Ranking the Oscar Nominees: Best Actor 2017

5. Ryan Gosling, La La Land

They came close in 2013, but this is the first time in the 21st Century that the Academy have gotten it completely spot-on (though 2002 was another great year in terms of nominees) for the Best Actor category. This is great for the Academy, great for these five very good/excellent/amazing films, not so great for me having to rank these five excellent performances. With fifth place, I hate to go with Gosling, since he gives one of his best performances - my 3rd favourite of his behind Lars and the Real Girl and Drive (he was also fantastic in The Nice Guys this year). I absolutely adored Gosling's portrayal of Sebastian, the jazz musician who wants to make it big and have his own jazz club, even when I found him to be a bit of a pretentious ass at the outset, Gosling just won me over with his charm and heart even though I found his character's actions to be a bit annoying. Even in these early stages, he's effortlessly endearing and rather hilarious in showing his character's aspirations to be taken 'seriously' as a musician. 

Then when Emma Stone and him properly come together in the film, his performances becomes pretty brilliant - in fact, their first re-encounter after the initial brief encounter at a house party, where she requests/forces him to play 'I Ran' (great song, by the way), is made all the more hilarious by his indignant anger at having to stoop so low (hey, now Sebastian). Between himself and Stone, Gosling probably the has less 'material' to work with in terms of dramatic focus and of course, an 'Audition' scene, but he has great little moments where he develops his character incredibly well. Like the scene where he contemplates selling himself out and his craft to provide for Mia, or his subtle reactions during a dinnertime confrontation, and his last few glances towards Mia at the end of the film, are all rather wonderful. As he showed in Drive, Gosling is pretty much the king of conveying a thousand words through a glance. He turns in an effortlessly charismatic, heartfelt and hilarious performance that's delightful to watch, and if he wins the Oscar as some have predicted as a potential upset, I certainly wouldn't mind. 

1990s La La Land directed by Rob Reiner

Sebastian: Robert Downey Jr.

Mia: Nicole Kidman 

4. Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic

Captain Fantastic is one of the most underrated films of 2016, and I'm so glad it managed to gain awards traction through one man. Mortensen's character, Ben Cross, is a very atypical sort of Oscar role, in that it's a rather modestly drawn and subtle bit of work that's very easygoing in many ways. Ben is technically an overbearing father figure, but not in an abusive way, just merely a man who feels he has his children's best interests at heart by integrating them into a survivalist lifestyle in the wilderness. A man with his sort of self-reliant philosophy could have gotten old really, really fast, but Mortensen's charisma and unique approach to a mentor and father is actually quite endearing. When tragedy strikes the family, Mortensen is incredibly powerful in showing how it hits him, and how his subsequent actions, though somewhat eccentric and erratic, all really stem for a love for his beloved kids. These heartbreaking scenes fit in perfectly with his deadpan approach to the many people he encounters who question his parenting methods and way of life. Mortensen importantly never makes Ben's self-assurance to be something arrogant and entirely off-putting, but rather as a very strong belief in his actions being for the benefit of his children.

Mortensen's portrayal of a father who is far from perfect, but always has his children's best interests at heart, is a beautifully subdued piece of work that never tries to sugercoat his shortcomings, but makes it clear that this is above all a loving man who needs to learn to compromise. In scenes where he realizes he may have gone too far on his high horse with his children, especially his oldest son Bo (a terrific George MacKay), we see a man's life being held into question, but unlike another Oscar-nominated father figure from this year, Mortensen's reactions are of genuine, heartfelt regret. On that note, the performance is a fascinating counterpoint to his other Oscar-nominated contemporary as another father figure, as the eloquence he brings to understanding such a unique man with straightforward wishes for his children. It is a nuanced, intriguing and emotionally poignant, as well as subtly humorous, performance.

1970s Captain Fantastic directed by Michael Cimino

Ben Cash: Harry Dean Stanton

Bo: Jeff Bridges

Jack: Peter Ustinov

3. Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge

I'm going to wait just a tad bit longer to discuss this performance in detail, in a future article alongside his other great 2016 performance. This is earnest, winning, adorable, and just plain terrific work in establishing the joyous faith and devotion of Doss, transitioning it into a powerful depiction of the horrors of war and bravery in its hellish face. He nails everything from the needed joyous disposition of a man who sees the bright side to everything in life and has such pleasure in his faith, the reactionary horrors of the battlefield that haunt and wear him down, his love for his family and his wife, and above all an incredible conviction in his faith and bravery against all odds. He fits the bill perfectly for this performance, making the downright amazing and masterful film around him even better through his highly passionate, powerful approach. 

1950s Hacksaw Ridge directed by Billy Wilder

Desmond Doss: Anthony Perkins

Sergeant Howell: Robert Strauss

Captain Glover: Richard Erdman

Smitty Riker: Peter Graves (I know I'm just rattling off Stalag 17 names now)

Tom Doss: Lee J. Cobb 

Dorothy: Janet Leigh

2. Denzel Washington, Fences

Washington's performance in Fences, and really Fences as a whole, is truly a labour of love. As well as having starred in the role on stage for many years, knowing the ins and outs of the source material play thoroughly and having such passion for it, Washington also directs this straightforward but very effective adaptation of August Wilson's play about a working class African-American family and its internal conflicts. Washington's work as a director is decent, workmanlike for the most part but it suits the requirements of the film, which is a small cast in a limited environment. Because it's such a small cast, every cast member needs to be on point, lest the film falters. And everyone is at the least very good. Russell Hornsby, given the smallest and most thankless role of the lot as Lyons Maxson, is nevertheless rather good as the supposedly deadbeat son who might make something of himself as a musician. Stephen Henderson is a jovial and rather heartwarming presence as the kindly Bono, Jovan Adepo finds new ground with the discontent jock son character Cory, Mykelti Williamson is a compelling presence as the mentally impaired war veteran Gabriel, and Viola Davis...I'll get onto her soon enough.

But anyway, what about the man who dominates the film till its epilogue. Washington takes centre stage in this film, and I mean that in a literal sense as well as all other connotations of the phrase. In that, besides being the central figure of the story, Troy Maxson is also a larger-than-life figure, a BIG presence in his own little world who in his everyday conversations with friends and family, is a bit of a showman himself. Now this could've easily led to some bad overacting or worse, a performance feeling like it just came off the stage with no awareness of the film camera. Washington's performance however, immaculately captures the nuances of the cinematic form while retaining what presumably made his stage performance as Troy so acclaimed. In that he's boistreously entertaining and often rather hilarious in showing the ridiculous, over-the-top storyteller and jokester Troy is when telling tall tales and messing around with his friend Bono and wife Rose (Davis). Wilson's dialogue is tricky dialogue, comparable to someone like David Mamet in that it has to be delivered in a very specific sort of way, with a specific sort of rhythm, otherwise it falls flat. None of the actors fall into this trap, certainly not Washington whose fast-paced, chatterbox approach to this most talkative man is rather extreme, but so gloriously fitting to his personality.

The speeches delivered by Washington all feel very natural to Troy's background as a man who never had much luck in life, and who uses stories and exaggerations, as well as supposedly profound philosophies on life he offers to his wife and sons, to present a man who thinks himself as both preacher and God - a god of baseball most certainly, and a curious element to his performance that really knocks it out of the ballpark (no pun intended) is how he bigs up his skills as a player back in the day, while giving a sense of a huge chip on his shoulder and insecurity about how he never made it into the major leagues. There's a raw bitterness that we rarely see in Washington, which my friend pointed out when we briefly discussed the film, that's rather tough to watch, and only comes out more beautifully on re-watches. This bitterness only worsens over the film as his son Cory, a promising football players, presents to him a reminder of his own failures. Washington makes the growing disdain of the man not for his son, but the potential glory he represents which he himself can never obtain, excruciating in the best possible way. These memorable scenes, like that 'like you' scene, or his final beatdown of his son when he threatens him with a baseball bat, are intense scenes through the performances of the actors. Adepo is very good, and Washington is sublime as a man who truly comes unhinged when reminded about how he could have been, but never was, a contender.

Of course, Washington isn't just an intense, domineering figure the whole time, that would defeat the point of Troy Maxson as a character. He has quieter moments with his disabled brother Gabriel, and his wife, these are small, tender moments that show that beneath the big and loud man, there's a more sensitive one lurking underneath. When he ruminates about his painful past, his love for Rose, and perhaps one of his best scenes when he confesses to Rose about an extramarital affair, you see a man trying to cover up his inner demons with his showy exterior, as his world crumbles around. There's so much subtlety in the performance that's so much more than the hypocritical 'wise' exterior Troy presents, as he loses that facade and reveals himself as the nasty piece of work and weak, fallible man he really is. It's one of the trickiest roles of 2016 as a problematic father figure, very different to Mortensen's I may add,  and perhaps the least directly sympathetic character of the 2016 Best Actor nominees (though I guess that's not hard when you have Casey Affleck and his onslaught of tragedy after tragedy, Ryan Gosling, Viggo's loving if slightly out of touch dad, and Andrew Garfield who essentially plays a real-life embodiment of Jesus Christ). You still feel drawn to the character through Washington's grand, incredible performance, easily a career-best for an always consistent and dependable screen presence. In short - a mesmerizing, domineering but all too raw, human and fallible portrayal of a very flawed father figure whose whole life hinges on tall stories and a chip on his shoulder.

1980s Fences: I believe James Earl Jones would've been the shoe-in for Troy. 

1. Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea

I'm not of the crowd who believes there's a 'next Marlon Brando', or who necessarily thinks the idea of a 'next Marlon Brando' is a great idea in the first place. Emory Cohen was a pretty good Brando-esque love interest in Brooklyn but as The Place Beyond the Pines showed, a little bit of something can go a long way and a lot of it can go oh so awry. Actors like Matthias Schoenaerts and Tom Hardy are magnificent physical beasts and dynamic actors with that Brando-esque primal energy to their work, but I'd say they're altogether different beasts overall in terms of technique and the sort of characters they take on. Besides, as great as Brando was when he was on form, he could be pretty lacklustre when he wasn't invested in the role. Enough of this Much ABrando about Nothing, what point am I trying to get at? I've read about Casey Affleck being compared to Brando before. I can see the basis for some of these comparisons, they both like a bit of mumbling here and there, and they like to internalize their performances, and they have a very quiet, spontaneous intensity to their best work. Affleck, though, is nowhere near the star Brando was back in the day, though he's arguably the more consistent actor, and both him and and Brando have similar heights in their career (On the Waterfront and The Assasination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford). 

Anyway, onto the actual performance itself here, I mention Brando because Affleck's performance here does bear resemblance to Brando's Terry Malloy in some ways. Very different characters, very different films too - On the Waterfront being the greater film, undoubtedly, but Manchester by the Sea packing a bit more of an emotional punch for me personally. Besides both films being set 'by the sea', so to speak, both are intimate character studies of a troubled individual haunted by regrets, troubled relationships with close ones, ostrcization, and an inadvertent, unwitting mistake they made which caused tragedy. On the Waterfront takes place almost wholly in the aftermath of this mistake, however, and gradually fills in the background of a man who coulda been and will be a contender through his interactions with the terrific ensemble cast, some marvellous direction, and of course Brando. Manchester by the Sea on the other hand portrays both the man who has become haunted by his past, the man in the past, and the man in the immediate aftermath of his past. The film works its way around a rather unconventionally non-chronological character study that flits through these varied time periods, and Affleck's biggest challenge at the outset is to distinguish between the loudmouth but happy Massachusetts family man, the horrified, shocked and grieving man in the aftermath of a terrible tragedy, and many years on the haunted and hollow shell of a man who feels very little and says very little. 

Well Affleck's first on my ranking of the Oscar nominees, in the strongest Best Actor set of nominees in Academy history, what do you think? Of course he succeeds with aplomb. This is a tricky performance because it flits back and forth between past and present, with less frequency in the second half once certain things have been revealed, and Affleck is effective in revealing, to begin with, Lee Chandler, average joe who loves his wife (Michelle Williams), loves his daughters, loves his older brother (Kyle Chandler) and nephew (eventually played by Lucas Hedges), but is far from a standout guy in terms of self-disciplince. He drinks a bit too much, is rather obnoxious whenever he has friends around his place, and Affleck presents a realistically flawed normal man who makes a big mistake, when drunkenly leaving home to get more booze, leaves the fireplace neglected, resulting in the whole house burning down, killing his three children. Affleck's reactions to this tragedy is harrowing, and even when the camera is at a certain distance, with the soundtrack obscuring his spoken words, you get a full insight into the tortured state of the man, as so many things hit him at once. At the police station, when being questioned about the accident, Affleck is absolutely devestating in showing the slow acceptance of a man who realizes he's done wrong and must pay for it. This is only rendered more powerful by his reaction when the police tell him he's free to go. Affleck's subtle shock and anguish at not being justly punished, as he feels he should, is a great scene, and within a few seconds he encapsulates the truly disordered state of mind of a man who feels nothing with nothing in his life.

These scenes are followed by several scenes of Lee Chandler adapting to his grief as he leaves Manchester by the Sea for a new life. Affleck is poignant in showing the despair in the man somewhat quelled but always present as he bids farewell to his older brother and nephew. It's pretty heartbreaking, especially when you view these scenes in context of the first scenes we see Affleck in the film, as he's presented as a janitor in Boston, making do with some pretty outrageous clients and nasty demands, completely ignores advances of women, and gets into fights with random guys in bars. Affleck, though still very much alive, is something of a corpse in these scenes, whose eyes, dead and devoid of emotion, makes him little more than a man going through the most minimal of motions and social interactions. His beatdown of the men at the bar is shown not to be out of cruelty or arrogance, but by an inability to handle a situation any way else. This all leads to him gettting a call back to Manchester by the Sea when his brother passes away. Affleck's subtle, nuanced reaction to his brother's death is quite incredible, as we see the emotionless man briefly allow a wave of emotion to overcome him, before settling back into his cold and emotionless state once more. 

The rest of the film, chronologically speaking, deals with how Lee handles the fallout from his brother's death, and a town who has long since considered him to be a stain on their past. Affleck is brilliant in showing how every interaction with the townspeople is performed with a touch of suspicion and uncertainty, a man who's aware that many have talked about him behind his back over the years. He's properly cold and enigmatic, which isn't all gloom and doom, there's a funny sequence where his nephew Patrick tries to get him to flirt with his second girlfriend's mom. Affleck manages to be deadpan hilarious in his complete lack of regard for any sort of small talk. Another even funnier scene is when Patrick, asking if his girlfriend can stay over, implicitly mentions his uncle to cover for them sleeping in the same bed. Affleck is rather funny in showing how Lee can't comprehend why Patrick would have to ask him about something like that, but is also quite moving when Patrick hugs him gently. Affleck shows a man who's lacked any sort of warmth and affection for so long, he's at loss how to deal with it.

The strongest part of the film's writing, direction (outside of two poorly placed cameos), and acting is the relationship between Lee and Patrick. It's often very funny, in a naturalistic fashion, but also very sad as we watch two men confronting grief in their different ways. Patrick's breakdown scene by the fridge is a great scene for Hedges, but Affleck amplifies his work in the right sort of way through his honestly baffled reactions to his nephew's grief. Kenneth Lonergan's screenplay presents a man who has put away all emotions for so long that when they're released in front of him, he can only very ineptly provide feeble comfort. This inability to emhpasize with Patrick comes into play also in the scenes where he tells Patrick they may have to move away from Manchester by the Sea. Affleck is always rather quiet and reserved in dealing with Patrick's anger at this 'selfishness' on behalf of his uncle, and as someone who's too used to the big 'Oscar' scenes in these sort of performances, it was tremendous to see how much nuance and subtletly Affleck gives these moments. You never feel like Affleck's acting, but rather reActing to everything thrown at his character.

The gradual development of the relationship from a certain awkwardness to a certain warmth is extremely well handled by film and screeenplay, and Affleck and Hedges never have to vocalize this. Affleck, in particular, shows slowly how his character opens up to Patrick, not about himself, but as a more compassionate figure. That's not all there is to Affleck's character development, though. There's a climactic scene with his ex-wife Randi that's not quite the saddest scene in the film, but it's quite sad. As I've mentioned, Williams is good at showing an honest breakdown in her character, but I found Affleck even more compelling in showing how his character tries valiantly to remain emotionless, but can't help but feel such a mess of emotions at the brutally honest confessions of his wife. The most remarkable scene in terms of emotional power, though, was the 'I can't beat it' scene. Affleck and Hedges bond so softly and gently over their mutually shared grief, but Affleck's quiet acceptance that he can't overcome the past is utterly devastating. This is a truly amazing performance that, come Oscar time, will be a very deserving winner, although so would Washington, and anyone else from this lineup, even Gosling who just about scrapes into my top 10 for the year would be very worthy of a win.  

1960s Manchester by the Sea directed by Guy Green

Lee Chandler: Stuart Whitman

Patrick: Martin Sheen

Randi: Piper Laurie

Best in Film Music (2016), Score/Songs

Firstly, a quick ranking of the Oscar nominees: 

Music, Original Score

5. Passengers - solid Thomas Newman, but far, far, far, far from being his best work.

4. Lion - rather good stuff, though the biggest musical impression the film made on me was via Sia. 

3. Jackie - rather brilliant deconstruction of the 'typical' biopic soundtrack, always verging on the inspirational before subverting it to a jarring, clinical effect. 

2. Moonlight - a mesmerizing score that would be my win in almost any other year this decade, well besides 2012 maybe but few scores can ever best Beasts of the Southern Wild. This score kind of reminded me of that one with its orchestral, raw, and powerful feeling, achieved with minimalism. 

1. La La Land - need I say more, the ultimate musical experience all around, and 'Epilogue' is close to being amongst my crop of top 10 musical score segments. 

Music, Original Song

5. 'Can't Stop the Feeling', Trolls - I have to admit I don't care for the song. Waste of a nomination. 

4. 'The Empty Chair', Jim: The James Foley Story - like Trolls, I haven't seen the film. This isn't a bad song, just nothing particularly special, though I need to see how it fits into context of the documentary. 

3. 'City of Stars', La La Land - lovely song, should it win? I'm not sure, even if it's for the superior duet, because it's a very nice song, but hardly the most impressive one in the film's terrific soundtrack. 

2. 'How Far I'll Go', Moana - great classic Disney tune vibes all round, and a memorable addition to its canon of great film tunes. This one works particularly well in hitting the good ol' sweet spot. 

1. 'Audition (The Fools Who Dream)', La La Land - loved it, loved it, loved it. If Emma Stone is winning (which she will), this song should get an honorary mention as well. 

And my personal choices (with less talk from me, I'll let the music do the talking)

Original Score

HM/not sure how to rank: Arrival (would be on the list but its most memorable tune isn't technically an 'original' work. I'll need to decide how I rank scores based on this sort of thing.)

10. Lion

9. Elle

8. Hunt for the Wilderpeople

7. A Monster Calls

6. Hacksaw Ridge

5. The Neon Demon

4. Jackie

3. Swiss Army Man

2. Moonlight

1. La La Land

Original Song

10. 'Brown Shoes', Sing Street

9. 'Never Give Up', Lion (although I'm biased because I absolutely love Sia's music)

8. 'How Far I'll Go', Moana

7. 'Another Day of Sun', La La Land

6. 'A Lovely Night', La La Land

5. 'To Find You', Sing Street

4. 'You're Welcome', Moana

3. 'Someone in the Crowd', La La Land

2. 'Audition', La La Land

1. 'Drive It Like You Stole It', Sing Street (loved all the songs on this list, and loved some even beyond these 10, but this is easily my favourite song/musical scene of the year)

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

Ranking Oscar Nominees: Best Supporting Actress 2016

From left to right: a Brit playing a Miamian, drug-addicted mother, a Montanan playing a Massachusetts housewife living a life of tragedy, one of Hollywoods most respected actresses reprising her award-winning stage role, an Aussie playing an Aussie, and the most consistent sassy sidekick actress in Hollywood are your 2016 nominees for best Supporting Actress. All are strong choices, but who did I like best?

5. Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea

This is really odd. I love Manchester by the Sea, flaws and all, but somehow Michelle Williams' performance as Randi, the ex-wife to Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck), really hasn't stuck with me all that strongly. She's good, don't get me wrong, every actress nominated in this year's lineup was, and that big 'My heart was broken' scene with Casey Affleck is certainly effective. She portrays the breakdown of her character's defenses and her confused, emotionally unstable state incredibly well, and infuses the scene with a great deal of raw emotional power. The thing is, however, though the scene I found to be good, it was far from the highlight of the film for me, and that's essentially the highlight of Williams' performance. I much preferred the more quieter and subdued emotional intensity of the scenes with Lee and Patrick, and in the other flashbacks and scenes in the film involving Williams, she's good enough in portraying the amiable and nice wife who loves her kids but gets annoyed by Lee's antics sometimes. I really love the film, but I really don't think Williams is one of its highlights, and even in her big scene I was more impressed by her co-star. I'm sounding really negative here, this is indeed a good performance, but far from Williams' personal best as an actress as her screentime is limited, and the role is really not all that substantial .

4. Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures

A bit of an odd nomination, in that she probably gives the least Oscar baity performance/has the least Oscar baity role amongst the most prominent members of the ensemble. Hidden Figures is a very fine, if rather by-the-books and standard biopic about three black women who achieve the unthinkable with NASA amidst the backdrop of the Space Race with Russia. Taraji P. Henson, Kevin Costner, and especially Janelle Monáe all give very strong performances in showy roles, and oddly enough the sole acting nominee from the film, Spencer, has the quietest and most understated role in the film. Henson has her 'no bathroom' scene, Costner his various rousing speeches, Monáe her courtroom scene, Spencer is consistently strong throughout the film but never gets a single big scene to strut her stuff. That's not necessarily a bad thing in itself, I'm not a huge fan of Oscar scenes being Oscar scenes for Oscar's sake, but it does leave Spencer's performance a bit sidelined at points in terms of how it fits into the film overall.


What about the performance itself? Well, though the impact of the character may be a bit muted in terms of how she fits into the overarching story of sending John Glenn (Glen Powell), Spencer's portrayal of Dorothy Vaughan, a mathematician at NASA who became the first African-American supervisor of the West Area computers, is nevertheless a strong and assured performance that does add something to the film. She develops a great chemistry with Henson and Monáe as the most quietly humorous and gently sarcastic of the duo, and does help to amplify the showier roles of the other two actresses with her interactions with them. Spencer's role also most directly deals with the racism of the time as she has several scenes dedicated to them. She's pretty great in the scene where she gently but firmly explains to her sons after being kicked out of the library that while racism is the way things are, that doesn't mean it's right; and her penultimate scene with Kirsten Dunst's Vivian, her boss whose subtle racism goes unnoticed even by herself, where she responds to Vivian saying she has nothing against black people with 'I know you probably believe that', is an excellent bit of writing but also an excellent delivery. Dunst and Spencer are pretty good at subtly developing their character's relationship into something of a mutual respect. She never has an absolute knockout scene like Henson's 'no bathroom' scene in the emotional stakes department (which by the way, is one of the best acted scenes of the year), but on the whole her performance works very well in a decidedly low-key fashion. When Dorothy gets to show her expertise with computers, it's all very heartwarming because of how likeable Spencer's made her to be as a character.

3. Naomie Harris, Moonlight

I'd completely understand if someone found this performance to be completely terrible, or largely ineffective. It certainly does stand out from the rest of the film - which is remarkably subdued in tone through most of the performances -, in that Harris' Paula is quite the loud, abrasive, rather histrionic figure which sticks out in particular during the first act of the film, when you compare her to the other two principal adult actors, Mahershala Ali and Janelle Monáe, who both give very restrained performances. Harris' performance is indeed a bit of showboating in a film where even its stylistic flourishes in terms of editing, the soundtrack and colour scheme are all very unassuming, and I'm compelled to think that if I liked the film less, I would've found her performance to stick out like a sore thumb. Thing is though, I loved the film, and though Harris' performance is somewhat the odd one out of the many performances in the ensemble, it doesn't hurt the great ensemble for me. Rather, it amplifies it. Harris first and foremost disappears effortlessly into the dialect and accent of a lower-class Miami single mother. It's clear from the very first scene that Paula's not in a very stable state of mind, her drug-addled state and troubled personality clear from the outset, and I think Harris plays into this instability of her character very well. I found that she played off Ali and Alex Hibbert (as her young son Chiron) very well, and makes Paula an appropriately off-putting and rather sad figure who resorts to emotionally abusing her son to fill the void in her empty life.


She's incredibly good in building up this fiery intensity across each of the first two acts. Her confrontation with Ali's Juan about how she should raise her son is quite a powerful scene, largely due to Ali of course but Harris is very strong too, and in the second act where she incisively guilts Chiron (Ashton Sanders) into giving her money for her drugs. Then in her final scene she's such a brilliant mess of emotions as an aged Paula, recovering from addiction, and trying to reconnect and apologize to her son (Trevante Rhodes). Harris and Rhodes carve quite the remarkable scene together with a sense of their troubled history but also of a flawed love that keeps them connected. Her mannerisms toned down, Harris reveals the honest regrets of her character brilliantly, and it's a terrific end to a very, very strong performance that's admittedly divisive, but it worked for me very well.

2. Nicole Kidman, Lion

All I can say is I was most certainly not expecting to love this performance as much as I did, although again I did not expect to love Lion as much as I did. Kidman's screen time as Sue Brierley, the adoptive mother of Saroo (played as a young child by Sunny Pawar and as an adult by Dev Patel) is actually rather limited, in fact I'd argue she has barely more screentime than Michelle Williams, but boy is she fantastic. Kidman's had an odd 2010s, she's gave a great performance in Rabbit Hole, devilishly entertaining ones in Stoker, and Paddington as deliciously hateful and oddly alluring (as alluring as anyone who wants to skin Paddington alive) villain, but she's had a few critical misfires with Queen of the Desert and Grace of Monaco, I didn't find her all that effective in The Paperboy, and this year she was truly dreadful in Genius. Well that last one doesn't matter, because if an actor or actress gives a great performance in the same year as they gave an awful one, they can easily redeem their status, and that's what Kidman's done here with her supportive portrayal of a loving adoptive mother who with her husband John (David Wenham) bring comfort and joy to an abandoned, lost and lonely Saroo's life.


Kidman is simply put, wonderful in these early scenes at infusing such a simple but effective joy to her presence here as a loving mother. The way she reacts to Saroo's 'first' words of 'pepper', how she gently tells him that she'll always listen to him, and most powerful of all, her tearful reaction to being unable to handle her other adopted son, Mantosh's, emotional instability, all feel so genuine and realistic. Her portrayal is tender and heartfelt but underlying it is a strong resilience. Her chemistry with Pawar is excellent, but her chemistry with Patel is something else altogether. Even though her screentime becomes more limited, and her presence becomes more supportive and with less direct focus, I found her even more compelling as the film progresses. Her joy and pride at Saroo is very well handled, the genuine warmth in her performance creating such a warm bond with Patel, is merged perfectly with her growing stress at having to deal with a mentally troubled son, and one who's growing increasingly distant. Kidman is brilliant at portraying a mother who struggles to keep her family together - her silent reactions after a dinnertime confrontation have particularly stuck in my mind. Like Harris and the next performance I'm moving onto, her performance only gets better as the film progresses to its end. When she realizes that Saroo is trying to reach back into the past to find his biological mother, Kidman is tremendous in showing how accepting she is, finding joy in Saroo's own joy, so endearing in her penultimate scene of saying goodbye to him before he flies back to India in search of her, but her highlight scene, where she explains to Saroo why she decided to adopt, is a tremendously acted scene, by Patel too of course, but Kidman is extremely moving in showing what motivate her and John's simple kindness. This is a great take on a well worn character type, a performance I love the more I talk about it.

1. Viola Davis, Fences

Davis's performance as Rose Lee, the supportive wife to Denzel Washington's Troy Maxson, is a very interesting study in how stage acting differs from film acting. I'm sure people who have more expertise in the fine arts of acting will be able to comment more on this aspect of Davis's performance, but just by comparing the two clips above, it's rather interesting to see how Davis modifies her award-winning stage portrayal of the character to the silver screen. This scene, the 'I've been standing here' scene, was one of the most promoted scenes from the film in trailers, TV spots etc. and yet still hit me with an incredible, unexpected impact when placed in context of the film. Where she delivered her lines with an extreme intensity and crowd-rousing aplomb onstage, she modulates it in the film to something equally impactful, but also more fitting to film. Her character's rage and anger is every bit as palpable as it was before, but she adds so many little nuances and a more raw, human energy to the delivery of her lines that just feels so right.


Essentially, if Davis only had that single scene in the whole entire film, she might still just about make my lineup. As it is, there's far more to her performance beyond that. In the early stages of the film, Davis is actually a rather quiet and unassuming presence as Rose, amiably listening to her husband's tall tales, supporting her son in his college football dreams, bantering humorously with her husband's best friend, supporting her husband's son from a previous marriage in his jazz dreams (we unfortunately never get to see Lyons Maxson dueling in a battle of the bands with Sebastian Wilder). She's just a straightforward, loving wife, and it's interesting to see the usually domineering and incisive Davis play a sort of retiring sort, but she never disappears into the background through her sheer screen presence and her subtle indications of a housewife who wants a bit more from life sometimes, and a slight discontent with her husband's emotional abuse of their son. Her performance really starts to kick off once Troy reveals an extra-marital affair to her. Davis is pure devestation in her response to this betrayal, leading to the aforementioned scene which is just brilliantly played. Afterwards, Davis is simply tremendous in carrying the rest of her scenes, whether it's her cold response to Troy begging for forgiveness by stating that he is now a 'womanless man', merged with a warmth in her care for the newborn child born out of wedlock to Troy; or her incredible final scene where she carries the film in the absence of Washington, no mean feat. Davis is incredible in her final speech in summarizing all her regrets of her marriage to Troy but also her love for him, regardless of his flawed mistakes, and gives the film a perfect summation and conclusion. Her performance is a whole boiling pot of emotions that rise and fall, a tricky role to say the least, but Davis nails it with a career-best performance that come Oscar time, will be very deservedly rewarded.

Ranking Oscar Nominees/Personal Ranking: Best Production Design, Best Visual Effects 2016

Best Production Design

Oscar Nominees:

5. Passengers

Just very uninspired stuff, incredibly forgettable and really did not deserve a nomination for this pale imitation of 2001: A Spacey Odyssey in terms of aesthetics.

4. Jackie

Very excellent work, as it effectively captures the particular sort of time period of the post-JFK times, the White House, etc. It recreates particular scenes and real-life events with such accuracy.

3. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Excellent work in merging together the Harry Potter universe and the vibes of 1920s New York. The more I think about the technical aspects of the film, the more I like it, and the production design gives such vibrancy and movie magic to the combination of the two. Special credit must go to the design of the MACUSA headquarters, Newt's trunk, and Queenie's apartment.

2. Hail, Caesar!

Tough to choose between these two! Hail, Caesar! is essentially one Hollywood vignette after another, and the production design is fittingly, very much on point. All the grand Hollywood sets feel so of that particular time period, and yet also so distinctively Hollywood. I have a particular soft spot for the sets of Hobie Doyle's disastrous period drama and 'No Dames'. In addition, beyond the sets there's a perfect sense of place and time, like Eddie Mannix's office and the restaurant he goes for lunch with a prospective future employer.

1. La La Land

Incredible work on just about every level. Everything is so contemporary yet with such a style of its own, from Mia's apartment, to the cinema where she and Sebastian have their first date, to Sebastian's cafe, and let's not forget that be-a-utiful Planetarium scene, It's all just perfection that imprints itself into your mind as strongly as the songs and performances. Bonus points for the epilogue's array after array of sets that are just...beautiful. No better word to describe them.

Personal Nominees:

5. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

4. Doctor Strange

Psychedelic work on all levels, Doctor Strange helped breath such fresh air into the Marvel aesthetic with its set pieces. Each of the sanctums, Strange's apartment, Hong Kong, New York, London, even the hospital, are just such memorable places but most importantly, always explore the dichotomy between the 'real' world and the other dimensions just through their appearance.

3. Hail, Caesar!

2. Silence

Evoking Kurosawa, but in the best possible way. From start to finish, the serene beauty of Japanese nature, the decrepit villages and the more wealthier towns, Rodrigues various houses of confinement, Kichijiro's little hut he makes for Rodrigues, all convey the film's themes of terror and beauty being intertwined so eloquently. It's not flashy period work, but rather very understated one which uses aesthetics to emphasize Rodrigues' journey in both a literal and metaphorical sense.

1. La La Land

1. La La Land
2. Silence
3. Hail, Caesar!
4. Doctor Strange
5. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
6. Kubo and the Two Strings
7. Jackie
8. Hunt for the Wilderpeople
9. Hacksaw Ridge
10. The Neon Demon

Visual Effects (I'll say little and let the effects do the talking in this section)

Oscar Nominees:

5. Deepwater Horizon

4. Rogue One

3. Kubo and the Two Strings

2. The Jungle Book

1. Doctor Strange

Personal Nominees:

5. Captain America: Civil War

4. Kubo and the Two Strings

3. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

2. The Jungle Book

1. Doctor Strange

1. Doctor Strange
2. The Jungle Book
3. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
4. Kubo and the Two Strings
5. Captain America: Civil War
6. A Monster Calls
7. Arrival
8. The BFG
9. The Witch
10. X-Men: Apocalypse

Ranking Oscar Nominees/Personal Ranking: Best Original Screenplay 2016

The Nominees:

5. The Lobster

Not going to lie, I kind of forgot this film was a thing and placed it in my ranking of 2015 films. It's an okay screenplay I guess, the first half actually has some interesting touches with the side characters and the creation of the strange world of the hotel, it's not quite John Wick-levels of innovation, but fairly creative I'd say. The second half though is extremely aimless, and fails to both make a lasting impression and resolve the story in a tonally and structurally coherent fashion. I don't hate the nomination, but I can certainly think of other much better options.

4. La La Land

An underrated aspect of the film, perhaps, because amidst all the dance and song it's easy to lose sense of the plot. It's a very simple script in many ways, focusing upon two characters and their hopes and dreams, but works very effectively for the film. You always know how they stand on their up-and-down journey to finding success, the romantic dialogue is very old-school and flows trippingly off the actors' tongues, and though the best scenes of the film are indeed the 'wordless' or singing sequences, each 'dialogue' scene also helps enhance the film.

3. 20th Century Women

Beautiful screenplay, and as a Mike Mills apologist in general (I really, really like Thumbsucker and Beginners, indie cliches and all), I feel no need to defend the film since it's received a fair share of deserved praise, especially for its tender and heartfelt, but often quite hilarious, screenplay. This coming-of-age tale set in the 70s, brimming with change and radicalism, is in turn a rather radical screenplay itself, using Mills' unique blend of narration/stream of consciousness, quotes from contemporary texts on feminism, sex and music, and gently humorous and often poignant conversations between characters, to give form to a rather 'slice of life' film. Each character feels perfectly explored and given insight into, and though nothing overly 'dramatic' happens in the course of the film you still feel invested in their plights. My favourite scene, a particularly awkward dinner scene where Abbie (Greta Gerwig) rouses up a confessional session for all at the table, is a particularly good example of this.

2. Hell or High Water

Imperfect screenplay in that a few lines are a bit on the nose, particularly in the philosophizing of the Texas rangers, that oddly written waitress/pseudo-Coen Brothers scene, makes this a little less assured than Taylor Sheridan's script for Sicario. I'd argue that it reaches higher heights, though, in its mesmerizing depiction of a very unique sort of neo-West, and its parallel relationships of the two brothers and the two lawmen. I particularly loved the writing behind Tanner, the violent and absolutely irredeemable older brother with such a strong love for his little brother Toby, and the gentle, good-natured quips by Marcus Hamilton on his partner's Mexican and Comanche heritage that always feels in good spirit, if that makes any sense. Characters who could otherwise be simplistic caricatures are vividly realized, and the tones of humorous rapport and tragedy in the writing never feel out of balance, even if the lines don't necessarily hit the mark each time.

1. Manchester by the Sea

Incredible screenplay. I know some take issue with the whole 'Patrick trying to get laid' subplot and the relative swiftness of his subplot with his mother, but I personally thought these were nice little touches to the screenplay, adding a bit of levity in terms of the former, and a bit of genuine discomfort (intentional I'd say) for the latter. The screenplay is rather brilliant in the first half building up to that revelation of Lee Chandler's past, while still retaining a very low-key sense of calm and distance in terms of setting up these characters we're to get to know. For example, though I may not have been as enthused with the character of Randi, the ex-wife of Lee, as some, I never felt she was underwritten or under explored. The film, though, is compelling in its depiction of relationships, between ex-spouses, brothers, even the less interesting scenes of the teenagers shooting the breeze don't feel out of place. It all felt very realistic to me, added to the character of Patrick, and added another layer of depth to the film in terms of how characters coped with suffering. My favourite aspect of the screenplay, however, is of course the relationship between uncle and nephew. The writing is absolutely hilarious at points (they're first conversation about whether or not Patrick's girlfriend can stay over), at other points rather cutting and deep in how close it digs deep into the soul, and that dinner table scene where Lee tells Patrick he 'can't beat it' is an absolute masterclass in minimalist dialogue, so much said with a few choice words; they don't need to say 'I love you', you feel it so strongly.

Personal Ranking:

HM: Swiss Army Man, The Edge of Seventeen, Hail, Caesar!

It really was a strong year for screenplays of the 'original' variety. All three films above are hilarious and in their very different ways, heartwarming films that find their laughs in rather strange situations. In Swiss Army Man, a farting corpse, in The Edge of Seventeen a depressed teenager's plight, in Hail, Caesar! a rather kooky version of 50s Hollywood with the overarching communist subplot behind it.

Swiss Army Man has some rather fabulous lines which convey the desperation of Hank's life with the optimism of Manny's 'life', references to Jurassic Park, and just an all-round gusto to its sheer ridiculousness that's so strangely affecting. I loved it all the way through, and even the lacklustre end is somewhat made up by with the strength of the plotting and dialogue.

The Edge of Seventeen is so enjoyable in its deconstruction of high school tropes, Woody Harrelson's abrasive teacher gets some hilarious lines, and the ending is like Swiss Army Man oddly affecting.

And Hail, Caesar!'s vignette style is rather splendid in nailing down the rather specific period of its characters and storylines, and milking them for all their comedic gold. The confrontation between Western star Hobie Doyle and director Laurence Laurentz is undoubtedly some of the funniest dialogue ever written by the Coen Brothers.

5. Captain Fantastic

I put this over Swiss Army Man mainly because though both films somewhat falter towards finding a resolution to their storylines, Captain Fantastic I'd say builds up to it better. Both are great screenplays, nevertheless. It's a very funny script in its own distinct fashion, in terms of the clash between the survivalist family and the ordinary citizens they encounter, but it goes a step further in creating quite the thought-provoking conflict between Ben Cash's personal idelogies, and the ideologies of 'society' which, unlike many cutesy indie films, are presented in an eloquent and rather convincing fashion. Which is to say the film never takes a specific side, it always balances out the conflict with equal weight to both sides of the argument. Then in depicting the bonds between the Cash family, and their specific storylines - Bo's heartbreaking realization that he's so ill-equipped to handled normal interactions with people his age in particular - it never feels shorthanded in any regard. Plus there's absolute gems like Ben's discussions about Lolita with his children, Ben's darkly hilarious but also rather heartfelt eulogy to his deceased wife, and Bo's cringe-worthy but rather sweet 'proposal' to a girl he's fallen for. A fantastic screenplay to a film that continues to stick quite well with me.

4. Eye in the Sky

Like Captain Fantastic and the other Captain film this year, the conflict between two sides of an argument is brought so vividly to life in this taut thriller about the British government's handling of a potential suicide bombing mission, and the collateral damage that will ensue. Drone warfare and Just War Theory is fascinating stomping ground for a writer to sink one’s teeth into, and Guy Hibbert’s work here is excellent in depicting both sides of the do/do not dilemma. It never descends into depicting one side as heroic or the other side as villainous, but rather very accesibly presents all sides to the argument, where all the characters stand in this argument, and help make the film move towards an incredibly powerful conclusion. A precise, methodical but also rather fascinating script that packs quite the emotional punch.

3. Hell or High Water

2. Manchester by the Sea

1. Paterson

You have high stakes and tragedy in the rest of the screenplays I've discussed here, but as per Jim Jarmusch, here's one where the biggest sort of conflict is a dog tearing apart Adam Driver's notebook of poetry - oh, and I guess Everett the melodramatic actor who is lovelorn, and pulls a gun on himself, but it's a toy gun and Driver swiftly dispatches him, and all of this is handled in a rather lighthearted fashion.

Someone asks you what is Paterson about, you tell him or her it's about a bus driver who writes poetry, a week in his life, more likely than not the response will be 'sounds like the most boring film ever'. It really isn't, though, in fact I'm thinking of writing a full article to explain why it's one of the best films of the year. This is a film that makes Loving look dramatic, it's the most low-key film of the year, where absolutely nothing out of the ordinary happens. Paterson from Paterson is kind of just a normal guy who happens to write pretty good poetry, has a happy if uneventful life with his wfie and his cute dog Marvin, goes to the bar every night to chat with some easygoing normal folk (except Emerson, but even he's much more tolerable than most insufferable actors), and even when he bumps into odd figures like an aspiring rapper at the laundry, or a Japanese man who chats to him about William Carlos Williams, it's all rather natural and never feels conventionally 'quirky', so to speak.

The screenplay really drives the whole film and Driver's performance, and everything coheres together so beautifully. It's always kind of happy and joyous and is frequently absolutely hilarious (Emerson's dramatic monologue at the bar and the barman's response, Paterson's asides to Marvin the dog, Paterson's boss with his list of personal problems to which Paterson is at loss to respond), but there's also something more to it.

For example, a scene where he discusses a little girl's poetry with her is quite sweet and endearing in its own way, but there's also something oddly profound about how it affects Paterson. And that penultimate scene, though also very funny, is also strangely moving as a sort of love letter to poetry writing, William Carlos Williams, and both Patersons at the same time. Plus the poems really touched the literature student in me with how wonderfully written they are. It's a screenplay I feel more and more enthusiastic about the more I write about it, and if I could ever write something 0.000001% as unassumingly brilliant as this, I'd be as happy as Marvin with pie.

1. Paterson
2. Manchester by the Sea
3. Hell or High Water
4. Eye in the Sky
5. Captain Fantastic
6. Swiss Army Man
7. 20th Century Women
8. La La Land
9. Hail, Caeser! 
10. The Edge of Seventeen