world by walking away with the best movie Oscar, much to the surprise of those watching, wooing the judges with its catchy tunes and distinctive style.
Now director Rob Marshall is back with Nine, based off the musical about Italian filmmaker’s autobiographical movie 8 ½. Starring the mercurial Daniel Day-Lewis as frustrated director Guido, a man in the middle of a mid life crisis as he careers through his forties.
Struggling for ideas for his newest film Italia, he finds himself having to balance all the women in his life, ranging from his long suffering wife (Marion Cotillard) to his mother (Sophia Loren) by the way of his mistress (Penelope Cruz) and a prostitute from his youth (Fergie).
With the always bankable Daniel Day-Lewis and a cast that has between it more Oscars than the Academy itself, Nine has enough momentum this year to make a real case for inclusion.
A Serious Man: Coen Brothers, they love a clever comedy every now and again. After huge critical success with No Country For Old Men, the Coen brothers have decided to go back to their comedic roots. Following up on last year’s Burn After Reading, the Coen’s bring us A Serious Man, a pitch-black comedy about on man’s struggle against life.
A Serious Man finds us taking a look at the life of physics professor Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) who’s living in a troubled home but is on the brink of tenure from the university he works for.
His wife wants a divorce to be with another man, his son is constantly smoking marijuana, his daughter appears to be stealing from him to fund plastic surgery and his brother is in meltdown.
After being made penniless by his wife when she withdraws the couple’s savings, Larry turns to his faith for help, but finds little from the nearby Jewish community.
Forced to re-assess his life, Larry must decide whether or not to take a bribe and risk his tenure and how to live his life now his wife has forced him into a local hotel.
Taking hints from comedies such as The Office and Curb Your Enthusiasm, A Serious Man brings laughs from the lowest of lows, as Larry’s life takes one dive after another.
With the Coen’s credentials and the film’s critical success, this may just sneak up on the rails into the ten shorlisted films for the big prize. Don’t put any bets on it winning though.
Invictus: Clint Eastwod has a relationship with the Academy that most directors would kill for. The iconic movie star-turned director has won both the best film and best director Oscars for Million Dollar Baby and Unforgiven, as well as being nominated for Letters From Iwo Jima and Mystic River.
His latest movie Invictus recounts the events of the 1995 rugby world cup, and how the newly elected South African president Nelson Mandela used the competition to unite the struggling national team, and the team to unite a nation still recovering from years of racial segregation.
Teaming up yet again with his old friend, Morgan Freeman takes on the role many think he was born to play in Mandela, and is ably backed up by Matt Damon as the rugby team’s captain Francois Pienaar.
Despite mixed reviews from critics in the US, it’s yet to come out over here yet, the subject matter alone, as well as the invlvment of old favourites Eastwood and Freeman are sure to give Invictus more than a fair shot at the title of best motion picture.
An Education: It’s a coming of age flick, Carey Mulligan’s got a lot of love.Based of the memoirs of journalist Lynn Barber, An Education hit screens this year with great expectations after impressing hugely at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival.
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