This film season saw many phenomenal movies, with groundbreaking advances in several categories. The race for each category was neck and neck, with quite a few excellent movies snubbed even in the nominations. However, many well deserving films won big, with a dark horse rising to win a surprising three Oscars.
Ida from Poland won Best Foreign Language Film, topping huge competition such as the Russian movie Leviathan. Despite Leviathan’s compelling narrative of corruption in contemporary Russia, Ida’s touching story of a Catholic nun and her aunt searching for answers edged out for a victory.
Fan favorite American Sniper won an underwhelming one Oscar, despite its’ 428.1 million dollar box office grossing. Sound Editing, an award honoring the sounds in the film specifically, was practically guaranteed to American Sniper. War films like Zero Dark Thirty, The Hurt Locker, Letters from Iwo Jima, Pearl Harbor, U-571, and Saving Private Ryan dominate in this category, so victory came as a shock to no one.
CitizenFour, winner of Best Documentary Feature, won over viewers with its’ relevant narrative and thrilling plot. But the Netflix streamed film Virunga also does deserves recognition, telling an equally intense story of poaching in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
From the futuristic Guardians of the Galaxy to Dawn of the Planet of the Apes which made all of humankind supporting actors, competition was tough for the Visual Effects Oscar. However, the grandiose shots of Interstellar simply swept audiences away. All of the incredible space scenes were optical spectacles, making this galactic blockbuster victor for Visual Effects.
Several movies and speeches shed light upon the field of mental illness. Winner of Best Live Action Short Film, The Phone Call, centers around a suicidal man calling into a help line, and Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1 tells the tragic story of a crisis line for veterans. Both films shed light upon how we think of mental illness and give an emotional look into the hardships people experiencing them face. The receiver of Best Adapted Screenplay for The Imitation Game gave a touching speech on his personal experience with attempting suicide, and Dana Perry, winner Best Documentary Short Subject, told the heartbreaking story of her son’s death at 15. These intimate and personal stories helped raise awareness for suicide prevention and treatment.
The award for Best Animated Feature was possibly the most discussed post nominations, when fan favorite The Lego Movie missed out on even a nomination in the category. However, Big Hero 6, with a creative concept and stunning animation in the fictional city of Sanfransokyo, earned a well deserved award. The animations on this film left me speechless, subtle nuances allowing for a beautiful finished product. The Lego Movie went on to lose again to Selma in the awards for Original Song. Despite the good feeling catchiness of “Everything Is Awesome”, “Glory” by John Legend and Common evokes a feeling of warmth and hope for the future. Big Hero 6 went on to indirectly win another Oscar, with its’ prequel short Feast winning Best Animated Short Film. The heartwarming story of a man’s romantic life told from the perspective of his canine friend, Feast’s creative plot earned its’ place among the legendary Disney Pixar shorts.
For many of the acting Oscars, voters adhered to the trends of previous shows. Patricia Arquette and Eddie Redmayne won almost every award for their roles in Boyhood and Theory of Everything respectively, and Julianne Moore won her first Oscar for a heartbreaking role in Still Alice. Both Julianne and Eddie brought awareness to diseases in a vulnerable and very real way, Moore’s honest adaptation of an Alzheimer patient and Redmauyne’s incredible portrayal of Steven Hawking’s motor neuron disease. These realistic performances broke the hearts of viewers and gave both actors well deserved recognition.
The 87th Academy Awards saw huge wins for Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel, each receiving 4 trophies. The Grand Budapest Hotel, one of my personal favorites this year, dominated in the crafts awards, racking up Makeup and Hairstyling, Production Design, and Costume Design. Even against the intricate makeup of Guardians of the Galaxy, the stunning art direction of Interstellar, and Maleficent’s incredibly intricate costumes, The Grand Budapest Hotel proved triumphant. This sophisticated comedy starting Gustave H and his lobby boy Zero wowed audiences with its’ picturesque scenery and hilarious dialogue. Alexandre Desplat, composer nominated twice for this film and The Imitation Game, successfully scored an oscar for the film’s quirky and eclectic soundtrack. Standing up against Hans Zimmer himself, The Grand Budapest Hotel won rightfully the critical acclaim it deserves.
Birdman also won large, winning some of the largest awards presented. The award for Best Original Screenplay grew close between the dark humor of Birdman, the brilliantly original Boyhood, the witty and aesthetically beautiful The Grand Budapes
t Hotel, and the chilling thriller Nightcrawler. The chilling performance by Jake Gyllenhaal was snubbed for Best Actor, and even the graphic portrayal of news media in America fell before this fantastic film. Birdman defied the ideas of cinematography by creating the illusion of a continuous one take. Imagine the last scene of True Detective extended for an entire full length film. The incredible camera work and seamless editing made this award a no-brainer. Alejandro González Iñárritu became the second Mexican director to be awarded the prestigious Best Director award, after last year’s Alfonso Cuarón. Finally, Birdman was awarded the most anticipated honor of Best Picture. The combination of incredible cast, directing, and productions created a magical film guaranteed to enchant any and all who watch it.
However, the real winner of this year’s Oscars was Damien Chazelle’s masterpiece film Whiplash. Starring J.K. Simmons and Miles Teller, this intense drama showcases the physical and mental abuse required for a musician to succeed. J.K. Simmons’ frightening portrayal earned him Best Supporting Actor, and Tom Cross’ brilliant editing especially in the final scene garnered a Film Editing Oscar. Sound plays a crucial role in this harrowing movie, and the lurching transitions between cacophony to absolute silence cemented the film’s Oscar for Sound Mixing.
Seasons with several phenomenal films often create tension, evident in the hotly contested Best Picture award. Various movies easily could have won Best Picture in slower years, and many fantastic films were swept under the rug due to larger and more popular ones. However, the positives of this award season including a rise in social and cultural commentary leave the doorway open for new and amazing films to be released in 2015.
