OVP: Best Film Editing (2010)
The Nominees Were...
Andrew Weisblum, Black Swan
Pamela Martin, The Fighter
Tariq Anwar, The King's Speech
Jon Harris, 127 Hours
Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter, The Social Network
My Thoughts: The "Invisible Art" as Film Editing is oftentimes called, is probably more difficult to judge than any other category. We don't necessarily know what the initial product looked like. Perhaps a movie like Norbit is Citizen Kane compared to what the finished product was, and it should have won in its respective year. However, we can tell what the film's flow, its movement, and the way it pieces together its stories, both big and small, is like, and so that's where we'll go with this category.
A few of these films I haven't seen in a couple of years, but that doesn't mean that certain images aren't burned firmly into my brain, and that's true of most every shot in Black Swan. A horror film lives or dies in an editing room, and it may be breathtaking and have excellent work from lead actress Portman, but let's not be such snobs that we can't call this film what it is: a horror movie. The movie's slow march into Nina's madness works well because Weisblum takes his time getting there. We aren't constantly being haunted by bumps in the night and shadows in the dark, and we also see the real horrors of Nina's insecurities. Weisblum takes meticulous care to interject the surreal, delusional nature of Nina's slowly slipping reality with reminders that she may or may not be going mad. The reason I put Mila Kunis's picture up there (aside from the fact that I wish someone would remember what she's like when she's being challenged) is a perfect example of what the editor is giving us with this story. Kunis's Lily is either a power-hungry double-crosser or simply someone caught in Nina's paranoia. The editor ensures that we keep guessing which throughout the film. The film is also heavy on symbolism, and Weisblum has to ensure that that symbolism (the mirrors, the black swan, etc) stayed while never sacrificing the complete story.
It's difficult to compare this symbolic, twisted movie with the one-viewpoint shots Jon Harris had to deal with in 127 Hours. I'll give Harris this-the film lived or died in the editing room and its multiple Oscar nominations prove that at least some people thought that he pulled off the film. Me, I'm on the "not so much" side. Listen, I get that what Franco is doing is physically exhausting, and he's going to score some more points from me when we get to the acting race, but I felt the film dragged for large swaths of the movie, and I'm not a fan of Danny Boyle's watery, kaleidoscope-like camerawork, and that has to take credit away from this film. It's not an easy job, but it's also probably not one that works well on film, at least not in this format. I keep thinking back to the decision of the recent film Compliance to reveal the man behind the phone so soon. Here, I think that we would have been better off creatively if we didn't have the flashbacks. It may have been arduous, but it also would have given us a better sense of claustrophobia, of what Franco's Aron is going through onscreen. Otherwise, I feel like we're stuck between an interesting performance piece and a Dido music video, and neither is ultimately successful.
The King's Speech is one of those sturdy editing nominations you know is coming because it's the Best Picture frontrunner. The film doesn't necessarily fail on an editing front-the montages are strong, and the chemistry between Firth and Rush is solid, but this is fairly standard-plate cutting. It's the sort of work that you use phrases like sturdy, admirable, handsome for but it's not the sort of work that you say "Oscar-worthy" when describing. The movie is better than the editing, if only because it's got Firth's core performance in its corner, but the editing itself is similar to what you'd find on Masterpiece Theater or any number of Merchant Ivory films, and the movie surrounding it isn't so spectacular that you must honor all of its elements.
The Social Network, however, is an editing whizbang. The entire film, from its opening moments with Jesse Eisenberg and Rooney Mara (still the best thing she's ever done) dissecting their lives in the way only college students can dissect their lives, to the closing moments, with Eisenberg hitting the refresh button, is a frenetic triumph. The movie's editors know the tone that the director and the Facebook generation is trying to strike, and keep everything rushed and casual, but without ever losing any of the artistry. Think of the way that the courtroom scenes bounce back and forth, and how the camera constantly is trying to find something new and different to focus on (whether it's Brenda Song's Christy Lee or the scene where Justin Timberlake's Sean Parker comes in and we are treated to the filmic equivalent of a dance club mix, which is one way you could describe his character). The editors understand the characters and gives them the story and the pacing that we need; they don't want us to just hate Mark, they want us to understand Mark and still hate him, and to still have us be conflicted by the path he has taken.
The final film of the bunch is the one that has the most traditional style of editing that Oscar likes to reward, that of a boxing movie. Oscar's long and storied affair with boxing movies is both well known and a bit odd (he's oddly never really latched onto other sports, at least not in the same way, despite the "come from behind" aspect in all of them). This film, like most boxing movies, has an electric jolt in it-if you don't follow boxing (and I'm going to be honest here and stereotype, but my gut tells me the people who watch boxing are probably not the same people who are familiar with the films of David O. Russell), there is a real sense of "will he or won't he" on the screen (I'd love to be proven wrong in the comments!). However, when the movie isn't working the boxing sequences with Wahlberg and his "how the hell do I get in that kind of shape" upper body, it just doesn't astound in the editing arena. The film cuts some corners, having us fall on some standard come-from-behind tropes that make sports films dull, and it loses some of its stamina whenever the film isn't fight sequences or Leo/Adams/Bale bouncing off each other (Wahlberg, at the center post, just isn't in the same kinetic field as Leo and Bale, and doesn't have the subtle, worn appeal that Adams has). Overall, it's a contender, but it doesn't take the belt.
A few of these films I haven't seen in a couple of years, but that doesn't mean that certain images aren't burned firmly into my brain, and that's true of most every shot in Black Swan. A horror film lives or dies in an editing room, and it may be breathtaking and have excellent work from lead actress Portman, but let's not be such snobs that we can't call this film what it is: a horror movie. The movie's slow march into Nina's madness works well because Weisblum takes his time getting there. We aren't constantly being haunted by bumps in the night and shadows in the dark, and we also see the real horrors of Nina's insecurities. Weisblum takes meticulous care to interject the surreal, delusional nature of Nina's slowly slipping reality with reminders that she may or may not be going mad. The reason I put Mila Kunis's picture up there (aside from the fact that I wish someone would remember what she's like when she's being challenged) is a perfect example of what the editor is giving us with this story. Kunis's Lily is either a power-hungry double-crosser or simply someone caught in Nina's paranoia. The editor ensures that we keep guessing which throughout the film. The film is also heavy on symbolism, and Weisblum has to ensure that that symbolism (the mirrors, the black swan, etc) stayed while never sacrificing the complete story.
It's difficult to compare this symbolic, twisted movie with the one-viewpoint shots Jon Harris had to deal with in 127 Hours. I'll give Harris this-the film lived or died in the editing room and its multiple Oscar nominations prove that at least some people thought that he pulled off the film. Me, I'm on the "not so much" side. Listen, I get that what Franco is doing is physically exhausting, and he's going to score some more points from me when we get to the acting race, but I felt the film dragged for large swaths of the movie, and I'm not a fan of Danny Boyle's watery, kaleidoscope-like camerawork, and that has to take credit away from this film. It's not an easy job, but it's also probably not one that works well on film, at least not in this format. I keep thinking back to the decision of the recent film Compliance to reveal the man behind the phone so soon. Here, I think that we would have been better off creatively if we didn't have the flashbacks. It may have been arduous, but it also would have given us a better sense of claustrophobia, of what Franco's Aron is going through onscreen. Otherwise, I feel like we're stuck between an interesting performance piece and a Dido music video, and neither is ultimately successful.
The King's Speech is one of those sturdy editing nominations you know is coming because it's the Best Picture frontrunner. The film doesn't necessarily fail on an editing front-the montages are strong, and the chemistry between Firth and Rush is solid, but this is fairly standard-plate cutting. It's the sort of work that you use phrases like sturdy, admirable, handsome for but it's not the sort of work that you say "Oscar-worthy" when describing. The movie is better than the editing, if only because it's got Firth's core performance in its corner, but the editing itself is similar to what you'd find on Masterpiece Theater or any number of Merchant Ivory films, and the movie surrounding it isn't so spectacular that you must honor all of its elements.
The Social Network, however, is an editing whizbang. The entire film, from its opening moments with Jesse Eisenberg and Rooney Mara (still the best thing she's ever done) dissecting their lives in the way only college students can dissect their lives, to the closing moments, with Eisenberg hitting the refresh button, is a frenetic triumph. The movie's editors know the tone that the director and the Facebook generation is trying to strike, and keep everything rushed and casual, but without ever losing any of the artistry. Think of the way that the courtroom scenes bounce back and forth, and how the camera constantly is trying to find something new and different to focus on (whether it's Brenda Song's Christy Lee or the scene where Justin Timberlake's Sean Parker comes in and we are treated to the filmic equivalent of a dance club mix, which is one way you could describe his character). The editors understand the characters and gives them the story and the pacing that we need; they don't want us to just hate Mark, they want us to understand Mark and still hate him, and to still have us be conflicted by the path he has taken.
The final film of the bunch is the one that has the most traditional style of editing that Oscar likes to reward, that of a boxing movie. Oscar's long and storied affair with boxing movies is both well known and a bit odd (he's oddly never really latched onto other sports, at least not in the same way, despite the "come from behind" aspect in all of them). This film, like most boxing movies, has an electric jolt in it-if you don't follow boxing (and I'm going to be honest here and stereotype, but my gut tells me the people who watch boxing are probably not the same people who are familiar with the films of David O. Russell), there is a real sense of "will he or won't he" on the screen (I'd love to be proven wrong in the comments!). However, when the movie isn't working the boxing sequences with Wahlberg and his "how the hell do I get in that kind of shape" upper body, it just doesn't astound in the editing arena. The film cuts some corners, having us fall on some standard come-from-behind tropes that make sports films dull, and it loses some of its stamina whenever the film isn't fight sequences or Leo/Adams/Bale bouncing off each other (Wahlberg, at the center post, just isn't in the same kinetic field as Leo and Bale, and doesn't have the subtle, worn appeal that Adams has). Overall, it's a contender, but it doesn't take the belt.
Other Precursor Contenders: The ACE Eddie Awards split their categories into the dramatic and comedic, so we got to see Alice in Wonderland, Easy A, Made in Dagenham, The Kids Are All Right, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (hooray!) nominated (going with Alice for the trophy), but let's be honest-the "real" category for the Eddies is the drama awards, which kept all but 127 Hours amongst its nominees, handing its fifth slot to likely near-miss-with-AMPAS Inception. BAFTA also kept in Inception, but instead of turning lose 127 Hours they kicked out The Fighter. Both the Eddies and BAFTA went with The Social Network as their ultimate victor.
Films I Would Have Nominated: For the record, Inception would not have been the film that I would have cited, and had it been nominated, I think the fanboys would have been out for blood after the write-up as I feel like its editing is one of its worst attributes. For me, it'd probably be another nod to Scott Pilgrim, as that film's pacing is aces. Think about how reliant the film's comedic timing is on the surprise introductions of each evil ex, and how you have to go to so many reaction shots to pine more humor ("Julie Powers has issues"). If I were to go further outside the box, one has to contend that Winter's Bone, and the way it keeps Hawkes's character a guessing game, is also be a worthy contender.
Oscar's Choice: Despite the precursors pointing in the direction of Baxter/Wall, I have to say I'm still a bit surprised that Oscar chose the more adventurous work in The Social Network over their preferred Best Picture The King's Speech (which had to be close to winning).
My Choice: Check 2011 as proof this isn't always the case, but I'm going to side with the Academy for the third straight time here, giving the trophy to the brilliant work in The Social Network over silver medalist Black Swan (poor Nina, always in second). I'd follow that up with The Fighter, The King's Speech, and 127 Hours bringing up the rear.
And of course, if you have thoughts, now is the time. What did you think of the Editing selections by Oscar in 2010? Do you feel that The Social Network should have made it to the top, or were you hoping for stammering kings or transforming dancers? And would it have been Inception, the likely sixth place, or another film that you would have included in the mix? Click on the comments and share!
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