National Board of Review winners

For the films of 2012
flipp525
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Re: National Board of Review winners

Post by flipp525 »

bizarre wrote:
OscarGuy wrote:Ann Dowd in Compliance sounds like a pick somewhat similar to Jacki Weaver in Animal Kingdom. Both films were barely seen, well reviewed films with longtime character actresses emerging into the Oscar race. I could see Dowd carrying forward, espeially since some are grousing that her work in Compliance is borderline lead.
It's not even 'borderline' lead. There's really no reason that she should be Supporting. She's the central character, the crux of the drama and she's onscreen far more than anyone else in the film. The only time the focus shifts away from her is for a short time in the 3rd act.
I just watched Compliance. It's a deeply unsettling film. There are a couple interesting things going on, especially the way in which the director turns a fast-food restaurant into a chamber of horrors. It almost felt like the American version of Michael Haneke's White Ribbon—a scathing indictment of how easily evil can seep into weak minds. I also thought that Ann Dowd was very good in it and deserving of any accolades she's getting for her performance. It's beautifully intricate character work right up until the last frame. And hers is absolutely the lead role in the film (but I can deal with her placement in support).
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Re: National Board of Review winners

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OscarGuy wrote:Ann Dowd in Compliance sounds like a pick somewhat similar to Jacki Weaver in Animal Kingdom. Both films were barely seen, well reviewed films with longtime character actresses emerging into the Oscar race. I could see Dowd carrying forward, espeially since some are grousing that her work in Compliance is borderline lead.
It's not even 'borderline' lead. There's really no reason that she should be Supporting. She's the central character, the crux of the drama and she's onscreen far more than anyone else in the film. The only time the focus shifts away from her is for a short time in the 3rd act.
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Re: National Board of Review winners

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I can understand that Americans are looking for a "new Meryl Streep", especially considering that their young actresses today generally dont seem very impressive - that, or they simply dont get the kind of roles which would allow them to show their versatility and talent. Still, from what I've seen till now, I'm not sure that Jessica Chastain deserves the title, though I admit that she was rather affecting in Take Shelter. But she is perceived by many as Great, which will definitely lead to an Oscar - if not this year, soon. I hope that she won't get too many precursors though - Best Actress is potentially interesting this year, and a duel between her and that other young and praised (overpraised sometimes) new star, Jennifer Lawrence, could be fascinating.

Emmanuelle Riva came close to a win in New York - the same could happen to her in other places, too, and she might even win some critics' awards. But of course Amour is the kind of movie critics - justly - appreciate; and most importantly critics know who she is, know and respect the iconic performance she gave half a century ago - and I trust the Academy's memory less. But I can't deny that if there arent many alternatives, and if Amour keeps winning prizes in America (the ones it gets in Europe don't mean much), in January her sublime performance could find a place among the nominated ones. (At the expense, I'm afraid, of Cotillard).

For once we can be grateful that the Academy rarely gives more than two Oscars to even the greatest performers - because if Daniel Day-Lewis had won just one, he'd certainly win this year. It's a combination of great actor playing a great historical character + leading performance in a much liked movie which will probably lose Best Picture so must be honored for something else + well... I don't even need to see the movie, its poster is enough. Day-Lewis, of course, is so admired that a third Oscar is still very possible, but at least it won't be too obvious.

And let me say that I am relieved that for the moment both Les Miserables and Anne Hathaway arent getting what their crazed fans are desperately hoping for. I know, the critics don't count too much in this case, and later things will change... but for example the National Board of Review was, in theory, the kind of place where Hathaway could have taken home something. So who knows...
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Re: National Board of Review winners

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And what is this bullshit that this somehow a weak year for lead women in film? It's not. Riva, Cotillard, Chastain, Lawrence, Wallis, Watts, Knightley, Weisz, Mirren, Smith (for Quartet), Dench (for Marigold) all have a shot. Just because the supposed "big" films (Life of Pi, Lincoln, Les Miz, Argo, etc.) don't feature a lead female role (or, literally, only a few do like Silver Linings Playbook and Zero Dark Thirty), doesn't mean that the Academy will be scraping the bottom of the barrel to come up with lead actress contenders. I'm so sick of that annual meme.
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Re: National Board of Review winners

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Ann Dowd in Compliance sounds like a pick somewhat similar to Jacki Weaver in Animal Kingdom. Both films were barely seen, well reviewed films with longtime character actresses emerging into the Oscar race. I could see Dowd carrying forward, espeially since some are grousing that her work in Compliance is borderline lead.
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Re: National Board of Review winners

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Yeah, Filmfan, I have to concur that Chastain's NY reviews for The Heiress were shockingly poor. This may be a minor bump in her career (similar to Pfeiffer flopping with Twelfth Night in Central Park the same year she did Fabulous Baker Boys). But I certainly wouldn't expect her to score any extra credit points for the project.

I can imagine Riva winning National and LA, Chastain and Lawrence each winning Globes, and this race staying open-ended all the way.

Zero Dark Thirty taking both of the first contests is of course impressive, but, recall, Letters from Iwo Jima did the same in '86 (though it was NBR & LA there). If it takes LA as well, then we're obviously looking at something major. But it's hard to imagine critics being so uniform in a year when a decent assortment of mainstream films have received widespread acclaim.

There have been reports of NBR expanding its voting roster in recent years, which may explain the somewhat edgier best picture picks the past few years -- they don't seem to seek out the Finding Neverlands any more. Zero Dark Thirty actually seems closer to the sort of film that ran second in years past and won the directing prize...like The Talented Mr. Ripley, or Traffic.
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Re: National Board of Review winners

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I don't think Ann Dowd is going anywhere. The film is just too little-seen and uncomfortable.
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Re: National Board of Review winners

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The reviews I read for The Heiress were pretty bad. Chastain, David Strathairn and Dan Stevens all received stinging notices. Dana Ivey did escape the critic's warth but I wouldn't call Aunt Lavinia a relatively small role. It's the fourth billed character in the play for which both Miriam Hopkins and Maggie Smith received excellent notices for the screen versions.
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Re: National Board of Review winners

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Ann Dowd has been mentioned all year long by those who've seen her film beginning at Sundance, but Compliance is a small independant film which will be a tough but not impossible sell for Oscar. She's also nominated for an Independant Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress despite the fact that the relatively known character actress who usually plays nurses and nuns on TV is the star of the film.

I'm not surprised that the NBR passed on The Master but I am surprised by the omission of The Sessions; Lifed of Pi and Hitchcock and a bit surprised at the incusion of Quartet among the top ten independant films.
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Re: National Board of Review winners

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flipp, I didn't see it, but the reviews I read all seemed very positive about her, which to a lot of the voting body in L.A. is all that really matters. And it is a Roundabout production, so it was always going to be a limited run.
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Re: National Board of Review winners

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FilmFan720 wrote:I also am really feeling, right now, that Jessica Chastain might be the force to be reckoned with in the Best Actress category. She had a monster year last year, with many claiming her to be our next Great American Actress (and her turn on Broadway right now is supporting that)
Uh, have you seen it? Her Catherine Sloper was a hot mess and I believe the play is closing by the end of the year. Dana Ivey wiped the floor with the rest of the cast in a relatively small role.

This isn't to argue against Chastain's talent which was on full display in what felt like every movie that came out last year (especially her performances in Take Shelter and The Help), but her performance in "The Heiress" was just plain bad.
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Re: National Board of Review winners

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A couple of thoughts:

Historically, the NBR goes for one of two types of films for Best Picture: the crowd-pleaser (Finding Neverland, Hugo, Moulin Rouge!) or the darker film that is becoming the critical consensus (LA Confidential, No Country for Old Men, The Social Network). Zero Dark Thirty certainly seems to fall into the latter category (especially now that it is now 2/2 in Picture and Director), but from the early reviews I have seen trickling in it may also be the crowd-pleaser that straddles the line between those two categories.

I also am really feeling, right now, that Jessica Chastain might be the force to be reckoned with in the Best Actress category. She had a monster year last year, with many claiming her to be our next Great American Actress (and her turn on Broadway right now is supporting that), and this may just be the right time to give her this. I am thinking back to the emergence of Meryl Streep in the late 1970s...she got the nod for The Deer Hunter (in a year with several acclaimed performances) and the next year wins for her turn in the eventual Best Picture winner (granted that was a supporting award, but still...). Jennifer Lawrence is still right there, but I have heard as many negative reviews of that film as I have positive ones (and viciously so on both ends) that Chastain might be the "safer" choice. Of course, there is still lots of time to tell.

Looper for Screenplay seems as credible to carry on more nominations as Buried was last year.

Then there is Ann Dowd, the biggest surprise on this list by a long shot. Looking back over the past 20 years of this award, no one has won an acting award from the NBR who didn't go on to be either a nominee or a major contender in the race who missed the mark on nomination morning (Clint Eastwood, Catherine O'Hara, Shailene Woodley, etc.) The only exception may be Anne Heche in 1997 or Lupe Ontiverdos in 2000, but remember both of them still holding whisperings of a chance into January. Is Ann Dowd someone we have all overlooked who could emerge. I know almost nothing about the movie, and haven't read any reviews, so I don't know how shocking this really is. But Supporting Actress is not the biggest of pools this year (I personally have had trouble fitting in 5 nominees in my predictions) so maybe she's a real contender here.
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Re: National Board of Review winners

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The notable omittees from the top ten film list are The Master (which was borderline as an NBR-type film), The Sessions, and, most conspicuously absent, Life of Pi.

Does a scattered field for best actor (imagine, now, LA picking Phoenix) make the situation better or worse for Day-Lewis? Which is to say, is he a default choice whose hand will be strengthed by split results, or does a critical split make him less inevitable and thus open the field?

Ditto Anne Hathaway. I suspect she's Octavia Spencer-ish -- likely to sweep the TV phase of awards season regardless -- but it is amazing the lengths to which groups are going to avoid choosing her.

Is this DiCaprio choice a bow to Oscar-blogger season-long campaigning, or for real? Other reactions to the film have seemed to more single out Waltz or Jackson in this category.

I know NBR's screenplay choices have been off-the-wall at times, but is Looper a genuine candidate for an original screenplay nomination? Apart from Zero Dark/Moonrise/the Master, it's a pretty open slate.
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Re: National Board of Review winners

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Magilla, you're missing Looper in your list of Top 10 Films
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Re: National Board of Review winners

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Top Films (in alphabetical order) "Argo" "Beasts of the Southern Wild" "Django Unchained" "Les Miserables "Lincoln" "Looper" "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" "Promised Land" "Silver Linings Playbook"

Top 5 Foreign Language Films (in alphabetical order) "Barbara" "The Intouchables" "The Kid with a Bike "No" "War Witch"

Top 5 Documentaries (in alphabetical order) "Ai Weiwie: Never Sorry" "Detropia" "The Gatekeepers "The Invisible War" "Only the Young"

Top 10 Independent Films (in alphabetical order) "Arbitrage" "Bernie" "Compliance" "End of Watch" "Hello I Must Be Going" "Little Birds" "Moonrise Kingdom" "On the Road" "Quartet" "Sleepwalk with Me"
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