OVP: Best Film Editing (2017)
The Nominees Were...
Paul Machliss & Jonathan Amos, Baby Driver
Lee Smith, Dunkirk
Tatiana S. Riegel, I, Tonya
Sidney Wolinsky, The Shape of Water
Jon Gregory, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
My Thoughts: Normally when we get into the Editing categories, we are looking at the Best Picture lineup, especially in our 5+ fields, but weirdly, though we do have three Best Picture nominees here, Oscar was willing to go for two films that did not make it into the Best Picture race. Whenever this happens, it's almost always because of either a gimmick or a deeply effects-driven film (frequently an action-adventure), which was the case for both, though only one of those really worked when it came to its editing.
Baby Driver is definitely a movie that might have aged poorly in the public consciousness not because it's not good (it is-it's quite fun) but because its stars (Ansel Elgort & Kevin Spacey) are basically unemployable at this juncture of their careers. The editing is super, though, and I'm glad that Oscar took it seriously enough to nominate it here. The best parts are the ways that we get heightened tension with the car chases (some of the best since Drive, which the movie clearly had an eye on), but I also think it does a strong job of matching the musical score so well to the action, which isn't easy...song scores are such a "go to" gimmick in movies like this, but to make it work so well is a testament to the people in the editing room.
The other non-Best Picture is I, Tonya, and like Baby Driver I get what they were going for here. We have talking head/documentary-style filmmaking, which Oscar seems to be enchanted by, and there's the way that Margot Robbie's head is atop the bodies of a professional ice skater's. The problem is that it doesn't work. It's very clearly not Robbie in multiple scenes of the movie, which makes it feel almost like a joke in terms of the filmmaking, even when the writer's want us to take Tonya's story seriously. Combine that with the talking heads only kind of working; Janney, whom we'll get to in our Supporting Actress article, has the comic timing of Rosalind Russell but it still feels like the format holds her back from really defining her character. All-told, I feel like this is a bust & a weird nomination even if I get where it's coming from.
Good editing shouldn't have to be showy to get nominated, but it should also assist the story. That's not the case with something like Three Billboards, which can't figure out its pacing at all. There are scenes (like Woody Harrelson's final scene), where it works-there's something to it, but mostly it's about trying to justify the actions of Sam Rockwell's racist cop as a hero (no matter how many people want to say they weren't trying to sanitize his story, it's clear every step that the filmmakers don't have a critical viewpoint of his character which reads as really lazy filmmaking). Throw in the yawn of an ending, and you've nominated a mess.
Things get better when you turn to Dunkirk, which is that rare film that is both a prestige Best Picture nominee and a gigantic action film. The movie's war sequences are fantastic-the editing room is not scared of the occasional longshot, and is also aware of scope, giving us a sense of how large-scale this exodus is, with thousands of young men just waiting to die if they cannot get out in time. The aerial sequences are spectacular, as is Tom Hardy's final flight. Dunkirk is a movie I liked to begin with, and has just grown in memory (it's Top 3 for Chris Nolan with me, possibly Top 2)-a large part of that is found in the cutting room.
The Shape of Water is somewhere between Three Billboards and Dunkirk, and the closest we might get to a movie where the editing is invisible. We'll talk about my thoughts with this movie a lot in the coming weeks (Oscar was enamored), but the editing contributes to both the good and the bad. Michael Shannon's overwrought performance, and the film having one too many plotlines (looking at you Michael Stuhlbarg) are both too emphasized, and the editing bay feels like they're trying to make up for clear problems in the story by giving them too much time, but Shape of Water still has a lot of magic. There's something truly cinematic in the ways that certain long, silent shots are done (as we get into Eliza's world) that I just loved, and which made the film feel special. This isn't the best-edited film on this list, but it wouldn't have been Oscar's Best Picture without a steady hand behind it, and so if Oscar was going to choose it as its best, I'm glad he noticed what made it special with the tech nominations.
Other Precursor Contenders: The ACE Eddie Awards split their categories between Drama and Comedy/Musical. Comedy/Musical went with I, Tonya (perhaps we should've seen it coming?) against Baby Driver, Get Out, Lady Bird, and Three Billboards (making this maybe the only time that the Eddies transferred more Comedy/Musical nominees than Dramas?) while the Drama category got Dunkirk topping Blade Runner 2049, Molly's Game, The Post, and The Shape of Water. BAFTA gave the trophy to Baby Driver against Blade Runner, Dunkirk, The Shape of Water, & Three Billboards. In terms of sixth place, I would argue Darkest Hour, Blade Runner, or Get Out are our best options (war film, prestige SciFi, & Best Picture favorite all have their merits)...I'll let you decide in the comments if you want to weigh in on who should be most miffed about their near miss.
Films I Would Have Nominated: You are going to hear me talk about this movie way more than Oscar did in the next few weeks because I clearly loved it more, but ticking clock romances that work deserve credit in the editing room for knowing exactly what to trim to keep you wanting more, and Call Me By Your Name does just that!
Oscar's Choice: After several high-profile misses, Lee Smith finally got his Oscar, probably in a closer race in retrospect than I remembered at the time.
My Choice: I will also be going with Smith & his Dunkirk work as my Gold Medal, as the film manages to be thrilling but also consistent with its director's vision. Behind him would be Baby Driver, The Shape of Water, Three Billboards, and I, Tonya, in that order.
Those are my thoughts-what are yours? Does everyone agree that Dunkirk deserved this trophy (and is anyone else weirded out that this is the third race in a row I've agreed with Oscar-has that ever happened before?!?)? Why do you think Baby Driver was able to gain such a foothold in the tech categories but not have a shot at bigger prizes like Screenplay? And with a lot of options, who is your vote for sixth place? Share your thoughts below!
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