OSCAR RACE 2008
commentary
by Nathaniel R
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(Oscar Night in Review)Of all the conversations I've had offline regarding Sunday's Oscars the most popular topic was always the acting category intros. The biggest change this year at the Kodak was the use of five previous winners to hand out each acting statue, rather than the opposite sex correlative trade off (last year's best actor presenting the new best actress, etcetera). Most Oscar ceremony decisions in past years seem to have sprung from the producers annual anxiety about the excessive length of the show but this format switch actually lengthened the acting segments. This might not be a bad decision strategically since many viewers are presumably watching the show specifically for the glamour of the stars.
This glittery doubled quintet approach (presenters and nominees) was truly a little overwhelming star-power wise. Overwhelming in a good way. Short cascading montages showed the wins of five actors and huge panels rose to reveal those same winners who then marched forward in unison toward a inner circle stage where they would choose a new member of their sorority or fraternity.
I mostly loved this although I did experience a fleeting and sick sensation that these familiar but larger than life visages were possibly there to sacrifice the woman whose name they called --like some sick Logan's Run death ritual."Don't step into the circle Penélope! You'll die!"
70s sci-fi terror aside, I enjoyed this new approach. It was less inspiring for male categories partially because what this segment did best was bring out the emotions in the nominees and men are less prone to tear up for the amusement of those of us viewing at home. But for the actresses? Bliss! Imagine Tilda Swinton, Sophia Loren or Shirley Maclaine speaking directly at you to tell you that you were awesome?! Misty eyes assured. So many fantastic inspiring women and each of them referring to each other and each other's acting prowess. For an actressexual it was multi-orgasmic. I could have fallen asleep afterwards, totally spent, but for the knowledge that it was going to happen again an hour or two later!This new presentation mildly messed with my annual obsession with the "split screen drama" -- that ultra brief moment where all five realize who won. There was so much to look at onscreen that it was hard to concentrate hard enough to project / speculate about the human drama playing out underneath their tiny frozen smiling faces and clapping hands.
For instance when Penélope's name was called I think I was looking at Tilda Swinton on account of... how can you not?
Normally I like to dissect the faces (not literally. Ewww!) to imagine who is most disappointed (Is it Viola or Amy?) who is happiest for the winner besides the winner (Marisa) but the presentation was such that it almost feels like a mean spirited habit now. This is the best format I've yet seen for driving home the point that the nomination is the reward.
By the time we got to Best Actress late in the night the spirit of the event (not to mention the spirits) had made me a little giddy/wobbly -- my party was crazy -- so I don't remember it as well other than, for all the internet squabbling about Kate not deserving it this year (I like the performance more than most apparently) it was SO satisfying to see her take the stage. It was, for her and a lot of us I think, a long time in coming.
But anyway... it was g-r-e-a-t to see Nicole Kidman and the rest of the cast of Nine (I'm only 40% joking. I'm kinda obsessed with Nine) presenting Best Actress and I thought the pair ups were interesting the uber famous endlessly scrutinized for the uber famous endlessely scrutinized (Nicole to Angelina), the classic screen legend for the modern screen legend (Loren to Streep), etcetera.
Everyone seemed happy for Kate. Angelina, perhaps knowing it wasn't her year, was definitely the most relaxed of the nominees. Anne Hathaway did a kind of head duck/throw back "yes!" movement when Kate won that was endearing.
But wouldn't Anne have voted for Streep? Never mind that. In this year's more intimate Oscar ceremony all of these giants of our shared stories were all in it together.Well done Oscar, Hugh Jackman, Bill Condon and the rest. And a huge note of gratitude to the actresses playing themselves. The actresses... always the actresses.
Best and Worst Dressed
and that's a wrap
