It was probably inevitable, but at this point it’s a smart bet that the 2018 Best Picture winner didn’t screen at the 44th Telluride Film Festival. I mean, sure, it’s still possible, and without question the annual Labor Day cinephile extravaganza featured at least two Best Picture nominees: “The Shape of Water” and “Darkest Hour.” But no one left the Colorado town believing either were locks to win Oscar’s top prize. It’s a stark difference from a year ago where “La La Land” was the de facto frontrunner and “Moonlight” was a critics favorite ready to pounce. The last seven Best Picture winners screened or premiered at Telluride. That streak can’t last forever, right?
After earning rapturous reviews at Venice, audiences adored Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Shape,’ but no one is ready to say it’s “the one”(at last not yet). That being said, it’s a major, major player in a wide open year, and star Sally Hawkins may end up charming Academy members in an insanely competitive Best Actress race (more on that in a minute). At this point, del Toro may also be the biggest challenger to the presumptive Best Director frontrunner, “Dunkirk’s” Christopher Nolan, and Hawkins’ co-star Octavia Spencer and (especially) Richard Jenkins could earn Supporting Actress and Supporting Actor nods. Oh, and a slew of below-the-line nods are probably a given. Even better news for Fox Searchlight, the under $20 million budgeted production feels like a global hit that will seduce all sorts of moviegoers (genre fans, cinephiles, older audiences, etc.).
The mini-major also had something of a surprise crowd pleaser in “Battle of the Sexes.” The Billie Jean King vs. Bobby Riggs period piece spoke to many attendees. One older patron remarked to me that people don’t remember how men would speak about women in the ‘70s and ‘80s (especially at work). Their condescension was often blatant and without shame. The scenes where King (Emma Stone) dealt with WTLA’s Jack Kramer (Bill Pullman) drove that point home. Whether the film is really a Best Picture contender depends on the eventual field, but it’s not a stretch to suggest it could fill the same feel good, “entertaining” civil rights slot that “Hidden Figures” took last year or appeal to the members who adored “Philomena” the year prior. This pundit still thinks Searchlight’s “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing ,Missouri” is a better film and that picture’s lead Frances McDormand has a better shot at a Best Actress nomination, but the 20th Century Fox division is likely just thrilled they have the good fortune of three legit players overall after the disappointments of “Birth of a Nation” and “Jackie” (which absolutely should have been a Best Picture nominee) last season.
Other films that played well with the Telluride faithful included the aforementioned “Darkest Hour” from Joe Wright (Best Actor is Gary Oldman’s to lose and the movie is fantastic overall), Greta Gerwig’s “Lady Bird” (Laurie Metcalf in Supporting and Original Screenplay are its best chance) and Angelina Jolie’s “First They Killed My Father” (Jolie merits serious Best Director nominee consideration and Netflix’s Ted Sarandos was no doubt thrilled to not have to deal with the negative reaction the company’s title card got in Sundance and Cannes). Audiences also enjoyed “Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool” with both Annette Bening and Jamie Bell getting kudos from ticket buyers.
That being said, Todd Haynes’ “Wonderstruck” and Andrew Haigh’s “Lean on Pete” either found satisfactory or ambivalent reactions. Scott Cooper’s “Hostiles” was very mixed with star Christian Bale and Rosamund Pike earning praise, but patrons weren’t necessarily in love with the rest of it. In my opinion, “Wonderstruck” is going to need a major boost out of NYFF to be a true awards player although Telluride honoree and cinematographer Edward Lachman as well as Julianne Moore in Supporting Actress are absolutely potential nominees.
Some more quick thoughts on the next page….