OVP: Best Picture (2004)
The Nominees Were...
Michael Mann & Graham King, The Aviator
Richard N. Gladstein & Nellie Bellflower, Finding Neverland
Clint Eastwood, Albert S. Ruddy, & Tom Rosenberg, Million Dollar Baby
Taylor Hackford, Stuart Benjamin, & Howard Baldwin, Ray
Michael Landon, Sideways
My Thoughts: And we are finishing it up! I said after 2005 that we had just finished our most succinct OVP ballot ever, but 2004 was even tighter-we finished all 20 categories within ten weeks, a personal goal I've had every season & one that we actually reached! We will start our next season next week (our "Introduction to the Year" article I'm hoping to have on Monday, as I'm done watching all of the contests of that year), but before we go we need to knock out both Best Picture & our new "My Oscar Ballot," which I'll have out tomorrow. We've talked about these movies a lot over the past ten weeks, so I won't hold you up any longer-let's find out my choice for Oscar's top prize of 2004.
We'll start with the film that Oscar chose in this field, Million Dollar Baby. Clint Eastwood's second win in this category is not a bad film (something that I thought initially, mostly because I was more focused on other movies competing that year). It's also not a great film. Eastwood is capable of greatness, but while this has elements of his most successful cinematic elements (Eastwood is weirdly good at looking at characters in isolation), it doesn't always work. I don't feel like Maggie works as a protagonist-she remains too much of a blank slate for me as a character, and while that helps in the development of Eastwood's broken coach, it doesn't make the film cohesive enough for me. Also, and I can't remember if I've mentioned this yet since it's not super relevant, but since it's unlikely we revisit this movie in-depth again in a series, the first date I ever went to with a guy was to Million Dollar Baby...little trivia about yours truly.
I kind of feel the same about Finding Neverland, though it doesn't have the same ambition that Eastwood brings to his picture. We have a pleasant movie (this is a fine enough film), but it's one that has a blank slate star. Unlike Swank, who I don't usually gravitate toward, Johnny Depp pre-Mad Hatter was generally an actor I could subscribe to, and it's weird to say this to modern audiences, but this doesn't work the way it's supposed to because Depp so underplays his JM Barrie, not because he's giving it too much zaniness. The story is fine, and I liked the concept, but this is the sort of movie you quickly forget after seeing it, and I suspect that if it hadn't been the last gasp of the Weinsteins at Miramax, this would've been replaced by some other picture.
Recently on Twitter, I saw a mutual mention how it's hard to get excited about musical biopics anymore, because they're just so tired, telling the same story over-and-over again. Ray might seem like the prototype, but it's honestly just another in a long line of such movies, as by 2004 this style of movie was old hat. Foxx's central performance is one I don't care for (I don't think he gives enough of himself in the non-singing scenes, and when he is singing...it's actually Ray Charles). The movie is rife with cliche, and has the personality of a jukebox musical. I didn't like it, and it has so little there that I don't really have much more to add.
This isn't the case for The Aviator, though, another biopic from 2004. Biopics need to have some sort of artistic perspective on their subject, which Martin Scorsese brings to his tale of Howard Hughes. Scorsese knows Old Hollywood better than any other director working, and he imbues this film with both a sense of realism about that world but also the majesty. Scorsese isn't shy about showing Hughes & his crew as glamorous figures, giving us that sense of wonder before the fall, and he uses bright, sometimes intentionally mis-colored cinematography (remember the blue grass?) to pay homage to different lensing styles from the era. The movie's ending isn't quite as sharp as it could've been, and occasionally Scorsese overdoes it with Hughes' relationship with his mother, but this is a successful picture.
The same can be said for Sideways, a movie that was polarizing at the time, but I thoroughly enjoyed. The film is one of those movies that isn't meant to speak for everyone, and is unapologetic about that-this is a very specific type of intellectual exercise, but it works because it shows the humanity in all of its characters. You don't have to understand the people played by Thomas Haden Church & Virginia Madsen as reflections of yourself to not understand their own failings & dreams. Sideways occasionally struggles under Paul Giamatti's angry inner-monologue, and some of the humor might be a bit broad, but I think it's a strong film that shows the unusual nature of friendship & growing older.
Other Precursor Contenders: The Globes split their nominations between Comedy/Musical and Drama, but in 2004 they cheated so we actually have 11 nominees. Drama went to The Aviator, here beating Closer, Finding Neverland, Hotel Rwanda, Kinsey, and Million Dollar Baby (six rather than five), while Comedy/Musical gave it to Sideways over Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Incredibles, The Phantom of the Opera, and Ray. The PGA was still five-wide then, and went with The Aviator as its victor over Finding Neverland, The Incredibles, Million Dollar Baby, and Sideways, while BAFTA favored The Aviator over Eternal Sunshine, Finding Neverland, The Motorcycle Diaries, and Vera Drake. In terms of sixth place, my gut says it was Hotel Rwanda, with its two acting nominations & a writing citation rather than Eternal Sunshine or Vera Drake. This is driven more through actually living through this season rather than precursors (since the latter two have more traditional benchmarks), something I need to keep in mind as we look to future sixth place conversations.
Films I Would Have Nominated: You'll find out the full list tomorrow, but to keep with tradition here, I just want to say that it's a shame that Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which was clearly in the Academy's wheelhouse (Best Actress nominee, Screenplay Win) got skipped out in this field. It's more interesting, quite frankly, than the whole shebang. The rest you have to find out when we conclude our season in the morning.
Oscar’s Choice: Oscar went with Million Dollar Baby, which as you can see with the precursors was an atypical choice compared to the season. This was driven by late-breaking momentum for Eastwood's film, which opened later in the year & had time to grow. I predicted this on Oscar night (I double-checked), though it was very clear that Aviator had a shot at both of the big prizes, and these losses surely led to Martin Scorsese getting his moment-in-the-sun two years later (that he'd get it over Eastwood himself in 2006 seems fitting, and considering their congenial relationship, probably something Eastwood enjoyed).
My Choice: I won't make Martin Scorsese wait that long to take the big prize. The Aviator is a fine film, and while Sideways gives it a run for its money, the scope & scale of The Aviator (and the success Scorsese brings to it), get it my prize. Behind them I'll put Million Dollar Baby, Finding Neverland, and Ray.
And with that, we close 2004! Are you with me over in Team Marty, or were feeling the love for Clint in this lineup? Do you think Miramax was the deciding factor in Finding Neverland making it over Hotel Rwanda for the fifth slot? And overall-what is your favorite movie of 2005? Share your comments below!
Also in 2004: Director, Actress, Actor, Supporting Actress, Supporting Actor, Original Screenplay, Adapted Screenplay, Foreign Language Film, Animated Feature Film, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, Original Score, Original Song, Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume, Film Editing, Visual Effects, Makeup, Previously in 2004
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