Last year actor Russell Crowe won an Academy Award and director Ridley Scott received a nomination for work on "Gladiator." Looking back it seemed Oscar voters were a little too eager to honor their talents. They should have waited another year. They shined even brighter in 2001.
Crowe did indeed receive another nomination for his work as the schizophrenic John Nash in "A Beautiful Mind," and Ridley Scott was recognized for the technically brilliant "Black Hawk Down."
The Academy for Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the Oscar nominees last week. "A Beautiful Mind," "Gosford Park," "In the Bedroom," "Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring" and "Moulin Rouge" were this year's choices for Best Picture.
Unfortunately only three of these films ever made it to Muncie and most moviegoers in town (myself included) never got to see "Gosford Park" or "In the Bedroom." Other gems such as "Monster's Ball" ( which earned two nominations) will have to wait until they are on the shelves at Blockbuster before they receive any local coverage.
Based on the films I have seen I have chosen five that I would nominate for an Oscar if I were an Academy member. So here are my choices for the five best films of the year.
"A Beautiful Mind"
Ron Howard's most beautiful film to date wisely avoids stumbling over the details of Nobel Prize-winner John Nash's mathematical accomplishments and focuses on his personal struggle with schizophrenia. It is not a story about the mechanics of arithmetic but an examination of the human condition. Nash, determined to find a logic to all of life's problem's deals with illness the only way that makes sense to him, which is through sheer will power.
Nash's condition peels away at the cocky exterior to reveal a vulnerable being unsure of how to control his personal demons. Akiva Goldsmith's script and Russell Crowe acting succeed in making the audience sympathize with an otherwise unlikable character.
"Black Hawk Down"
What "Saving Private Ryan" was to World War II, "Black Hawk Down" is to modern warfare. In "Black Hawk Down," however, once the action starts the combatants don't stop to catch their breath. The visuals and the noise chew away at the screen like a machine gun. In the wake of Sept. 11, the year's best combat film wipes away the patriotic glories of warfare to reveal the blood and flesh and the bullets and bombs tear away at it. The sheer brutality depicted in this movie put to shame anything that 2001's other Jerry Bruckheimer vehicle, "Pearl Harbor," had to offer.
"Ghost World"
This little-seen piece, starring Thora Birch and Steve Buscemi, was a fine example of what a teen movie could be, intelligent, cynical and capable of using sex as something other than a launching pad for lewd jokes. Perhaps that was its greatest shortcoming, in terms of attracting an audience.
The movie takes an honest, almost painful look at the uncertainty of what to do with the rest of your life when you're only 18. You have so much time, so many ambitions but so few prospects. Most importantly, you want to escape the monotony of your old life. The ironic screen relationship between Buscemi and Birch, who become friends after she plays a cruel joke on him, is so deeply affecting because their is so much turmoil and tension. They care simply because there is no one else to care for.
"Memento"
This film accomplished amazing effects with editing and took the plot devices of "Pulp Fiction" to another level by literally turning the plot on its head. Telling its story backward, this film about a man unable to make new memories only becomes more intriguing as the script peels away more layers. The more that the audience becomes aware of, the less they know. At the beginning (or the end) there is a murder. We know who is responsible and the story makes the motives apparent early on, but the surprises are hidden in the protagonist's non-existent memory. He snaps Polaroids of everyone he meets, and tattoos important details about his case on his body. For a man with no memory, however, they constitute a never-ending puzzle.
"Vanilla Sky"
It was either last year's best film or last year's worst film, depending on who you ask. This Cameron Crowe picture lacks the warmth of the director's earlier filmwork, but features the quirky characters and dialogue he is famous for. The difference is he throws the plot elements into a blender, chops them up, flings them through the air and hopes the pieces will coagulate into something that makes sense. It's almost too much, and certain sections of the film are clumsily constructed. Even the love story is not wholly believable (in which Tom Cruise, a vain pretty-boy dumps beautiful Cameron Diaz, who caters to his every whim, for the headstrong but shallow Penelope Cruz).
Many viewers failed to grasp this film's deeper statements about vanity and money, and how image thrives on both. But perhaps it was not about that at all. Maybe it was about dreams or modern technology. The movie never makes that clear, and it's the way the film toys with the audience's perceptions that make it so intriguing.
Write to Robert at rclopez@bsu.edu
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