Win Win, Jane Eyre, Meek's Cutoff – Can Any of Them Last?

It was nice to read on Twitter that Cinemablend’s Katey Rich, responding to a tweet by Kris Tapley, considered Jane Eyre to be a film worthy of “being in the Oscar conversation.” And Meek’s Cutoff did have its admirers, but I was told, in no uncertain terms, by several Tweeters, Anne Thompson and Guy Lodge among them, that it had no shot – Academy voters are way too in love with the films of the moment — or, those put in front of them for the main course, at any rate – to notice Kelly Reichardt’s subtle work (see the recent NY Times story on the film). Win Win, a movie by Tom McCarthy, might have a Richard Jenkins in Paul Giamatti. One cannot help but feel discouraged, however, when one has followed this race as long as one has.

As I dutifully chart the potential films for awards season 2011, I always put them on the contender tracker when they are receive stunningly good reviews, or they capture something of the public’s attention to the degree that the film does surprisingly well at the box office – and isn’t a comedy (they hate comedies), and isn’t a sci fi film (for the most part, they hate sci fi), and isn’t a summer blockbuster (they hate action movies). Animation films like Rango can last. But it is damned hard to pluck anything out of April and watch it stick. Still, just to spite them, I’m tempted to put all three of these movies up – even though you just know other films will come along to take their place.

Jane Eyre has a metacritic rating of 77. Win Win also has a Metacritic rating of 77. Meek’s Cutoff, with only 8 reviews so far, has a rating of 82, but tips wildly in opposite directions – a score of 100 by Eric Kohn, while Rex Reed gives it a lowly 25. Divisive. Difficult. Interesting. Not middling, sappy or easily digestible. That means, Oscar will not want to eat it for dinner. But let’s wait and see, shall we?