I am more excited about this current season of films than I
have been in a very long time. It’s a
wonderfully unusual year because it is chock full of indies with no big studio
period saga in sight. My how times have
changed since the ‘80s…
It is also most definitely the year of the actor.
Most of the buzz that has already come from festivals like
Toronto & Venice is about films that feature a strong male lead – and there
are many. The one that I am most looking
most forward to is Birdman – opening
today. I have always felt that Michael
Keaton was incredibly underrated as an actor and Riggan in Birdman could be the role that
changes this forever.
I’ve already seen St.
Vincent, which is wonderful and I would be shocked if Bill Murray is not
recognized for his multi-layered performance.
I can’t say that I am actually looking forward to seeing Foxcatcher (although I will most
definitely see it!) because I know it will be dark & disturbing, but I am
looking forward to hearing Steve Carell’s name A LOT during awards season.
On more than one viewing, I couldn't make it through the trailer for The Theory of Everything without sobbing
and I am a sucker for a love story. It
looks like a gorgeous, heartbreaking tribute to a genius and Eddie Redmayne is a shoo-in just for the
physicality of the performance.
It’s always good to play “gay for pay” and that’s what Benedict
Cumberbatch does in The Imitation Game
– yes a period piece, but still an indie.
And Whiplash could
very well change the career & Hollywood status of already deeply respected
character actor JK Simmons.
There may also be a few roles in very small films that get
recognized. Bill Hader is subtly great doing drama for
the first time in The Skeleton Twins
and Jenny Slate is one of my favorite performances of the year in Obvious
Child. Please don’t let me down, Independent Spirit Awards!
And it’s not technically an
indie (or a small film) but I hope no one forgets about The
Fault in Our Stars, one of the best written films I have EVER seen and a
breakout performance by Ansel Elgort.
The one & only film that has acclaim for an actress so far
is Wild and Reese Witherspoon is
already an Oscar winner so it’s tough to get too excited about that. One film that may change this is Into the Woods.
But it’s all about the boys this year, which is fitting since the season kicked off with a little film called Boyhood.
