The Oscars: Style vs. story

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This article was published 25/02/2011 (5675 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

IN the run-up to the Academy Awards presentation Sunday evening, pundits love to frame the competition for awards as a battle of generations, with fiery, stylish cinematic upstarts such as The Social Network going head to head with more traditional, inspirational fare along the lines of The King’s Speech.

It’s Old Hollywood versus New Hollywood, we’re told.

In fact, the real conflict is practically as old as Oscar itself. It’s stylists vs. storytellers.

Oscar actually appreciates a good story, elegantly told, with a minimum of directorial flourish. That’s why George Roy Hill won the award in 1974 for the crowd-pleasing hit The Sting.

But the previous year, the winner was a baroque film stylist — Bob Fosse, who won the award for the oft-expressionist musical Cabaret.

Go down the list of winners and you’ll see fair representation for both camps. The storyteller triumphed with films such as Titanic, Dances With Wolves and Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. The stylists have carved out places for themselves with films such as American Beauty, No Country for Old Men and Slumdog Millionaire.

The conflict came to head during the 1980 edition of the Oscars when storyteller Robert Redford and his film Ordinary People delivered a K.O. to master stylist Martin Scorsese’s boxing movie Raging Bull.

But it’s best to go into the Oscar race with an appreciation for both camps. Bear in mind that the old-vs.-new shtick as it applies to best-picture favourites The Social Network and The King’s Speech is particularly dubious. King’s Speech director Tom Hooper is 10 years younger than Social Network’s David Fincher, and he’s only been making films since 2004. Technically speaking, he’s the new guy.

Category by category, the Oscars come down to this:

 

Actor in a Leading Role

The nominees are: Javier Bardem in Biutiful; Jeff Bridges in True Grit; Jesse Eisenberg (above left) in The Social Network; Colin Firth (above) in The King’s Speech; James Franco in 127 Hours.

Should win: It would be a kick if Bridges won his second consecutive Oscar for the same role that earned the statue for John Wayne a few decades back. But for his combination of technical mastery coupled with rich emotional resonance, Colin Firth deserves it for his tormented, stuttering King George VI in The King’s Speech

Will win: Colin Firth in The King’s Speech, for precisely the reasons quoted above.

 

Actress in a Leading Role

The nominees are: Annette Bening in The Kids Are All Right; Nicole Kidman in Rabbit Hole; Jennifer Lawrence in Winter’s Bone; Natalie Portman in Black Swan; Michelle Williams in Blue Valentine.

Should win: Natalie Portman in Black Swan. Again, this is an example of technical achievement (you try convincingly playing a prima ballerina) coupled with the impressive capacity to flesh out a character from Darren Aronofsky’s hallucinogenic imagination.

Will win: Natalie Portman (shown below) already won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Black Swan, and that’s a good indication her peers will again acknowledge her work here.

 

Actor in a Supporting Role

The nominees are: Christian Bale in The Fighter; John Hawkes in Winter’s Bone; Jeremy Renner in The Town; Mark Ruffalo in The Kids Are All Right; Geoffrey Rush in The King’s Speech.

Should win: Christian Bale in The Fighter. This Welsh actor simply goes all out as troubled boxer-trainer Dicky Eklund, a character possessed of charisma, desperation and a thirst for redemption.

Will win: Bale, assuming Geoffrey Rush doesn’t insinuate himself into the Oscar for his droll work as a speech therapist in The King’s Speech.

 

Actress in a Supporting Role

The nominees are: Amy Adams in The Fighter; Helena Bonham Carter in The King’s Speech; Melissa Leo in The Fighter; Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit; Jacki Weaver in Animal Kingdom.

Should win: Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit. Steinfeld’s vengeful teen Mattie Ross is actually a lead role, and it’s one she acquits with humour and style.

Will win: Melissa Leo in The Fighter. Consider this an authentic battle of young vs. old in Hollywood, with seasoned vet Leo emerging victorious.

 

Directing

The nominees are: Darren Aronofsky: Black Swan; David O. Russell: The Fighter; Tom Hooper: The King’s Speech; David Fincher: The Social Network; Joel Coen and Ethan Coen: True Grit.

Should win: If the race is truly between Fincher and Tom Hooper, Fincher should carry the day, as it was his skill that propelled The Social Network’s legal-techno mumbo-jumbo with the torque of a crack police procedural.

Will win: The Social Network’s David Fincher will likely be thrown the bone of a best-director Oscar, especially if the Best Picture winner goes with the popular sentiment. See below.

 

Best Picture

The nominees are: Black Swan; The Fighter; Inception; The Kids Are All Right; The King’s Speech; 127 Hours; The Social Network; Toy Story 3; True Grit; Winter’s Bone.

Should win: Great screenplay, solid performances and a good story, well told. This year, The King’s Speech wins one for the storytellers.

Will win: The King’s Speech, acknowledging potential upsets by either The Social Network or True Grit.