Big Picture Big Sound

Once again this year I managed to hit Oscar season without having seen any of the nominated films.  In years past this would have been the result of a busy schedule, or my attention being focused primarily on film genres (horror, sci-fi) that don't generally yield many Oscar nominations - "Rosemary's Baby" and "The Silence of the Lambs" notwithstanding.  But in 2012 I have to admit that as soon as a film started generating any kind of Oscar buzz - even if that "buzz" came from a conversation with my mom - I immediately put it on my 'do not see' list.  Why?  I swear, I'm not some kind of Philistine.  Rather, I was "saving up", looking forward to repeating my experience from last year and planning to watch the movies included in the AMC Best Picture Showcase with totally fresh eyes.

In case you're not familiar with the Best Picture Showcase, it's an event that AMC Theaters has been putting on every February for the past several years.  As soon as the best picture nominees are announced, the folks at AMC make up a schedule of screenings and put out the call for film fanatics to spend a day or two (yes, you read that right) at the cinema, catching up on all of the nominees back-to-back over two subsequent Saturdays - or, for those folks lucky to live in select cities, in one crazy 24-hour stretch.  Last year was my first experience with the two-parter option, and it was so much fun that I swore I'd return this year for the marathon screening.  Alas, schedules (family wedding) and geography (no marathon offered in Boston - oh, the irony!) being what they are, I was only able to book myself for Day One of this year's Best Picture Showcase, which happened on Saturday February 16.  What was I in for? Well, we'd be starting at 10am, wrapping up around 10pm, and during that time I would get to see "Amour", "Les Miserables", "Argo", and "Django Unchained".

As I did last year, I once again decided to live-tweet my BPBS experience.  Of course, I limited myself to hitting the social media only before or between movies.  So, how was your Saturday?  Here's what mine looked like:

_________________________________________

Tweet, 9:12am:  "Snowy & grey in #Boston - great day to settle in and watch four movies in a row! #amcbps"

Under pretty much any circumstances I would look forward to the chance to settle in and watch a bunch of movies, but also knowing that I wouldn't have to miss a rare bright, sunny winter day in Boston in order to spend nearly twelve hours in the theater felt like a win-win.

Tweet, 9:20am:  "I'm sure that the #mbta running at half-speed doesn't always coincide with my urgent need to get somewhere - it just feels that way."

This tweet didn't get the #amcbps hashtag because it wasn't specifically related to the showcase - it was an observation about public transportation in Boston.  "The T" is the oldest subway system in the country, and it can be a kick to experience a piece of city history on a regular basis.  However, it is worth noting that at times, a trip on Boston's subway combines the worst aspects of a stressful ticking-clock thriller and a post-apocalyptic disaster movie.  To be on the safe side, next year I may head out to the February showcase as soon as they announce the Oscar nominees in January.

Tweet, 9:43am:  "Glad the kids in line aren't here for BestPic Showcase; was wondering how parents would explain #DjangoUnchained to a six year old. #amcbps"

As I made my way from the subway to the theater I was thinking to myself, 'How many other people could possibly be headed to the movies at 9-something in the morning on a Saturday??'  As I rounded the corner and saw the AMC lobby, I had my answer: a lot of them.  With kids.  And this confused me:  Could a bunch of Boston parents really be planning to sit their offspring down for half a days' worth of movies, culminating in a Quentin Tarrantino bloodbath, and not realizing that they're risking a visit from child protective services?  Worse, was I in for a day of parents trying to explain the indignities of old age in stage whispers during "Amour", or trying to bring their kids up to speed on the particulars of French penal laws for "Les Miserables" and the politics of the Iranian revolution throughout "Argo"?  Happily, as I joined the line of patrons I saw many hands clutching many vouchers for a free screening of an upcoming kids movie.  Whew.

Tweet, 9:45-ish:  Retweet from Twitter user Amy G: "The great thing about #amcbps is knowing that the people in line love film as much as me."

Indeed; I couldn't have said it better myself.

The line moved forward and I handed over my ticket: $30 for four movies; quite a bargain.  I headed upstairs to one of the screening rooms that's tucked in a back corner of the sprawling 16-screen AMC metropolis in downtown Boston.  It seemed smaller than the space used for the showcase last year, but the viewing experience was comfortable overall , except for occasional spillover noise from a neighboring screen during the generally very quiet, "Amour".  I settled in to the perfect seat (about one-third of the way back from the screen, on the far aisle, away from annoying foot traffic).  I took a quick inventory of my provisions: protein bars, dried fruit, water, granola, snacks.  If at any point during the screening a hike broke out, I'd be ready.

Tweet, 12:21pm:  Just finished #Amour; notes to self: Re-learn French. Try to avoid getting old. #amcbps

One of the aspects I appreciate about the Oscar nomination process is that it usually motivates me too see at least one movie that I probably would not have seen otherwise.  This time around, that movie was "Amour".  I enjoy foreign films and I love character dramas, but the subject matter here didn't appeal to me.  I went in grudgingly, and my trepidation was pretty much born out.  For those not familiar with it, "Amour" is the story of an elderly French couple; the wife (Emmanuelle Riva)has a stroke, and the husband (Jean-Louis Trintignant)cares for her as her health declines.  He ultimately has to decide how to honor her wishes regarding quality of life and end of life issues.  There are mini-dramas with the couple's estranged daughter (Isabelle Huppert) and with an uncaring in-home nurse, but otherwise the film dwells solely on the slow unraveling of the couple's lives together as the wife continues to decline.  The acting in "Amour" is top-notch, but I still found it a trial to get through.  It never stopped feeling like a chore to watch, and that kept me from being able to lose myself in the story and develop a genuine interest in the characters and their situation. However, some of the things I did appreciate were the little details of routine and setting that created a very believable history between the characters, and the film's lack of an overdubbed music soundtrack; any music in the film was a part of the scene (e.g., the wife playing piano, the huband listening to a recording), and that approach provided the story a noticeable immediacy and sense of reality.  Overall, this is a film that I admired but didn't warm up to, and I wouldn't be likely to see it again.

Tweet, 3:19pm:  Despite some frantic camerawork and the occasional vocal overreach, #LesMiserables was still thoroughly entertaining. #amcbps

Next up was "Les Miserables", which was familiar territory for me:  I've seen it onstage, and the soundtrack is one of my go-to selections as background music while doing stuff around the house.  In fact, about an hour into the movie I felt myself getting tense, but not because of what was happening onscreen; it was because in following along with the music, out of habit I was unconsciously getting ready to have to switch the cd (the old days) or run to the computer and select the next mp3.  That aside, I totally enjoyed the film.  Hugh Jackman virtually redefines the term "leading man" as thief- turned-hero Jean Valjean,  and Russell Crowe's turn as Javert reveals just enough emotion to temper the character's relentless menace. Anne Hathaway holds nothing back in her performance as disgraced seamstress Fantine, and the vulnerability she displays is revelatory.  The mixed reviews that are out there generally call out director Tom Hooper for some of his choices, and I also found myself questioning some of the sequences and shots.  There are instances of sloppy shot framing, and in some of the cutbacks during two-character dialogue sequences the camera POV shifts look less like conscious choices and more like inconsistent coverage.  But those observations are admittedly nitpicks. "Les Miserables" is a great spectacle, and many of the choices that Mr. Hooper made regarding staging serve to open up the music and provide additional scope to the story.  His choice to capture his actors' singing as part of their immediate performance rather than having them act against pre-recorded studio tracks is in retrospect utterly logical.  Though this approach no doubt added to the workload and stress for all involved, the end result lends a veracity that helps to ground the operatic nature of the material.  Much has already been written about the musical performances in this version of "Les Miserables", and I won't add to the musings beyond the following:  lovely work from Mr. Jackman and Ms. Hathaway, and perhaps the role wasn't the best vocal match for Mr. Crowe, but he was still effective.  Oh, and it is worth noting the debut of Isabelle Allen, who plays the young Cosette and infuses the song "Castle on a Cloud" with surprisingly affecting emotion.  I've always considered that song maudlin - it's the one that proves the soundtrack lemon law (you know, the theory that there's one lousy song on every soundtrack) for "Les Mis" - but Ms. Allen's rendition actually made me a little weepy.  Bravo!

Tweet, 3:21pm:  Even at #amcbps, why is there always someone who thinks it's ok to text during the movie? Why, why, why???

You might expect an undertaking like the Best Picture Showcase to repel dilettantes and scofflaws, but that wasn't ultimately the case.  With about ½ hour to go in "Amour", two people wandered into the theater, disrupted a bunch of other patrons to shuffle all the way down my row of seats, and settled in.  Inevitably, the one sitting near me pulled out a phone and began texting.  I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir here, but they tell you not to text in the theater for a reason: in a dark room, the light from your average iPhone looks like a miner's headlamp.   Admittedly there wasn't a lot of texting happening here - but when you consider that the acceptable level of texting in the middle of a movie is, well, none, that puts it in a different perspective.  More than once I considered pegging the offender with a Trader Joe's peanut butter pretzel nugget, but guessing that this might lead to an unwelcome escalation of force, I settled for shielding my eyes with my hand and quietly seething.

Tweet, 5:27pm:  Ben Affleck may do heavy lifting as a director, but his onscreen touch is effortless. #Argo is a solid piece of craftsmanship. #amcbps

My first thought after seeing "Argo" was how refreshing it was to watch something that felt light despite its very heavy subject matter.  As a director Ben Affleck obviously knows how to shape a movie, then get out of the way and let the story come through.  This is particularly impressive given that in "Argo" he's also appearing onscreen much of the time.  Of course, Mr. Affleck pulled off much the same trick in 2010's "The Town".  With "Argo", he tackles the story of the improbable rescue of a group of Americans stranded in Iran during the hostage crisis that immediately followed the revolution there in 1979.  I was a kid when those events were happening, and it was fascinating to revisit that time period with adult perspective and a better understanding of the historical context of the conflict.  (For those going in without any background, "Argo" opens with an effective voiceover primer on the history of the region, the Shah's rise to power and his overthrow by religious conservatives, his exile, and the US role in the proceedings.)  Watching "Argo" was a little bit like time travel; I think that it was literally the first time I had heard anyone say "Bani-Sadr" or play a secondary track off of the Rolling Stones' "Tattoo You" in public since 1981.  The film also provided a reminder of how unappealing the late 70s/early 80s were from an aesthetic perspective:  huge glasses, flat hair, and wide collars abound.  But these details aren't just window dressing.  The whole film feels like it was lifted out of another era, from its pacing to its payoff, and there's not a false note to be found.  It's surprisingly egoless filmmaking - again, depite the director pulling double-duty in the lead role - and I'll add my voice to the chorus of people declaring that Mr. Affleck deserved a best director nomination for his work.

Tweet, 5:33pm:  #amcbps dinner break. An hour to find real food and retrain my eyes to focus on near distances again.

There was a one-hour break between "Argo" and "Django Unchained", and it was just enough time to duck outside (yes, theater exit and re-entry is allowed during the Best Picture Showcase) and walk around the block to clear my head before seeking out some quick, substantive, and portable food.  Apparently the walk didn't clear my head enough, because I felt like I was communicating through wads of cotton when I went to order a bagel and cream cheese at a nearby coffee shop.  Walking back to the theater I thought about how day spent in semi-isolation staring at a big screen in a dark room for hours on end had temporarily rendered me unfit to interact with other humans.  I found myself looking forward to getting back to the screening room, settling back into my seat in the company of a group of like-minded strangers, and forgetting about the world outside where I was, sadly, no longer capable of ordering a bagel without coming across like a weirdo.

Tweet9:18pm:  Was not prepared for #DjangoUnchained - but who is ever prepared for a QT movie?? Gorgeous mayhem, great end note for #amcbps day one

Upon reflection I'm not sure that "Django Unchained" deserved to be nominated for best picture.  It is certainly too long - the last half-hour plays like Quentin Tarantino realized post-denoument that he had some plot threads hanging and he decided to keep writing himself out of the problem instead of going back to do some edits.  And the film's subject matter (slave turned bounty hunter sets out to rescue his wife from an evil plantation owner in pre-Civil War Mississippi) is certainly troubling.  But you don't go into a Tarantino movie expecting a sanitized experience that gets you out the door in 90 minutes with everything wrapped up neatly at the end; you go for the sprawling, boundary-pushing storylines, the uber-stylized moments of excess, and the quotable monologues that occasionally make the leap into pop-culture history.  It's not worth it to take Mr. Tarantino to task for what he doesn't do; it's much better to assess yourself and determine if you're a viewer who's likely to appreciate what he does do.  Here's what I loved about "Django Unchained":  going into the movie with almost no idea of where the story would lead and never being able to see what was coming; the multi-faceted performance by Christoph Waltz; the unexpectedly beautiful landscape shots; the balletic madness of the shootout scenes; the evocative and unexpected juxtaposition of music selections, and the glee of watching a filmmaker go for broke onscreen.  I'm not a Tarantino apologist, and not all of his work appeals to me:  I found "Pulp Fiction" self-conscious and kitschy, and I haven't been able to get interested in "Kill Bill" - either volume. But when I decide to watch his films I know I'm going to have a gut reaction to the storytelling, for better or for worse, and it's a treat to be able to throw myself fully into a viewing experience.  It's also fun to see someone who is so much in love with movies himself that he doesn't let the small matter of a lack of finesse in front of the camera keep him offscreen:  in "Django...", Mr. Tarantino essays the role of an Australian bounty hunter, complete with an accent that evolves continuously throughout his five minutes of screen time. As such cameos have become a hallmark of Mr. Tarantino's films, it's clear that he is a man who truly loves his work.

Well, that covers my time at Day One - and, unfortunately, my only day - of the AMC 2012 Best Picture Showcase.  I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that AMC will bring the BPS Marathon to Boston in 2013, and until then it's going to be a long year ahead as I continue to avoid watching movies that might get nominated in next year's best picture race...

Until then, enjoy the Oscars!