With 13 nominations, The Shape of Water is up there with some of the biggest if not the best films of all time. Only three movies have more nominations, a total of 14 each: All About Eve, Titanic and La La Land. If I had to rank these three against Guillermo’s masterpiece I would allow that All About Eve is better but The Shape of Water is way better than Titanic or especially La La Land. Getting nominated does not necessarily mean winning. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King won all 11 categories it was nominated for and only two other films have won 11 awards: Ben-Hur and Titanic. However La La Land and All About Eve only managed to win 6 awards despite being nominated for 14 each. So it really comes down the competition and this year The Shape of Water is up against some excellent films. Nonetheless The Shape of Water is maybe the most interesting film of the year. The story is unusual and superbly presented. It is worth all the nominations and I would have given one more. While Richard Jenkins gets a nod for Supporting Actor I can’t understand why Michael Shannon does not get a nod for his role as the villain. He is just super evil and creepy. So I will not spoil this movie for you who have not seen it yet but I will say its a love story, a sci-fi story, a fantasy story and a fairy tale so it will appeal to many. The acting is amazing, the script is great, it was filmed in Toronto, what more can I say. Guillermo del Toro has an imagination that defies definition as demonstrated by his earlier Pan’s Labyrinth that won him 3 Oscars for Cinematography, Art Direction and Makeup. He will do better this time around.
This was the last film of the week for this reviewer and tied up the whole 10 days very well. Like Three Christs, it explores the issues around how we deal with mental illness based on real events. Three Christs was based on experimental treatments tried in 1959 and this one is based on a key legal case in 1985 that ensured that patient rights respected for those with physical illness to those suffering mental illness. The case focussed on one woman who, in frustration with her treatment, arranged for a lawyer. She lucked into a crusading woman lawyer who made major personal sacrifices to defend her and ultimately win her case. Helena Bonham Carter plays the patient who suffers from a variety of physical illnesses and is mentally disabled but not psychiatrically ill. She is mistakenly diagnosed as schizophrenic and treated brutally in the hospital. Her lawyer is played by Hillary Swank and both Carter and Swank turn in exceptional performances. Over the course of the story the two become friends and learn great respect for one another and ultimately are successful in establishing basic rights for mental patients in the US. I found the film very moving and am certain that Carter is due for an Oscar nomination and maybe a win for her performance. Some critics have been less enthusiastic about the movie because they feel it fails to raise enough anger about how people in the mental health system in the US are treated. We were lucky to have the director, Carter, the writer, and the two actual lawyers who fought the case and are still fighting for patient rights in the US present for a Q and A after the movie. They made it clear that they wanted to tell the story of the friendship between the two leads and in this they were more than successful. It is too bad that the critics in question did not listen to the filmmakers. This is an Oscar worthy film – no question.
I confess I chose this movie largely to see Tyrion Lannister in a mental hospital. Well not entirely but that was certainly a factor. The story was intriguing however. The film is based on real events that happened at the Ypsilanti mental hospital in 1959. Treatment of frequently violent paranoid patients was limited to electroshock therapy, sedation and other somewhat horrific methods that were essentially intended to punish and control rather than treat. Gere plays a psychiatrist who wanted to take an alternative and innovative psychotherapy approach. He is resisted but has enough support to start his experimental method. The three men are brought together and the film documents their interactions and the effect they have on one another including Gere who begins to identify with them largely because he comes to respect them and befriend them. The cast is excellent and I totally forgot Tyrion in favour of Dinklage’s new character so a score for him to escape type casting as a dwarf from a mythical kingdom. Gere and the director were there (on a Friday at TIFF!!) to do a Q and A after the film. Gere was very eloquent and articulate about the film and its impact on him as an actor. Since the film was based on real events, the script worked with the actual recordings of the sessions held with the three Christs which added to its power. I found the film very moving in parts and it evoked some leaky eyes including my own. Worth a watch.
Darkest Hour is a film about the rise of Churchill as the war with Hitler reached a crisis; Great Britain’s darkest hour. With the German army overwhelming Europe and driving the British Expeditionary Force of 300K men to the beaches of Dunkirk, many politicians wanted to sue for peace and basically hand victory to the Nazi’s. There were however many who opposed that solution and Churchill, who was not the most popular politician, was their chosen leader to replace Neville Chamberlain. Darkest Hour follows this transition and the rescue of the expeditionary force from Dunkirk. Gary Oldman plays Churchill in what has to be an Oscar worthy performance and as Eli Glasner suggests, so should the makeup artist. You will not recognize Oldman except maybe his eyes. The film is done with humour, and modesty and does not overwhelm the audience with chest beating heroism. The script is smart and the rest of the supporting cast are great. Although we all know the outcome the tension of struggle between those wanting to cut a deal with Hitler and Churchill’s unwillingness to surrender is palpable throughout. This movie will be honoured next February and hopefully you will have a chance to see it before then.
Movies: Rants and Raves 