Last month, you may recall that we commenced a comprehensive evaluation of each of the motion pictures nominated for this year's 'Best Picture' title at the Academy Awards over in the States (Part 1 of this feature series is here). With just over a month remaining until the Oscars' victors are revealed, then, it's high time that we wrap up with verdicts on the five remaining contenders for the supposedly prestigious crown.
This time around, Her, Nebraska, Captain Philips, Dallas Buyers Club and Philomena are going under the radar, so without further ado, let's continue the quest to find the real 'Best Picture' of 2013 and early '14:
CAPTAIN PHILIPS
Follow the link here to read our original 4* review of Tom Hanks' gripping sea-bound thriller, a captivating blockbuster which premiered last October and is set to release on DVD next Monday February 10th...
4/5
HER
As if Scarlet Johansson hadn't wowed enough in Avengers Assemble, her performance in the electrifyingly intimate Her blows her portrayal of Black Widow out of the water with startling ease. Taking on the role of an increasingly humanised Artificial Intelligence construct which begins to develop emotions of love towards her owner, Johansson never allows the pseudo sci-fi premise of Spike Jonze's dazzling narrative to overshadow the severity and brutally ironic humanity of Samantha, nor does the intangibility of her digital persona render the storyline's devastating climax in an inferior light to the industry's more traditional tales of human social interaction and its ramifications. If anything, Jonze explores themes which are doubly relevant to our race in 2014, and if only a substitute could have been found for Joaquin Phoenix, whose romcom-esque hapless portrayal lets the side down, then the director's latest work would be a post-modern effort for the ages. Even if Her falls just short of masterpiece territory, though, it's an essential watch for any viewers seeking a generically, structurally and visually subversive piece of cinema which hints at an enthralling future for its medium of entertainment.
4/5
NEBRASKA
Unlike its competitors on the 'Best Picture' shortlist, Nebraska's justification for its place amongst the Oscar nominees makes itself clear from the precise moment of the film's commencement. The Paramount Vantage and FilmNation Entertainment studio logos are presented in a stylized sepia tint, and this nostalgic ode-esque cinematographic approach then persists for the duration of the feature. In the case of The Artist, its own homage to the silent era of filmmaking was for this reviewer constrained by the blasé nature of its uninspired narrative, such that it seemed as if helmer Michel Hazanavicius believed (in vain) that the stylistic prowess of his piece could compensate for an all-too-familiar structure and unsympathetic character constructs. For Nebraska's Alex Payne, however, such complacency scarcely ever manifests itself in either the finely-tuned screenplay or the vast array of diverse portrayals. The Academy's recognition of Bruce Dern in particular as a 'Best Actor' nominee this year will receive no opposition here, since Dern is arguably Payne's strongest on-screen asset, conveying the innocent charm of the ever-committed protagonist Woody Grant in such a heartwarming manner that the character will live long in our memories beyond the end credits. A noticeable stumble in its pacing at the halfway point does threaten to briefly trip Nebraska enough, yet much like Dern's aspiring elderly traveller, it finds its feet soon after and retains the right to be recalled as a subtle gem all the while.
4/5
DALLAS BUYERS CLUB
Ready for another moment of adversarial conflict between yours truly and the status quo after my awarding the otherwise critically-acclaimed American Hustle 3* in January? Here goes- Matthew McConaughey's Dallas Buyers Club attempts to a significant degree to undermine the audience's preconceptions of the values that an isolated film's main character should hold so as to ensure allegiance between the protagonist and his or her spectators, but in its striving to do so, the film eventually alienates the viewer and may well leave them with a similar sense of detachment to that which this reviewer became conscious of as its 116-minute running time progressed. Like it or not, the argument can and should be made that some elements of allegiance must exist between us and one or more of those figures depicted on-screen, and as such, director Jean-Marc Valee's failure to accomplish even a singular connection of this kind has a profoundly detrimental effect on the piece as a whole. Mercifully, Jared Leto and Jennifer Garner's portrayals are both realistic and sympathetic enough to assure that we are relatively compelled to look on for reasons other than the recently-burned hole in our pockets, but McConaughey's contribution is forced into disjointed and inferior territory in light of his recent hilarious cameo in The Wolf of Wall Street just a few short weeks ago. The two-point variation between Dallas and Wolf truly does make all the difference, and with any luck should provide a transparently meaningful indicator as to which of these two nominees you'd be best advised to prioritise in the days ahead.
2/5
PHILOMENA
British-exclusive productions are generally thin on the ground in the 'Best Picture' shortlist, and 2014 is no exception to the rule, with Philomena being this year's Les Miserables in so far as representing the only contender crafted solely in the UK. As with Tom Hooper's musical tour de force, though, we've more than held up our own, in no small part thanks to Judi Dench's heartfelt and inherently touching portrayal of disillusioned real-world mother Philomena Lee. Moreover, for once Steve Coogan isn't exempt from the category of the film's strongest contributors- although it's laden with cameos from the likes of Game of Thrones' Michelle Fairley and Harry Potter's Kate Fleetwood, Philomena is clearly Dench and Coogan's show, a fact which its helm Stephen Frears doesn't neglect in the slightest in his subdued-yet-powerful visual representation of the harrowing events which tear the Lee family apart (based on a true story, no less). Accusations must reside regarding its tone's descent into the realms of stereotypical journalistic and familial drama at times, but at the same time, the film's leads are on such strong form that it seems almost churlish to devote much time to criticising the work as a whole. I've always stated unequivocally that a 4* effort still warrants the attention of any willing fan of cinema, and never has this mantra proved more fitting than with those Oscar nominees which have just missed out on a full 5* score this year, each of which wholeheartedly deserve the world's attention in spite of their minor blemishes!
4/5
For all the details on the Oscars 2014 awards ceremony and the full winners list, keep it On-Screen in the weeks ahead!
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