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I’ve been an Oscar watcher for a long time, and over the past few years we’ve seen a few crime movies not only get nominated in significant categories but also win. The Departed was last year’s correct choice for Best Picture.
If you’re looking for predictions in all categories, go to an entertainment page. I’m not picking winners, I’m discussing categories specific to crime movies. So let’s get to it.
Best Actor
We have some top candidates for this category. I’m a fan of Viggo Mortensen in Eastern Promises for this award, perhaps because he was not only naked but in a precarious knife fight. Now if Johnny Depp would strip for a knife fight like that, I’d give him more consideration. I liked his Sweeney, but his performance consisted largely of holding a sour expression and wielding a razor. Both George Clooney and Daniel Day-Lewis topped that, but the award goes to Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood.
He filled every molecule of his character and delivered perhaps the best performance of his career. But I think we should give Viggo something, too, for his ground-breaking achievement on behalf of female viewers.
Best Actress
Cate Blanchett is often my favorite, but I can’t say her “
Elizabeth” was as impressive the second time as the first. I expected to be awestruck, but I wasn’t. And none of these are crime movies, so no comment here. I don’t care who wins.
Best Supporting Actor
For my money, the Oscar goes to Javier Bardem, because he pulled off one of the baddest bad guys I’ve ever seen, but with a touch of humor. No one will be surprised if he wins, since he’s also won earlier awards in this category (and gave the most gracious speech at the SAG awards).However, Casey Affleck is my close runner-up, especially since he also achieved an impressive performance in Gone Baby Gone, a film that should have received more recognition.
Best Supporting Actress
We have three crime movies in this category (only because Atonement involved a rape as a central plot device) and I think I’d pick Ruby Dee in
American Gangster. Actually, I would have picked Kelly MacDonald, the wife from No Country For Old Men, but she wasn’t nominated. Amy Ryan was fine in Gone Baby Gone, but it was a small role without much texture, and Tilda Swinton’s character in Michael Clayton was too stereotypical to show what she can really do.
Best Director
This has to go to Ethan and Joel Coen. While I’m a fan of most of their films, and even know all the lines from Oh Brother, this is their best effort since
Fargo. I think the film deserves the award in every category for which it was nominated, except cinematography. Paul Thomas Anderson has a real accomplishment with There Will be Blood, but it was not as tight or persistently gripping as the Coen Bro enterprise.
Best Original Screenplay
I pick Michael Clayton for this one. It needs to win something.
Best Adapted Screenplay
Again, the Coen brothers take it. They spotted the novel that would suit their purposes and did an impressive job interpreting it – knowing how viewers would spit and cuss at the ending. It was bold.
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Original Song
Ok, so Enchanted isn’t exactly a crime picture, unless you count the evil witch trying to kill the heroine, but with three songs in this category, I predict that one will win. I liked the way the animals cleaned house to Happy Working Song, but the varieties of music in “That’s How You Know” grabbed me more. So that’s my pick.
Best Animation
I’ve only seen Ratatouille, and in terms of crime it’s about a rat breaking into kitchen supplies in order to cook, but I do have a hard time believing that any other animation will best it. I hate rats, but friends insisted I see this film and while I still don’t want a rat to cook for me, I thought it was surprisingly good.
Cinematography
While I was watching The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, it occurred to me that this picture should win this category. I did love the
West Texas cinematography in No Country, but no other movie came close to the achievement of AJJBCRF. Cinematography was a character in its own right. Even when the film dragged, I was nonetheless happy I was there for the landscapes alone.
Visual Effects
We don’t think of Pirates of the Caribbean as a crime movie, I know, but, hey, pirates are thieves, plunderers and killers, aren’t they? In fact, Captain Jack was murdered in the last one, which is why At World’s End even takes place. The visual effects of Davy Jones and the sea battle during the maelstrom outpaced even the Golden Compass. Transformers was good, too, but it was the same effect throughout the film. Pirates hold up, even on the small screen.
Achievement in Make-up
Bill Nighy as Davy Jones wasn’t actually in make-up, since the whole thing was CGI, and we’ve seen both Captains Jack and Barbosa before, so whose make-up are we talking about when we put Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End in this category? Whatever the answer, I vote for this film, just because. (I’m not going anywhere near Norbit.)
Best Picture
You won’t be surprised when I give this award to No Country for Old Men. While There Will be Blood was also impressive, with fine performances, I have a thing for existentially dark movies. Besides, No Country was both tighter and wittier, and I couldn’t wait to see it again. Much as I admire
Anderson’s impressive achievement, once was enough.
But as crime movie watchers, we should form our own category. Here’s my list, and you already know which one wins.
Best Crime Movies of 2007
No Country for Old Men
Eastern Promises
Gone Baby Gone
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Michael Clayton
Fracture
I don’t know enough about art direction, sound mixing and some of the other categories to comment, and I did not see the foreign films, short films, or all the documentaries, so I’ll leave others to comment on those. Let’s just enjoy the fact that crime has received more notice from these awards committees and hope for an end to the writers’ strike so we can actually see this show. |
