1942 - Wake Island

A few days ago, I offered my thoughts on the supporting performance categories at this year's Academy Awards. Today, let's look at the two leading actor categories.

The Best Actor award is Daniel Day-Lewis' to lose. His performance in Lincoln has swept just about every industry and critic's award so far this season. An Oscar win this year would not only earn him a rare third acting Oscar (only five others have achieved that feat) but it would also mean he had won thrice in the leading role category, placing him second only to Katherine Hepburn, whose four awards were all for Best Actress. Hugh Jackman is perhaps his closest rival for the award, but it doesn't look good for Wolverine.

Best Actress is more competitive, essentially a toss-up between Jessica Chastain for Zero Dark Thirty and Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook. Both won Golden Globes for their performances, but Lawrence won the SAG award. (Unexpectedly, Emmanuelle Riva won the BAFTA, but I rate her chances for an upset at the Oscars rather low.) It's tough to separate these two fine actresses, but knowing the Academy's lack of love for comedy films - and despite Silver Linings Playbook's dramatic overtones, it is still far more comedic than any other major Oscar contender this year - the pendulum may well swing towards Chastain.

Meanwhile, our review of 1942's Best Picture Oscar nominees continues with...

Wake Island

Director:

John Farrow

Screenplay:

W.R. Burnett and Frank Butler

Starring:

Brian Donlevy, Macdonald Carey, Robert Preston, Albert Dekker, William Bendix, Walter Abel

Academy Awards:

4 nominations

0 wins

Wake Island is the true story of the US Marines attempt at securing the eponymous island at the heels of constant Japanese attacks. Released within a year of the actual events depicted, the film centres on two Marines, Private Doyle (Preston) and Private Randall (Bendix), two troublemakers who dream of life after the war. The new man in charge, Major Geoffrey Caton (Donlevy), commands coolly yet sternly, locking horns with civilian Shad McClosky (Dekker), who has a military contract to build the squadron's trenches. The day Randall is scheduled to be discharged, word arrives that the Japanese have attacked Pearl Harbor, and thus the prolonged battle begins for those stationed at Wake Island.

There's certainly no denying Wake Island is an action film. The battle scenes are plentiful and epic. Initially, though, they feel slightly by-the-numbers, more concerned with presenting as many explosions as possible rather than delivering genuinely exciting action. It doesn't help that these sequences are a tad difficult to follow - there are so many individual shots of planes flying around and closeups of pilots, without any wide shots to properly identify everyone's relative location. And when all we see is a closeup of a bomb being released followed by an explosion, it's somewhat unclear as to which plane released the bomb and which one exploded. To be fair, this confusion is perhaps the result of budgetary and, more likely, technological constraints, rather than lacklustre direction. On the other hand, a lack of money and technology is no excuse for a seated man, when shot at close range, to rise out of his chair before fatally falling to the floor. That's just cheesy.

Nonetheless, the action eventually hits it stride in the sequence in which Major Caton waits for the Japanese ships to approach before ordering his men to fire. As the ships get closer and closer, the suspense is almost unbearable. The film effectively holds on to this suspense as the squadron continues to hold off the Japanese assault, attack after attack, for the next couple of weeks. Unfortunately, however - spoiler alert - the Marines ultimately fail. Not being well versed in this aspect of World War II history, I guess I assumed this picture would be another patriotic tale of American military success. While the Marines do indeed flex that famous US military might, and granted, the film is undoubtedly patriotic, the ending remains an abrupt letdown. I suppose, given the actual result, it's hard to fault the film for being historically accurate, yet other war films manage to create satisfying conclusions despite a military loss. Of course, those war films tend not to be as patriotic, which is perhaps Wake Island's main focus.

Robert Preston (20 years before The Music Man) and William Bendix (pictured) are a fun duo, and do well to hold the film together, providing the comic relief. Bendix, in particular, is charming and likable, despite his oafishness. Brian Dunlevy is also strong as the disciplined yet respected commanding officer.

1942 - The Pied Piper

Ben Affleck's frustration over being denied a Best Director Oscar nomination is once again alleviated (or enhanced, depending on your perspective) after his win at the BAFTAs yesterday. His film Argo also took out the Best Film, so the conundrum I discussed in my last post continues...

Anyway, as this year's Academy Awards ceremony rapidly approaches, let's take a deeper look at some of the races, starting with the Supporting categories.

The Supporting Actress Oscar has all but been engraved with Anne Hathaway's name on it. She has won almost all of the precursor awards for her role in Les Miserables and is a clear favourite. Lincoln's Sally Field is perhaps the only possible upset but I don't put her chances very high at all.

Supporting Actor is a bit more complicated. At one time, I had my money on Philip Seymour Hoffman in The Master, who had taken a whole bunch of the critics' prizes. But Django Unchained's Christoph Waltz won the critic's awards that Hoffman didn't, plus the Golden Globe. And now, with his win yesterday at the BAFTAs, he may be the frontrunner. Don't rule out Tommy Lee Jones, though, who won the SAG Award for his performance in Lincoln, and in fact, Robert De Niro is never a name to dismiss, so there's even a small chance he could walk away with the trophy for Silver Linings Playbook. Having said all that, I still think Waltz is the greatest chance for a win, which would give him two wins from two nominations, both Tarantino films.

More discussion next time, but for now, we movie on to another 1942 Best Picture nominee...

The Pied Piper
Director:
Irving Pichel
Screenplay:
Nunnally Johnson
(based on the novel by Nevil Shute)
Starring:
Monty Woolley, Roddy McDowall, Anne Baxter, Otto Preminger
Academy Awards:
3 nominations
0 wins

If you're expecting the fairy tale version of this story, you'll be disappointed. Although, happily this picture has a far less nasty ending than the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. Based on a novel, this version follows Englishman Mr. Howard (Woolley), whose fishing holiday in France is interrupted by the German invasion of WWII. He reluctantly agrees to chaperone two young children on his journey back to England, but soon his travelling party increases in size as more and more orphans and otherwise abandoned children tag along. Howard's initial dislike of children slowly gives way to affection as he attempts to keep them all safe on the treacherous passage through occupied France.

The Pied Piper offers a clever mix of humour and drama, a rare dramedy of its time. There is no mistaking that the stakes are high and a few sequences don't shy away from the horrors of the war. Yet, the central character's familiar stereotype - the grumpy old man - is rife with comedic opportunity and Nunnally Johnson's witty dialogue takes full advantage. Exhibit A: When Howard is arguing with an official at the train station, he exclaims that he has two small children. The official responds, "At your age, monsieur, that is undoubtedly magnificent," and walks away.

After watching Kings Row and hearing its gloriously expressive score, the music in The Pied Piper seemed decidedly dull. The main theme is a variation on Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, which, appropriate as it may be for a film about children, is not the most exciting melody.

Monty Woolley (pictured, with Baxter) epitomises the grumpy old man with a heart of gold. He is bitingly acerbic, yet soft enough that we are always on his side. Renowned director Otto Preminger (of Laura and Anatomy of a Murder fame) is brilliantly slimy in a rare on screen role as the Nazi Major.

1942 - Kings Row

For the first time in a long time, I actually have some spare time, which increases the chances of more movies being reviewed for this blog. Time will tell...

It also allowed me to cram in a bunch of the current awards season's movies before I missed the deadline to vote in the SAG awards. Still a few more Oscar contenders to see, but I've caught up a little bit.

The most fascinating aspect of this awards season is Argo's domination of the major awards so far. Since its director, Ben Affleck, was left off the Academy's Best Director shortlist, that seemed to close the door on the film winning Best Picture, yet it has won the main gongs at the Critic's Choice, Golden Globe and Producer's Guild ceremonies. Plus, it won the SAG's Ensemble award and Affleck himself took out the Director's Guild's top prize. Quite the conundrum.

More on this year's Oscars in the next couple of weeks, but for now, on to the next review, which is another nominee from the 1942 Best Picture race...

Kings Row

Director:

Sam Wood

Screenplay:

Casey Robinson

(based on the novel by Henry Bellamann)

Starring:

Ann Sheridan, Robert Cummings, Ronald Reagan, Betty Field, Charles Coburn, Claude Rains, Judith Anderson, Nancy Coleman, Kaaren Verne, Maria Ouspenskaya, Harry Davenport

Academy Awards:

3 nominations

0 wins

It's almost impossible to outline the plot of Kings Row without using major spoilers, mostly because so many life-changing events happen to each of the characters, but I'll give it a try. In the small town of Kings Row in the late nineteenth century, a young boy named Parris Mitchell spends his free time getting to know pretty outcast Cassie. Her father, Dr. Tower (Rains), unexpectedly removes Cassie from school and confines her to their house. Years later, the adult Parris (Cummings), now studying to be a psychiatrist under the tutelage of Dr. Tower, begins a secret obstacle-laden love affair with Cassie (Field), who is still essentially homebound. Meanwhile, Parris' best friend, suave rich kid Drake (Reagan), also struggles to build a lasting relationship with another doctor's daughter Louise (Coleman). Her father, Dr. Gordon (Coburn), forbids the relationship, so Drake eventually falls for ex-tomboy Randy (Sheridan). 

The aforementioned life-changers help to make Kings Row quite a captivating story, full of mystery and a fair share of twists and turns. There's love, there's a near-fatal accident, there's murder. And if that weren't enough for this cast of characters to deal with, they all seem to be mortified of getting a bad reputation. Whether it's from mental illness, physical disability, or associating with a lower class, it's all about keeping up appearances for this bunch and not subjecting their name or their family's name to any perceived shame. Sort of like a Merchant-Ivory film, but without the accents or the sumptuous sets and costumes.

Erich Korngold's score for Kings Row is grand and evocative, adding greatly to the film's appeal. As I listened to it, I immediately heard a striking similarity to John Williams' legendary Star Wars main theme. The first phrase of both films' themes are almost identical, as one YouTube user has also pointed out. However, the music is clearly where the similarity between this film and the sci-fi blockbuster ends.

As an old-fashioned Hollywood movie, Kings Row does contain some old-fashioned Hollywood dialogue. Consequently, some of the performances occasionally feel cheesy or melodramatic, but in a way, this style suits the larger than life story well. Indeed, by the end of the film, it's hard to even notice. The one exception to the hamminess is Claude Rains, whose portrayal of the strict Dr. Tower is subtle and fascinating. Also worthy of mention is future U.S. President Ronald Reagan, who is lively and charming as Drake.

Oscar Nomination Predictions 2012

I think that in the three and a half years I've been running this blog, this is the first time since the introductory post that I've posted something that is not a review of a nominee or a verdict. But I just couldn't resist getting my Oscar nomination predictions out into the world. And since I haven't watched another nominee from the current year of review and the Oscar nominations are announced in merely hours, I'll just have to post my predictions on their own. So, without further ado, here they be.

I can't say I'm completely satisfied with them this year. I didn't really spend as long on choosing them as I usually do. But no excuses, I stand by them anyway. I can't wait for the ceremony this year. It feels like there isn't really a front-runner in so many of the categories, so it truly will be a surprising year. Then again, we have the Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards, plus all the guilds to come before the Oscars, so it may not be so surprising come February.

1942 - The Pride of the Yankees

Happy New Year to all my readers! It would perhaps be a little obvious if I were to make a resolution to pick up the pace of this project, but I sincerely hope to do so in 2013. (Otherwise, it may take decades to complete!)

Anyway, 2012 was a big year for other activities in my life. I started a theatre company with my wife. We produced two successful shows, our most recent even receiving a positive review from the Huffington Post. I also made my U.S. network television debut with a small role on Law & Order: SVU. Well, technically, I suppose, the debut will be when it airs on January 9th on NBC, so set your DVRs.

The last film watched for Matt vs. the Academy in 2012 was another nominee from 1942's Best Picture contest...

The Pride of the Yankees
Director:
Sam Wood
Screenplay:
Jo Swerling, Herman J. Mankiewicz, Paul Gallico
Starring:
Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, Babe Ruth, Walter Brennan, Dan Duryea, Elsa Janssen, Ludwig Stossel
Academy Awards:
11 nominations
1 win, for Best Film Editing

A touching biopic that covers the life and times of legendary baseball player Lou Gehrig (Cooper), The Pride of the Yankees follows him from his start in college baseball through to his record-breaking career with the New York Yankees. With the encouragement of his father (Stossel), the eventual acceptance of his controlling mother (Janssen) and the ongoing support of sportswriter Sam Blake (Brennan), Gehrig became a baseball star with wife Eleanor Twitchell (Wright) by his side.

It is somewhat fitting that The Pride of the Yankees came directly after Yankee Doodle Dandy in this project. Aside from the presence of the word 'Yankee' in their titles, they both are fascinating biographies of much-loved American heroes, one a song-and-dance man, the other a baseball legend. While they may seem to be two disparate careers, they are linked by the way in which they so successfully captured the hearts of their fans. They were also both extremely dedicated to their respective crafts, giving all their time to their chosen professions.

However, the similarities perhaps end there. Whereas Cohan was brash, confident and extroverted, Gehrig was shy, quiet and introverted. Gehrig also had his fair share of obstacles on his way to the top, the lack of such I lamented in Cohan's story. Gehrig's struggles, consequently, are what make The Pride of the Yankees the more fascinating of the two biopics.

If I were to find flaw in The Pride of the Yankees, I suppose it would be in the occasional shifting of genres. The majority of the picture is clearly a dramatic biography with a love story at the forefront, yet some overblown comedy creeps in, specifically in the characters of Gehrig's parents. The drama, too, sometimes feels overwrought and contrived, particularly when Gehrig's mother displays her overbearing nature towards Eleanor. Nonetheless, the final portion of the film, while admittedly sentimental, is both moving and inspiring.

Gary Cooper (pictured) is wonderfully cast in the lead, his awkward yet amiable persona earning him a Best Actor nod. Teresa Wright also delivers a strong performance as Gehrig's wife, nominated for Best Actress, and while she didn't win this one, she won a Supporting Actress Oscar the same year for Mrs. Miniver. The real surprise in the cast is Babe Ruth. Yep, that's actually Yankees legend Babe Ruth playing himself, pulling off one of the most natural performances by an athlete-turned-actor. Ruth appears very comfortable in front of the camera, lively and fascinating to watch.

Lastly, it would be remiss of me not to mention Ludwig Stossel, who plays Gehrig's father, only because this is the man who, in another film, utters what is possibly my favourite line in cinematic history. When we get to reviewing 1943, I'll elaborate, but for now, enjoy this.