OVP: Best Adapted Screenplay (2008)
The Nominees Were...
Eric Roth and Robin Swicord, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
John Patrick Shanley, Doubt
Peter Morgan, Frost/Nixon
David Hare, The Reader
Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire
My Thoughts: Random realization I had while typing all of the above screenplay nominees: all of the films nominated have a previous nominee writing them. Really-Eric Roth (Forrest Gump, The Insider, Munich), John Patrick Shanley (Moonstruck), Peter Morgan (The Queen), David Hare (The Hours), and Simon Beaufoy (The Full Monty) are all previous Oscar nominees-I don't know that I've ever seen this happen in a writing category before. Admittedly Robin Swicord sort of ruins the analogy, but if we only go by films it still works, and with Little Women and Memoirs of a Geisha under her belt, and Elia Kazan as her father-in-law, it's not like she hasn't been near an Oscar before. As a result everyone here still has a shot at an OVP even if they miss here, so I go in with little pressure on denying someone their trophy completely (though, if you've read the original OVP article, that's not what this is about).
We'll start out with the man who has the most Oscar nominations of the bunch, Eric Roth, and his Curious Case (adapted from a story by F. Scott Fitzgerald). The film admittedly has a lot of filling in to do, as the film is adapted from a short story (though some great movies have been adapted from something so small, such as Brokeback Mountain) but the structure is there for something great. I do find that there are moments in the dialogue that are instantly iconic-"we'll meet in the middle" is the sort of line that echoes throughout a film, and it's worth noting that Eric Roth is quite good at that ("mama always said"...). However, editing has been his problem in the past, and the film occasionally feels like filler-there are scenes that don't revolve around the central love story or Benjamin's development into learning to love that feel unnecessary, and he underwrites certain characters (principally Taraji P. Henson's Queenie), which always loses some points. The story would have been stronger (albeit maybe less epic) with a shorter run-time and trimming of some of the fat, or at least sprucing it up.
John Patrick Shanley had the advantage of a Pulitzer Prize-winning screenplay to his credit with Doubt, which certainly helps in adapting. After all, the dialogue in this film is so sharp, and Shanley has the good sense to not only hire actors, but he hired actors who have a strong history in the theater as his leads. Streep, Hoffman, Adams, and Davis may all sell his dialogue to varying degrees, but one can hardly argue that they don't know the meaning of stage presence, which is important because the film feels so much like a play. The reality is, though, that the film never really escapes that feeling-I always feel like I'm watching a play, which doesn't work cinematically. I may be a lover of the theater, but there's a breadth of excitement that happens with seeing live theater that is unattainable in the controlled guise of the cinema, and it should be overcompensated by using more of your surroundings or trying to adapt to the structure of the cinema (I loved the way that, say, Anna Karenina did this a few years back by acknowledging the choreography of the script). The film's only real clear improvement over a staged version was the long walk between Meryl and Viola, but that seems to be so much about a rich interpretation through acting, not writing. Otherwise the film feels too staged, too confined, and not in a way that I feel it is trying to accomplish.
One of the few Frost/Nixon nominations (I don't argue for a second that The Dark Knight was "under-rewarded," but years later it still seems odd that Frost/Nixon scored so many high-profile nominations with almost no major tech nominations. The film's best moments are, of course, the banter between Sheen's Frost and Langella's Nixon-some of these moments are clearly from the famed interviews, while still others are just establishing personality. I loved the way that the script shows how imposing a president must be, even one that you find detestable-that sheer force-of-personality that comes from someone like Richard Nixon, who dominated American politics for 25 years. Still, the rest of the script is pretty bare-the producer dialogue is filled with cheap jokes and stunts (Sam Rockwell's going to tell off Nixon...then he just calls him "Mr. President"), and when the best parts seem more a result of your lead performer, you've got an issue with the script.
I have a soft spot for the films of Stephen Daldry. I feel like he might be too melodramatic for some, with his penchant for soft lights, inner-turmoil spread over decades, and a passion for that "a woman's heart is a deep ocean of secrets" sort of story, but that's my wheelhouse. I loved the way that The Reader feels so precise in later scenes between Lena Olin and Ralph Fiennes-the way the patterns of speech feel rehearsed, because they have been-both of these people have been practicing their words here for decades. I also love Kate Winslet's speech during the trials, the way that she sort of realizes things as she's speaking, pains she hadn't realized that she had caused-it's a fascinating look at human psyche, and the inner-workings of the minds of a deeply-flawed person who nonetheless you feel for. I can't say that The Reader isn't without issues, but it is a film that moved me in a major way, and I was one of those people who rooted for it when it got so many surprise nominations.
I was going alphabetically because I hadn't done that yet for 2008, but I am now realizing the errors of my ways since I have to end with Slumdog Millionaire and its script, which may well be the thing I hated most about the film. Honestly-what's to defend here? The story structure loses its steam so quickly (the flashback scenes become cliched and increasingly long, to the point where they lose a lot of their muster), while the dialogue is tin and wooden-the love scenes in particular feel like we're watching what a 13-year-old girl would imagine a love scene should sound like, and there's no sense of excuse in the fact that they're young to make this seem acceptable in the screenplay. Overall it's the sort of script that, were it not for a bag full of Oscars, we would dismiss in a given year as saccharine and overwrought.
Other Precursor Contenders: The Globes combine their writing categories so there is no adapted or original distinction, but oddly enough that didn't matter-in a weird twist not only did the Globes go with all adapted, they also went with the exact slate of nominees the Oscars did, and Slumdog Millionare as the winner (again, I've never seen that happen before!). The BAFTA's also chose Slumdog, with Doubt falling to Revolutionary Road (surely the sixth place finisher). The WGA (which admittedly has weird rules about what is and isn't eligible, so take any exclusions with a grain of salt), skipped out on The Reader in favor of The Dark Knight, and like the rest of the train, picked Slumdog Millionaire for its victor.
Films I Would Have Nominated: Hmm, I will be honest here and say that I didn't love most of this category, but 2008 didn't produce a large amount of options in terms of alternatives. I definitely would have included The Dark Knight and Revolutionary Road, based on my adoration of the films, and would have made room for my Foreign Film choice The Class. Other than that, I don't have anyone else that screams "nominate me!" Do you have one? Click the comments if you do, as I feel there should be at least one more strong choice.
Oscar's Choice: Slumdog's train kept chugging with Eric Roth missing out on a chance for a second Oscar.
My Choice: Definitely The Reader-it's the only script I'm confident I would have nominated myself for the category. After that I'd probably go with Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Doubt, and Slumdog in the rear.
Those are my thoughts-what about you? Are you with the Academy and the many other organizations that honored Slumdog, or are you siding with me and The Reader? Don't you feel that The Dark Knight and Revolutionary Road being included would have classed up the joint a little bit? And what other great adapted screenplays of 2008 are we missing? Share in the comments!
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