![]() Not only because Parasite is not an English-language film (as most Best Picture winners are), but because Parasite is really and truly one of the best films of the 21st century. Much like Moonlight, I'm still kind of amazed that Parasite won Best Picture to close out the decade. This is a monumental piece of filmmaking, and it’s a testament to the power and diversity of cinema that its main competition this year was a filmmaking masterpiece of an entirely different sort: Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity. The cinematography is calculated and precise the performances fine-tuned the music honed just right. The subject matter is heart-wrenching, but this truly is a film that doesn’t simply lean on its story to draw an emotional reaction out of its audience. ![]() If he was going to capture the American slave story, he was going to do it right. That’s a testament to McQueen’s talent and boldness as a filmmaker that he wasn’t going to let the audience off the hook on this one. Writer/director Steve McQueen puts the audience in the shoes of the slaves he chronicles in Solomon Northrup’s story in such vivid, gutting detail that many had a visceral reaction to watching this film. And while it’s certainly an extremely uncomfortable watch, that’s kind of the point. There was a recurring sentiment during the 2013 Oscar season that 12 Years a Slave wouldn’t win Best Picture because people couldn’t bring themselves to watch it. This is one of those “probably shouldn’t have won, but I’m OK with it” years. Affleck worked his ass off and it shows, and the movie’s extremely entertaining. Argo’s not the best movie released the pack of 2012 nominees, but it’s a darn good one. Nearly all of these films ran into some kind of controversy, some more substantial than others, but while Argo was certainly in the top tier, I think we can all agree that it was the Academy’s shocking snubbing of Affleck from the Best Director category that spurred voters to launch this one into the #1 spot.Īnd you know what? Good on them. Russell’s super serious romcom Silver Linings Playbook, Steven Spielberg’s passion project Lincoln, Quentin Tarantino’s race epic Django Unchained, and Kathryn Bigelow’s well-intentioned Zero Dark Thirty. Ben Affleck’s direction was the talk of the town, and he suddenly found himself in competition with David O. Argo kind of came out of nowhere on the festival circuit as this handsomely crafted, supremely compelling, and wildly entertaining thriller. It’s the worst Best Picture winner since, well, Crash.īoy this was a fun year. That it was nominated alongside a film that actually tackled the legitimate problems facing African-Americans then and now, BlacKkKlansman, makes its win all the more embarrassing. In purporting to be a film about race while ignoring the actual problems, all in favor of making you feel good inside by the end, Green Book does its audience a disservice. The Civil Rights movement was a hard fought battle against institutionalized racism, and it was only after schools and restaurants and public establishments were desegregated that we could even think of moving forward. Being nice to others is a good thing, no doubt, but racism can’t be solved by simply being nice to others. At the end of the movie, you feel good because the lonely black man (whose interior life isn’t explored in the slightest) is invited to a holiday dinner with the white man’s family, and the white man made a black friend. It’s the story of a racist white man who learns to be a little less racist by becoming friends with a black man, witnessing the terrors of institutionalized racism (“blacks only” hotels, bars, etc.) during their drive. But what Green Book has to say about the world we live in is pretty rough stuff. The pacing is fine, it hits all the right beats to make you feel real good at just the right moments, and feel a little bad at just those right moments. The performances are solid ( Mahershala Ali’s really good! Viggo Mortensen is charming!), and it’s a handsomely crafted film.
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