For the last seven years as the Academy Awards ceremonies have neared, I have tried to watch and write brief reviews of at least some of the films nominated for Best Picture.
While the number reviewed most years has run between three and five, this year I was unfortunately only able to see two – “Manchester by the Sea” and “La La Land.”
I wanted to see at least one more and went so far as to rent it online, even though I prefer seeing them at the theater whenever possible.
Unfortunately, I could not get the audio to work on that one, causing me to give up watching it while also being tempted to curse in anger almost as much as the characters in some of these movies do.
So with the Academy Awards scheduled to air this Sunday night on ABC, I will keep my reviews down to two this year.
But they are about the two movies likely getting the most votes.
And I hope in the near future to watch as many of the other Best Picture-nominated films as possible. The other seven pictures vying for the top award are “Arrival,” “Fences,” “Hacksaw Ridge” (about former Chattanooga area Medal of Honor recipient Desmond Doss), “Hell or High Water,” “Hidden Figures,” “Lion,” and “Moonlight.”
So here are my reviews, with my favorite of the two discussed second:
“Manchester by the Sea” – When I saw the title of this movie, I assumed it was a British-themed movie with lots of accents. It is not.
It actually takes place in Massachusetts, and like “The Fighter” boxing movie and fellow Best Picture nominee from a few years ago, it points out that people from the Boston area curse a lot and many have substance abuse or anger issues.
Below that, however, is an interesting and heartfelt storyline that for most of the more than two hours will likely depress viewers, or maybe make them glad they do not have life that bad.
The movie starts out with the lead character played by Casey Affleck, the younger and formerly lesser-known brother of Ben Affleck, doing hard and unglamorous work as a handyman plumber at a decades-old Quincy, Mass., apartment complex.
He has to leave the job and go and be with his 16-year-old nephew, played by Lucas Hedges, after the boy’s well-respected father – and the brother of Mr. Affleck’s character -- dies due to ongoing heart disease problems. After the death, Mr. Affleck’s character is surprised to learn that he has been given custody.
He is reluctant but agrees for the time being to be with the youngster, who, while basically a good kid, is a typical teenage boy full of hormones around teenage girls.
Through flashbacks to the past, the movie points out that these family dynamics are rooted in much deeper and darker characters and events than a viewer might have originally thought watching Mr. Affleck’s character do the humdrum work of a plumber.
For example, his three children had several years earlier died in a house fire after he forgot to put a screen on the fireplace following a night of partying with his friends, and the teen-age boy’s mother had been an alcoholic. The youngster briefly reconnects with her after she is supposedly rehabilitated with the help of her overprotective Christian fiancé, but she still seems to have problems when they enjoy a meal together.
Through all the flashbacks, one aspect that seemed stable was that Mr. Affleck’s character and his nephew always enjoyed a good friendship and ability to get along with each other. This seems to help carry them through the ordeals.
And at the end, after they have worked out the teenager’s guardianship, all the drama is seemingly behind them and they finally get to enjoy fun and casual activities like taking a walk together. This causes the movie to end on an upbeat note after having a depressing feel throughout most of the running time.
While the acting seemed a little understated in places, it is overall a good movie and deals with several universal themes to which many viewers can relate, including overcoming tragedy and figuring out where home truly is.
Some years such movies about somber lives or difficult experiences win Best Picture, but likely not this year.
“La La Land” – When I heard about this movie, I assumed it would be just like watching an old Gene Kelly musical and would have a happy ending like many Hollywood pictures of old.
While it does have one or two magnificent dance scenes – including a flash mob-like rhythmic sequence atop and beside some vehicles stuck in a Los Angeles traffic jam at the start – it is a little different from that. In fact, the film’s main dance – at least figuratively -- is the plot’s several surprising and quick changes of direction.
And that includes an ending that leaves sentimental viewers not completely happy.
The movie is about a talented young piano player/keyboardist, played by Ryan Gosling, who loves traditional and pure jazz and dreams of opening his own jazz club in Los Angeles. He eventually meets a fellow romantic and traditionalist at heart, played by Emma Stone, who is a wannabe actress.
Although their initial meetings are a little rocky, they eventually take to each other and realize they are almost like soul mates. They also seem to help each other with their respective careers and goals.
However, the relationship seems to take a few bumps as they are pursuing their various careers and are apart a little, but a viewer will likely still think everything is going to be OK.
Life does work out regarding their careers, but unfortunately for the romantic at heart, it does not for their lives together.
The movie fast-forwards five years and viewers learn that she has become a successful actress with the help of Mr. Gosling’s character, while he has opened his own old-style jazz club and is the featured musician. It is called Seb’s, which is short for his first name of Sebastian, and was inspired by Ms. Stone’s suggestion. He even has the same logo she had drawn.
However, she has married another man and has a child.
But the two old lovers do meet up at the end when she and her husband visit the jazz club by chance and she realizes it is her old boyfriend’s place. Their eyes embrace, even if they don’t, and he plays the movie’s main song as a tribute to her while a make-believe sequence of scenes of what might have been between them is shown on the screen.
The two had achieved their career goals, but not what the viewers’ main goal was – seeing the two get married and live happily ever after.
Still, it is a great movie and deserves to win Best Picture if all goes according to most predictions!
Jcshearer2@comcast.net