(HOST) Commentator Jay Craven is a filmmaker, teacher and producer who’s looking forward to the Academy Awards this weekend. He thinks a dose of tinseltown nonsense and occasional magic might be welcome right about now – especially as mud season approaches.
(CRAVEN) The Writers’ Guild has settled its strike so fake newsman Jon Stewart is working feverishly behind-the-scenes to prepare his second stint as host of this Sunday’s Academy Awards. The event pivots more on glamour than substance, but it often recognizes talent.
I think this year’s field of nominated actors is the strongest in years. And several merit special mention – especially Daniel Day-Lewis’ monumental performance in "There Will Be Blood," a blazing oil field saga set at the dawn of the 20th century. Lewis plays a fierce, haunted and megalomaniacal wildcatter who’s hell-bent for every drop of black gold he can suck from the earth. Halfway through the screening, I found myself instinctively comparing Lewis’ outsized depiction of Daniel Plainview to none other than the legendary Orson Welles, playing the similarly obsessive Hearst-like newspaper mogul in "Citizen Kane."
I expect Daniel Day-Lewis to win this year’s Best Actor nod, though I was also knocked out by Viggo Mortensen’s fierce, morally ambiguous Russian rescuer in David Cronenberg’s "Eastern Promises." George Clooney and Tommy Lee Jones are also fine in "Michael Clayton" and "In the Valley of Elah" – but Lewis and Mortensen so fully inhabit their characters we can scarcely recognize them from anything else they’ve ever done.
This year’s Supporting Actor choices are also superb, especially Casey Affleck as cowardly outlaw wannabe Robert Ford in Andrew Dominik’s dreamlike psychological western, "The Assassination of Jesse James." Expect Javier Bardem and Tom Wilkinson to also be competitive for their powerful performances in "No Country for Old Men" and "Michael Clayton."
In actress Sarah Polley’s exceptional debut film, "Away From Her," Julie Christie offers a layered career-topping turn and deserves the Best Actress trophy. Christie’s luminous Fiona slips into Alzheimers, taking emotional liberties along the way that help her even the score for a life of mixed emotions in her up-and-down marriage. Newcomer Ellen Page is beyond smart and captivating in "Juno," landing a rare nomination for a performance in comedy. Marion Cotillard also shines in "La Vie en Rose," playing the celebrated French songstress Edith Piaf.
Personally, I’d love to see 86 year-old veteran Ruby Dee walk away with her first Oscar, for Best Supporting Actress, for her affecting turn as Denzel Washington’s principled mother in "American Gangster." Dee has created a lifetime of sublime characterization in pictures ranging from "A Raisin in the Sun" to "Do the Right Thing," often playing opposite her equally talented husband, the late Ossie Davis.
Fine actors excel for their ability to "bring the inside outside." When they succeed with the kind of flair seen among this year’s nominees, we experience uncommon and penetrating insight into nothing less than the multi-faceted, often perplexing, and enormously intricate human experience.