The first of the legitimate Oscar contenders has finally reached Central Pennsylvania and Harrisburg’s own Midtown Cinema. It is a small indie film called Beasts of the Southern Wild, directed by first time feature writer/director Benh Zeitlin, and highlighted by a wickedly powerful performance by 6-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis (pronounced Kwa-VAHN-je-nay).
This is the film that is sweeping all four-star rated reviews. It is the story of a little girl who lives with her father in a place called The Bathtub, a fictitious, but yet oh so real, southern bayou community on an island surrounded by rising waters. It takes an almost magical look at the post-Katrina horrors that have befallen many of the so-called outcasts of the New Orleans area.
Shot on 16mm, and full of the same spark that gave The Tree of Life such vivid, unforgettable life last year, Beasts is a stunning film to watch – especially when projected up on the big screen of a movie theater.
But no matter how beautiful or how tragically sublime it gets, it is the performance of young Nazie (her nickname) that will blow you away and leave you speechless come film’s end. Only five when she auditioned for the role (she lied about her age when she showed up to the age 6 to 9 audition), Wallis gives one of the best performances of the year – for any age. About two months ago, when I made my annual early bird Oscar predictions, I listed both the film itself and Wallis for eventual nominations. After finally seeing the film, I take nothing back.
Another film just now hitting the Burg will most likely not see much Oscar love come year’s end. The reason for this has less to do with its quality, for it is quite enjoyable, and more to do with its receiving the always controversial NC-17 rating.
The film in question (now playing at Midtown Cinema) is called Killer Joe. It stars Matthew McConaughey as a cop who moonlights as a hired assassin. Full of a wicked sensibility and some pretty daring moments of sex and violence (apparently enough that it was branded with that dreaded rating), the film, directed by Oscar winner William Friedkin (he won the award for The French Connection), is billed as, and I quote, “A totally twisted deep-fried Texas redneck trailer park murder story.” Need I say anymore? Guess not.
And speaking of the Oscars (we were speaking of them, right?) a slew of award hopefuls will be hitting the area in the next few months. Some of them seem as if they are even films worthy of more than mere hype.
Some of the more alluring ones are Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master, starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix, the latter of which is a strong contender for not only a nomination but perhaps even a win; Joe Wright’s Anna Karenina, starring Keira Knightley in a role that could win her an Oscar; Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty, a military/political thriller that could garner the Oscar winning director another nod; and Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, which should just blow the proverbial doors off of the holiday season.
But enough about the Oscars, for they are still months away–and right now it is trivia time. Last time, in a special digital movies edition, you were asked “What was the first movie to be made and distributed digitally?” The answer is the little seen, but highly influential 1998 Lars von Trier film The Idiots. And now for a new question, and with some Oscar flair: What was the first Best Picture winner to be released on home video prior to winning the Oscar? See ya next time with the answer.
