Babylon - 3 nominations

 

Best Achievement in Production Design Florencia Martin Anthony Carlino

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score) Justin Hurwitz

Best Achievement in Costume Design Mary Zophres

Babylon begins with an epic, lavish, over the top party filled with debauchery, drugs, and indecency (in maybe the best way?). At this party are Hollywood's elite and here comes young Nellie who arrives proclaiming herself to be a star and befriending Manny who is managing the craziness of the event. (No, really, he brings an elephant that the host requested... though I could have lived a full life without watching the scene where the elephant takes a giant crap right in Manny's face). The party scene is electric (and frankly is responsible for the Production Design nomination) and it is here where we meet most of the key characters. There is Lady Fay Zhu - a lesbian cabaret singer, Sidney Palmer - a jazz trumpeter, Jack Conrad - a huge star (who helps Manny get a PA job), and Elinor St. John - a gossip columnist who follows all of their careers.  Each goes up and down the ladder of success as movies go from silent to talkies, and each fares differently as time goes on.  Manny's career soars as he rises through the ranks all the way to Director and Producer.  Interestingly, there are many references to the film Singing in the Rain, which also captures that silent to talkie transition period.  As the film goes on, the story goes from light to very very dark, with very few happy endings.

There are three standout moments of the film.  First, there are two distinct monologues about the beauty and power of the movies.  As a movie lover, these two monologues were the highlights of a film that desperately needed a more disciplined editor and director. Second, at the very end of the movie, there is a montage reel having little to do with the story that is pure appreciation and adoration for the movies with moments from across the decades (including a shot of the first Avatar whose sequel coincidentally opened the same weekend as Babylon) that was inspiring and joyful but hardly worth the wait.  This movie is the tale of two halves - a first half that was fantastic to watch, and the second half which lost the plot and frankly, the viewer.  If you haven't already watched this 3 hour epic, I would recommend giving it a skip... but do check out the costumes online, THEY deserve the nomination.

Bombshell - 3 nominations

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role - Charlize Theron

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role - Margot Robbie

Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling - Kazu Hiro, Anne Morgan, Vivian Baker

It's hard to know where to begin with Bombshell.  It recounts the story of sexual harassment and assault that appear to have been commonplace under the leadership of Roger Ailes who made Fox News into the voice of conservative Republican politics (and by the way, woe to those who think the problem was solved by simply removing him.  He covered for many harassers).  The movie is based on the widespread reporting and whistle blowing initiated by Gretchen Carlson (who had been a co-host of Fox's early morning show), and corroborated by a reluctant Megyn Kelly.  The film follows three main characters, Carlson who, like the smart reporter she is, documented incidents for years before finally doing something about it, Kelly, the reluctant survivor and company woman, and a young reporter played by Margot Robbie who is in the unenviable position of having to decide whether to capitulate to Ailes for the promise of an advancing career.

I realize there is no way to talk about this film without raising the hackles of both sides of the political divide.  There are those who would only believe a woman claiming sexual harassment if there is some sort of documentation (video, audio recording... and let's face it, even when some of these folks hear an audio recording of an assaulter confessing his crimes, that still isn't enough)... as though this is the standard they hold for all crimes.  (Do they only send people to prison for other crimes when there is absolute documentation?  I think not.)  And again, I remind you that no narrative film is a documentary and therefore, if Bombshell spoke to you, it's important to read the accounts of the facts (if you believe Ailes' accusers as I do), rather than retelling the narrative of the film as gospel truth.

But this film was outraging in the best of ways.  Finally, the story is told through the eyes of the women experiencing inappropriate and illegal behavior, rather than through the perpetrators'.  The most important moments of the film are those that speak precisely to the common arguments made by idiots.  "Why didn't she report it?"  You mean, report the bad behavior to the people perpetrating it?  "Women aren't idiots," say Megyn Kelly.  "Why didn't she leave?"  Ah yes, SHE has to leave, you know, the one not doing anything wrong, just showing up and working hard every day.  She gets to be further punished.  The best part of this film is that it is told through the lens of a conservative woman, NOT a feminist (I mean, she still wants to be paid what she is worth regardless of her gender, she still wants to be able to make and own her choices, she still wants to have access to the same successes as men are allowed to pursue... but definitely not a feminist.  As though those things aren't just the friggin' definition of feminism.  But I digress.)

The thing that troubles me so much is that this whole real life experience and the film will just have no impact among the people who just believe what they believe.  But the acting, the story, the entirety of the film was outstanding and comes just at the right time in history.  Feel free to fight me.  I AM a feminist, and this film spoke to me.

It is worth mentioning that this is first time that Charlize Theron has ever used prosthetics (including her Oscar winning role in Monster), and it was highly successful.  The incredible work made her look like a bang on facsimile of Kelly, herself.

If you're interested in knowing more, Megyn Kelly talks more about it in her book Settle For More.

Watch the trailer here:

Mary Queen of Scots - 2 nominations

Costume Design - Alexandra Byrne
Makeup and Hairstyling - Jenny Shircore, Marc Pilcher and Jessica Brooks

Mary Queen of Scots follows Queen Mary, the queen of Scotland whose birthright entitles her heirs to the throne of England, and Queen Elizabeth who sits atop that throne.  Though they never actually met (despite the liberties taken in this film), they seem through their letters to have been close supporters of one another, and bitter rivals.  Mary is a Catholic, Elizabeth is a Protestant, and with the majority of England Protestant, Mary is seen as a particular threat with concerns that she will impose her religion upon the masses.  But this is not the only problem with the queen - she attract men and marriages easily, and she produces an heir thereby threatening Elizabeth's legacy on the throne.  The constant back stabbing and treachery sends both women into hardening their hearts against each other.  At the end of her life, the relationship is so eroded that Mary spends her final days without her son who has been taken by Queen Elizabeth, and ultimately as Elizabeth's prisoner.  She is finally taken to her execution at Elizabeth's order.

This movie is terrific.  From the opening scene in the first moment, it was clear that this film would have a makeup and hairstyling nomination.  The makeup work is well done for Elizabeth as she suffered from small pox and its aftermath, but the hairstyling is beyond remarkable.  The creative designs are impressive, abundant, and produced on multiple characters per scene.  Of course when period films are done well, the costume design nomination is almost inevitable, but the work here is just superb.  Look to Mary Queen of Scots as the winner of both of these categories.

It is important to also make mention of Saoirse Ronen and Margot Robbie, who were both excellent in this picture.  Robbie in particular stood out to me, with her pained portrayal of Queen Elizabeth, her measured responses, her despair, her loneliness, her largesse - the part is well written and Robbie was an epic success.

I, Tonya - 3 nominations

Actress in a Leading Role, Margot Robbie
Actress in a Supporting Role, Allison Janney
Film Editing, Tatiana S. Riegel

As a woman of a certain age, I absolutely remember the Olympics in which Nancy Kerrigan was beaten by Tonya Harding's bodyguard and EVERYONE thought that Tonya had something to do with it.  Harding was a powerful skater on the ice, the first woman to achieve the triple lutz, who never fit the mold of pretty pretty princess that the skating world so adores.  Her legs were like tree trunks from the incredible amount of practice and work that she put into her skating career.  Having come from the "other side of the tracks," Tonya lacked a finesse off the rink that certainly didn't help her with the judges.  This film gives us insight into Harding's back story, her emotionally abusive mother, her physically abusive husband - all of which comes together in way that gives us at least a little bit more compassion for her.

Memory is an interesting thing.  There are people who are convinced that Tonya herself came after Nancy Kerrigan with a bat.  I had forgotten what a powerhouse skater Harding was, and that she spiced up the rink with flamboyant costumes and her jarring music selections.  She leaned into the tough chick role, and attacked the ice creating a spectacle that the world of skating clearly wasn't ready for.

But here's the thing, I still don't believe her.  What I'm wondering is whether people who weren't around at this time do believe her thanks to this film.  The only person the film makers couldn't track down was the real LaVona Golden, Harding's mother, brilliantly portrayed by Allison Janney who has a good shot at bringing home the Oscar.

There is something about this movie - I didn't expect to like it and I loved it.  Who knows how accurate the storytelling is, in fact, the movie makers reveled in the fact that different characters in the film tell the story through their own lens, and often those narratives do not align.  The film allows for possibility, for us to have to struggle to discover what we think happened, to decide who is presenting the truth, who is presenting alternative facts, and in the end, we suspect that the truth lies somewhere in the in between.  Because the story is told through these different points of view, the editing DOES stand out.  See the film, you'll see what I mean.