Ranking Oscar Nominees/Personal Ranking: Best Adapted Screenplay

Perhaps the most unfairly snubbed film of 2016, although
its gotten its fair share of love from critics and audiences

Oscar Nominees:

5. Fences

If this was an award for the best source material, Fences would probably rank much higher since the original play is really quite a strong one. I rank it low because August Wilson essentially adapted his own play to the screen without much change in between. Which makes for a good, but not great, adaptation of a play.

4. Arrival

The screenplay to Arrival is both one of its strongest and weakest elements. Strongest, in that its establishing of the central character's plight and her relationship with the aliens, and her past and future, is brilliant. Weakest in that almost everything else is painfully paper-thin. This is still a brilliant script in parts, but the thinness of its side characters, the 'bigger' plot, etc. all make certain aspects ring a bit hollow.

3. Lion

Though Arrival might hit the higher heights, Lion definitely has the more consistent screenplay. It works its way through two very distinct time periods wonderfully, fleshes out its central character and his relationship with his family beautifully, and there's great standout scenes like Sue's 'ghosts' monologue.

2. Hidden Figures

Excellent old-fashioned screenplay that reminded me a bit of Bridge of Spies' s screenplay last year. It hits the old fashioned sweet spot well, gives its comedic characters and scenes some swell humorous beats and one-liners, its inspirational scenes that right amount of crowd-pleasing quality, its large cast of characters are all fairly well fleshed-out, and that 'there is no bathroom for me' scene is downright inspired.

1. Moonlight

Magnificent screenplay. It takes on a rather small subject (quite literally at the start) and transforms it into a symphony in three acts without ever losing the intimacy of its humble beginnings. Jenkins has something he wants to say with his screenplay, but he never hamfistedly spells it out. Moonlight's success hinges upon faith in both the audience and its characters, entrusting us not to make snap judgements about their caricature surfaces, and gradually unraveling the depth to these multidimensional figures. The film works effectively as it does because of how, starting anew and 'refreshing' with each segment, we learn a little bit more about Chiron. We feel him gain a little and lose a little of something, and the gaps in time never make anything feel vague, the inherent power of the script fills them in beautifully. Anything off-screen feels as vividly realized as anything onscreen. All elements of the script combine into a truly resonant conclusion that feels completely earnt by the script. 




Personal Nominees:

5. Captain America: Civil War

Underrated aspect of the film, in fact in retrospect I consider it to be the most valuable aspect of the film. Marvel movies always follow a specific formula - besides arguably, Guardians of the Galaxy - in terms of universe-establishing, quips, and character developments. Civil War does well within the formula, introducing the new characters of Zemo, Black Panther and especially Spider-Man in a fashion that feels unforced and in a way that adds to the storyline; having a fresh, wry and never tiresome sense of humour, but I feel it goes beyond the standard Marvel film in taking what was established beforehand and taking it to another level. I felt the Iron Man/Captain America dynamic, Black Panther's and Zemo's roads to revenge, and perhaps best of all the poignant friendship between Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes, all feel so well sketched by the film, and the central conflict between the Accords and Captain America's belief that 'the safest hands are still our own' are very well drawn.

4. A Monster Calls

A beautiful screenplay, that's heartbreaking and moving to be sure, but also manages to find so much nuance and complexity within the margins. The central driving emotional force of the mother-son relationship is incredibly powerful, and paralleled brilliantly by the discourses between the young boy and the titular monster tree, which are laced with bits of humour and tension to make the ending all the more profound. The script also details the child's relationship to his cold grandmother, and distant father, and makes them bittersweet and affecting without ever compromising the realism of the relationships.

Runner-Up:  Silence

A great screenplay in terms of capturing the spirit of the source material, as it never shies away from the tricky blend of humour and tragedy present in the novel. It cuts absolutely nothing out that's essential to the novel's power, and I love how it presents the second half as essentially an extended debate that fits the original novel, which frequently presents long arguments between characters that centre on the central themes of religion. In addition, it brings so much weight to the narration by Rodrigues in adding in just the right amount from the novel's narrative voice, and adds a rather daring touch to the film's conclusion that could've not worked, but ends up working incredibly well.

Joint WINNER: Moonlight/Hunt for the Wilderpeople

I hated having to choose between these two screenplays, and I didn't even have to 'settle' for a tie, I loved having to not need to make a choice between these two scripts. Hunt for the Wilderpeople is simply one of the funniest, most hilarious screenplays of the 21st Century, but it's not just that. It's so breezy and fun in its one-liners, ranging from big scenes like Ricky's poor description of his time with his uncle in the bush ('he made me do stuff'), the most inept preacher ever since...ever, to little asides like the apathetic police officer remarking 'he's giving that pig a piggyback!' and Uncle Hec's (Sam Neill) deadpan deliveries of 'shit just got real'. The humour in the film always feels like stuff people would say in real life, well aside from the over-the-top child welfare officer, but even that makes sense because of how the script portrays her. It makes its comedic sequences so memorable and naturalistic. In addition, however, it's also quite the powerful screenplay. It makes the early relationship between the troubled youth and foster aunt, the later one between troubled youth and a quirky father and daughter he meets, the various quirky characters they encounter, and above all the heartwarming and poignant central relationship between Ricky Baker and Uncle Hec, something quite marvellous.

1. Moonlight (the most powerful script of the year, but it's not just that)
1. Hunt for the Wilderpeople (the funniest script of the year, but it's not just that)
3. Silence
4. A Monster Calls
5. Captain America: Civil War 
6. Loving
7. Hidden Figures
8. Hacksaw Ridge
9. Lion
10. Arrival