day 65 - A Serious Man and Oscar Picks

OK film fans, we've got a new film and some Oscar predictions to get to so let's hit it.

A Serious Man is not probably what you are expecting from the Coen Brothers. But when you win an Oscar, as Todd McCarthy notes in his Variety review, "this is the kind of picture you get to make." It's a very personal film, a labor of love that is filled with questions, and a few answers, about the purpose of life, love, suffering, family, obligation and religion. If that seems like a lot to swallow, it is. What's more, it doesn't sugar coat it with the comedic flair we are accustomed to from the brothers, a la O Brother, Where Art Thou or The Big Lebowski. It's not a completely serious film or a comedy, but rather similar in tone to their black comedy classic Fargo. But being a personal film often means the subject matter is not entertaining to a wider audience

The weight of the world seems to be coming down on Professor Larry Gopnik. His wife is leaving him for a friend of his. His son is an aimless pot head whose only concern is F-Troop. His daughter steals money from his wallet to save for a nose job. His brother is sleeping on the couch disrupting their lives with his presence and his mental deterioration. His neighbors are a gun nut and a lonely temptress. A student who's failing his physics class is simultaneously bribing and blackmailing him. The tenure committee has started to receive letters questioning his moral turpitude just as they're deciding his future. All in all, he has a lot on his plate.

The Coen's masterfully weave this story together, but you must exert a fair amount of patience because they are in no hurry to do so. When you're dealing with directors of this caliber it's important to remember that every frame is intentional. What you see and how you see it makes more sense the more you think about the purpose of the film. Some reviewers have called this a retelling/re-imagination of the Book of Job. While the Coen's film clearly shows its influence, it is hardly an update of this parable. The key element in Job's story is perseverance, you have to be patient, and look deeper. Because it's not a matter of if we will go through hard times and heartache, it's a question of when and how we deal with it.

Equally important are two other principals the Coen's are using for subtext. The first scene in the film is a parable of sorts about an ancestor of Gopnik's. As the Guru states, in essence it explains how the rational (physics) is rendered irrelevant by the mystical (fate). It doesn't hurt to understand the meaning of Gopnik's first lecture, the Schrodinger's Cat thought experiment. It's inclusion near the beginning of the film tips us off to the simultaneous duality of life the Coen's are exploring. Our lives are filled with highs and lows, often occurring quizzically at the same time. Things are never entirely what they seem, even when we are looking directly at them. There's a ton more symbolism that I know I'm missing since my only exposure to Judaism consists of one semester of theology called An Introduction to Jewish Life and Thought, which I took at a Catholic university. While I'm sure this adds to the enjoyment of the film it's not a precursor. This film isn't for everyone, in fact it's not for a very big group at all. But it's a pleasure to watch talented film makers work on a story close to their heart and realize sometimes in Hollywood you find people talented to work both sides of the fence.


OSCAR PICKS

OK, I'm not going to go into length about how much I loathe the Oscars and how similar the awards are to high school Prom elections. But I will say they are unbelievably suspect. There are so many examples of inferior wins in the major categories I could spend days discussing it, instead take a look at the history of the awards and the previous examples list and make your own conclusions.

I've copied the list of the big categories below, those in BOLD are who I think will win while those in ITALICS were my favorite (at least of what I've seen). To be fair, and honestly I'm not a sexist, I haven't seen any of the performances nominated for Best Actress. I will work on correcting this oversight as soon as possible, in the meantime my guess is based on numerous other folks guesses. I picked my favorite based on the belief that Meryl Streep is the greatest living actor in the world. We should kiss her ass every time she graces us with a film to make up for the fact she has been nominated 16 times with only 2 wins, the last coming in 1983!

Best Motion Picture of the Year

Nominees:
	A Serious Man (2009) - Joel Coen; Ethan Coen An Education (2009) - Finola Dwyer; Amanda Posey Avatar (2009) - James Cameron (I); Jon Landau (I) District 9 (2009) - Peter Jackson (I); Carolynne Cunningham Inglourious Basterds (2009) - Lawrence Bender Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009) - Lee Daniels (I); Sarah Siegel-Magness; Gary Magness The Blind Side (2009) - Gil Netter; Andrew A. Kosove; Broderick Johnson The Hurt Locker (2008) - Kathryn Bigelow; Mark Boal; Nicolas Chartier; Greg Shapiro (I) Up (2009) - Jonas Rivera Up in the Air (2009/I) - Daniel Dubiecki; Ivan Reitman; Jason Reitman

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

Nominees:
	A Single Man (2009) - Colin Firth Crazy Heart (2009) - Jeff Bridges (I) Invictus (2009) - Morgan Freeman (I) The Hurt Locker (2008) - Jeremy Renner Up in the Air (2009/I) - George Clooney

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

Nominees:
	An Education (2009) - Carey Mulligan Julie & Julia (2009) - Meryl Streep Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009) - Gabourey Sidibe The Blind Side (2009) - Sandra Bullock The Last Station (2009) - Helen Mirren

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

Nominees:
	Inglourious Basterds (2009) - Christoph Waltz Invictus (2009) - Matt Damon The Last Station (2009) - Christopher Plummer (I) The Lovely Bones (2009) - Stanley Tucci (I) The Messenger (2009/I) - Woody Harrelson

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

Nominees:
	Crazy Heart (2009) - Maggie Gyllenhaal Nine (2009) - Penélope Cruz Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009) - Mo'Nique Up in the Air (2009/I) - Vera Farmiga Up in the Air (2009/I) - Anna Kendrick (I)

Best Achievement in Directing

Nominees:
	Avatar (2009) - James Cameron (I) Inglourious Basterds (2009) - Quentin Tarantino Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009) - Lee Daniels (I) The Hurt Locker (2008) - Kathryn Bigelow Up in the Air (2009/I) - Jason Reitman

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen

Nominees:
	A Serious Man (2009) - Joel Coen; Ethan Coen Inglourious Basterds (2009) - Quentin Tarantino The Hurt Locker (2008) - Mark Boal The Messenger (2009/I) - Alessandro Camon; Oren Moverman Up (2009) - Bob Peterson (III) (screenplay/story); Pete Docter (screenplay/story); Thomas McCarthy (I) (story)

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published

Nominees:
	An Education (2009) - Nick Hornby (I) District 9 (2009) - Neill Blomkamp; Terri Tatchell In the Loop (2009) - Jesse Armstrong (I); Simon Blackwell; Armando Iannucci; Tony Roche (I) Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009) - Geoffrey Fletcher Up in the Air (2009/I) - Jason Reitman; Sheldon Turner

Best Achievement in Cinematography

Nominees:
	Avatar (2009) - Mauro Fiore Das weisse Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte (2009) - Christian Berger (I) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) - Bruno Delbonnel Inglourious Basterds (2009) - Robert Richardson (I) The Hurt Locker (2008) - Barry Ackroyd

Best Achievement in Editing

Nominees:
	Avatar (2009) - Stephen E. Rivkin; John Refoua; James Cameron (I) District 9 (2009) - Julian Clarke Inglourious Basterds (2009) - Sally Menke Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009) - Joe Klotz The Hurt Locker (2008) - Bob Murawski; Chris Innis

day 59 - The Big Lebowski

OK film fans, its Monday night and after successfully navigating the most dangerous day of the week, I thought I'd kick back with some old friends, have a beer and chill. Joel and Ethan, The Coen Brothers, are well known for their astounding collection of films that, for the most part, the duo write, produce, direct and edit. While the mainstream kudos are heaped upon their Oscar nominated films, like No Country for Old Men, Fargo and O Brother, Where Art Thou, my favorites have always been their smaller, more quirky comedies. Films like Raising Arizona, Burn After Reading and tonight's film.

The Big Lebowski is a film less about plot than it is a testament to a lifestyle choice. On the surface this is a simple tale. Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski (Jeff Bridges in a role he was born to play), the embodiment of the Southern California slacker spirit and the liberal ethos, begins the film as a victim of mistaken identity. The Dude is visited by two enforcers for a porn king who is owed serious money by another Lebowski's (aka the Big Lebowski) wife, Bunny (Tara Reid a year before American Pie and two years before her career was over). The enforcers rough up The Dude and piss on his rug to send a message. Only afterward do they realizing that The Dude does not live like a man who is supposed to be a millionaire. The Dude, spurred on by his overly aggressive friend Walter Sobachak (a surprisingly effective John Goodman), a Viet Nam vet and the embodiment of the conservative ethos, visits the Big Lebowski to gain compensation. After he's rejected he leaves with a replacement rug on the sly. Later, when the Big Lebowski's wife is kidnapped, The Dude is offered $20k to deliver the ransom. He also loses the rug to its rightful owner, Maude Lebowski (Julianne Moore), the Big Lebowski's daughter from his first wife. Thanks to mistake filled schemes and deceptions soon everyone is looking for a piece of The Dude, who really just wanted to bowl and drink White Russians.

Seems like a simple, fun time delivered by modern masters of dialogue and direction. To be sure, it is exactly that, a goofy fun time about bowling, mistaken identity and nihilists. When you watch The Big Lebowski you can take from it exactly what you see, goofball slapstick from the Coen Brothers. And that's the beauty of the film, they are so successful at creating a glossy exterior they can subtly deliver a bold subtext on American life that's hidden in a surprisingly labyrinthine plot.

When it was first released The Big Lebowski was not a big hit, garnering average reviews and a barely breaking even ($17 mil on an est. $15 mil budget). It has gone on to become a cult classic, complete with its own festival and religion. It has also been dissected and analyzed, revealing a film pitting The Dude's hippie "liberal" school of thought against Walter's more right wing neoconservative sensibilities. The real dynamic of the film, the driving force of the narrative, is Walter's overbearingly aggressive solutions to problems, that inevitably go awry, and The Dude's inability to rein him in.

But beyond all that is a Coen Brothers film filled with beautiful sequences, wild characters, classic movie references and amazing soundtrack choices. It's also a film that encourages multiple viewings and rewards those willing to let The Dude abide. But hey, that's your choice and The Dude will abide regardless. Long live The Dude inside every one of us.