Image = A Great Year for Film & Awards

2013 was a great year for movies and I am excited about the upcoming awards season.  Often there is one behemoth film that towers over the rest and essentially sweeps everything, but this year there is no such animal.  The films of 2013 were very diverse with big studio films and tiny independent films getting equal acknowledgment.   

{The Academy Award nominations will not be announced until January 16 but there are many intriguing nominations among the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild and Independent Spirit Awards}.

 

When I saw the low budget Dallas Buyers Club, I said “I hope this film gets recognition” - and it did.  This is also a sign of social progress.  Films about AIDS don’t often get a mainstream audience but DBC is getting seen in large part due to Matthew McConaughey’s star power.  Respect for McConaughey as an actor has increased tremendously in the past few years and he deserves an Oscar for his transformational performance.  And so does Jared Leto.  If 12 Years a Slave was not an indie, Matthew & Jared would be shoe-ins for their respective Independent Spirit Awards.

It is interesting to note that the Golden Globes forgot all about Lee Daniel’s The Butler.  Forest Whitaker & David Oyelowo were both amazing.  Maybe it’s a result of being released so early in the year? The SAG Awards however, did not forget about Whitaker and also honored Oprah Winfrey with a nomination for Supporting Actress.  Lee Daniel’s The Butler seems like an ideal Oscar film – a period drama about social injustice with a huge Hollywood cast.  It’ll be interesting to see if the Academy bequeaths it with any nods.   

There is some very tough competition in the acting categories this year, in almost every category and every award.  This year we have both newcomers like Lupita Nyong’o & Barkhad Abdi and legends like Bruce Dern & Robert Redford who are exactly the same age and each man has yet to win an Oscar for acting.  As much as I want to root for Jared Leto, Michael Fassbender’s performance was completely breathtaking.  I loved Philomena and Judi Dench is wonderful but Cate Blanchett acted her butt off in Blue Jasmine and I’ve said for a long time that it’s absurd that she doesn’t have a Best Actress statuette yet.  I think this may finally be Cate’s year to be the queen. 

  

A couple more things…  I am thrilled that Julie Delpy was recognized for her bold & brave performance in Before Midnight.  I’m a huge fan of the incredibly unique Before series.  And again – I hope it’s a positive sign of changing times that a little indie like Before Midnight is getting big industry recognition.  One of my favorite films of the year was Enough Said and I’m glad that Julia Louis-Dreyfus and James Gandolfini have received acclaim for their work.  Last thing – the movie I enjoyed the most last year was Last Vegas.  It’s a big splashy Hollywood film with a huge heart and it was the best time I had in a movie theater in 2013.  No nominations but a great life-affirming movie nonetheless.