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The Zone of Interest – Movie Review

Hello film fans and happy Oscar day! It’s Slick Dungeon and I am back to review the last of the films nominated for the Best Picture Oscar this year. I am talking about The Zone of Interest which was nominated for five of the prestigious awards. There will be spoilers in this review so if you have not seen it make sure you do so before reading the review. Also, content warning here for the film and the review, this film deals with the Holocaust so the subject matter is very heavy and if that sort of thing bothers you, stay away from both the movie and the review.

What’s it about?

The year is 1943 and the film opens with a dark screen and loud background noises. We shift to an idyllic countryside scene where a family of five are laughing, swimming and having a picnic in the local river. We soon find out this family is lead by Rudolf Höss, the Commandant of Auschwitz.

From the outside the family almost seems normal. The siblings fight amongst one another, the mother gardens, the father is constantly working. But, in the background are repeated sounds of gunshots and hints of smoke from both trains and gas chambers.

With cold, emotionless efficiency, a team of engineers meets with Höss to talk about a new crematorium that will be able to keep a much faster pace of killing people.

In the house, there are camp prisoners forced to work to serve the family. They are all doing things in the background and ignored or abused by the family by turns. The horror in the film is snuck in quietly as we see things happen like the young boys looking at gold teeth they have collected, the wife giving away clothing from the camp to her servants while keeping a fur coat for herself, and the husband going through phone calls and paperwork to make it all happen.

Eventually, Höss is ordered to move near Berlin to improve efficiency in all the camps. His family remains behind in their spacious house and grounds. Höss is tasked with transporting 700,000 Hungarian Jews so they can be killed or used for labor. The majority are likely to be killed and the rest will be used to do work that helps the German war effort.

Höss attends a party in Berlin where all he can think about is how he would gas the entire room if he needed to. At the end of the party he heads down the stairs and retches into the corridor repeatedly.

Suddenly, we cut to modern day where a group of janitors clean the Auschwitz–Birkenau State Museum. There are piles of shoes, luggage, crutches and other personal belongings on display. We see the uniforms the prisoners were forced to wear and we see a long hallway with the photos of hundreds of people who were at the camp. It’s the strongest visual hint we get of what happened at these camps and the sheer scale of it is enough turn anyone’s stomach.

The movie then cuts back to Höss where he finishes going down the staircase and the film ends.

The movie makes some interesting choices. By having the violence and horror be implied and in the background, it emphasizes how normalized all of this was. It’s clear just how horrible a person Höss was even as we see him riding his horse with his son and pointing out things in nature. This was a person who had no trouble approving and engineering the deaths of literally millions of people. The pace of the film is also cold and methodical, much like Höss himself, and at times were it not dealing with the subject matter it did, might feel like a film where the biggest conflict was a father having to move away from his children for a time. But the horrors in the undercurrent here can’t be ignored or dismissed so this cold efficiency just emphasizes the horrific nature of it all.

Whether or not we needed a film from the perspective, or at least looking at Höss, is not clear to me but it is an effective film in what it is trying to achieve.

The Awards

The Zone of Interest is up for several awards and has a stronger chance in some categories than others.

Directing

The film is directed by Jonathan Glazer. He does a fine technical job, and there are a few sequences that seem almost surreal in a way. There are bold choices as far as sound and visuals but the majority of it is directed in a way you would direct any competent film. His competition is quite notable with Justine Triet for Anatomy of a Fall, Martin Scorsese for Killers of the Flower Moon, Yorgos Lanthimos for Poor Things, and Christopher Nolan for Oppenheimer. Even with these notable directors and films, I still am betting on Christopher Nolan to take home the award.

International Feature Film

This category is not entirely fair for me to judge because I have only had a chance to watch two of the films in this category. (I tried to review as many of the Oscar nominated films as I could and I got through a lot but I couldn’t do them all) However, of the two I have seen, The Zone of Interest is the better film and I imagine is the most likely to win. I’ll still try to get around to reviewing the others when I can but it won’t be until after the Oscars are over.

Best Picture

I have now seen all of the Best Picture nominees and as good and strong as many of them are, Oppenheimer is still the best one. That was an incredible film and I just can’t imagine any of the rest of the entries winning, including The Zone of Interest.

Sound

This is a tough category to win. The competitors to The Zone of Interest are The Creator, Maestro, Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, and Oppenheimer. The Creator has great sound, as does Mission Impossible but Oppenheimer has a particular sequence where the sound conveys so much of the storytelling that it’s clear how vital the sound actually is. The Zone of Interest similarly plays with sound at times but I don’t think it does so quite as effectively. While typically sci-fi and fantasy films tend to take home the award in this category, I think Oppenheimer is actually going to win here because of that sequence.

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

The writing here is excellent and if The Zone of Interest were to win, it would be deserving. But there is also really strong competition in this category. The Zone of Interest is up against American Fiction, Barbie, Poor Things, and Oppenheimer. I think this one is going to go to American Fiction or The Zone of Interest but honestly any of these winning would make complete sense.

In Conclusion

The Zone of Interest is an intriguing film and uses normality to allow us to think about the horrors in the background. There is good reason it was nominated for so many awards but at times it can be difficult to tell if this is coming at things from the right perspective. It does have quite the impact at the end but there are spots it could improve. I would recommend for people to watch this if they can handle films that deal with the Holocaust but I wouldn’t say it is the best of that type of film either.

Awardingly yours,

Slick Dungeon

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American Fiction – Movie Review

Hello film fans! Slick Dungeon here back to review yet another Oscar nominated film. This time we’re talking about the film written and directed by Cord Jefferson, starring Jeffrey Wright and Sterling K. Brown, American Fiction. It’s up for five Oscars this year. There will be spoilers for the film so if you don’t like that sort of thing, find your nearest theater, go watch the film, and come on back here to read the review.

What’s it About?

Dr. Thelonious “Monk” Ellison (Jeffrey Wright) is an author and college professor. He has written several books which are well respected but not overly popular. In class one day, Monk gets in trouble because he tries to have a frank conversation about literature but teaches about a title in class that has an offensive word in it. A student feels she is uncomfortable with the word and this leads to a complaint that causes the college to put Monk on a leave of absence.

Meanwhile, Monk can’t get his next book published because his agent says publishers think it is not, “black” enough. Monk points out that he is black and he wrote the book so by definition it is a black book. This doesn’t help him sell it to anyone though.

While visiting his family, Monk has to confront his mother’s increasing Alzheimers and reunites with his sister who he has not seen in a long time. Unfortunately for the family, his sister Lisa (Tracee Ellis Ross) suffers a heart attack and dies while he is there. Monk’s brother Cliff (Sterling K. Brown) comes to pay his respects but is not willing to pay for his mother’s care. Cliff is also gay and has recently come out and as a result his wife divorced him and took his children with her.

As things become more desperate for Monk financially, he decides to write a book that panders to black stereotypes and sends it to his agent as a joke. To Monk’s chagrin, this book is picked up swiftly and enthusiastically by publishers unlike his other books. The amount of money he earns from selling it is enough to help get the care his mother needs, but Monk has to pretend to be someone he is not in order to keep the publishers happy.

The remainder of the movie has Monk dealing with crisis after crisis as he has to navigate a dual identity to his publishers and the media, all while still firmly believing the other types of books he writes have more value. He struggles with his girlfriend, he ends up having to judge his own work in a literary award contest, and his mother continues to get worse.

The film touches on ideas of duality, themes of loss, grief, joy, race and academia. It doesn’t hold back on any of these issues and asks complex questions without giving the audience an easy answer. After watching the film, many of the questions the viewers have will remain and you’ll find yourself thinking about this film long afterwards, including wondering if there are times this film actually falls into some of the categories it criticizes. It’s a multilayered portrayal of complex issues and is quite well made. It is one of the more entertaining of the Oscar picks this year and there is good reason it was up for so many awards.

The Awards

Speaking of awards, let’s take a look at each category this one is up for.

Best Actor

There are several great actors up for this award. Colman Domingo had a great turn as Bayard Rustin in Rustin, Bradley Cooper is up for Maestro, Paul Giamati who is no stranger to the Oscars is up for The Holdovers, and Cillian Murphy is up for Oppenheimer. Jeffrey Wright has a phenomenal and nuanced performance here playing a character that never quite opens himself up entirely to the world, all the while complaining that things are not the way they should be. As good a performance as this is, Cillian Murphy is almost certain to win in this category.

Best Supporting Actor

This category is also filled with big name actors and for me, it’s a tougher call than Best Actor. Sterling K. Brown is up for American Fiction. He has a memorable role as Cliff who is struggling with how the world perceives him but all in all he doesn’t have a huge amount of screen time here. There are several actors who could end up with the award here besides Brown. Robert De Niro is up for yet another Oscar for Killers of the Flower Moon, Ryan Gosling has lots of buzz for his role as Ken in Barbie, Robert Downey Jr. is up for Oppenheimer, and Mark Ruffalo is up for Poor Things. I think De Niro has a really strong shot but Gosling may just sneak his way into a win here.

Music (Orignal Score)

The score is fine in this film but I simply don’t see it winning. There are too many other films with more notable music in them. I think Killers of the Flower Moon has a much better shot here. The other movies in question here are Oppenheimer, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, and Poor Things.

Best Picture

American Fiction is an excellent film and despite being one of the Oscar nominees, I suspect not enough people have watched it who should. It’s rather entertaining and has some really good humor that makes you uncomfortable in the best way. But, this will not win Best Picture. That is still going to Oppenheimer in my mind. I have one more film to see in this category so unless The Zone of Interest is so incredible it has to change my mind, I don’t think any other film has a shot.

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

There are so many well written movies this year. American Fiction is able to tell a nuanced story with complex matter while confronting things head on. It’s also about writers which can often help a movie win in the writing category. American Fiction is up against Oppenheimer, Barbie, Poor Things, and The Zone of Interest. I think this one is going to go to American Fiction or The Zone of Interest but honestly any of these winning would make complete sense.

In Conclusion

American Fiction is a great film with great performances and confronts issues that need to be confronted. It doesn’t tend to insult the audience (except maybe for a little bit at the end) and it will remain in your mind long after you see it. It’s an excellent watch and well deserving of being one of the most nominated films of the year. It’s up against major competition that may outshine it, however.

Awardingly yours,

Slick Dungeon

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Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts – Movie Review

Hey film fans it’s Slick Dungeon! I’m back to review the Oscar nominated Live Action Short films for this year. This is a category where I wish all of the films could win because for each and every one of them there was great effort put in. For that reason, I am going to keep the spoilers as mild as possible here because you should all go and watch them. Still, to talk about them all there will have to be a little bit of spoilage so if you want to go into these blind, watch them first and then come back to read the review. I’ll also give you my prediction for the winner.

the After

This film is hard to describe without spoiling but let’s just say an unexpected incident occurs early on and the rest of the film deals with what happens after. It is heart wrenching and surprisingly emotional. It’s a fantastic little film and absolutely worth watching.

Invincible

This is the only film in this category based on a true story. I can spoil a little more of it than some of the others without giving anything away. This is about a troubled youth in Canada who lives in a youth detention center. It gives us a portrayal of the young man and the lengths he will go to in order to change his circumstances. Another film that is heartbreaking here and quite well made.

Knight of Fortune

This is a drama with a bit of graveyard humor in it. It tells the story of Karl who has come to the morgue to identify and say goodbye to his late wife. There are awkward and hilarious moments all wrapped into one here and it leads us to some unexpected places while still being grounded. In the end it’s a sweet film and fun to watch despite dealing with death.

Red, White and Blue

This is a film that leads us in one direction and wallops us into another direction in a jaw dropping manner. I can’t say much more than that other than to say this is a very American film dealing with a very current American problem and is just utterly excellent. If I could give out the awards, this is the one I would give it to, but it’s probably not going to be the winner.

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is a short film based on a short story written by Roald Dahl. It has major stars in it, including Benedict Cumberbatch, Ralph Fiennes, Dev Patel, Ben Kingsley and Richard Ayoade. It is directed by Wes Anderson. It’s as wild as you can get when it comes to the imagination of Roald Dahl, and while I am not typically a Wes Anderson fan, his style really does work well here. Because it is so chocked full of big names and has such production value, this is almost guaranteed to win. It’s a fun watch for sure but it still wasn’t my favorite out of all of these. Definitely worth watching though.

In Conclusion

While I would love for any of these films to win, I’m convinced The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is the only prediction that makes sense here. I urge all of you to go out and watch these and judge for yourself. Short films don’t get the attention they deserve and audiences should watch more of them when they are accessible.

Awardingly yours,

Slick Dungeon

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Poor Things – Movie Review

Hello film fanatics! Slick Dungeon here back to review the oddest of all the Best Picture nominees for the year, Poor Things. There will be spoilers in this review so if you haven’t seen the movie and you care about that sort of thing, book yourself a cruise to Paris, watch the movie, and come on back here to read the review. Before we get into it though, some content warnings for this one. The film has some pretty intense body horror, a whole lot of nudity, and hints of steampunk. If any of those things are something you’d prefer to avoid, don’t watch the film or read the review.

What’s it About?

Hoo boy. I don’t even know where to begin with this one but I’ll give it my best shot. Imagine the story of Frankenstein. Now, think of Frankenstein’s monster as following in Victor Frankenstein’s footsteps to become a surgeon and person who experiments on corpses. Then have that person find a pregnant woman who has thrown herself into the river. This Frankenstein’s monster who is highly educated and well respected in the community, if a bit fearsome to behold, is Godwin Baxter (Willam Defoe). Godwin takes the dead woman, extracts her live baby, and implants the brain of the live baby into the body of the dead woman and brings her back to life. This is Bella Baxter (Emma Stone). With me so far? Good because, it gets strange from here on out.

Godwin’s medical student, Max McCandles is hired to document Bella’s development. Bella has poor motor coordination, limited verbal skills, and is experiencing everything for the first time. Max falls in love with her. Godwin thinks it is a good idea for Max to marry Bella so he hires a lawyer to draw up a rather intense marriage contract that essentially keeps Bella a prisoner. This lawyer is Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo) and he is a cad. He basically convinces Bella to run away with him, which is not hard because Bella is looking for new experiences anyway. And he also wants sex from Bella, which Bella is curious about herself.

The two run off to Lisbon where they are happy for a while. But soon Bella is saying things in public that are considered rude in polite society because she does not know any better and she seems to enjoy getting under Wedderburn’s skin a bit anyway.

To gain more control of her, Wedderburn tricks Bella into getting onto a cruise ship with him. His plan backfires, however, as Bella makes friends on the ship and is exposed to philosophical ideas and the cruelty of the world. Deciding to make a difference, Bella tries to give money to the needy, although it’s clear the deckhands who take her money to give it to the needy are just going to keep it. Thus, she and Wedderburn are kicked off the boat in Paris.

Back in London, Godwin and Max try to replicate the experiment that created Bella but the results do not go as well and the resurrected woman’s cognitive faculties don’t develop nearly as fast as Bella’s did.

Here, Bella discovers she can trade sex for money and decides to do so. Wedderburn has become enraptured with her at this point but is horrified at her behavior. Bella pretty much tells him to kiss off and goes about her life there. She stays in Paris getting money in the same way for a while, learning more about herself and humanity. But she receives a letter that Godwin is dying so she decides to go back to London.

In London, Godwin tells Bella the truth of her origins and Max says he still wishes to marry her. But before the ceremony is complete the man who was married to Victoria (Bella’s mother before she became Bella) shows up and demands to have his wife back.

Bella thought she knew cruelty before but this guy, General Alfie Blessington (Christopher Abbott) is malicious on another level and tries to cut off Bella’s, uh parts. Bella doesn’t take this lightly and she shoots Alfie but decides to save his life. However, she implants a goat brain in him as well. She also decides to become a doctor. Godwin dies and we end pretty oddly, just as we began.

Throughout the film there are hints of gothic horror, steampunk vibes, absolute body horror, animal experimentation along the lines of The Island of Doctor Moreau, and the repression of sexuality in society, especially for women. There are layers of metaphors here I am still trying to wrap my head around and I can’t say it all makes sense but it’s certainly memorable.

This odd combination of factors added up to one of the most nominated films of the year so let’s take a look at those.

The Awards

Poor Things was nominated for a whopping 11 categories this year.

Supporting Actor

Mark Ruffalo is up for his cad of a character, Duncan Wedderburn who goes from selfish to lost, poor and selfish. There is notable competition with Sterling K. Brown for American Fiction, Ryan Gosling for his role as Ken in Barbie, and Robert De Niro for Killers of the Flower Moon. It’s never smart to bet against Robert De Niro winning an Oscar. I think he’s the most likely but we’ll have to see.

Best Actress

Emma Stone had to put on quite the show for this role. She also had to have a good bit of bravery to do it. And she is good at conveying Bella in different stages of development. I won’t say she is a lock for the win, but she is definitely in the top two here. She’s facing off against Annette Benning for Nyad, Sandra Huller for Anatomy of a Fall, Carey Mulligan for Maestro, and Lily Gladstone for Killers of the Flower Moon. At this point, I see this as a competition between Gladstone and Emma Stone with both having an equal shot at winning. If Stone does win, it can’t be denied she put a huge amount of effort and went places not many actresses could for the part.

Cinematography

The cinematography here is really interesting. The color palette is wide ranging, the camera makes use of lots of different lenses, and the framing of the shots can be pretty wild here. I could see this sneaking in a win but it’s facing off against the juggernaut of Oppenheimer and I still think that one is more likely to win. The other nominees are, Killers of the Flower Moon, El Conde, and Maestro.

Costume Design

Okay, the costumes are fantastic here and the choices are beyond bold to the point of being almost surreal. This movie must be in the top three, if not the top two in this category. It might go to Napoleon, but honestly, I think Poor Things is much more creative. It’s also up against, Oppenheimer, Killers of the Flower Moon, and Barbie.

Directing

The directing is certainly interesting and there are a lot of bold choices. I’m not sure all of them work but they at least try something new with this film. But, yeah, sorry, Christopher Nolan still has the upper hand with Oppenheimer and I don’t think Poor Things is going to beat that out. It’s also up against Justine Triet for Anatomy of a Fall, Martin Scorsese for Killers of the Flower Moon, and Jonathan Glazer for The Zone of Interest.

Film Editing

Another category where, in my opinion, Poor Things will lose out to Oppenheimer. The editing in Poor Things is decent although there were moments I wasn’t sure if the best choices were being made as far as when to exit or enter into a scene. The other nominees are Anatomy of a Fall, The Holdovers, and Killers of the Flower Moon.

Makeup and Hairstyling

Yeah the makeup is quite good. Willam Dafoe in particular has the most striking look and the makeup is an integral part of the film. I have to say, I think this film is the most deserving of the award this year. It’s up against Oppenheimer, Golda, Maestro, and Society of the Snow.

Music (Original Score)

The score is fine but I didn’t find myself overly paying attention to it here. It fits well but it’s not as striking as the rest of the film and it’s the part of the film I least remember.  think Killers of the Flower Moon has a much better shot here. The other movies in question are American Fiction, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, and Oppenheimer.

Best Picture

I can’t see this winning over Oppenheimer, although it is a very inventive film. I think it’s still going to take me a few viewings to fully believe I understand the thing, whereas Oppenheimer is unforgettable and makes sense on the first viewing. I’ve got two more films to see in this category so I can’t say for 100% certain I think Oppenheimer is the best but those movies would have to impress me a lot more than Poor Things did to change my mind.

Production Design

There is pretty fantastic production design, especially surrounding the cruise ship and Paris scenes. But, in this category, I still think Barbie did the best job. This category does have some other notable films including Oppenheimer, Napoleon, and Killers of the Flower Moon.

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

There are a lot of well written films in this category this year. Poor Things does have good writing but sometimes it may actually reach to far and trust the audience a little too much to get what is going on. It is up against American Fiction, Barbie, Oppenheimer, and The Zone of Interest. I think this one is going to go to American Fiction or The Zone of Interest but honestly any of these winning would make complete sense.

In Conclusion

Poor Things is a tough one to completely wrap your head around. If you don’t mind body horror, a wild, wild, story, and more nudity than most films get away with, this might be one for you. It’s got good acting, great sets, amazing costumes and makeup, and is mostly well written. But there are times that the audience is left more confused than anything and the film seems to try to go a little further past the edge than makes sense. I can see why it was nominated but it’s definitely not for everyone.

Awardingly yours,

Slick Dungeon

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The Holdovers – Movie Review

Hello film fans, Slick Dungeon here! I’m back to review yet another Oscar nominated film. This time I’m reviewing the latest film where Paul Giamatti gets to play a grumpy old man who is quick to anger but just may have a soft heart underneath after all. I am, of course, talking about The Holdovers. There will be spoilers for this film in the review below so if you don’t enjoy that, get your wealthy parents to hire a helicopter, have them pick you up for ski week where you can go and watch the movie, and then come on back here to read the review.

What’s it About?

The Holdovers is a coming of age film that takes place at a prestigious boarding school which is a pipeline for wealthy boys to end up in Ivy League colleges. Over winter break several students have to stay behind because for one reason or another their parents don’t want them back during the Christmas and New Year break. This means the school has minimal staff and only a single faculty member there to watch over the boys. The year is 1970 and Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti) is not only the most hated teacher at the school, by both the other teachers and the students, he’s also the one who is stuck staying over the break. Mr. Hunham is a tough grader, even for the students who have parents that pay enough to the school where they expect their kids to get good grades. As if that were not enough, he also simply has an arrogant and abrasive personality so not a lot of people tend to like him. This has landed him in some hot water so he is stuck with the babysitting duty this year.

Also left behind is Mary Lamb (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) who is the school cook and has just lost her son who was serving in Vietnam.  

As far as the students go, there is a group of five of them left behind, including Angus Tully who was not expecting to be left there. Despite the fact the school is on break, Mr. Hunham forces the boys to study, exercise, and generally keep to the strict discipline of the school regulations.

We also learn that Mr. Hunham was once a student at the school. The routine goes on for six days with some infighting amongst the boys, a few shouting matches and some shoving, the boys desperate to get out of there and barely controlled chaos. But one of the boys has a wealthy father who arrives with his helicopter to take as many of the students as are allowed on a ski trip.

Unfortunately for Mary and Mr. Hunham, Angus Tully’s parents can’t be reached so he can’t get permission to go on the trip. This means the three of them are stuck at the school together. At one point Angus gets so fed up with being there he runs through the halls with Mr. Hunham chasing him. Angus gets to the gym which is supposed to be off limits and does a little tumble where he badly hurts his arm.

Mr. Hunham has no choice but to take Angus to the hospital and he knows this could get him fired. But, Angus covers for his teacher that way he won’t get fired and Angus’ parents won’t find out. While Mr. Hunham isn’t happy with Angus lying, he does seem to soften his attitude a bit.

Angus and his teacher end up going out to dinner where Angus almost gets into a fight but Mr. Hunham smooths things over. And, they meet a woman from the school working part time at the restaurant who invites them for a Christmas party. Angus, Mary and Mr. Hunham all go to the party. Angus is devastated to find out that Lydia who is throwing the party has a boyfriend. Mary who has been holding herself together breaks down over the loss of her son. And Angus, for the first time the whole break, is having a good time, having met a girl who is interested in him.

Trying to get Mary home, Mr. Hunham argues with Angus. Angus says his father is dead and Mr. Hunham shouts at him. Mary scolds the teacher for making a kid who has been left all alone at Christmas feel like no one wants him.

The next day Mr. Hunhams’ attitude softens a bit more and he even goes to the point of buying a Christmas tree. He offers to do anything that will make Angus and Mary’s break better and Angus immediately wants to go to Boston. Hunham reluctantly agrees and the three take a road trip, figuring it falls under the purview of the school rules because it is a field trip.

Mary catches up with her sister who is pregnant. Meanwhile Angus and Mr. Hunham get to know each other a bit more, going to book stores, museums and bowling. Angus tells Mr. Hunham that if he were to explain ancient civilizations to his class the way he does in the museum, a lot more of the students would like him. We also find out about Hunham’s past and it turns out he has had a bit of a scandal that was not his fault that landed him at the school he now teaches at. He doesn’t regret it but he bends the truth to impress people he knew in his past.

Angus runs away from his teacher to go see his dad. Mr. Hunham catches him just in time and tells Angus he can go to a cemetery but it turns out the dad is actually in a mental institution. Angus meets with his dad and it doesn’t go well.

Mary, Mr. Hunham, and Angus all go back to the school and ring in the new year.

Finally the other students return and it turns out that Angus’ mother and step father are really angry about Angus seeing his dad. This is especially bad for Angus because if he is kicked out of his current school he will end up in a military academy and if he ends up in a military academy, he is almost certain to end up in Vietnam. But, Mr. Hunham covers for Angus at the cost of his own job.

The film has a folksy soundtrack to accompany it and plenty of shots of a New England winter to set the scene. It’s well acted and we can see Paul Giamatti’s character go from abrasive and curmudgeonly to more accepting of others and more willing to try and achieve something for himself. Mary goes through an emotional journey to accept the loss of her son as best she can. And Angus seems like he’s more willing to stick to the rules for long enough that he might make it through school.

While the plot doesn’t sound funny at all, there are some rather funny parts. Paul Giamatti is excellent at insults filled with lots of academic language and he is a good foil for almost any other character in a scene with him. He shows his softer side when it comes to Mary, having a strong understanding of how hard things are for her, and understanding that most of the students at the school he teachers are wealthy enough not to have to worry about much in life. Da’Vine Joy Randolph puts in a great performance as a woman trying to keep herself together in the worst of circumstances. And Dominic Sessa who plays Angus does a great job tapping into teenage angst and fear while maintaining an intelligent mind.

The film is up for several awards for good reason so let’s get into those.

The Awards

The Holdovers is up for five Oscars this year.

Best Actor

Paul Giamatti is a consistently good actor and he has been nominated lots of times. The problem he has in this category is coming from a couple of directions. First, he is playing the kind of character we have seen him play before. That is, a person who goes from angry and standoffish to one who softens but still keeps some of that abrasiveness. More importantly, he is up against Cillian Murphy for Oppenheimer. As good as Giamatti is, I don’t see him winning over that performance. As far as the other nominees, Colman Domingo had a great turn as Bayard Rustin in Rustin, Bradley Cooper dove completely into his role as Leonard Bernstein in Maestro, and Jeffrey Wright has a strong case to make with American Fiction. Paul Giamatti will no doubt be up for this award again but this year he is not going to get it.

Supporting Actress

Da’Vine Joy Randolph is truly one of the best parts of the film, knowing when to hold in emotion and when to let it out for the audience to see. She does a fantastic job as Mary Lamb here. But, in this category I think Danielle Brooks who was in The Color Purple had an even better performance. And while that film may have been largely overlooked in the Oscars, I am hoping Brooks’ performance won’t be. Da’Vine Joy Randolph is also up against Emily Blunt for Oppenheimer, America Ferrera for Barbie and Jodie Foster for Nyad.

Film Editing

The editing in this film is fine. There’s nothing wrong with it and it keeps a pretty good pace. There weren’t any major editing mistakes or odd choices. But it’s not the best edited film of the year. I think both Oppenheimer and Killers of the Flower Moon had a more difficult and technical job to do and both are better edited than The Holdovers. I think Oppenheimer will win this one. The other nominees are Anatomy of a Fall, and Poor Things.

Best Picture

The Holdovers is a good film and so far out of the ones I have seen nominated for Best Picture is one of the funniest. It’s also got some good emotion in it with a nice personal story and fully developed characters. There is a lot going well for it and if you watch it I don’t think you will regret it. But Best Picture? No, sorry it is not the best this year. Again, that’s Oppenheimer but really, who can compete with that? I’ve still got a few movies to see in this category but I would be pretty surprised if any of them changed my mind here. Still, watch the blog for more reviews!

Writing (Original Screenplay)

This is the category I think The Holdovers has the best shot of winning. It’s not competing against Oppenheimer, or Killers of the Flower Moon. It’s up against Anatomy of a Fall which is a really well written courtroom drama, Maestro which tells the life story of Leonard Bernstein, May December which is a bit of a melodrama but no doubt well written, and Past Lives which tells a very personal story. In this category I think the top three are Maestro, Anatomy of a Fall, and The Holdovers. I strongly suspect The Holdovers has the best case to make here. I won’t be shocked if another movie wins but I am placing my bet with The Holdovers here.

In Conclusion

The Holdovers is a good film. It has a little bit of the DNA of Dead Poet’s Society but with a bit less pretentiousness and is more of a personal story than that one. It’s got a bit of oddball comedy that only Paul Giamatti can truly pull off. And it has some truly emotional moments in it. I can say it is probably one of the ten best films of the year and may even be in the top three. Unfortunately for The Holdovers 2023 was a seriously good year for films so the competition is hitting hard against it. I recommend to anyone who likes a good drama with a bit of comedy but it’s not going to win as many Oscars as it might have if it came out a different year.

Awardingly yours,

Slick Dungeon

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Anatomy of a Fall – Movie Review

Hello there film fans, guess who? Yep, it’s me, Slick Dungeon, back to review another Oscar nominated film. This time we’ll be diving into the intense crime and courtroom drama Anatomy of a Fall. There will be spoilers in this review so if you don’t like that, head to your snow covered chalet, pop on the movie, give it a watch and then head on back here to read the review. Also, quick warning for anyone who needs it, this film deals with suicide, domestic violence and potential murder so if that sort of thing is triggering to you, stay away from the movie and the review.

What’s it About

Anatomy of a Fall is a French crime thriller and courtroom drama. A family of three live in an isolated chalet near Grenoble, France. There is a husband, a wife, a visually impaired boy, and his guide dog, Snoop.

The wife is Sandra Voyter (Sandra Hüller) who is a well known novelist. Her husband is Samuel Maleski (Samuel Theis) and her son is Daniel Maleski (Milo Machado-Graner).

The movie starts with Sandra being interviewed by a woman curious to know about Sandra’s writing. Not long into the interview loud music starts playing from the upper part of the chalet. Sandra attempts to continue for a while with the woman and does so in what might even be considered a flirtatious manner. But eventually she gives up because the sound is simply too loud.

We then see Daniel go out for a walk with his dog. When he returns Daniel finds the body of his father, bloody and in the snow. Daniel shouts for help, although it takes a while for Sandra to hear him because the loud music is still going. Sandra rushes down the stairs and immediately calls for help.

The rest of the film takes us on a journey to discover what happened in the moments between the interviewer leaving and Daniel finding the body of his father. It unfolds like a true crime documentary in a lot of ways. We see the polices asking questions, Sandra hires a lawyer, and investigations continue. Sandra, for her part, proclaims her innocence but there are a few suspicious things.

First, Sandra has bruises on her wrist. Second, the autopsy concludes that the impact to the head of the husband could have been made before he fell out of the window where they know Samuel was. Finally, Daniel is sure he heard his parents talking in a calm manner before he left for his walk but when they try to reenact this, he can’t hear it from where he says he was.

Ultimately, Sandra is charged with murder but the situation is highly complicated. First, while Sandra speaks French, she is a native German and mostly speaks English in her day to day life. This means it will be difficult for her to fully convey her side of the story in French. Second, and more importantly, Daniel is considered a witness in the case but since Sandra has not yet been found guilty of anything, she is free to keep living with Daniel. This brings up the potential conflict that Sandra could be in a position to try to unduly influence Daniel’s testimony. Therefore, the court assigns a monitor to stay in the house and now Sandra has to speak in French even to her son. Her son is fluent in French so that is no problem for him but it’s not as easy for Sandra.

The movie then basically shifts entirely to a courtroom drama where more and more is revealed about Sandra’s life and marriage. There is some audio that sounds extremely damning because the couple are heard having a heated argument that ends up with some violence. And this is where Sandra finally admits she got the bruise. Obviously that doesn’t look good to the court.

Sandra’s lawyers are trying to argue that Samuel was depressed and decided to kill himself. They have some evidence that might lead one in that direction, including a possible earlier suicide attempt.

A lot more happens in between but basically the film leads us to the point where Daniel will need to testify in court. Even he is not sure of what happened and it’s basically up to him to decide if he thinks his father killed himself or his mother murdered his father. An utterly heartbreaking thing for any kid to have to ever face.

Daniel suspects he has a way to prove whether his mom was lying about earlier testimony but it does involve nearly poisoning his own dog. He performs the experiment and don’t worry, the dog lives. But this consolidates things in Daniel’s mind. Ultimately he decides it makes less sense that his mother killed his father than for his father to have killed himself.

Ultimately, Sandra is acquitted and is able to go free and reunite with Daniel.

The film really does feel like watching a true crime documentary but with being able to be let in on all the emotional impact it has on the main characters. Sandra Hüller completely shines here bringing nuance and emotion that allows the audience to be on her side while still being unsure if she committed the crime. The film doesn’t let the audience off easily either as there is never a reveal of what exactly happened and like many of the best true crime documentaries, the audience must decide for themselves what really happened.

It’s easy to see why this is up for so many awards and it is one of the best courtroom dramas I have seen in a while. It’s definitely one of the best International films of the year but it may not quite have the oomph to compete with other films in the categories it is up for.

The Awards

To me, it’s odd that this one is not up for Best International Film but that is not one of the categories where it got the nod. Let’s take a look at what it did get nominated for.

Best Actress

Sandra Hüller is up for Best Actress here. She was wonderful in this role and she is playing an extremely complicated person who has to speak and emote in multiple languages and Hüller makes it look effortless. I was never entirely sure if I should be on her side or not and that was clearly intentional. She is up against Annette Benning for Nyad, Lily Gladstone for Killers of the Flower Moon, Emma Stone for Poor Things and Carey Mulligan for Maestro. Sandra Hüller did a fabulous job but the competition in this category really comes down to Emma Stone and Lily Gladstone.

Directing

This was great directing. The most impactful moments come as a surprise both visually and emotionally. The pacing is good enough to keep us paying attention while still allowing us to process a very complicated situation. Unfortunately for this film it is up against major competition. It’s up against Martin Scorsese for Killers of the Flower Moon, Yorgos Lanthimos for Poor Things, and Jonathan Glazer for The Zone of Interest and, of course, Christopher Nolan for Oppenheimer. I’d be surprised if Anatomy of a Fall gets the award but I would love to see more films directed by Justine Triet.

Film Editing

There is no doubt this film has great editing. The audience would not be left in such doubt over what happened if the editing wasn’t fantastic. The pacing can feel a little slow but by the end it seems to pay off by leaving the audience guessing. But, yet again this film has heavy hitting competition. I am calling this one for Oppenheimer. The other nominees are The Holdovers, Killers of the Flower Moon, and Poor Things.

Best Picture

While Anatomy of a Fall is a good film and I would recommend it for a lot of people, this was not the best film of the year. It’s definitely Oppenheimer to win in this category and I would be genuinely surprised if this one wins over it. I’ve reviewed a lot of the films in this category but I still have a few more to go so keep an eye out for those up to the Oscars themselves.

Writing (Original Screenplay)

Here’s a category where Anatomy of a Fall is quite strong. But it does still have some major competition. It’s up against The Holdovers which is moving, dramatic, and funny all at once, May December which is a bit of a melodrama but no doubt well written, Maestro which tells the story of composer Leonard Bernstein, and Past Lives which tells a very personal story. In this category I think the top three are Maestro, Anatomy of a Fall, and The Holdovers. And at this point, I strongly suspect The Holdovers has the best case to make here. If The Holdovers doesn’t win, then Anatomy of a Fall definitely should win.

In Conclusion

Anatomy of a Fall is a refreshing crime drama with plenty of ambiguity and great acting. There are genuinely shocking reveals that change the direction of the film and reposition all of the main characters in an instant. It’s absolutely a film worth watching if you tend to like true crime (it’s not based on any actual case it just feels like it) and want something that leaves you guessing just enough without insulting you. The acting is fantastic and I absolutely guarantee you will continue to think about this one long after you watch it.

Awardingly yours,

Slick Dungeon

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Maestro – Movie Review

Hey movie fans, it’s Slick Dungeon. I’m here to conduct (see what I did there?) another review for one of the Oscar nominated films this year. This time we are talking about the biopic film about Leonard Bernstein, Maestro. There will be spoilers in this review so if you don’t like that sort of thing, head on over to the theater, see the movie and come on back here for the review.

What’s it About?

Maestro tells the story of notable conductor and composer, Leonard Bernstein. If you don’t know much about his professional career, you probably at least know he was the conductor of the New York Philharmonic, and that he composed music for movies like On the Waterfront and musicals like West Side Story. And after watching the film, you’ll know… almost the same amount about his professional career.

You’ll get a lot of the picture of his personal life as we see him have affairs with men and women, fall in love, continue to have affairs, have fights with his wife, continue to have affairs, and then have more affairs. He also chain smokes an incredible amount in this movie, which I am sure was true in his life.

The film is certainly interesting to watch as we see Bernstein go from a young hopeful, just waiting to be called up to conduct an orchestra, to a household name. The film starts with Bernstein being interviewed in 1987 where we can see the fantastic work of the makeup artists who transformed Bradley Cooper into an old man for the character. We then flash back to black and white early days. Bernstein is an energetic composer and, apparently so afraid of being alone, he can’t stop having affairs. He meets his wife Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan) at a party and they connect almost instantly. Felicia marries Bernstein knowing about and accepting his lifestyle, she just asks for him to be discreet about it.

Bernstein’s success grows and he becomes more famous while also teaching music. Soon the film changes to color but the color remains muted, giving it the feel of a film from the seventies or eighties. Again, the makeup on Bradley Cooper is really good because there was never a moment where I thought he wasn’t the age he was playing. Tensions between Bernstein and Felicia increase as his affairs continue and he becomes more and more reckless even with his children old enough to be subjected to all the rumors and gossip that comes with it. Meanwhile, Bernstein continues to be driven to create and conduct music. Felicia who has always been a notable actress is becoming somewhat frustrated not just from the affairs but also with the fact her career takes a bit of a back seat to Leonard’s.

Disaster strikes when Felicia is diagnosed with cancer. The couple are devastated and so are their children. Eventually Felicia dies but Bernstein goes on, continuing to create and conduct. We land back at the interview we started on and Bernstein talks about his attitude towards music, life and creativity.

If you are of a certain generation, I am sure there is plenty here assumed to be known about Leonard Bernstein. But, if you are younger than that, this movie will not really tell you a lot more about the man. I suppose I learned more about his marital affairs than I wanted or needed to know but the film feels a bit scattered, never quite delving as far as it can on the personal, and barely scratching the surface of the professional. I wanted to know more about how people surrounding Bernstein saw him, and not just those who were in his most immediate circle. It seems like his affairs were an open secret but we never get any sense of if this was difficult for him professionally or not.

While Bradley Cooper does an adequate job of directing, this may have been a case where the director is a bit too in love with his subject matter so leaves some vital information out that he assumes the audience knows.

There is some personal tension and conflict in several scenes but Bernstein’s personality in the film is so overpowering, it’s hard to get a clear perspective of anyone else’s feelings towards him with the exception of Felicia. And even in that case, she seems to eventually accept the inevitable of being at least somewhat in his shadow.

All in all I found this film to be too disjointed to truly come together. There has been a deluge of musical biopics lately, the latest one being One Love about Bob Marley and while I didn’t entirely love that one, I did find myself at least having more of an understanding of what Bob Marley did. Here it is overly implied for those of us who did not grow up with Bernstein as a figure in our lives.

But that doesn’t mean that the film is not an enjoyable experience. There is certainly a reason it is up for so many awards, so let’s go through them.

the Awards

Maestro was nominated for seven Academy Awards this year and it certainly didn’t hurt that huge names like Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese were producers on it.

Best Actor

Bradley Cooper does a fine job with the character. I believe him as Bernstein and he certainly took on the mannerisms and speech patterns of the time. This was a good performance and it’s easy to see how much effort Cooper put into it. But in all honesty I think I have seen better performances by him in other films. Add to that the competition here and I don’t see Cooper taking away the award. In this category I think it will be Cillian Murphy for Oppenheimer. Colman Domingo had a great turn as Bayard Rustin in Rustin, Paul Giamati who is no stranger to the Oscars is up for The Holdovers, and Jeffrey Wright has a strong case to make with American Fiction. I think Bradley Cooper proved he can make a film about a subject he is interested in and can still give a good performance while pulling double duty but I don’t see him winning.

Best Actress

Carey Mulligan is up for her role as Felicia Montealegre for this film. Mulligan pulls off the part well and is just as fast talking as Cooper, making the film feel like a more authentic period piece. And the role certainly must have been challenging to portray so she deserves some accolades here. But, her competition is extremely strong in this category. She is up against Annette Benning for Nyad, Lily Gladstone for Killers of the Flower Moon, Sandra Huller for Anatomy of a Fall, and Emma Stone for Poor Things. I would say Carey Mulligan is in the top three here but the competition in this category really comes down to Emma Stone and Lily Gladstone.

Cinematography

I can see why this film was nominated for cinematography. The color choice is bold and sets the tone well. The shots are usually fairly interesting and what we see in the frame can be unexpected while still conveying the information we need. But I never found it to be truly revolutionary or groundbreaking. It is good but it doesn’t reach to the level of greatness in my mind. I don’t see this having a hope of beating out Killers of the Flower Moon, let alone Oppenheimer. It’s also up against El Conde and Poor Things.

Makeup and Hairstyling

If there is any category this film has a strong claim to it would be this one. Bradley Cooper must have had to sit for hours in the makeup chair to get the look right and it doesn’t look fake at all. If you saw him walking down the street in full makeup you would not recognize him as Bradley Cooper but as an elderly man. However, there are a couple of films giving strong competition here. Golda pulled off some incredible makeup transforming Helen Mirren into Golda Meir to the point where I didn’t even recognize her. But also nominated are Oppenheimer which tends to take home nearly every trophy, Poor Things which I have heard has fantastic makeup, and Society of the Snow which is able to make strong young men look like they are truly on the brink of absolute starvation. This is a tough category to call and while Maestro very well may take home the Oscar, I would not be surprised if a different movie went home with it.

Best Picture

This category is a little easier to call. Sorry but Maestro is not going to win here. I can see why it was nominated but it’s simply not as engaging as several of the other entries in the category. And I am pretty sure Oppenheimer has a lock on this one.

Sound

Obviously when you have a film about a composer and conductor, you need to have great sound. The film captures all the music and sound just as it should. But again, like the cinematography category, this film doesn’t do anything to innovate or break the mold. It has good sound but it’s not so notable that it’s going to win here. The Creator, Maestro, Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, and The Zone of Interest are also nominated. The Creator has great sound, as does Mission Impossible but Oppenheimer has a particular sequence where the sound conveys so much of the storytelling that it’s clear how vital the sound actually is. While typically sci-fi and fantasy films tend to take home the award in this category, I think Oppenheimer is actually going to win here because of that sequence.

Writing (Original Screenplay)

Here’s a category where I could see Maestro winning. It’s not competing against Oppenheimer, or even Killers of the Flower Moon here. But it does still have some strong competition. It’s up against Anatomy of a Fall which is a really well written courtroom drama, The Holdovers which is moving, dramatic, and funny all at once, May December which is a bit of a melodrama but no doubt well written, and Past Lives which tells a very personal story. In this category I think the top three are Maestro, Anatomy of a Fall, and The Holdovers. As good as the writing is for Maestro, it is still more disjointed of a film than the other two. And at this point, I strongly suspect The Holdovers has the best case to make here. I won’t be shocked if Maestro wins but I would be mildly surprised.

In Conclusion

If you love biopics about musicians and you have a good idea of who Leonard Bernstein was, then this is a great film for you. If you don’t know that much about the guy, I suspect that like me, you’ll come away wondering what they really left out here. It is worth watching Bradley Cooper’s performance and it’s neat to see him directing, but it’s a bit more scattered than I would like in a biopic. It will probably take home some awards this year at the Oscars but it will probably lose out on a lot.

Awardingly yours,

Slick Dungeon

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Past Lives – Movie Review

Hellos film fans, Slick Dungeon here! I’m back to review another Oscar nominated film. This time I will be talking about the romantic drama Past Lives which is up for two Oscars this year. There will be some spoilers in this review so if that sort of thing bothers you, get off the video call with your long lost friend, go watch the movie, and come on back here to read the review.

What’s It About?

The movie starts off with someone playing that game where you look at people in a bar or restaurant and try to guess who they are to each other. In this case there is a Korean man and woman and a white man all hanging out together in a bar at 4 am.

We then flash back to 24 years earlier in Seoul, South Korea where a little girl named Na Young and a little boy named Hae Sung are good friends. Na Young is upset because she didn’t get top marks at school that day, for the first time losing to Hae Sung. We find out that Na Young is going to immigrate from South Korea soon and she has to decide what her English name will be. She goes with Nora. Her mother asks her what boys she likes in school and Na Young says she like Hae Sung and that he would marry her if she told him to. They moms of the kids arrange a “date” for the kids who seem to have genuine affection for one another. Na Young leaves fairly abruptly, leaving Hae Sung without his best friend.

We jump to 12 years later and now Na Young, going by Nora is an aspiring playwright. She is accepted into a writer’s residency in Montauk. But before she goes there, she finds out that Hae Sung has reached out to try and reconnect with his old friend. In South Korea, Hae Sung is going to school to study engineering when he gets a message in the middle of the night from Na Young. The two start talking over video calls and begin to reconnect. It’s clear there is still a bit of a spark between the two of them. Just before she has to leave to go to the writer residency, Nora tells Hae Sung they should stop talking because she is finding herself looking up flights to Seoul. Hae Sung is heartbroken over it but agrees. At the residency, Nora meets Arthur who she starts dating. Here she explains the Korean concept of past lives where if you come into contact with someone it means you had a connection to them in a previous life. Those who get married have had thousands of such connections and are paired together in this life. Meanwhile in Seoul, Hae Sung finds a girl to date who seems to be just as heartbroken as he is.

We jump ahead in time once again 12 years to catch up to present day. Nora has been married to Anthony for the last seven years but Hae Sung is coming to New York for the first time. The two plan to meet up and reconnect. Hae Sung is still clearly in love with Nora, although she is married. Hae Sung is on a break from his girlfriend because the circumstances don’t seem quite right for the two of them to get married. Anthony is a bit worried about Nora reconnecting with a childhood sweetheart but he deals with it as well as he can. Nora takes Hae Sung to the Statue of Liberty and hangs out with him for the day. Hae Sung is taken to meet Anthony who has learned a little bit of Korean and he talks to Hae Sung who has learned a little bit of English. We then end up at the bar scene from the beginning and are let in on the conversation that we only observed at the start. Hae Sung is basically asking Nora if she thinks they were something to one another in a past life. They go through some possibilities to the point where it seems they are pretty much ignoring Anthony. It’s clear there is still a connection between Nora and Hae Sung but Nora loves Anthony and plans to stay with him.

The movie ends with Hae Sung getting his Uber to go back to the airport while Nora sees him off. Hae Sung makes one last attempt and asks Nora, “What if this is a past life too?” And they wonder what they will be to each other in the next life. Nora goes back to Anthony and Hae Sung goes back to Seoul.

The film is slow paced, which I usually don’t mind. It’s also clearly on the lower budget end of the spectrum which I never mind. If pacing and budget were the only problems with the film, I would be fine with that but this movie really feels slow for a few reasons. One, there is a nearly twenty minute sequence of people talking to each other on video calls, with all of the, “Hello? Hi? Can you hear me?” awkward silences, and video glitching left in. Second, there are tons of long pauses in everyone’s dialogue which slows things down. Third, while there is some conflict here, it is only, purely emotional conflict, usually an internal struggle within the character that they seem to resolve by themselves. This makes the film feel a little bit pointless.

However, there are definitely themes almost anyone can relate to. Not only does it deal with the experience of immigrating to a new place, it deals with loss, reconnection, and love both unrequited and reciprocated. The personal is the universal so I can see why some people do love this film. Personally, it wasn’t for me but I can understand if someone enjoys it.

I’m not sure it was Oscar worthy as I do think there were better films that were overlooked for this one.

The Awards

Past Lives is up for just two Oscars this year, Best Picture and Writing (Original Screenplay)

Best Picture

There is no chance this film will win Best Picture. It’s not a bad film, but I don’t think it soars into greatness either. Oppenheimer is certain to win over this one. But even if that juggernaut of a film wasn’t in this category, I still don’t think Past Lives would win. It’s just not strong enough filmmaking.

Writing (Original Screenplay)

For writing, Past Lives is up against Anatomy of a Fall, The Holdovers, Maestro, and May December. In this category I think the competition is really between Anatomy of a Fall, The Holdovers and Maestro. I don’t see a world where Past Lives takes home the trophy but it is written well. It’s just not as well written as a lot of other films this year.

In Conclusion

The acting, soundtrack, cinematography and all the rest of it in this film are fine. The movie is mildly interesting and might be a good watch if you are feeling a bit heartbroken for one reason or another. But, it’s probably one of the weakest of the Best Picture contenders, although it certainly has themes a lot of us can relate to. If you love dramas, don’t mind slow pacing, and enjoy stories of unrequited love, this one may be for you.

Dramatically yours,

Slick Dungeon

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Killers of the Flower Moon

Hello film fans, Slick Dungeon here! I’m back to review another one of the Oscar nominated films for this year. I’m going to review Killers of the Flower Moon which is up for 10 of the prestigious awards this year. There will be spoilers for this film below so if that sort of thing bothers you, grab your chauffeur, head over to the theater, watch the movie and come on back here to read the review.

What’s It About?

Killers of the Flower Moon tells the story of what happened when the Osage Nation struck it rich with oil in Oklahoma. Beyond becoming incredibly wealthy almost overnight, the Osage people in this area were also exploited and targeted for violence and murder on a scale nearly unheard of at the time. It was so bad that Mollie Burkhart (Lilly Gladstone) traveled to Washington DC, despite being very sick with diabetes, to beg for help. Help did come, in the form of the FBI and a formal investigation was launched delving into the background of the killings.

The film tells this story mostly from the perspective of Ernest Berkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio), a World War I veteran and nephew to William King Hale (Robert De Niro). Hale has been taking advantage of the situation by befriending Osage people, taking out insurance claims on them, and then having them murdered. He all but orders Ernie to marry Mollie because when the rest of Mollie’s family dies, her large estate will go to her, or in the case of her death, her husband and children. It’s basically a gigantic insurance scheme, loaded with violence, scheming and plenty of con artistry.

But one thing Hale, who is known around town as a member in good standing, friendly to the Osage people, did not count on is for Ernie to actually love his wife. The story unfolds with Ernie doing awful things behind the scenes that he is hiding from his wife, including robbery and even up to the point of hiring killers to kill Mollie’s family members.

The violence in the movie here is not overly gratuitous for the most part but when it happens it is utterly, wildly, shocking and comes when least expected making it superbly effective when we see it. The results of the violence are sometimes overly graphic but when put in the context of what is happening in the film doesn’t feel exploitative to the audience.

In the backdrop of all this there is building tension between Osage people and white people. This is especially notable as in one scene we see the people in the film watching newsreels of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre. This makes the people in the film, and the audience watching, feel like this situation is a powder keg just about to explode.

Mollie has enough resources to gather the Osage elders and hire a private investigator to look into the deaths of not just her family but those of several other Osage people she knows. This is especially difficult to do because the laws on the books at the time required court appointed white people to be the legal guardians of Osage individuals because they were considered, “incompetent.” A ridiculous notion but this was absolutely a real law at the time. And this meant Mollie had to go through back channels and around roadblocks to hire anyone that might help.

Unbeknownst to Mollie, Earnest Burkhart was working with his uncle and was in a prime position to kill or have killed any investigators that might come. All the while, Ernie acts as if maybe he actually does love his wife, who is suffering from diabetes. In order to keep Mollie alive so that he can inherit all her money, King Hale makes sure Earnest gets a new medicine called insulin to treat her illness.

The private investigator is killed but Mollie is not giving up, even though more of her family members keep dying and she is quite sick. She decides to travel all the way to Washington DC to convince President Coolidge to help her. In typical fashion he says less than five words to her so she thinks nothing will come of it.

She returns to her loving husband but keeps making noise around town. Soon, an FBI agent shows up named Thomas Bruce White Sr. (Jesse Plemons). He’s not afraid to ask around town about what is happening. Meanwhile, Ernie has been using Mollie’s needed insulin shots to add a sedative to keep her quiet.

The movie turns into a bit of a cat and mouse game for a while between the FBI and King Hale and all his cohorts. But, it turns out the mice aren’t very smart and they all start turning on each other. It also doesn’t help that Burkhart and Hale have stiffed several of their criminal fellows to the point where they want to turn on them.

At long last the law catches up to Ernie Burkhart who by this point has several children with his wife and at least says he loves her. He begins intending to testify against his uncle until he is brought to trial where Hart’s lawyer says he is also Burkhart’s lawyer. Ernie changes his mind and goes back to his uncle’s side.

Mollie is found nearly unconscious and definitely suffering by the FBI agents and rushed to a hospital. She is given regular insulin shots without anything extra added and is restored to health.

But, one of Mollie and Ernie’s children dies. Burkhart is certain his uncle is behind it and decides he is now going to testify against his uncle. He gives damning witness testimony but also exposes himself as being incredibly involved in the orchestration of the killing of Mollie’s relatives.

Mollie goes to meet with Burkhart in jail and asks him if he has told all his secrets. He says he has but he doesn’t admit to drugging his wife. She leaves him without a word, presumably never to return.

Oddly, the film ends with tying everything up by showing us an audience watching a radio broadcast. I guess it’s better than just writing cold text on a screen, and we get a cameo from director Martin Scorsese here which is neat to see. We get a summary of the prison time and consequences felt by Hale, Burkhart and everyone involved. We also find out Mollie dies at a pretty young age of 36 succumbing to her diabetes.

The film’s last scene is an overhead shot of a 21st-century Osage powow dancing circle.

All in all, the film tells a much ignored story and does so well, although I am not sure we get the story from the best perspective here. While the true hero of the story is Mollie, we mostly see things from the view point of the villain. I’m not sure what the best approach would be but I suspect there could have been better angles to tell the story from. Still, the movie is extremely compelling and yet another entry from a master filmmaker so it makes sense that it has been nominated for so many Oscars.

The Awards

Speaking of awards, here’s what I think in each of the categories for the film.

Supporting Actor

Robert De Niro is up for his role as King Hale. It’s been a while since we’ve seen De Niro in a role where he wasn’t just playing himself or a version of one of the characters he is famous for. This role actually showed his skill as an actor and allowed him much more of a range than we have seen in a long time. I think he has an extremely good chance of winning here. There is notable competition with Sterling K. Brown for American Fiction, Ryan Gosling for his role as Ken in Barbie, and Mark Ruffalo for Poor Things. But it’s never smart to bet against Robert De Niro winning an Oscar. I think he’s the most likely but we’ll have to see.

Best Actress

Lily Gladstone is up for her role as Mollie Burkhart and she pulled off a complicated and challenging role. She was fascinating to watch in every moment of the film. But, again she has a lot of competition. She’s facing off against Annette Benning for Nyad, Sandra Huller for Anatomy of a Fall, Carey Mulligan for Maestro, and Emma Stone for Poor Things. At this point, I see this as a competition between Gladstone and Emma Stone with both having an equal shot at winning. If Gladstone does win, no one is going to think she is not deserving because she certainly knocked it out of the park here.

Cinematography

No doubt the cinematography here is gorgeous and great effort and thought was put into it. Had Oppenheimer not been nominated in this category I would say this film was an easy win for it. But, with Oppenheimer in this category, I think Killers of the Flower Moon is a very close second. The other nominees here are El Conde, Maestro, and Poor Things.

Costume Design

Again the costume design is great here both as a period piece and it treats the Osage Nation with great care. But, I think there are more likely winners here including Napoleon and Poor Things. The other nominees are Oppenheimer and Barbie, either of which could also sneak out a win.

Directing

Martin Scorsese is up for yet another Oscar. If he won, no one would be surprised. And on almost any other year if he was up for the award I would say he is a lock for it. But, he is competing against Christopher Nolan for Oppenheimer which was such a notable film that I can’t really see anyone else winning here. I wouldn’t place money on it but I think Scorsese is not going to win. He’s also up against Justine Triet for Anatomy of a Fall, Yorgos Lanthimos for Poor Things, and Jonathan Glazer for The Zone of Interest.

Film Editing

I hate to keep saying this because I really think Killers of the Flower Moon is an excellent film but it’s going to lose to Oppenheimer. The film editing here is spot on and the scenes depicting violence intercut with the way we see slower, more emotional scenes is just brilliant. But it is not quite as brilliant as Oppenheimer. The other nominees are Anatomy of a Fall, The Holdovers, and Poor Things.

Music (Original Score)

In this category, I fully believe Killers of the Flower Moon is going to win. And that is despite being up against John Williams for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. The score works so well in Killers of the Flower Moon that it can’t be ignored. The music is beautiful and knows just when and where to ratchet up the tension or dial things back to give the audience a moment of relief. I could certainly be wrong but this is a more than deserving score. The other movies in question here are Oppenheimer, American Fiction, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, and Poor Things.

Music (Original Song)

There is so much going on in this category. First, Dianne Warren is yet again up for an Oscar and she has yet to win one other than the Academy Honorary Award which acknowledges a career rather than a single song or soundtrack. This means Warren might get one here just because she is so overdue for one. Her song is The Fire Inside from Flamin’ Hot. Second, Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People) from Killers of the Flower Moon is up for the award. This is an Osage language song and is simply beautiful and it recognizes a culture often ignored (or sometimes demonized) in Hollywood films. Barbie was nominated for two songs in this category and might end up splitting the vote on itself for I’m Just Ken and What Was I Made For? Finally, It Never Went Away from American Symphony written and performed by John Batiste is up for the award. Batiste is a straight up musical genius and in my opinion, he has the most valid claim to this award. I predict he will win unless I’m Just Ken sneaks away with it.

Best Picture

It’s a little heartbreaking that Killers of the Flower Moon came out the same year as Oppenheimer because I think it is going to get fewer awards than it deserves. But Oppenheimer is virtually impossible to ignore in this category and is the odds on favorite to win. I truly enjoyed Killers of the Flower Moon but I have to call this for Oppenheimer. I’ll be reviewing all of the other films up for this award this week but I’ll be shocked if any of them change my mind here.

Production Design

The production design is great here and there were plenty of complicated sets that had to be made and used for the film. But, in this case, I think Barbie really has the upper hand. This category does have some other notable films including Oppenheimer, Napoleon, and Poor Things. Barbie remains my bet here but if Killers of the Flower Moon took it home, they would be deserving.

In Conclusion

This is a great film with excellent directing, sound, cinematography and acting. If this was released in any other year I really would put it as the odds on favorite to win all the Oscars. But it is up against such a masterpiece in Oppenheimer that this film may not see the full recognition it deserves. Don’t let that stop you from watching it because it is an excellent film.

Awardingly yours,

Slick Dungeon

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Oppenheimer- Movie Review (Oscar Edition)

Cillian Murphy stars as J. Robert Oppenheimer in the biopic about the famous scientist

Hey film fans, Slick Dungeon here. Oppenheimer is one of the Oscar movies that I have already reviewed on this blog so a lot of this review will seem familiar. However, I am updating it to talk about the Oscars the film has been nominated for. If you have already read this review, feel free to skip to that part. If you haven’t and you are curious about what my thoughts were on the film, then by all means read on! This review will contain a few spoilers for the movie but nothing major. Also, since this is a biographical picture based off a book about a famous person and period in history and it’s pretty accurate, I guess this is also a warning that there will be spoilers for history as well? If you don’t want to be spoiled at all, go see the movie then come back here to read the review.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Let’s start with the obvious here. The cast, the directing, the production, and the storytelling are phenomenal. This is one of those films that has the word Oscar written all over it in thirty foot letters. My bet is we’ll see at least a nomination for Cillian Murphy, Florence Pugh, Robert Downey Jr., Emily Blunt and Matt Damon. Not to mention one for Christopher Nolan. The film is worth watching for these performances alone. I especially think Cillian Murphy and Florence Pugh really shine in this film.

The plot of the movie centers around both the development of the atomic bomb during World War II and a hearing later in Oppenheimer’s career where his patriotism was questioned because he had some loose ties to communist organizations in his past. It essentially pits Oppenheimer against Lewis Strauss in a political sense. This is where the character tension is but the more fascinating aspect is how Oppenheimer seems to see the world. He’s one of the few people who could actually understand what he was building and why. And he was one of the few people who could actually understand how risky it was to use the bomb and what the worries of proliferation would be.

The movie is set in two basic time periods, before and after the war. Interestingly, the world is in color in the time period before the bomb is dropped but turns black and white when Strauss essentially tries to hang Oppenheimer out to dry politically. Where Oppenheimer’s world is full of bright colors, big events, huge casts of characters and scientists and politicians all trying to understand life, Strauss’ world is narrow, black and white and all about him.

While I’m not going to get into any major spoiler territory here, I do want to point out the few points I feel the film doesn’t handle perfectly. First, while we see Oppenheimer seem to imagine the devastation caused by dropping atomic bombs, there are no scenes of any kind where the explosions happened. I realize the story is told through Oppenheimer’s eyes but even a single scene set in Hiroshima or Nagasaki before and after the explosions could have helped the audience to understand the immensity of what was happening.

My second gripe is the movie only barely touches on the fact that Oppenheimer knew the need for regulating atomic energy and fought hard for that for the latter part of his life. While he still seemed to think the invention of the bomb was necessary given the circumstances of World War II, he understood how out of control things could get without major oversight of such an immense power.

I will say that the last line of the film is one hell of an ending and justifies the long run time of the film. Overall, it’s a great achievement of a film, worthy of the complicate man it portrays. If you haven’t gone out to see this one yet, get on it when you have a full day to dedicate to it.

The Awards

Best Actor

There are several great actors up for this award. Colman Domingo had a great turn as Bayard Rustin in Rustin, Bradley Cooper is up for Maestro, Paul Giamati who is no stranger to the Oscars is up for The Holdovers, and Jeffrey Wright has a strong case to make with American Fiction. But, none of those guys, and I mean none of them, dived as deep into their role as Cillian Murphy did for Oppenheimer. Murphy truly transforms into the person and delivers an extraordinary performance here. On any other year I would say this is a close call but this year, I think it has to be Murphy who gets the win.

Best Supporting Actor

This category is again filled with big name actors and for me, it’s a tougher call than Best Actor. Robert Downey Jr. is the actor up for the award for Oppenheimer. There is no doubt his performance was a good one and he made a great foil to Murphy’s Oppenheimer. But there are other actors in this category who may be more deserving. Sterling K. Brown is up for American Fiction, Robert De Niro is up for yet another Oscar for Killers of the Flower Moon, Ryan Gosling has lots of buzz for his role as Ken in Barbie, and Mark Ruffalo is up for Poor Things. I suspect Robert Downey Jr. is not going to win here but I’m torn on guessing who will win. I think De Niro has a really strong shot but Gosling may just sneak his way into a win here.

Best Supporting Actress

Emily Blunt is up for the award here for Oppenheimer. She plays Oppenheimer’s wife, Kitty. In the film, I actually thought Florence Pugh had a stronger performance than Blunt but she was ultimately not nominated. Blunt is up against Jodie Foster for her role in Nyad, Danielle Brooks for The Color Purple, America Ferrera for Barbie, and Da’vine Joy Randolph for The Holdovers. Out of all of these performances, I think Danielle Brooks is the most deserving in this case.

Cinematography

While there are several films in this category, I think only two have a real shot. The nominees here are El Conde, Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro, Poor Things, and, of course, Oppenheimer. While all of these films have wonderful cinematography, only Oppenheimer and Killers of the Flower Moon have cinematography on a scale that is truly Oscar worthy. I think it’s a dead even match between the two so I would not be surprised if either of them took home the trophy.

Costume Design

The costume design here was definitely good. I can see why it was nominated. But, in this category I actually think it is going to go to Napoleon or maybe Poor Things, both of which are also period pieces but have more elaborate costuming than Oppenheimer does. The other movies in the category are Barbie and Killers of the Flower Moon. I could maybe see Barbie getting it but we’ll have to see.

Directing

In this category, I would be honestly surprised if Oppenheimer did not win. Christopher Nolan has proven himself a master of visual storytelling more than once and this is his greatest work to date. The other directors are certainly great directors themselves but Nolan definitely created a masterpiece here. His competition is quite notable with Justine Triet for Anatomy of a Fall, Martin Scorsese for Killers of the Flower Moon, Yorgos Lanthimos for Poor Things, and Jonathan Glazer for The Zone of Interest. Even with these notable directors and films, I still am betting on (not literally) Christopher Nolan to take home the award.

Film Editing

Again, I am calling this one for Oppenheimer. There are such memorable sequences and the way the film is structured is fairly complicated, with tons of editing necessary to make it work. The other nominees are Anatomy of a Fall, The Holdovers, Killers of the Flower Moon, and Poor Things.

Makeup and Hairstyling

I think this one is going to go to Poor Things over Oppenheimer but if Oppenheimer won, it would be well deserved. It’s also up against Golda, Maestro, and Society of the Snow.

Music (Original Score)

The film has a good score, although I am not music expert, but I think Killers of the Flower Moon has a much better shot here. The other movies in question here are American Fiction, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, and Poor Things.

Best Picture

I am calling it for Oppenheimer on this one as well. There are definitely notable films in competition, and I’ll be reviewing each one of them this week, but I think Oppenheimer is almost a guaranteed lock here.

Production Design

I think in this category Barbie is actually going to beat out Oppenheimer. While the production design was fantastic here, Barbie had to be even more innovative and creative so i think they will take away the Oscar.

Sound

This is a tough category to win. The competitors to Oppenheimer are The Creator, Maestro, Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, and The Zone of Interest. The Creator has great sound, as does Mission Impossible but Oppenheimer has a particular sequence where the sound conveys so much of the storytelling that it’s clear how vital the sound actually is. While typically sci-fi and fantasy films tend to take home the award in this category, I think Oppenheimer is actually going to win here because of that sequence.

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

The writing here is excellent and if Oppenheimer were to win, it would be deserving. But there is also really strong competition in this category. Oppenheimer is up against American Fiction, Barbie, Poor Things, and The Zone of Interest. I think this one is going to go to American Fiction or The Zone of Interest but honestly any of these winning would make complete sense.

Praisingly yours,

Slick Dungeon