It's a wrap for the 2010 Muriel Awards, but although the winners have been announced, there's still plenty of great stuff to read about the many winners and runners-up. ('Cause, as we all know, there's so much more to life than "winning.") I was pleased to be asked to write the mini-essay about "The Social Network" because, no, I'm not done with it. (Coming soon: a piece about the Winkelvii at the Henley Gregatta section -- which came in 11th among Muriel voters for the year's Best Cinematic Moment.)
You might recall that last summer I compared the editorial, directorial and storytelling challenges of a modest character-based comedy ("The Kids Are All Right") to a large-scale science-fiction spectacular based on the concept of shifting between various levels of reality/unreality -- whether in actual time and space or in consciousness and imagination. (The latter came in at No. 13 in the Muriels balloting; the former in a tie for No. 22.) My point was that, as far as narrative filmmaking is concerned, there isn't much difference. To illustrate a similar comparison this time, I've used a one-minute segment out of "The Social Network" (Multiple levels of storytelling in The Social Network). You might like one picture better than the other for any number of reasons, but I find their similarities more illuminating than their differences:
Unlike that other 2010 movie that made such a big deal of explaining arbitrary rules for getting from one level of storytelling to another, "The Social Network" just does it. And you get it -- without the actors reading you instruction manuals encoded into dialog. It shifts backward, forward, sideways in time and space (with no "present tense" defined), through depositions, memories, e-mails, affidavits... and you may get temporarily/temporally thrown now and again, but it's not hard to follow. Again, unlike the science-fiction movie that preceded it into theaters in 2010, "The Social Network" is complex without trying to appear complicated. Indeed, its design and direction, the tools of its tale-spinning, are far more sophisticated, but less ostentatious. And more fun. And lead to a better life.
I had a load of fun with my Muriels ballot this year. As much fun as joining a Final Club? I don't know. I've never been much of a joiner. I was surprised to find myself considering a lot more best-of-the-year-worthy movies (most of which I caught up with in December and January) than I had expected to. So, here -- for whatever it's worth -- are a few excerpts from my Muriels ballot -- which has never been seen outside of the accounting firm of Carlson & Clark! (Clicking on the category title will take you to the corresponding Muriels tabulation page. 2010 Muriels essays begin here.)
Bits of my ballot:
Best Feature-Length Film [10]
1. The Social Network
2. Sweetgrass
3. Carlos
4. Mother
5. Let Me In
6. True Grit
7. The Ghost Writer
8. The Kids Are All Right
9. Winter's Bone
10. Fish Tank
11. The Killer Inside Me
12. The American
13. Dogtooth
14. Another Year
15. Everyone Else
16. A Prophet
17. October Country
18. Life During Wartime
19. Last Train Home
20. Please Give
Best Lead Performance, Male [5]
1. Tahar Rahim, "A Prophet"
2. Édgar Ramírez, "Carlos"
3. Jeff Bridges, "True Grit"
4. Jesse Eisenberg, "The Social Network
5. Casey Affleck, "The Killer Inside Me"
Best Lead Performance, Female [5]
1. Hye-ja Kim, "Mother"
2. Annette Bening, "The Kids Are All Right"
3. Giovanna Mezzogiorno, "Vincere"
4. Hailee Steinfeld, "True Grit" (sorry, Academy -- it's a LEAD performance)
5. Julianne Moore, "The Kids Are All Right" (ditto)
Best Supporting Performance, Male [5]
1. John Hawkes, "Winter's Bone"
2. Matt Damon, "True Grit"
3. Oliver Maltman, "Another Year"
4. Ben Mendelsohn, "Animal Kingdom"
5. Richard Jenkins, "Let Me In"
Best Supporting Performance, Female [5]
1. Mia Wasikowska, "The Kids Are All Right"
2. Olivia Williams, "The Ghost Writer"
3. Ruth Sheen, "Another Year"
4. Rebecca Hall, "Please Give"
5. Jacki Weaver, "Animal Kingdom"
Best Direction [5]
1. David Fincher, "The Social Network"
2. Olivier Assayas, "Carlos"
3. Joel and Ethan Coen, "True Grit"
4. Bong Joon-ho, "Mother"
5. Andrea Arnold, "Fish Tank"
Best Cinematography [5]
(film or video)
1. Roger Deakins, "True Grit"
2. Daniele Ciprì, "Vincere"
3. Martin Ruhe, "The American"
4. Robbie Ryan, "Fish Tank"
5. Greig Fraser, "Let Me In"
Best Editing [5]
1. Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter, "The Social Network"
2. Luc Barnier and Marion Monnier, "Carlos"
3. Roderick Jaynes, "True Grit"
4. Nicolas Chaudeurge, "Fish Tank"
5. Moon Sae-kyoung, "Mother"
Best Music [5]
(original, adapted, or compiled)
1. Carter Burwell, "True Grit"
2. Tindersticks, "White Material"
3. Olivier Assayas (and The Feelies, Wire, etc.), "Carlos"
4. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, "The Social Network"
5. Lee Byeong-woo, "Mother"
Best Cinematic Moment [10]
1. The sheep notices the camera and stares -- "Sweetgrass"
2. The slow, "Aguirre, the Wrath of God" super-zoom on the face of a mountain, and the tiny trail of white ants -- er, sheep -- descending it -- "Sweetgrass"
3. A cowboy's miserable phone call to mom, from the top of a mountain -- "Sweetgrass" (yes, I think my three favorite moments of the year were all from "Sweetgrass")
4. Mother stumbles through a field, then begins to sway -- the opening shot of "Mother"
5. Mark Zuckerberg's long analog walk from the pub to his dorm after being dumped by his girlfriend in the opening scene of "The Social Network."
6. "I love you. Good bye." -- the brutal tenderness of the love/murder scene in "The Killer Inside Me"
7. Mom's boyfriend (Michael Fassbender) gives Mia (Katie Jarvis) a lift on his back that becomes a slo-mo horseback ride into the shadows of the deep, dark woods -- "Fish Tank"
8. Climbing the bars to scatter letters in the snow at night -- "Vincere"
9. Blackie's nocturnal ride through the valley of the shadow -- "True Grit"
10. One car left on the ferry -- the opening sequence of "The Ghost Writer"
10th Anniversary Award, Best Feature Film 2000 [5]
1. "Code Unknown," Michael Haneke
2. "Wonder Boys," Curtis Hanson
3. "Best in Show," Christopher Guest
4. "Almost Famous," Cameron Crowe
5. "American Psycho," Mary Harron
25th Anniversary Award, Best Feature Film 1985 [5]
1. "A Year of the Quiet Sun," Krzysztof Zanussi (won Venice Film Fest in fall, 1984, but theatrical release was 1985, even in Poland)
2. "Ran," Akira Kurosawa
3. "After Hours," Martin Scorsese
4. "28 Up," Michael Apted
5. "Alpine Fire," Freddie Murer
50th Anniversary Award, Best Feature Film 1960 [5]
1. "La Dolce Vita," Federico Fellini
2. "L'Avventura," Michelangelo Antonioni
3. "Psycho," Alfred Hitchcock
4. "Peeping Tom," Michael Powell
5. "Breathless," Jean-Luc Godard
Special Award: Best Film of the 1950s [10]
1. "Sansho Dayu," Kenji Mizoguchi
2. "Vertigo," Alfred Hitchcock
3. "The Night of the Hunter," Charles Laughton
4. "The Searchers," John Ford
5. "The Earrings of Madame de...," Max Ophuls
6. "Early Spring," Yasujiro Ozu
7. "North By Northwest," Alfred Hitchcock
8. "Rio Bravo," Howard Hawks
9. "Nazarin," Luis Bunuel
10. "In a Lonely Place," Nicholas Ray
OK, I'm now convinced the 1950s were the best decade ever for movies. Even though I limited this list to one title per director (except I couldn't do without "Vertigo" OR "NxNW"), I had to leave off so many indispensable it's just embarrassing. The greatest year in cinema history? Was it 1959? 1953? 1950? Hard to say...
Alternate best films of the 1950s by the same directors in the same order (except for Laughton who never directed anything else):
1. "The Life of Oharu" (or "Ugetsu"), Kenji Mizoguchi
2. "Rear Window," Alfred Hitchcock
3. "Pickpocket" (or "Diary of a Country Priest"), Robert Bresson
4. "Wagonmaster," John Ford
5. "La Ronde" (or "Lola Montes"), Max Ophuls
6. "Early Summer" (or "Tokyo Story"), Yasujiro Ozu
7. "Strangers on a Train" (or "The Wrong Man"), Alfred Hitchcock
8. "Monkey Business," Howard Hawks
9. "The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz" (or "El"), Luis Bunuel
10. "Bigger Than Life" (or "Rebel Without a Cause"), Nicholas Ray
_ _ _ _
More Muriels goodness: I confess I still haven't had a chance to read everything that was published during the epic "ceremony" (February 16-March 6), but I know you'll want to check out Dennis Cozzalio's appreciations of Nicole Holofcener's "Please Give" and Emma Stone, Kent M. Beeson on watching "Toy Story 3" with his three-year-old daughter; Kenji Fujishima on "Vertigo"; Ali Arikan on "The Ghost Writer"; Alison Willmore on David Fincher; Adam Lemke on "Everyone Else; Marya Murphy on "True Grit"; and much, much more...
15 Comments
I'm glad to see Matt Damon on your list for Best Supporting Actor--can't believe he got no respect in the those other awards shows. After seeing True Grit I came home and wrote a Facebook post saying, "It's become clear to me that Matt Damon is the best (male) actor in the business. The thought has been brewing in me for awhile, but True Grit solidified it. Matt Damon is a badass." Still feel that way. He's both a fine actor and immensely diverse.
Be sure to check out Richard T. Jameson's piece on Damon at MSN Movies: http://j.mp/gJe7v8
I'm not quite sure why The Social Network would need to explain its chronological shits through dialogue (as opposed to the workings of a made-up technology), but I'll say that both movies introduce their concepts through editing (Inception begins in the bottom level and takes you up, up, and you have to figure out for yourself what's going on; TSN begins with a flashback that we don't know yet is a flashback and then starts to cut between the flashback and the two deposition scenes).
Anyway, glad to hear some love for The Wrong Man. I love the shot from Fonda's POV of the witness walking up and clutching his shoulder.
Let me tell you how happy I was to not see "The King's Speech" mentioned once. I have seen that movie three times and do not see anything special about it. Likewise, I have also seen "The Social Network" three times and I notice new things about it every time and love it even more. I am even looking forward to my fourth viewing.
Jim, I'm very happy to see your enthusiasm for Mother. I loved the hell out of that film, in particular the obsessive and off-kilter performance of Hye-ja Kim. The closet scene might have been my favorite movie moment of the year, proof that there can be far more white-knuckle tension in a small pool of spilled water sliding silently toward a sleeper's fingertip than in all the car chases and shootouts in the world.
Still waiting for a chance to see Sweetgrass, and looking forward to it. And I very much enjoy the Muriels every year. Thanks for sharing :^)
The 50s are truly amazing. I've made this argument before, and I see no reason to think otherwise. So many great directors were at (or near) their peak. Directors had more options than ever before or since - aspect ratio, color or b&w, acting styles. It's boggling.
On top of the directors you mentioned, Budd Boetticher, Anthony Mann, Otto Preminger, Billy Wilder, Louis Malle, Carl Dryer, Douglas Sirk, Federico Fellini, Ingmar Bergman, Satyajit Ray, Morris Engel, Jacques Tourneur, Orson Welles, Akira Kurosawa, Jean-Pierre Melville, Luchino Visconti, Roberto Rossellini, Jacques Becker...etc, etc were all doing great work in the 50s. And don't forget to throw "Singin' in the Rain" in while you're at it.
I'm glad to see some love for "Wagon Master".
Don't forget Samuel Fuller!
Glad to see someone giving The American credit. No love for Monsters?
I agree that the 1950s was a great period for filmmakers. One can argue that this was truly the era of the birth of the autuer. If I was making my list of the top ten best films of the 1950s,it'd probably go a little like this:
Somewhat Alphabetically:
All About Eve, Joseph Mankiewicz
The Night of the Hunter, Charles Laughton
Rear Window, Alfred Hitchcock
Rio Bravo, Howard Hawks.
The Searchers, John Ford
Singin' in the Rain, Stanley Donen
Some Like it Hot, Billy Wilder
12 Angry Men, Sidney Lumet
Toyko Story, Yasujiro Ozu
Vertigo, Alfred Hitchcock
Of course, there's Sabrina, Billy Wilder, North by Northwest, Alfred Hitchcock, Throne of Blood, Akira Kurosawa, and The African Queen, John Huston. In short, it's almost impossible narrow down this decade to only ten films.
I was so proud to see "True Grit" do as well as it did, especially after it's complete shutout at the major awards. And "The American" made it as high as #5 on my ballot, and I was apparently the only voter to give him an acting vote.
The 1950's list was the second hardest Muriel category I've done (the first being Best Supporting Actor for 2008). I finally managed the following:
1. North by Northwest
2. Rashomon
3. Vertigo
4. On the Waterfront
5. Sunset Boulevard
6. Paths of Glory
7. 12 Angry Men
8. Kiss Me Deadly
9. The Searchers
10. Touch of Evil
Is it just me or do the 50s seem to be somewhat lacking the comedy department? Look at those lists! Barely a comedy anywhere.
There are some pictures I love: Some Like it Hot, Monkey Business, Born Yesterday, and The Trouble with Harry. I might even say Frank Capra's A Hole in the Head also just to get to a top 5. But beyond that?
(Granted, I'm not high on The Seven-Year Itch mainly because the movie never really broaches the idea of scratching it's titular affliction).
I mean, even many of the big musical comedies of the 50s are tinged with the bittersweet (An American in Paris, Singin in the Rain, The Bandwagon, It's Always Fair Weather, Silk Stockings).
If it weren't for Alec Guiness...
I'm so glad to hear you say that the 50s are the best movie decade. I totally agree. If you really want to see something, though, cheat a little bit. The best 10 years of movies (well, 11 - ok I'm cheating a LOT) is 1953-1963.
In that 11 year span, you had over a dozen all-time great directors from every major movie producing country of the 20th century (except China) producing masterpieces. I submit:
U.S.
ELIA KAZAN: On The Waterfront (1954)
ALFRED HITCHCOCK: Rear Window (1954), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), Vertigo (1958), North By Northwest (1959), Psycho (1960), The Birds (1963)
CHARLES LAUGHTON: The Night Of The Hunter (1955)
JOHN FORD: The Searchers (1956)
ORSON WELLES: Touch Of Evil (1958)
BILLY WILDER: Some Like It Hot (1959), The Apartment (1960)
STANLEY KUBRICK: The Killing (1956), Paths Of Glory (1957), Spartacus (1960), Lolita (1962)
France
JACQUES TATI: Mr. Hulot's Moliday (1953), Mon Oncle (1958)
JEAN-PIERRE MELVILLE: Bob le Flambeur (1956)
ROBERT BRESSON: Pickpocket (1959)
FRANCOIS TRUFFAUT: The 400 Blows (1959), Jules et Jim (1962)
JEAN-LUC GODARD: Breathless (1960), My Life To Live (1962), Le Mepris (1963)
ALAIN RESNAIS: Last Year At Marienbad (1961)
Japan
YASUJIRO OZU: Tokyo Story (1953), Floating Weeds (1959)
KENJI MIZOGUCHI: Ugetsu Monogatari (1953), Sansho Dayu (1954)
AKIRA KUROSAWA: Seven Samurai (1954), Throne Of Blood (1957), Yojimbo (1961), Sanjuro (1962)
Italy
FEDERICO FELLINI: La Strada (1954), Nights Of Cabiria (1957), La Dolce Vita (1960), 8 1/2 (1963)
MICHELANGELO ANTONIONI: L'avventura (1960)
LUCHINO VISCONTI: The Leopard (1963)
India
SATYAJIT RAY: Apu Trilogy (1955-1959), The Music Room (1958)
Great Britain
DAVID LEAN: The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957), Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
MICHAEL POWELL: Peeping Tom (1960)
Sweden
INGMAR BERGMAN: The Seventh Seal (1957), Wild Strawberries (1957), Through A Glass Darkly (1961), Winter Light (1962)
J-Mac: I'd stump for a number of Frank Tashlin's 50s films, including Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? Richard Quine did some goodies, too, especially Operation Mad Ball. And, hey, Jacques Tati! Bergman's Smiles of a Summer Night may not be bust-a-gut comedy, but it's a comedy nonetheless, and a great film.
My Best of the 50s would go something like this:
1. I Vitelloni (Federico Fellini, 1953)
2. Smiles of a Summer Night (Ingmar Bergman, 1955)
3. Tokyo Story (Yasujiro Ozu, 1953)
4. Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa, 1954)
5. Orpheus (Jean Cocteau, 1950)
6. The Sun Shines Bright (John Ford, 1953)
7. Forbidden Games (René Clément, 1952)
8. Nights of Cabiria (Federico Fellini,1957)
9. A Man Escaped (Robert Bresson, 1956)
10. The 400 Blows (François Truffaut, 1959)
Yeah, Glenn Kenny does some stumping for Frank Tashlin, I might have to dig into this guy's oeuvre this year.
Also, I woke up and realized I'd forgotten that the 50s was the height of the Chuck Jones era at WB (What's Opera Doc, Duck Amuck, Robin Hood Daffy, One Froggy Evening, Rabbit of Seville, etc).
I'm always putting Jones in the 60s in my mind (not that he wasn't also doing some great work in the 60s: The Dot & the Line, The Grinch, The Bear that Wasn't [speaking of Tashlin!], reviving Tom & Jerry, etc) but his best work was definitely in the 1950s.
Just watched Wagon Master and loved it, but I have to ask, just for fun, what do you think of the climactic gunfight?
You can view the scene here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiLhDzFTxUY&playnext=1&list=PLD999EA7218F5D9C1 but I'll break it down from the first shot that's fired (at 1:22 in the clip).
1) Medium shot: Harry Carey Jr. fires
2) Master: James Arness, shot, stumbles backward while Uncle Shiloh and his three remaining thugs scramble away from the gunfire
3) Ben Johnson tackles Uncle Shiloh, takes his gun and fires twice (at who?)
4) Carey Jr. rides past the wagon, firing and killing one of the thugs on the other side - who didn't appear to be injured before Carey Jr. fired
5) Carey Jr., off his horse now (we didn't see him get off), firing from behind a wagon wheel, felling the second remaining thug (Hank Worden, I believe)
6) Wider shot of the wagon; Ben Johnson shoots and kills the last remaining thug (what was he doing during those previous two shots, and who did he shoot with those two bullets after he tackled Uncle Shiloh? He's at such close range, it's hard to believe his bullets didn't hit anybody. He could've been shooting Hank Worden, but then why does the third thug turn around and fire on Johnson so late?).
(If you don't wanna read my breakdown, just watch the clip - or do both)
I think it'd be hard to argue the scene isn't shot like "the usual...action sequence in which the audience can't tell where anything is in relation to anything else, although the characters in the scene can". In fact I don't think it's shot much differently than this scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZLly-4tAR8&feature=related.
So my question is, do you think the scene (in Wagon Master) works, and if so, why? (I do think it works, because of its suddenness, which is the point, moreso than the coherence).
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