I see a lot of movies…at least one a week.
And never has a director’s ‘stamp’ been so obvious to me as during the double feature I saw yesterday: “Conviction,” starring Hillary Swank, and “Hereafter,” with Matt Damon.
I hadn’t intended to see two such heavy films back-to-back, but the times worked out and the screens were right next door to each other…so off I went.
“Conviction” is the true story of a working class mother who puts herself through college and law school in an attempt to free her brother who is serving a life sentence after being wrongly convicted of murder. Director Tony Goldwyn, who has worked behind the camera in television more than film, really brings the audience into the story. The scenes between Hillary Swank and Sam Rockwell, who plays her brother, are particularly heartbreaking.
I don’t know how anyone could leave the theater untouched by that movie.
I can’t same the same about “Hereafter.” Directed by Oscar-winner Clint Eastwood, this movie tells the story of three people — an American man, a French woman and a British boy — who are all touched by death and whose lives intersect in their quest to connect with life beyond.
Eastwood’s movie has a bold opening that took my breath away, but when the emotion should have matched the CGI, the film instead pulled away. I felt like a spectator from a very great distance. I still cared about the people; I just didn’t share in their experiences.
So…why was the material handled so differently?
Did Goldwyn, who has lived in in Massachusetts (where the “Conviction” story took place) have a more personal connection to the material…and that subsequently came through in the final product?
Could Eastwood’s own feelings about life-after death have caused him to ‘observe’ the story himself and unintentionally give the audience the same experience?
Or did I bring my own biases to the party that colored my view of both films?
If you’ve seen “Conviction,” “Hereafter,” or both, leave a comment with your thoughts.
And we’ll see. We’ll see.
Oscar unworthy
I’m headed to Los Angeles this weekend — for work, of course. But my hotel is located right next door to the Grammy Awards venue.
I know, right?
Another red carpet, another round of celebrity self-congratulations. And as the Academy Awards draw ever nearer, I have to say — this year’s awards season seems even more shallow than usual. The nominees, the producers, the directors, and even the Oscar voters, I dare say, have abandoned even the appearance of giving out the statutes based on quality.
You just gotta be popular.
Producers always run elaborate pre-Oscar marketing campaigns for movies and their stars, but this year, even the actors are purchasing full-page ads in industry publications ‘for your consideration.’
Chillax, Melissa. You’ve been considered. And shee-shee pics like these may swing opinion in the other direction.
The popularity of the leading actors in The King’s Speech is also one of the main reasons it has of late pulled ahead of The Social Network in the awards race — not because Speech is a better film. (It’s not.) This became especially clear during the SAG Awards telecast.
Heck, I wanted TSN to win, and I didn’t like their attitude that night much either. But I would hope — if I had the opportunity to vote for any of the awards — that I could separate my personal feelings about any of the nominees from their work in the films.
If the Oscars are going to mean anything now and in the future, the voting community has to man up, act like adults and vote based on the quality of the filmmaking…not just ‘who’s their buddy.’
But then again, maybe none of them are that good of actors.
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Tagged Academy Awards, awards seasons, Best Supporting Actress, celebrities, commentary, director, entertainment, Grammy Awards, Grammys, Humor, life, Los Angeles, Melissa Leo, Movies, Oscar Awards, Oscar nominee, Oscars, producer, red carpet, SAG Awards, Television, The Fighter movie, The King Speech movie, The Social Network movie, TV, writer