Today I found myself listening to KCRW, our local public radio station, and a show called The Business came on. Kim Masters was at the Toronto Film Festival spending her time with Nigel Cole, the director of Made in Dagenham. Cole was talking about getting noticed at the fest, and film promotion in general. At some point, the title of the film became the point of discussion. As Masters interviewed various people involved with the production and the distribution it came out that the film’s original title was going to be “We Want Sex.”
The phrase comes from a scene in the film where the women are unfurling a banner that eventually says “We want sexual equality.” For a moment there, the thought of marketing a film called “We Want Sex” was almost too irresistible to pass up. After all, what puritanical American doesn’t swivel their head at the mere mention of not only sex but women wanting sex?
They ended up changing the title to Made in Dagenham because, in the end, it is a more serious subject and it isn’t about women wanting sex at all. They made the right choice. During the end of the interview, the film was being discussed as a potential awards contender, specifically for Sally Hawkins in the lead. I flashed back to my earlier piece about the Best Actress category and it occurred to me that Hawkins was not mentioned. This is due to the lame truth that I have not yet seen the film. That, and the already crowded category makes it seem almost impossible for another name to break through.
But we are only guessing it’s crowded. It might not be crowded at all. The Oscar race will do that to: make you think you are seeing something real which might just be a mirage of your own making. We should not count out Sally Hawkins, or any contender at this stage of the game unless the reviews were universally terrible.
The point of this story is that once the two words were put together, “awards contender” it gave me pause. The marketing is built on the film hopefully gaining awards attention in order for more people to see it, for it to make more money and all of that. Usually when it’s made simply to win awards it never does. Yet, the awards race is one of the last places a thinking person’s films CAN go.
It’s a great thing then that this year there are some genuinely great films that will likely see awards attention, Made in Dagenham being one of them. The year after Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win Best Director, the five directing slots seem like they will be filled almost exclusively by men.
Christopher Nolan, David Fincher, Darren Aronofsky, Mike Leigh, Tom Hooper and Danny Boyle are all bringing the best films of their career to date, with the possible exception of Boyle. It is possible that when they read Best Director, five out of those six will be called.
In the same year, though, you have visionary women directors, like Lisa Cholodenko, Debra Granik for Winter’s Bone, Meek’s Cutoff’s Kelly Reichardt, which was the quieter hit of Toronto. You have Derek Cianfrance who worked nearly ten years on Blue Valentine and delivers a film that feels real.
While the visionaries are in the front of the line, one still can’t help but marvel at Clint Eastwood, 80 years old and making exactly the film he wants to make. So what if the blogger crowd didn’t get it or like it or whatever. That is fairly meaningless next to who he is and what he’s done, not just in his whole career but even now. He made exactly the film he wanted to make – and you have to admire that.
Still to come, the Coens with True Grit, David O’Russell with The Fighter, and Pete Weir with The Way Back. It is an embarrassment of riches, some of the best directors working in film have releases this year up for Oscar.
So, which are the directors I feel are currently leading the pack?
It’s no surprise I would put David Fincher right at the top of the list. Keep in mind I still haven’t seen Black Swan nor The King’s Speech nor 127 Hours. I have seen The Social Network and the only reason I’m putting Danny Boyle ahead of Christopher Nolan is because of the recent Toronto audience award for The King’s Speech. Otherwise, I think Christopher Nolan still directed what will be one of the best films of 2010. Who knows if the Academy will respond to The Social Network the way many others have. The point keeps being brought up that it’s not an Academy movie, or they’re too old to connect with a film about Facebook. But that assessment misses the point completely. The Social Network will do well for two reasons. The first is that it is superb filmmaking. You know you have something special when all three elements – acting, writing and directing – are all at a level of excellence that can’t be surpassed. He couldn’t have made a better film. The second reason is that the film holds a certain and notable disdain for the modern age where technology is replacing human interaction – and believe me, the Greatest Generation will connect with THAT. At any rate, I withhold the right to change my mind about this, but for now:
1. David Fincher – no Oscar wins. The Social Network may be his opus.
2. Tom Hooper – no Oscar wins. Everyone loves The King’s Speech. Colin Firth should lead the field for Best Actor.
3. Christopher Nolan for Inception.
4. Danny Boyle – still shimmering from his Slumdog sweep. He has another strong Best Actor contender with James Franco.
5. Darren Aronofsky – I just think his artistic risk-taking will finally be recognized with an Oscar nom – the DGA will lead, maybe the Globes.
6. Mike Leigh – next in line. Another Year is his best film to date. The competition is stiff. But they love Mike Leigh. Whom do you bump?
7. Ben Affleck – he might get recognized for having delivered a hit. There are going to be some box office successes in the top ten and The Town might be one of those.
8. Lisa Cholodenko – if Annette Bening is the Best Actress frontrunner, this director must be considered.
9. Clint Eastwood – he’s always a threat.
10. Nigel Cole for Made in Dageham – again, if they love the movie enough, he should be considered for Best Director.
Still waiting to be seen: The Coen Brothers for True Grit and David O’Russell‘s The Fighter