On Monday Feb. 28, I posted some final thoughts on FaceBook that seemed to resonate with a lot of people (as of this posting, 100 reactions, 49 comments, 2 shares, and counting). Some people disagreed with my point about Moonlight, saying it was robbed of its moment. Anyway, I'm sharing my FB post here for posterity.
My final thoughts on the Oscars 2017:
1. Not everything is a conspiracy. Human beings make mistakes.
2. The Best Picture Award Snafu did not rob Moonlight of its glory. If anything, it emphasized it. That mixup was the perfect metaphor for new, independent, diverse Hollywood disrupting old, status quo, #oscarsowhite Hollywood in a last-minute Hail Mary upset moment.
3. Stop blaming Beatty and Dunaway for being old and clueless, that's not fair. It's ageist. It's been a while since they've been presenters, true, but like anybody else on the show they were trusting that they'd been given the proper envelope. It was an unprecedented situation where no one was really expecting, or prepared for, an error like this.
4. Kudos to the La La Land producer who kept his head when everyone else was losing theirs and did the right thing by announcing the real winner.
5. We're all entitled to our opinions about whether we personally like a film. But you can't use whether you approve of, or relate to, a film's premise or stars to judge the outcome of industry awards. Any critique should be made on the level of how a narrative is professionally developed, executed, and presented on film. I've heard too many people complain that Moonlight glorifies African American dysfunction and therefore doesn't deserve recognition. I've heard others say that Manchester By The Sea is too depressing with a sexual predator as star and shouldn't even be in the running. Still more say that La La Land is cliched, can't compare to classic musicals, posits a white person as a savior of a black art form, and that they were bored by it. I myself was underwhelmed by Hell Or High Water, the script of which I found hella derivative. OK -- all legitimate complaints. But none of these observations addresses the degree of artistic vision, skill, organization, effort and craft that went into making these films -- which is still considerable.
5. The Best Picture Academy Award recognizes ALL of the cinematic arts that go into the film: Screenplay, directing, editing, acting, art direction, cinematography, etc. -- not just the story. La La Land was indeed an incredible feat of filmmaking, with its choreography, live tracking shots, gorgeous sets and sprightly original music. This is why that picture won best song, best score, best cinematography, best production design and best director (the person who wrangled all of those elements and executed the overall vision). However, La La Land's cliched and occasionally tone-deaf script was not on the same level as Moonlight, which was a truly unique and original examination of characters we rarely see, with indelible performances, gorgeous cinematography and pacing, and a beautiful score. Which is why Moonlight won best adapted script as well as the overall best picture prize.
6. Denzel Washington will be OK. Though he deserved to win best actor I didn't expect him to. He has earned two Oscars in his career. (Meryl Streep, for all her nominations, has only one more Oscar than he does.) The issue with Denzel is actually a rare problem for a performer to have -- a consistent level of excellence. He's too good, all day, every day, in roles that are well within his wheelhouse: Complex, but presented with integrity even when he's a bad guy. He was masterful as Troy Maxson in Fences -- but he is ALWAYS masterful. He set a high bar early and rarely deviates from it. His first Oscar for Glory awarded that excellence, that power he has to make us feel a character, back in 1990 when he'd finally come to mass attention -- just as Viola Davis finally earned recognition this year after reaching mass consciousness a few years ago for Doubt. Denzel's second Oscar came for portraying a devious and morally corrupt undercover detective [in Training Day]-- because it was OUTSIDE the realm of what we came to expect from him and gave us another level. For Denzel to win a third Oscar he will have to surprise the crap out of us: Play a transgender character, play a woman, dance and/or sing, play a towering historical figure, romance Meryl Streep, play a physically or mentally challenged character, drop 50 pounds, gain 100 pounds, spend an entire film buck naked fighting the elements. You know what I mean -- something he hasn't yet done. Or he'll earn it as a director or producer of a project.
7. Manchester By The Sea is a story that reminds working class Americans of their resilience and humanity. Casey Affleck was the screen embodiment of those emotions, further, it was just his time in the Academy Award sunshine. He's been quietly building his screen resume the last few years, and truth be told, he's a way more nuanced and skilled actor than his brother Ben. That he may be a creep and a cad is another issue.
8. Which brings me to Nate Parker. I am sad that Birth Of A Nation was completely wiped from Oscar consciousness because of the rape charge that he was acquitted of. There are some serious double standards going on here, no doubt, which isn't to diminish the seriousness of those charges. The film was a great achievement for its execution and overall premise. But Parker did not handle the scandal with any grace or taste, and he hasn't been in Hollywood long enough to have an entrenched power base on his side (the way Affleck The Younger does). Parker will be back.
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Viola Davis credit: Jim Ruymen/UPI
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