Best Supporting Actor – Ben Foster – “3:10 To Yuma”
We mentioned him in our Breakout Performances of The Year piece we did a few months back Foster had a great year, and while his work in 2007’s “Alpha Dog” and “30 Days of Night” were noteworthy, it was his turn as the ruthless and unhinged (not to mention queeny) cowboy in “3:10 to Yuma” as Russell Crowe’s faithful sidekick that was a pure joy to watch. A thrilling and Oscar worthy performance (will never happen in a million years).
Best Actor: Mathieu Amalric – “The Diving Bell & The Butterfly”
Ok, he doesn’t really “act” per se. Or at least not in the conventional sense. Amalric lies there still and silent as a man completely paralyzed save for his left eye which blinks up a communicative storm, but man just pulling off that feat for so long would be difficult and his the frozen look on his face does communicate a helplessness that would be beyond most psychological human endurance.
Best Actor: Brat Pitt – The Assassination of Jesse James”
After some initial praise and buzz (he won the Venice Film Festival award for Best Actor) Pitt’s chances at Oscar gold seemed to all but disappear. We’re not sure what happened here, but it’s a shame because his subtle, mannered performance is one of his best and doesn’t rely on his usual gesticulating and showy performances. His quiet cold stares in this film show a wise actor hitting his maturation period.
Best Original Score: Nick Cave And Warren Ellis – “The Assassination of Jesse James”
As we just wrote in our Best Soundtracks of 2007 feature, Cave and Ellis’ “mournful, minimalist funereal was unlike any this year.” There’s a strong chance this score is going to get overlooked (like much of this very underrated and seemingly under-appreciated film) and it’s a shame because this melancholy and eerie score is hauntingly beautiful. If we had to scream blue in the face about one score that demands a nomination, this would be it. Most likely we’ll be outraged tomorrow morning, but here’s to hoping.
Best Original Score: Jonathan Goldsmith – “Away From Her”
This one surely has no shot in hell, but Goldsmith’s atmospheric and ambient (ITunes-only) score is lovely and moving. The transpositions of classical music from Bach to acoustic guitars, piano and ambiences is quite effecting as well.
Download: Jonathan Goldsmith – “Marnie’s Theme“
Best Original Song: Loudon Wainwright “Daughter” “Grey In L.A.”
Like ‘Jesse James,’ we mentioned Wainwright’s stand-out “Knocked-Up” songs in our Best Soundtracks of 2007 feature. We love them so much and they’re bittersweet in such a simple, but poignant way. “Daughter”s happy tears feeling has a better shot at a nomination, but “Enchanted,” that fat-suit Travolta drag movie and something that Randy Newman farted out in his spare time probably have a much better shot. These songs being overlooked will make us very sad [ed. and as one of our astute readers points out, at least one of them will as “Daughter” is ineligible as it is a cover of a Peter Blegvad song].
Best Actress: Nicole Kidman – “Margot At The Wedding”
No one seemed to really like “Margot At The Wedding” besides us. Many seemed to loathe and find its mean-spirited and narcissistic characters too difficult to bare, but that was the whole point of the film and everyone (well, except for Jack Black) nailed it. Entertainment Weekly gave a for your consideration shout-out to Nicole Kidman so we’re glad someone agrees with us and could see that her character’s “inner-ugliness, if not exactly beautiful, fascinating.”
Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Jason-Leigh – “Margot At The Wedding”
Even moreso than Kidman, we thought Jason-Leigh was a shoe-in for a nomination here, but looks to be incredibly overlooked in this category. Leigh’s free-spirited, bohemian sister that loses her shit around her overbearing older sister (Kidman) is an amazing performance. The scene where she finally explodes on her sibling is just riveting and the stuff that classic movie-reel clips are made of. Maybe the most criminal acting under-appreciation this year. Though we bet she’ll win the Independent Spirit Award hands down.
Best Original Screenplay: “Margot At The Wedding”
Did we like this film or what? Yes, the characters are self-centered, caustic jackasses that sometime you just want to strangle, but that’s kind of the point. The writing is fierce and expertly captures how dysfunctional families can sometimes savage and decimate each other with the awful shit that comes out of their mouths. Their words and actions are all too real and all too painful, which is probably one of the reasons why people didn’t like this film – it struck a nerve and came too close to home for comfort.
Best Original Screenplay: Zoe Cassavettes – “Broken English”
Self-hating women are probably going to hate us because seemingly every woman we know hated this movie and had many problems with it, but Cassavettes inaugural script about a lovelorn 30-something in New York not only was a genuine version of “Sex In The City,” it was funny, moving and smart. Also, we should probably give a nod to Parker Posey, who maybe did her best work as the distressed lead. We were absolutely charmed by this film.
Best Director: Sarah Polley – “Away From Her”
We should probably qualify this one as, Best First-Time Director, which is what Polley is. Her film was great, and its subject matter (a woman slowly succumbing to Alzheimer’s) is handled with an incredibly graceful dignity.
Best Cinematography: Edward Lachman – “I’m Not There”
Not going to happen, but the different looks, eras, cinematic nods, and film stocks are a joy to watch.
