With TIFF taking place right now, there have been an explosion of tweets and a lot of sound and fury about what will get nominated for Oscar 2013. If you believe Twitter, everything is getting nominated. But, in the realm of reality, there are only so many positions available for competing films to take up. Some of the exaltation will pan out. It’s hard for me to believe that Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave won’t at least be nominated for Best Picture, plus a slew of other categories. It now has the dubious honor of stealthily negotiated around being labeled “the frontrunner.” Not far behind it was the heavily accoladed technical marvel Gravity from Alfonso Cuarón. And despite the mixed reviews, I can’t imagine that August: Osage County won’t walk away with at least a nod for the Greatest Working Actress today in one scene-chewing of a role. However, I get a little hesitant to call very many strong awards possibilities for a genre film like Prisoners. But, buzz is buzz, and despite the tears and/or standing ovations, movies like The Railway Man and The Fifth Estate just don’t seem to stand a chance this year (if they get released). A film like Can a Song Save Your Life? is given a possible reprieve by being bought by TWC for a Spring release and hopes of wide exposure and leaving big impressions to last until all the way to the end of next year. (Keep in mind, that at least three future BP nominees were shown at TIFF in the four years since the field expanded.)
Sometimes, something stares you straight in the face and takes months for it to reveal itself. Last May, Nat Rogers of The Field Experience, one of the more nuanced well-known Oscar prognosticators out there, made his initial “year-in-advance” predictions. One of the films in his top nine was Dallas Buyers Club, a Jean-Marc Vallée film set in the 1980s about a desperate and bigoted man who has contracted HIV (played by Matthew McConaughey) who searches for a cure while dealing with a mostly unhelpful healthcare system dealing with a new disease. At the time, it just struck me as too obvious. Sure: McConaughey, deathly weight loss, throwing yourself into the part, etc. For one reason or another, I was expecting a turkey, with little forethought, despite how apparent his recent career remodulation was. I started predicting McConaughey soon after, but with some hesitation. I even started predicting him for the win in early August or so, still, with skepticism, never even having it occur to me to pull up his film from wherever I had it ranked at #20-something.
One of my main mistakes was not even giving Focus Features a second glance. But, then, when I did, I realized just how good they are at this game (if not always perfect). USA Films formed in 1999 when media executive Barry Diller purchased and merged October Films and Gramercy and produced and/or distributed Oscar-type and/or arty fare like Being John Malkovich, Topsy-Turvy, Nurse Betty, Billy Elliot, Traffic, The Man Who Wasn’t There, Gosford Park, as well as more art-horse geared movies like In the Mood for Love, Monsoon Wedding, and successful mainstream films like Pitch Black. They had their shares of disappointments (The Caveman’s Valentine, One Night at McCool’s), but, all in all they had a pretty good track record, considering.
2002 – 11 nominations, 3 wins (2 out of 7 films)The Pianist (MC: 85; B: $35M, D: $33M, WW: $120M)
Far From Heaven (MC: 84; B: $14M, D: $16M, WW: $29M)
8 Women (MC: 64; D: $3M, WW: $42M)
Possession (MC: 52; D: $10M, WW: $15M)
The Kid Stays in the Picture (MC: 75; D: $2M)
Family Fundamentals (MC: 68)
Never Again (MC: 30)
Focus Features, a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, was created in 2002 after a merger of USA Films, Universal Focus, and Good Machine. With Far from Heaven and The Pianist, they got their first official year off to an outstanding start. Roman Polanski’s World War II drama nabbed three major awards, suggesting it came close to winning Best Picture, as well as four more nominations. Additionally, it had Todd Haynes’ Heavenin contention, which grabbed four nods for itself and would have likely landed in a Field of Ten, had it existed. Perhaps you can fault the producers for letting down Dennis Quaid, but the category was filled with competitive performances, Best Picture nominees, and/or veterans. It may or may not have worked against Quaid that he was up against Ed Harris, who was also playing a gay characters (three years later, the leading category would find room for both Heath Ledger’s Ennis Del Mar and Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s Truman Capote, so there's that). Other movies from that year included Francois Ozon’s French farce 8 Women; rom-com Never Again; documentaries Family Fundamentals about homophobia and the award-winning The Kid Stays in the Picture about Hollywood producer Robert Evans; and another turkey from Gwyneth Paltrow, Neil LaBute’s Possession.
2003 – 6 nominations, 1 win (2 out of 7 films)Lost in Translation (MC: 89; B: $4M, D: $45M, WW: $120M)
21 Grams (MC: 70; B: $20M, D: $16M, WW: $60M)
Swimming Pool (MC: 70; D: $10M, WW: $22M)
Sylvia (MC: 56; D: $1M, WW: $3M)
The Shape of Things (MC: 59; D: $1M)
Deliver Us from Eva (MC: 46; D: $18M)
The Guys (MC: 60)
Focus’ 2003 wasn’t too shabby either with Lost in Translationand 21 Grams. They had great instincts in taking on emerging and veteran directors and creating commercial-friendly award magnets. They were behind Sophia Coppola’s second feature and got her an international hit, as well as an Oscar for screenwriting. She was also nominated as director and producer, as was her leading man Bill Murray. That was the same year that The Girl with the Pearl Earring came out and made campaign matters difficult for young star Scarlett Johansson. Focus scooped up Alejandro González for his sophomore effort Grams. They managed to grab acting nominations for two of the their principal actors, the third of which, Sean Penn, was on his way to winning an Oscar for another film Mystic River. Charlotte Rampling was a bit of an also-ran for her turn as a British mystery author in Francois Ozon’s Swimming Pool. Focus also was behind The Guys, based on an Anne Nelson stage play about 9/11, a complete nonstarter starring Sigourney Weaver; the latest from Neil LaBute, The Shape of Things (also an play adaptation); critically panned rom-com Deliver Us From Eva; and another flop from Gwyneth Paltrow, this time as tortured poet Sylvia Plath.
2004 – 4 nominations, 2 wins (2 out of 5 films)Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (MC: 89; B: $20M D: $34M, WW: $72M)
The Motorcycle Diaries (MC: 75; D: $17M, WW: $58M)
The Door in the Floor (MC: 67; B: $8M, D: $4M, WW: $7M)
Vanity Fair (MC: 53; B: $23M, D: $16M, WW: $20M)
Ned Kelly (MC: 56; WW: $7M)
In 2004, Focus managed to score three above-the-line Oscar nominations, and two wins, for Eternal Sunshine and Motorcycle Diaries, the former of which—a Springtime release—a strong case could be made would have landed in a field of ten. Three hundred AMPAS members placing Sunshine at #1 when it ended up winning for screenplay and it’s still in IMDb’s Top 250? I think so, especially if you consider it missed a nom for a lead actor who’s considered cursed from ever getting nominated for an Oscar (Jim Carrey, passed over for The Truman Show, Man on the Moon, was dismissed for a third time), but still got one for its muse Kate Winslet, and winning for Charlie Kaufman’s screenplay. It also got an adapted screenplay nod for Diaries, as well as a win for Song (it was disqualified for foreign language film due to that dastardly “one-country of origin emphasis” rule. It didn’t do so well with its other three players: Mira Nair’s Reese Witherspoon-vehicle Vanity Fair; John Irving adaptation The Door in the Floor; and folk hero western Ned Kelly(played by Heath Ledger).
2005 – 16 nominations, 4 wins (3 out of 7 films)Brokeback Mountain (MC: 87; B: $14M, D: $83M, $178M)
The Constant Gardener (MC: 82; B: $25M, D: $34M, WW: $83M)
Pride and Prejudice (MC: 82; D: $38M, WW: $121M)
Broken Flowers (MC: 79; D: $14M, WW: $47M)
The Ice Harvest (MC: 62; D: $9M, WW: $10M)
My Summer of Love (MC: 82; D: $1M, WW: $3M)
Rory O’Shea Was Here (MC: 59)
This would be a banner year for the studio both commercially and creatively, with three major movies in award contention. Their first effort with Joe Wright and Keira Knightley would be Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice, that would score four nominations, including one for its lead actress. It was dig up four nods with John le Carré’s The Constant Gardener for Fernando Meirelles’ followup to City of God. The film likely just missed a Best Picture nomination, but ultimately scored a win for its actress Rachel Weisz. But its main horse in the race was Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain. The romantic drama managed to collect eight nominations and three wins, controversially losing the big prize to Crash, after members of The Academy (including Ernest Borgnine) refused to even watch the film and consider it for any awards due to its gay subject matter. After all was said and done, despite losing Best Picture, Focus ran shrewd campaigns for all three of its award contenders. Other pictures it put out that year included a drama dealing with cerebral palsy, Rory O’Shea Was Here; worldwide box-office hit from Jim Jarmusch starring Bill Murray, Broken Flowers; inaugural film of Emily Blunt, romance My Summer of Love; and Harold Ramis comedy thriller The Ice Harvest.
2006 – 0 nominations, 0 wins (0 out of 7 films)Hollywoodland (MC: 62; D: $14M, WW: $17M)
Something New (MC: 64; D: $12M)
Scoop (MC: 48; D: $11M, WW: $39M)
Catch a Fire (MC: 62; D: $4M, WW: $6M)
Brick (MC: 72; D: $2M, WW: $4M)
On a Clear Day (MC: 62; WW: $1M)
The Ground Truth (MC: 74)
After such a gangbusters year, Focus followed 2005 with a thump, perhaps its worst ever. None of its films panned out critically or commercially. Its most promising-on-paper was probably Hollywoodland which brought the studio back together with Adrien Brody. It was actually a turning point in Ben Affleck’s career after a series of flops as TV’s first Superman George Reeves. The supporting actor category wasn’t teeming with unstoppable performances, but Affleck still couldn’t make it in, and it was probably the closest he ever came to an acting nomination. Perhaps, once upon a time, there were awards hopes for On a Clear Day, about a middle-aged man who decides to swim the English channel, and the anarchist drama set in Apartheid-era South Africa, Phillip Noyce’s Catch a Fire. Lighter fare included the rom-com Something New; and Woody Allen’s second film with Scarlet Johansson, Scoop. Focus also produced the war documentary The Ground Truth and indie Brick from Rian Johnson, who went on to do Looper. Brickactually made a nice little bump on the awards circuit.
2007 – 8 nominations, 1 win (2 out of 6 films)Atonement (MC: 85; D: $51, WW: $129M)
Eastern Promises (MC: 82; D: $17M, WW: $56M)
Lust, Caution (MC: 61; B: $15M, D: $5M, WW: $67M)
Evening (MC: 45; D: $13M, $20M)
Talk to Me (MC: 69; D: $5M)
Reservation Road (MC: 46; WW: $2M)
In 2007, Focus would rejoin forces with director Joe Wright and Keira Knightley yet again to make the well-received adaptation of Ian McEwan’s Atonement. In a best picture race unusually full of dark dramatic thrillers, the period piece stood out and managed to nab seven nominations, including Best Picture (as well as a win for score). David Cronenberg helped Viggo Mortensen obtain his first and only acting Oscar. And Ang Lee’s sexual explicit NC-17 rated war romance thriller Lust, Caution set the world afire, but sadly, unfortunately missed a Foreign Language Film bid due to an annoying technicality. Failed bait included cinematographer-turned-director Lajos Koltai’s version of Susan Minot’s drama Evening starring a cadre of award-winning actress from several generations; the followup to Hotel Rwanda’s Terry George, the hit and run crime drama Reservation Road (which was produced confusingly around the same time as the higher-profile Revolutionary Road); and Kasi Lemmons’ Talk to Me starring Don Cheadle as a 1960s excon who becomes a popular radio talk-show host and activist.
2008 – 9 nominations, 2 wins (2 out of 5 films)Milk (MC: 84; B: $20M, D: $32M, WW: $55M)
In Bruges (MC: 67; D: $8, WW: $33M)
Burn After Reading (MC: 63; B: $37M, D: $60, WW: $164M)
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (MC: 63; D: $12M, WW: $17M)
Hamlet 2 (MC: 54; B: $9M, D: $5M)
2008 would give us mainstream cinema’s (perhaps second) gay messiah in Gus Van Sant’s biography Milk, written by Dustin Lance Black. The film cleaned up with eight nominations, winning two majors for Sean Penn and screenwriter Black. Academy darlings Joel and Ethan Coen delivered with the huge hit Burn After Reading, starring Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand, but the comedy of errors wasn’t up to snuff enough in any area to really make a serious bit for Academy love. (McDormand also starred with Amy Adams in the period comedy-romance Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day.) Writer/director Martin McDonagh was nominated for his screenplay In Bruges, but Focus was unable to get the Golden Globe (Comedy) winning Colin Farrell into the pretty competitive Best Actor race. And Steve Coogan underwhelmed with the tortuously unfunny Hamlet 2.
2009 – 3 nominations, 0 wins (2 out of 9 films)A Serious Man (MC: 79; D: $9M, WW: $31M)
Coraline (MC: 80; B: $60M, D: $75M, WW: $125M)
9 (MC: 60; B: $30M, D: $32M, WW: $48M)
Sin Nombre (MC: 77; D: $3M, WW: $5M)
Thirst (MC: 73; WW: $13M)
Away We Go (MC: 58; B: $17M, D: $10M, WW: $15M)
Pirate Radio (MC: 58; B: $50M, D: $8M, WW: $36M)
Taking Woodstock (MC: 55; B: $30M, D: $8M, WW: $10M)
The Limits of Control (MC: 41; WW: $2M)
2009 would be the year of the big overinflated budgets. Focus would produce their most expensive film thus far, Coraline, as well as their most costly live-feature, Pirate Radio. While the animated film did well, the Richard Curtis film absolutely tanked. Ang Lee’s Taking Woodstock was also no cheap venture and took a dive financially. The really odd animated feature 9 also struggled to barely be profitable. Sam Mendes’ road movie Away We Go didn’t cost much, but it didn’t make much either. Focus would also get back together with Jim Jarmusch for the mystery drama The Limits of Control, as well as produce Chan-wook Park horror thriller Thirst, and their first pairing with Cary Fukunaga, Sin Nombre. It would require AMPAS favorites Joel and Ethan Coen to squeeze into the Oscar race with their screenplay and film A Serious Man, the first year the field opened up to ten nominees. Coraline would be nominated for animated feature, but lose to another Best Picture nominee, Up.
2010 – 4 nominations, 0 wins (1 out of 6 films)The Kids Are All Right (MC: 85; B: $4M, D: $21M, WW: $35M)
The American (MC: 61; B: $20M, D: $36M, WW: $68M)
Somewhere (MC: 67; B: $7M, D: $2M, WW: $14M)
Greenberg (MC: 76; D: $4M, WW: $6M)
Babies (MC: 63; D: $7M, WW: $10M)
It’s Kind of a Funny Story (MC: 63; B: $8M, D: $6M)
2010 was all about the Sundance hit concerning two kids, their lesbian moms, and that interloping sperm donor. While the studio wasn’t able to get both of its leading ladies in, it should be noted that it was a category chalk full of Oscary stars (well, also including one that wasn’t quite there yet, but was about to break in a big way). The movie still was a hit and managed four nominations, as well as a competitive run at Best Actress. They also produced Anton Corbijn’s The American with George Clooney; the documentary Babies; the mental illness rom-com It’s Kind of a Funny Story from the team behind Half Nelson; another film from Sofia Coppola, Somewhere; and a misanthropic Noah Baumbach movie starring Ben Stiller, Greenberg. Both Somewhereand Greenberg introduced us to emerging talent Elle Fanning and Greta Gerwig, respectively.
2011 – 5 nominations, 1 win (3 out of 8 films)Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (MC: 85; D: $24M, WW: $81M)
Beginners (MC: 81; B: $3M, D: $6M, WW: $14M)
Jane Eyre (MC: 76; D: $11M, WW: $35M)
Pariah (MC: 79; D: $1M)
Hanna (MC: 65; B: $30M, D: $40M, WW: $64M)
The Debt (MC: 65; B: $20M, D: $31M, WW: $46M)
One Day (MC: 48; B: $15M, D: $14M, WW: $59M)
The Eagle (MC: 55; B: $25M, D: $20M, WW: $27M)
Focus' main player for 2011 was Tomas Alfredson’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, a film that scored a variety of nominations in three categories including screenplay and Gary Oldman for actor. John le Carré’s novel was original produced as a very dry British miniseries in the late 1970s. Alfredson presented a truncated version that cut out a lot of fat, but felt just as dense. Technical categories that were mentioned on the awards circuit were Hoyte Van Hoytema’s cinematography and Maria Djurkovic’s production design, but only Alberto Iglesias’ score managed to get an in with The Academy. Did Tinker underperform? Or, did it make a good show? It’s debatable, but, considering the complexity of the plot and the opaque execution, in some light, it actually didn’t do too badly. The biggest get for the season, however, was Captain Von Trapp. Hollywood veteran Christopher Plummer starred in Mike Mills’ Beginners as a widower who comes out of the closet in the winter of his life. He pretty much ran the boards for supporting actor that year grabbing Focus’ only win for 2011. The studio also reunited with director Cary Fukunaga for Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, starring up-and-coming actors Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender, earning Michael O’Connor a nomination for his costume design. The Debt was sitting on the shelf for about a year, when Miramax bought the worldwide rights to the Mossad thriller starring Helen Mirren and Jessica Chastain (who was enjoying an unprecedented, banner “debut” year), and made a pretty little penny off of it. Focus collaborated with Joe Wright yet again, but on an extremely genre film in contrast to his typical costume dramas. About (male and female) assassins, coincidentally like The Debt, the international thriller Hanna starring Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett, and Eric Bana, also didn’t do too badly at the box-office. The Roman adventure story The Eagle starring Channing Tatum was a dud. And, while Lone Scherfig’s One Day, based on the popular David Nicholls novel, didn’t do that well stateside, the romance starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess did surprisingly brisk business overseas.
2012 – 6 nominations, 1 win (3 out of 8 films)Anna Karenina (MC: 63; D: $13M, WW: $69M)
Moonrise Kingdom (MC: 84; B: $16M, D: $46M, WW: $68M)
ParaNorman (MC: 72; B: $60M, D: $56M, WW: $107M)
Hyde Park on Hudson (MC: 55; D: $6M, WW: $9M)
Promised Land (MC: 55; D: $8M)
Being Flynn (MC: 53; D: $1M)
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (MC: 59; B: $10M, D: $7M, WW: $10M)
For a Good Time, Call … (MC: 55; D: $1M)
2012 was not a good year for Focus with many misfires. Joe Wright’s fifth feature Anna Karenina (and fourth collaboration with the studio) was to be the crown jewel of Focus’ Oscar season. While its collection of four technical nominations (and one win for Costume Designer Jacqueline Durran) and international take was no small feat, the period drama ultimately failed to meet rather high expectations. Quirky director Wes Anderson had arguably made his most commercial feature, and Moonrise Kingdom went on to grow legs at the box-office and collect an outstanding $46M. However, in an ensemble piece with such young leads, the coming-of-age romance was truly only in play in the screenplay category limiting its reach within The Academy’s many branches. While noticed often enough by critics, Adam Stockhausen’s production design (he’s also behind 12 Years a Slave), Robert D. Yeoman’s cinematography, and Alexandre Desplat’s score (Monuments Men, Philomena) just couldn’t compete in the big leagues. ParaNorman, from Chris Butler (Coraline) and Sam Fell, did very well with critic awards at the end of the year, but lost to Brave in what was one of the most competitive, diverse, and uncertain animation races in years. Failed bait included the light drama Hyde Park on the Hudson starring Bill Murray as FDR; the Gus Van Sant-directed natural gas drama Promised Land from Matt Damon and John Krasinski; and Paul Weitz’ adaptation of Nick Flynn’s book Another Bullshit Night in Suck City (Being Flynn for these purposes) starring Paul Dano, Robert DeNiro, and Julianne Moore. They also produced Lorene Scafaria’s original doomsday romance Seeking a Friend starring Steve Carell and Keira Knightley, and phone sex comedy For a Good Time, Call …
2013
The World’s End (MC: 81; B: $20M, D: $22M*; WW: N/A)
The Place Beyond the Pines (MC: 68; B: $15M, D: $21M, WW: $36M)
Admission (MC: 48; B: $13M, D: $18M)
Closed Circuit (MC: 53; D: $5M*)
We Steal Secrets (MC: 76)
Down
Bad Words
However, Dallas (which once had Brad Pitt attached to star) is beginning to accumulate the “right” kind of reviews. Not only are Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto being singled out, critics are commenting on the brevity of the screenplay, as well as the direction, and even the cinematography ...
THR: The contemplative movie doesn’t advocate self-medication, nor does it trivialize the long and hard-fought frontline battle for effective HIV treatment in America ... by elevating the rogue efforts of a straight guy ... While that shameful chapter of American institutional failure to address a pandemic is explored only peripherally here, it provides rich background texture ... But what distinguishes Borten and Wallack’s screenplay is its refusal to sentimentalize by providing humbling epiphanies to set Ron on the right path and endow him with empathy ...
Variety: Vallée and his team use the outrageous details to deepen the human-interest angle ... Although shot on a relatively tight budget, the film convincingly re-creates the period via a gritty wide screen look that suits Vallee’s naturalistic style ... The handheld shooting style ... lends an almost subliminal authenticity to scenes where character remains at the forefront at all times. Not since “I Love You Phillip Morris” has a film put such a fresh twist on the accepted AIDS narrative, but ... “Dallas Buyers Club” works its way under their skin ... the film manages to educate without ever feeling didactic, and to entertain in the face of what would, to any other character, seem like a grim life sentence.
IndieWire: Describes the main character’s transition as a little “blunt.”
The Guardian: Confesses that the film loses its “thrust” at one point and isn’t as “dramatic or revelatory” as it could be. Still gave it 4 out of 5 stars.
Telegraph: Director Jean-Marc Vallée … might easily have converted the material into a campy redneck soap opera, or stamped the life out of it with excessive tub-thumping. He rises above both ... the blend of biting character study and campaigning pharmaceutical docudrama is zesty and memorable …
MSN: Vallee’s direction is fast, flat and unaffected, and the shooting was done with both minimal and available light and all real locations; no dolly-tracks or sets here. But the film’s not without a real sense of beauty, either ... real and tough about the way AIDS ravaged communities in the ‘80s ... the refusal to engage in TV-level hero-making here makes the film stronger, not weaker ... But what this film keeps coming back gays or junkies or Haitians but instead a problem for all of us, as Americans and human beings. It’s also truly inspiring ... “Dallas Buyers Club” is one of the best American films of the year.
Yahoo! Movies (Alonso Duralde): Didn’t care for anything except McConaughey, citing the villains as “cardboard bad guys … writers Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack awkwardly dice the tale into such bite-sized nuggets.” He calls the heterosexuality of the protagonist “problematic,” only to acknowledge the film’s ability to buck the untrue stigma HIV/AIDS has acquired. Frankly, I found this critic unreliable and question his abilities, particularly for the way he acknowledged what he perceived as an issue, even though it essentially wasn’t, and failing to display wit by comparing Jared Leto to Zooey Deschanel.
ShowBuzzDaily: ... more Erin Brockovich than Brian’s Song, and that’s why it works so well. Jean-Marc Vallee’s film ... is too angry to be sentimental ... inspiring in spite of themselves ... does a solid job of avoiding the traps of its genre, laying out its issues and chronology efficiently and vividly, and knowing when to push emotional buttons and when to hold back ... Vallee ... brings grit and scale to the material ... The movie isn’t an elegy, it’s an expose, and while it can be very moving, mostly it’s fierce.
Collider: The film itself is a fascinating look at the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s that chronicles the era from a different point of view ... Beyond the acting categories, Dallas Buyers Club may have a tougher time breaking in ... smartly avoids any easy or clichéd “let’s hug it out” moments ... while the story is important and at times very moving, it may be a bit to small-scale to break into the very crowded Best Picture race. That being said, the Academy isn’t wholly averse to true stories and this historical drama certainly has weight and relevance. The script by Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack may have a shot at a Best Screenplay nod, but the screenplay race is also looking very crowded this year.
What Culture! (reviewer did not think the film was “terrific”—despite giving it 3 ½ stars out of 5—and wasn’t as wowed by the two main performances; but insists, the films was good as it possibly could be): What we have not yet seen though is a film that presents the plight of sufferers of HIV and AIDS from their perspective, without simply using their dire circumstances as a blunt instrument to make a point. I think we finally have that film in Jean-Marc Vallee’s Dallas Buyers Club ... Straight forward, direct, and objective, the film matches the personality of its protagonist, which is fitting. There are a few predictable moments demonstrating the character’s homophobia early on, only to have a scene of showing his intellectual growth later on when he is forced to defend his new transvestite friend, but the film remains pretty low-key even in these scenes and does not abuse its relationship with the audience ... it’s a solid effort that deserves some kudos. In fact, for a film of this nature, it is probably about as good as it gets. Even so, the film fails to transcend the basic “human interest story” nature of its narrative, it just maximizes it to its full potential.
These aren’t always empathic reviews, but neither was the ink for Erin Brockovich. No, Dallas will probably not make $120M+, but it doesn’t have to. It will probably be sitting pretty with $40M. It’s shaping up to be an inspirational story that has the potential to move and wow audiences. The movie sounds to capture the American “can-do” spirit, while being very inclusive of people of any sexual orientation, with high potential for an MC rating in the 80s, as well as box-office prospects that are solid based on the transformational role of Matthew McConaughey.
Is this another Milk (for all intents and purposes, as HIV stories are largely beset with the stigma of being “gay” stories in the larger scheme of things) or even Philadelphia? With the wins of Tom Hanks and Bruce Springsteen (Best Song, “Streets of Philadelphia”), and three more nominations including screenplay, with the likelihood of making a Field of “Ten” back in 1993, the scope and budget suggest perhaps not. Yet, even a smaller scale, feisty variation on the juggernaut could still land on this side of Oscar’s Best Picture race, especially with a studio like Focus Features behind it, who have done quite well with "gay"-related films. It seems like it should be a no-brainer, right? Well, to be honest, it doesn’t feel like one right now. However, I’m choosing to bypass my instinct in this instance and go with the data that’s available. There’s an extremely good chance that they will have the critical and commercial support to take them to a very fruitful nomination morning and beyond. Is it a slam dunk? Obviously one can’t say at this point. But, one can also look at the evidence so far. I’m predicting four nominations for Dallas Buyers Club, minimum: Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Screenplay, and Best Picture. (It might be a good place to mention here that out of the eleven years Focus has been competing for Oscars, it has acquired fourteen nominations for Best Screenplay. Three of those films had MC scores in the 60s/70s. Do with that what you will.)
The only roadblock ahead which I can see derailing it would be if gay-rights groups made a nuisance over the fact that this is an AIDS/HIV drama that is celebrating a real-life hero figure who happens to be straight. From the reviews, it sounds like the movie addresses these concerns; as well, more than one critic has pointed out how the illness so often mislabeled “a gay disease,” is now presented in a way that challenges that misleading stereotype. But, Focus is going to have push the performances, perhaps, to get passed hesitation audiences may feel towards the subject matter. On a lesser note, Jared Leto is a bit of a media brat, which may or may not work against the film. What are your thoughts?
