Johnny Simmons

It’s no surprise that the most distant year of the last decade is also the most distant year in my memory. I probably have to do much catching up on the films released that year, so I’m going back to my original format for reviewing the years instead of drawing it out.

                   

Judi Dench in Chocolat 
...for taking what could be the ultimate sleepwalking performance and turning it into something that’s as funny as it is fulfilling. I know I’m alone on this one, but I find her glorious here.

                      

Marcia Gay Harden in Pollock  
...for taking the passionate artist and turning her into something pretty fantastic. Steals the show from Ed Harris? You bet. And that’s not easy.

                        

Julie Walters in Billy Elliot  
...for making her teacher role into something completely human and enjoyable. And just because she’s Julie Walters.

                

Kate Winslet in Quills 
... for doing more with her eyes than many do with multitudinous lines of dialogue.

                         

Catherine Zeta-Jones in Traffic  
...for standing by her man in true Latina fashion, and for showing the world than she could be more than Zorro’s wife.

Runners Up: Kate Hudson in Almost Famous, Lena Olin in Chocolat

Don Cheadle in Traffic
...for managing to stay in my memory even though the part isn’t that “big”, but mostly for that last scene of his.

Benicio Del Toro in Traffic
...for every scene he’s in. Yeah, he’s that good.

Willem Defoe in Shadow of a Vampire
...for turning in his best work and for being typical Oscar bait at its best while still breaking all the rules.

Albert Finney in Erin Brockovich
...for reacting to Erin just as we would and for making his Ed a true person.

       

Joaquin Phoenix in Quills  
...for doing this the same year as Gladiator and for making this character into something that wasn’t annoying.

Runners Up: Aaron Eckhart in Erin Brockovich Michael Douglas in Traffic, Alfred Molina in Chocolat, Joaquin Phoenix in Gladiator

          

Runners Up: Jennifer Lopez in The Cell

          

What can I write about these five, they fight with 2003 for having the most distinguished set of women nominated and they got it right by my judgement.

         

Runners Up: Christian Bale in American Psycho, Jamie Bell in Billy Elliot

         

In such a good year for men it’s a pity that Bale, Bell and Ruffalo saw no love.

          

Daldry for Billy Elliot
...he earns point for this fulfilling debut and the start of an illustrious career.

Scott for Gladiator
...he directs it like the true epic that it is, faults and all

                      

Schanbel for Before Night Falls
...just because this could have been a generic thing...and it isn't...

            

...for making a biopic enjoyable, interesting and even laugh out loud funny. And for directing Julia to greatness.

          

...he manages to make each part interesting and good and the audience never gets bogged down by all the information.

Runners Up: Lasse Hallestrome for Chocolat, Kenneth Longergan for You Can Count On Me,  Ang Lee for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

          

Billy Elliot 
...because it’s pure fun. The end.

      

....because I love it to excess and because it’s a fairy tale that’s still believable even when it shouldn’t be.

             

...for the fact that it’s the kind of biopic I can get behind but mostly because it knows what to do with its cast.

       

Traffic 
...because it used to the ensemble cast to its fullest before it became the “in” thing to do.
           
You Can Count On Me
...because having a sibling can be both wonderful and horrible. 

                      

EVERYTHING I SAW: [Alphabetically]

In my youth when I saw the Steven Soderbergh’s enviable double feature of Traffic and Erin Brockovich I cannot deny that the latter was the one that was more enjoyable. However, I was at that strange time when I believed commonness was equated with enjoyment and thus I heavily believed that Traffic was the superior of the two. Years later, I still cannot be certain if Traffic is not the better of the two – but I realise that the ostensible enjoyment one derives from Erin Brockovich belies a smart and elegant interior.

                

Erin Brockovich is a film that has become equated with Julia Roberts – one of the greatest stars of her time. Of course her Oscar win has become somewhat maligned today but I will not deny that as much as it seems to be a role of pure stardom Julia’s Erin is one of the strongest and most enjoyable female characters of the decade and her line-readings are more than just line readings for the sake of it. Erin is the type of character who we admire all the while noticing her lesser qualities. She’s not perfect, definitely no angel as she prances around in those stiletto heels destroying everything in her path. It’s the sort of rare character that demands a leading lady with an exceptionally strong screen presence and Julia delivers on all counts. But even though the title suggests otherwise, the film is more than just a showcase for Julia and Julia alone. You’d think that the supporting players are relegated to mere caricatures in the presence of such a woman, but you’d be wrong.

Albert Finney’s Oscar nod for his supporting turn is both baffling and satisfying. It’s a performance that is without airs and completely realistic and as Julia’s boss we leave the film with as clear an understanding of Ed as we do of Erin. Aaron Eckhart has the unenviable task of playing “wife” to Julia’s role-reversed heroine. It’s a thankless role, but he holds his own with Julia in that final scene of his reminding us that even though Erin is a hero she is far from a paragon of goodness.

                      

Erin Brockovich is a film that has become exceedingly underrated. The script is witty without being grandiose, casted to perfection with a nice little performance by the wonderful Cherry Jones, and edited fittingly it’s an incredibly enjoyable. It doesn’t fit into our usual thoughts of a biopic, but it’s a credit to its genre. It entertains as much as it edifies and though many look back and criticise its success; it deserved the recognition it attained, including that Best Picture nomination. Here it is at #81 on my list of favourites.              
Starting this week I'll be looking at 2000 in review.

Stephen Daldry is lucky. He’s earned three Oscar nominations for each of his three films. I don’t think anyone has ever gone three for three in terms of direction; so regardless of your thoughts on The Reader, The Hours or Billy Elliot [The Dancer] the man has to have some modicum of talent.

              

Billy Elliot is the lightest of Daldry’s films but that doesn’t make it any less good than the others. I suppose the emotional weight of the story may have been lost with the recent commercialism of its Broadway adaptation, but Billy Elliot is nice little film that somehow managed to earn a few Oscar nominations for itself. It tells the story of the eponymous Billy who becomes a ballet dancer despite the obvious obstacles to this goal. Like so many films of its type, it’s not the actual story per se that makes Billy Elliot original. It’s the treatment of the story and the good dialogue and acting that make it something of a treasure.

2000 was a good film year. Coming off the embarrassment of riches that was 1999 [a tough act to follow], it had some impressive pieces. Gladiator may not have been my favourite, but it was triumph, say what you wish about Soderbergh but that one two punch of Traffic and Erin Brockovich was enviable. Chocolat knew its audience, if nothing else. And that’s not even getting into the game changers like Dancer in the Dark, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Almost Famous and underrated gems like Before Night Falls and Quills. Still Billy Elliot, not necessarily the best of the lot, was the one with the most heart.

                  

I always marvel at Julie Walter’s nomination. Along with Marcia Gay Harden it’s anyone’s bet what had Oscar giving them nominations. But I am glad that they did because like Gay Harden ,Julie Walters is quite effective in Billy Elliot. A throwaway role? Probably. But not any less good because of it. I can’t offer up an unbiased view of 2000’s actor line-up but it’s a pity that Jamie Bell couldn’t get an Oscar nomination, although I suppose that would be asking too much.

              

Billy Elliot is #94 on my list of favourites. Though I’ve never been disappointed with either of Daldry’s subsequent efforts I’d like to see him tackle a comedy again.

               

Were you a fan of Billy Elliot? Or do you prefer Daldry's later efforts?

Sometimes it’s great to look at a film that you know is absolutely unreal. It’s not really a fantasy film, to be exact, but it’s a fantasy nevertheless. It was some time before I saw Chocolat. But one Christmas Eve while doing some Christmas shopping with my sister I decided I’d try this movie. And I was not disappointed. Chocolat is the story of a woman, Vianne, and how along with her love of chocolate she changed  a little town – Tranquilité. Chocolat is not a film that aims to delineate what life was like in those days. In fact, we can’t be certain the specific time period of the film, it's unimportant. It can be anywhere between the 1940s and the 1987s. But it is still a beautiful little film. And #85 on my list of favourites.

In the blistering snow one morning, two hooded figures trudge through the snow. It is the season of Easter, and in the little town of Tranquilité everyone can be found at Church. They are observing the beginning of Lent. Vianne and her daughter Anouk are meeting Armande Voizin. Vianne is buying her patisserie – turning it into a surprise shop. I’m sure we can all deduce what the surprise is. Burt this is not a thriller. There is an early scene that shows us Vianne’s character. It occurs when the town’s Mayor, Comte de Reynaud comes to visit her. He invites her to Sunday Service as she cleans the patisserie. She turns to him and smiles. We don’t go to church. This is the beginning of the major issue. Tranquilité is a town of religion. The Comte has a problem on his hands. And the solving of that problem is the story of Chocolat.

There is a nice scene early on. A nice montage begins as Vianne sets up her shop. It is underscored with some delightful music from Rachel Portman. Some little boys peer into the unfinished shop to see just what Vianne is doing in there. I heard she’s an atheist, one boy says. Another answers confused, What’s an atheist? The reply? Don't know? And with the opening of the Chocolaterrie everything begins to change in Tranquilité.

The beauty of Chocolat lies in the performance of Juliette Binoche as the protagonist. Juliette is one of the most effervescent European actresses and her work in The English Patient is my favourite Female Supporting Performance of the 90s. In Chocolat she does not have as profound a role as Hana, but it’s nice to see her play just for the romance. She is a major part of the reason that Chocolat is not just a flimsy film. It’s a showcase for her, and she elevates her character. I really enjoyed her performance. It’s not an ostensible comedy, but it’s just completely relaxing and enjoyable.

Of course, even though this film is a complete showcase for her, she does not do it all alone. Alfred Molina is wonderful as the Comte. It’s not a villainous role; the Count is just an extremely pious man. I love the scene where he’s fasting for Lent and he smells a piece of bread to assuage his hunger. It’s endearing. Judi Dench does her Mrs. Henderson shtick for the first time here, and she’s deliciously entertaining. I love Judi Dench in this mode, and it's my favourite supporting performance from her. Lena Olin and Carrie Ann Moss do well. Pitted against Binoche and Dench, they do not illuminate the screen...but they do the best with their roles. And despite some less that perfect scenes, there are moments of pure delight...and they have great chemistry with the cast. Hugh O'Conor in a throwaway role as a learning priest is quite good, if only showing the promise of what he could have become. And, then of course there is Mr. Depp. Notice I didn’t talk about his role in the film. If you haven’t seen it, I’ll leave it for you to see. Juliette and he seem like such an unlikely couple, but they’re sizzling together.

However, an important part of the film though, often forgotten are the two children Aurélien Parent-Koenig  as Luc Clairmont and Victoire Thivisol as Anouk and.... despite not being a children’s film, there is much about children in the film…and they do well in their respective roles. Of course it’s nothing like Jamie Bell did in Billy Elliot that same year, but its nonetheless impressive.

Of course Chocolat and its pat resolution are not mirrors of real life. But that does not make it any less enjoyable as a film. Where is this utopian Tranquilité? Nowhere that I know. Where the only faults of people are being too good? This is not life...it's a stolen season. But movies are not always to be real, sometime they can just be a perfect relaxant something to take us away from our troubles.

I don’t think that the people who dislike the movie dislike it for itself. They dislike it because it earned five Oscar nominations including Best Picture. I have no problem with Chocolat’s nomination as I love this movie. And what’s the funny is that the same people who hate this film’s nomination are pushing for Spiderman 2, The Dark Knight, Dick Tracy &etc to earn Best Picture nominations. Comic books adaptations are unrealistic, so why can't a non comic film be unrealistic too. Chocolat is not a badly made film, so don’t hate it, appreciate.