Sharing my love of all things Oscar. I see all the movies with nominations so you don't have to - and I do my best to research and help pick the winners. Subscribe, share your comments, and feel free to share with others. Follow me on Twitter @JodiBee.
Causeway is a lovely film following Lynsey who has returned home from military service with a traumatic brain injury. She moves in with her mother, cleans pools for work, and does therapy and rehab in an effort to return to active service. Along the way, she develops a relationship with her auto mechanic who himself is living with post traumatic stress disorder after the auto accident death of his nephew. They find solace and comfort with each other, and Lynsey realizes that her ambition to return to Afghanistan may not actually be what's best for her physically, mentally, or emotionally.
This is not the first time that Brian Tyree Henry has had some Oscars buzz but this marks his first nom. He is an incredibly talented actor, and much like Andrea Riseborough's nomination, it's nice to see a performance recognized in a film that wouldn't otherwise have received much attention. It's a beautiful performance and I'm certain that this will not be Henry's last nomination and he will eventually have that statuette on his mantle. I enjoyed the film very much.
It starts as a comedy and satire, to be sure. Scientists are warning of a meteorite that is plummeting toward earth that is sure to be a planetary killer. Politicians are doing what they do - weighing how to save the earth while simultaneously delivering for their donors who would like to figure out a way to make money from the meteor's resources, and then finally, how to get the masses on their side. How to sew discord among the people who are told there probably isn't even a meteor and that it's the liberal agenda combined with the "lamestream media" trying to dupe you into believing them, distracting from the plain truth in front of them. When the meteor is suddenly visible from space, they are told not to look up into the sky so that they can continue to believe the lie.
It's true, I was laughing for most of the movie until it just felt too real and I just got nauseous. The parallels are hard, so hard to watch. There is even a moment when scientists figure out a way to launch missiles which would blow up the meteor and saving the earth, and the rockets are turned around for a wealthy CEO (a Jeff Bezos type) who wants to see if there are ways to profit from exploring the meteor's resources. I heard an interview with Oscar nominated Adam McKay, and it's clear that they started to work on this film as a metaphor for climate change, and then COVID came along as the life-imitating art-imitating life reality.
The cast is great, the writing is whip smart, and frankly, it's the great liberal "I told you so" screw you mental masturbation so very targeted at those who are anti-science, easily duped by trite phrases and rallies. But the I told you so seems less satisfying in the face of earth's actual destruction. All I could think about as the movie concluded was my wise friend Steve Serpas' brilliant saying, "Understanding is the boobie prize." Sure, they were right all along. Sure, the media carried the talking points and never did any real analysis. Sure, people could have easily fixed it by caring more about each other than individual rights or than doing their "own research" withno expertise to evaluate that "research." But does any of that matter when the entire planet is dead?
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Actress in a Lead Role - Jennifer Lawrence "We got here from hard work, patience, and humility." It's the annual reunion of Director, David O'Russell, Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, and Robert DeNiro, this time to tell the story of Joy Mangano - a smart housewife with tremendous mechanical abilities who invented the QVC darling, the Miracle Mop. Joy's instincts as a business woman, her ability to believe in herself despite the negativities and jealousies from her family members, her laser focus on survival, all come together to tell an interesting story. I've heard lots of mixed reviews for this film but I really liked it and Jennifer Lawrence gives another wonderful performance. Oscar trivia lovers will note that this is her fourth nomination and at the age of 25, she is the youngest actress to receive this many nominations at this young age. There is no question this accolade was coming - in addition to being a great outspoken feminist, Lawrence has the ability to capture any character brilliantly. If I were picking three films to see all Oscars season, Joy likely wouldn't make that list, but I still thought it was a really enjoyable film and well worth the time spent. Some people have gotten bogged down in the fact that some of the characters (like the sister who is always jealous and oppositional to Joy) are invented. If you've followed this blog in the past, you'll recall that I often tell readers to interpret films as sacrosanct to the authentic real-life happenings at their peril. Joy is a fictionalized version of real events, which some people like to call "a movie." If you are interested in knowing more about the real Joy Mangano, a simple Google search yields lots of options for knowing her real background.
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