Monday, January 31, 2011
HARROWING & EPIC
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How Oscar couldn't find a place at the table for Peter Weir's astonishing The Way Back is fucking beyond me. Amazing, inspirational stuff. Makes you really appreciate life. It's a movie that sticks to the ribs. Lots more tomorrow on this captivating but dark story of human endurance. How it's not up for picture, director, and cinematography is baffling. If I were Weir I'd be pissed.
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4 comments:
My guess is it got shut out because there was no campaign for the film, and it really wasn't a 2010 picture but not really a 2011 one either--more in that void between the two years, so they decided to honor it with one nomination this year because they were stuck.
And I meant to see this yesterday, but didn't get out to do so. Sometime this week, with "Rabbit Hole."
And the same happened with "A Prophet," which they decided to honor for 2009. I count it as a 2010 work personally.
I was blown away by The Way Back. Don't care if historians are having a hard time proving that EVERYTHING happened they way it's laid out in the book -- it's just a damn fine adventure/escape movie. And then you add in the cinematography, and the score, and the ensemble -- had a major studio released the film it would be up for more awards. And to think that it only cost $29 million to make The Way Back -- that's just astounding to think about. It EASILY looks like a $100 million film.
I just saw it.
In one way, the film is a triumph, and that way is its direction and production and acting. Farrell, Sturgess, Ronan, Harris--everyone's excellent. Cinematically, it's pretty phenomenal.
In another way, it's a disappointment. For me, it didn't need a three-act structure to work, and Weir's filmmaking is hindered by old-fashioned writing. Something like "127 Hours" is infinitely more effective, and it didn't have any sort of structure. The reason: it was a survival story, much like this one was.
But, it works. It involves. You grow to care for these people and this journey. Any sort of storytelling weaknesses are outshone by its humanity.
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