Lincoln (2012)

**Seen on December 29th, 2012**

As the Civil War continues to rage, America's president struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield and as he fights with many inside his own cabinet on the decision to emancipate the slaves. [imdb]

Nominated for 12 Oscars:

Best Picture
Best Director: Steven Spielberg
Best Actor Daniel Day-Lewis (WINNER)
Best Supporting Actor: Tommy Lee Jones
Best Supporting Actress: Sally Field
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Cinematography
Best Original Score
Best Editing
Best Production Design (WINNER)
Best Costume Design
Best Sound Mixing

Had Lincoln won Best Picture, it would've been one of the less fortunate winners, but still a much better film than Argo. After the nominations' announcement, Lincoln was considered the front-runner, but it slowly lost its track. That connects to the actual film only in the way that it wasn't a complete success for everybody. I, for one, didn't like it at times, so I am stuck somewhere in the middle. In a film relying so much on acting, what attracted me most about it was the technical aspect: the cinematography, the original score and the production design range from beautiful to gorgeous. Spielberg is behind it all, so you know it will be visually engaging film. And I also admire the intentions of the project, and the magnitude of it all. I think the screenplay has flaws, but I can easily notice how difficult it must've been to write such an impressive piece.

Spielberg's directing is fine, just as subtle as the film demands it. And the acting... well,... people look at DDL's performance like it was the Second coming... it's not. He is definitely in the zone, gives a good performance, but I didn't find anything mindblowing about it. He carries the big speeches nicely, but the entire performance lacks energy - is it his fault? More likely the screenplay's, but it made me less involved in the story. I would've went for a more dynamic approach, this just felt lifeless at times. Tommy Lee Jones does well with what he has, while Sally Field is partly the opposite of DDL's performance - because her role is so limited in screentime, I felt she pushed too hard once too many times, in the way Sally Field often decides to portray neurosis. There were a lot of good small performances, and Hal Holbrook stood out for me.

My rating for the film: 7.5/10. It bored me at times, so I just couldn't give it more. The pace was killing it a bit.

Frankenweenie (2012)

**Seen on December 27th, 2012**

Young Victor conducts a science experiment to bring his beloved dog Sparky back to life, only to face unintended, sometimes monstrous, consequences. [imdb]

Nominated for 1 Oscar:

Best Animated Feature

I've never seen Corpse Bride, so I had no idea, no precedent of knowing what Tim Burton can do with animation. I didn't hate Dark Shadows, but I did hate Alice in Wonderland, so my love story with Burton hasn't been on a high note lately. Frankenweenie I don't love, but I respect the project, the work put into it, because you can tell the passion of its author.

It's flaw is that it gets a bit predictable, and I can see how it was more suited for a short-form feature / animation. Even so, I smiled my way through it, because it's charming, and also a bit scary (depending on how/when you see it) and I appreciate quite a lot this special technique of animation. Nice score, classic pace.

My rating for the film: 7.5/10. There's always room for better, but quite a worthy nomination.

Flight (2012)

**Seen on December 25th, 2012**

An airline pilot saves almost all his passengers on his malfunctioning airliner which eventually crashed, but an investigation into the accident reveals something troubling. [imdb]

Nominated for 2 Oscars:

Best Actor: Denzel Washington

Best Original Screenplay

It's not that I have to go back so far in my memory to remember Flight, it's just that's it's that kind of commercial thin story that made me roll my eyes more than once as the film was progressing. The part that involves the crash of the plane is nicely put together. The story of the man is interesting & it has potential. But the way that it's all written on paper, the emotions, the reactions, that doesn't succeed and it's the screenplay's fault.

Worst part: the screenplay itself got nominated (!) and no need for me to underline how little it deserves to be there. The ending alone, by that I mean literally the final scene(s), is ridiculous with a happy ending that feels oh-so-fake. Denzel gives an ok performance, but in such a strong year for leading actors and actors in general, this was not a performance worthy to make it to the final line-up. The film however is totally watchable, but I have little respect for it other that some technical stuff.

My rating for the film: 5.5/10. Kelly Reilly's performance is quite a mess.

Life of Pi (2012)

**Seen on December 21st, 2012**

A young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor: a Bengal tiger. [imdb]

Nominated for 11 Oscars:

Best Picture
Best Director: Ang Lee (WINNER)
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Cinematography (WINNER)
Best Original Score (WINNER)
Best Original Song
Best Editing
Best Production Design
Best Sound Mixing
Best Sound Editing
Best Visual Effects (WINNER)

I must confess I am becoming softer towards this film as time goes by... I didn't like it when I first saw it, but it seems my memory is prioritizing, so the good stuff always comes to mind. And by good stuff I mean the insanely fabulous visual effects & the entire experience on sea. What my memory tries to erase: the terrible ending, the weakness of the last 30 minutes, anything connected to the present times. That is where Ang Lee fails, that is where the screenplay fails, and it almost spoils the entire film for me (and for many others, as I've heard).

But when it's good, it's really good. I saw it in 3D, an experience I generally dislike, but it kinda made sense for this. The cinematography, the fx work, the original score - great, stunning, lovely... I even like the song. Everything below-the-line is really well put together. But what can you do about the story... it's interesting at times, but as soon as it hits the religious aspects it misses big. Notice that I am not someone to run away from such a debate, just that in the end the film wants to be smarter than it is, and that's not what we paid the ticket for. It fails when it tries to go all philosophical, because - I'd say - of the superficial way it attempts to bring ideas. But as an experience, as a ride, the film is mostly good and visually stunning.

My rating for the film: 7.5/10. Am I being too generous? The film it's so unbalanced that it's hard to judge. If anyone's curious, I'd give it the wins for Original Score & Visual Effects.

The nominations section of the 2012 films discussed below has been updated, with the winners marked in blue.

Brave (2012)

**Seen on December 15th, 2012**

Determined to make her own path in life, Princess Merida defies a custom that brings chaos to her kingdom. Granted one wish, Merida must rely on her bravery and her archery skills to undo a beastly curse. [imdb]

Nominated for 1 Oscar:

Best Animated Feature (WINNER)

The Animated Feature category has been really disappointing for the past 2 years. Brave is a clear example of this new trend - the film is beautifully made, but really lacks in story... Actually, it's one of the worst screenplays for an animated feature that I've witnessed lately. There's nothing interesting to the story - and the plot, with the whole bear thing, is just a waste of time. It's so predictable, so dull, so eye-rolling. And it lacks a good villain.

But those technical elements are great - the film is visually vibrant, with gorgeous colors, and an adequate score, with one or two ok songs. But that's it - all style and no substance, easy screenplay solutions, an excuse of a film. Too bad for the shining technical aspects.

My rating for the film: 5/10. Oh, do I miss those Toy Story films...

Skyfall (2012)

**Seen on November 17th, 2012**

Bond's loyalty to M is tested when her past comes back to haunt her. Whilst MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost. [imdb]

Nominated for 5 Oscars:

Best Cinematography
Best Original Score
Best Original Song (WINNER)
Best Sound Mixing
Best Sound Editing (WINNER)

I have never paid much attention to the Bond series - I don't have much against it, but it seemed like a rather redundant action type. I actually prefer the superhero ones. Still, if there was a series that needed something fresh, this was it. But even with Daniel Craig taking over the iconic role, it wasn't enough of a push for me to see it. And that makes Skyfall my first film to see with Craig as James Bond.

And it was a good action film, and I'll give some of the credit to Sam Mendes - he himself needed a new starting point in his career. The screenplay is sharp enough to make it interesting, but that wasn't the highlight. The best element related to this film has to be Javier Bardem, who gives a delicious Oscar-worthy performance as (from what I can gather) an unusual Bond-villain. I love his performance, both the fun and the tragic aspects of it. Also, everything below-the-line is top quality: Adele's song, the sound mixing & editing, the Production Design and ESPECIALLY Roger Deakins' cinematography. 

My rating for the film: 8/10. It's not without it's problems, mostly concerning the female characters. But overall a success.

Argo (2012)

**Seen on November 11th, 2012**

A dramatization of the 1980 joint CIA-Canadian secret operation to extract six fugitive American diplomatic personnel out of revolutionary Iran. [imdb]

Nominated for 7 Oscars:

Best Picture (WINNER)
Best Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin
Best Adapted Screenplay (WINNER)
Best Original Score
Best Editing (WINNER)
Best Sound Mixing
Best Sound Editing

Once Argo wins Best Picture a couple of days from now, it will instantly become probably my least favorite Best Picture winner in more than 50 years (yes, I think Braveheart, Driving Miss Daisy, Crash are a bit better)... How did this happen in a year that received so much praising? [more than I'd give it, but whatever] Well... a combination of smart campaigning and a lot of sympathy votes. 

Argo's biggest problem, in my opinion, is that it's an average thriller film and nothing more. NOTHING. The writing is mostly bad - and by that I mean scenes that are so "intense" that would be embarassing even for a van Damme film (and by this of course I mean the big final scene), Non-Westerners are Evil concept, individual villains that are either embarassingly stupid or evil in a mechanical way, screenplay solutions beyond belief... And so on.

I enjoyed Affleck's previous directing efforts: The Town was good enough and Gone Baby Gone was a GOOD film. But, dear world, please stop praising his directing style here - sure, it's above the level the screenplay requires, but there's nothing that good or even great about it. It's as well directed as any ok-ish political thriller drama. Nothing more. And THIS is what makes me happy about the Directing snub for Affleck, one of the most enjoyable this season - he really wouldn't have deserved the nomination, and even less so the win.

The acting is ok, even though Affleck had NO need to take over the leading role. Cranston might just give the best performance, while Arkin is clearly a coaster with this not-worthy nomination (the only stinky performance of his category, actually). The below-the-line aspect are ok, nothing ground-breaking. It will win Editing in a heartbeat, even though it doesn't deserve it.

My rating for the film: 6/10.  Much better in the quiet scenes. Otherwise, one cliche after the other.

Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

**Seen on October 27th, 2012**

A pair of young lovers flee their New England town, which causes a local search party to fan out and find them. [imdb]

Nominated for 1 Oscar:

Best Original Screenplay

Wes Anderson is a director with a lot of style, his films are usually easy to recognize. And I think that's why I respect him more as a director than an actual screenwriter. A lot of people seem to like Moonrise Kingdom, but I wasn't one of them. To me, the film IS a big "so what"... It's exaggerated beyond belief, it's never really funny, not even in a witty way... It has one or two interesting characters, but I felt it turned boring really quickly.

The Production Design is really REALLY nice, the costumes are fun, but the story isn't. Not  a lot of interesting acting either - Tilda Swinton makes for a delicious cameo, Bruce Willis brings a bit of heart, Edward Norton is ok... and that's about it. I thought the 2 leads make it all seem a bit fake. Frances McDormand is playing the same old thing again and again.

My rating for the film: 6/10. I don't hate it, I just didn't find anything worthy in the story.

ParaNorman (2012)

A misunderstood boy takes on ghosts, zombies and grown-ups to save his town from a centuries-old curse. [imdb]

Nominated for 1 Oscar:

Best Animated Feature

Maybe I wasn't in the right mood when I started watching ParaNorman, but this animated feature wasn't the most pleasant to sit through. I found it disturbingly creepy in the first 30 minutes, with ugly-designed characters, almost of monstruous features - OK, so maybe it was just my mood, but it felt slow, uncomfortable and just pointless... And then it got better as it reached the middle, and that ONLY with the help of the supporting characters.

The screenplay is a bore, there are only a few laughs, but the "visual effects" of the last segment (if I can call them like that) were quite spectacular. Nice original score, a nice look for the film and... that's about it. I won't hold this against it, but this really isn't a film for any kids, despite the age of the leading character - and not because of the subtle fun gay bit, but because of how dark it is and the way it treats death (and especially one dead character) - found that myself to be a bit uncomfortable.

My rating for the film: 6/10. Not much to get excited about.

The Master (2012)

A Naval veteran arrives home from war unsettled and uncertain of his future - until he is tantalized by The Cause and its charismatic leader. [imdb]

Nominated for 3 Oscars:

Best Actor: Joaquin Phoenix
Best Supporting Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman
Best Supporting Actress: Amy Adams

For month I've been really curious about The Master. Will I love it? What's it really about... Well, I saw it last night and... I can't really show my support for it, unfortunately. Paul Thomas Anderson picks it up & elevates it and then let's it fall on its ass. This is an unbalanced, inconsistent film and I can totally understand why Oscar refused to get near it, in anything other than acting.

Because the acting IS what saves it. I don't even wanna imagine it without its two leads. Joaquin Phoenix is fascinating to look at and, in my opinion, easily delivers his best performance to date: so deep, so raw, so scary. It's an uncomfortable performance that will have its own cult following in the years to come. He nearly didn't make Oscar's list, but I'm so pleased he did - he's the best of his line-up and a snub would've felt outrageous. But it's his co-lead that gets even bigger applause from me: Philip Seymour Hoffman is just as much a part of this film as Joaquin is. The whole supporting campaign is bullshit. PSH has the screentime, his own path in the story and is FANTASTIC at it; he really is one of my favorite actors of the past decade - charming in every scene,  perfectly balancing the fanatic with the vulnerable man trying to figure out what he's saying. A great-great performance from such a versatile actor.

The cinematography is beautiful, and would've deserved a nomination (Great work from my fellow Romanian - Mihai Malaimare Jr). The music is interesting, the editing quite good, adequate costume design. Amy Adams is ok, but not great. Did her nomination cost Nicole Kidman (The Paperboy) hers? That's crazy. Amy follows the path she's put on, but the character is quite one-dimensional.

The directing is good at times, but not always consistent. Where the film fails must be in the screenplay. It can't decide if this is a mood piece, or some meaningful story-driven drama; ends up not being any of it completely. The last 30 minutes, at least, are quite boring and I question some of the "writer"'s choices. That's too bad, I think PTA played too much & it could've been much better had it been more grounded.

My rating for the film: 6.5/10. Both its failures & successes feel like an inside job.

Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)

**Seen on October 7th, 2012**

In a twist to the fairy tale, the Huntsman ordered to take Snow White into the woods to be killed winds up becoming her protector and mentor in a quest to vanquish the Evil Queen. [imdb]

Nominated for 2 Oscars:

Best Costume Design
Best Visual Effects

A lot of people seemed to hate this film, so I saw it back then with little expectations. I can't say I was blown away by it and that it's a great one, but it's definitely not the stinker people make it to be. Its biggest problem, in my opinion, is that it's a bit too long and doesn't know what to do with itself in the second half. 

Kristen Stewart is... well, watchable. Charlize Theron is delicious as the villain (take note, Julia Roberts!), a role that is perfect for her. The film has enough action scenes to make it interesting, even though, again: it drops the ball towards the end. It is, however, visually gorgeous - the cinematography was extremely beautiful & artistic, beautiful art direction, lovely costumes (especially for Ravenna, the evil queen) and relevant visual effects.

My rating for the film: 6.5/10. Totally watchable.

Prometheus (2012)

**Seen on October 2nd, 2012**

A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a journey to the darkest corners of the universe. [imdb]

Nominated for 1 Oscar:

Best Visual Effects

This film was suppose to be the greatest thing ever; promoted initially as a prequel to Alien AND directed by Ridley Scott?! Wow. And what did we end up with? Mostly a big nothing. Even so, of course I enjoyed it - in that visual kind of way, because the screenplay makes little sense at times - and when it does make sense, I just questioned the writer's choices.

The visual effects are superb, so the nomination is worthy. A nomination for Production Design would've also been great, considering the great set decoration & everything. I also liked the cinematography and 2 of the performances: Noomi Rapace does the best she can with a problematic leading role. But she is convincing and probably the one character that really makes sense. Michael Fassbender is quite intriguing as David, an android with a hidden agenda. 

But the story lacks in substance and so many things end up unexplained and, worst, unexplainable.

My rating for the film: 6.5/10. Wish it would've been much much better.

The Avengers (2012)

**Seen on September 9th, 2012**

Nick Fury brings together a team of super humans to form The Avengers to help save the Earth from Loki and his army. [imdb]

Nominated for 1 Oscar:

Best Visual Effects

The film is clearly an excuse to make money, and this time it worked. They brought together a group of relatively well-known actors, built up on the back of the Iron Man franchise (did anyone even see Captain America?! not me :p ) and came up with this adaptation - that overall doesn't work that much for me. Some characters are great; Iron Man is always charismatic in the hands of Robert Downey Jr., but most of them aren't. What is Jeremy Renner doing in this film?! Why does the only female character have no real superpower?!

My dislike for Mark Ruffalo comes naturally, as I can't stand seeing him on camera (sorry!). I've never seen Thor, so that guy makes little sense to me and... the villain is such a pathetic one, from his name to his "superpowers" and background. What survives is the shitload of visual effects, most of it thrown at us in the last 30-40 minutes. That justifies the nomination, though nothing groundbreaking there either.

My rating for the film: 5.5/10. Little to get excited about; some mindless fun.

Mirror Mirror (2012)

An evil queen steals control of a kingdom and an exiled princess enlists the help of seven resourceful rebels to win back her birthright. [imdb]

Nominated for 1 Oscar:

Best Costume Design

Mirror Mirror was one of the two 2012 American films dealing with Snow White's story, and the films couldn't have been more different, especially in tone and genre. This is easily the one I liked the least, even though it does seem to have its fans. I was open to the idea of the film, but all those bad jokes were really hard to take. 

The best thing about the film is Lily Collins' leading performance as Snow White - not that she gets that much to do, but she's right for the part, quite pretty and does the best she can to keep us interested when the camera is one her. The thing everyone's talking about is the Costume Design - the costumes were created by Eiko Ishioka, who has since passed away. I was a huge fan of her work in Coppola's 1992 Dracula, but for this film I have mixed feelings. A couple of Snow White's dresses were really pretty (the white swan), but everything that Julia Roberts wears (and she wears a lot of stuff) looked cheap to me and unworthy of an Evil Queen; some really questionable fabric choices - trust me, I was paying attention.

And that brings me to the film's two worst elements: Julia Roberts is terrible, I don't remember the last time I saw such a poor performance of hers. Needs to be noted: the casting is a disaster, she's neither pretty enough to play the Evil Queen (she is suppose to be the most beautiful one of them all!!!), nor wicked enough to nail the dark side of the character. She's doing her old Julia Roberts thing that doesn't work here. The other problem of the film: the screenplay that feels the need to throw in one joke after the other, with only about 10% of them actually being worthy to be included.

My rating for the film: 4.5/10. And what's with the song at the end?! Biggest WTF song moment since Slumdog Millionaire.

The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012)

Pirate Captain sets out on a mission to defeat his rivals Black Bellamy and Cutlass Liz for the Pirate of the year Award. The quest takes Captain and his crew from the shores of Blood Island to the foggy streets of Victorian London. [imdb]

Nominated for 1 Oscar:

Best Animated Feature

This is one of the three Animated Feature nominees I've seen so far, and it's the one I liked best from the ones I've seen (more on the other ones later). A reason for this might also be that I had very little expectations going into it - it was the animated film no one was predicting for a nomination, because it opened early in the year and the reviews were not that great. 

But hey - while it's nothing groundbreaking, there were definitely some good jokes in it, and I did laugh outloud a couple of times (something that rarely happens to me). The funniest character and the source of humour is "Queen Victoria", who is actually the villain of the story. There is a particularly funny scene involving a painting of hers that was so-so funny. 

There are weaker moments in the film, mostly connected to the morals of the story. But even then, the film is totally watchable. Curious if it'll be my favorite after seeing all 5 nominees. Anyway, just to make it clear: objectively it has zero (!) chances of winning the Oscar a month from now. The producers should be happy it got nominated.

My rating for the film: 7.5/10. I like a lot this Wallace & Gromit type of animation.

Amour (2012) (2nd time)

It focuses on the love story of an elderly couple, Anne and Georges, retired music teachers. Anne suffers a stroke which paralyses her on one side of her body. [wiki]

Nominated for 5 Oscars:

Best Picture
Best Director: Michael Haneke
Best Foreign Language Film (Austria) (WINNER)
Best Actress: Emmanuelle Riva
Best Original Screenplay

This was the perfect film to start the series of Oscar nominees for this year. This blog is all about films with Oscar nominations, so each will get a bit of writing - films that I've seen throughout the year or (again) recently. So I catched up with Amour again the other night, also because I am writing about the Best Actress nominees for the other blog. It's still feels like such a great film, and it's among my favorites for 2012 so far, if not THE best one.

What I appreciated more the 2nd time around is how well the film is directed. Haneke is one of the best directors of the past decade and I'm happy he finally made a film that's a bit more accessible to the public. Sure, Amour is heartbreaking and not always easy to watch, but it's his most mature work, from what I can tell. Emmanuelle Riva is an actress-lover's dream; her performance is pure European realism and there isn't much else to say; so raw, so effective, so heartbreaking. Jean-Louis Trintignant is almost just as good (I know him because his 1966's film A Man and a Woman is one of my alltime favorites; strange to see him in a role 46 years later, looking completely different). As great as he is, my eyes were on her all the time.

It's not a film for everyone's taste. But it definitely left a strong impression on me. If there's any fault to find is a bit in the screenplay, that doesn't always find a balance - or simply I would've liked it to focus less on Miss Huppert (who is however GREAT playing the daughter) and more on the emotional struggle of the characters (yes, even MORE). Scenes like the ones with the pigeon are so so beautiful. Haneke does a fabulous job not only directing his actors, but also on the technical aspects: the cinematography is quite special, never claustrophobic, and the Paris apartment is so beautifully constructed.

My rating for the film: 9/10. It could easily be a 9.5. Just like The Tree of Life, it firstly needs to be seen with the soul, if that makes any sense.

The Perfect Storm (2000)

An unusually intense storm pattern catches some commercial fishermen unaware and puts them in mortal danger. [imdb]

Nominated for 2 Oscars:

Best Sound
Best Visual Effects

The second and last film I saw on New Year's Eve was the visual effects-driven The Perfect Storm - a film that is messy plot-wise, but OK when it comes to nice effects. Actually, I don't know if the highlight is the computer-generated stuff; I appreciated more the realism of the scenes on the boat, the boat's movement, all of that which I assume was filmed in a studio, in a specifically built pool.

The story is cliched and nothing special. There's romance I couldn't care about. There's some conflict on the boat, but that's just forced inside the screenplay for diversity. And then there's the storm and the waves and that's fun to watch, especially on a big screen TV. George Clooney is ok, Mark Wahlberg is ok, but there's only so much on page to work wish. This is not a vehicle for actors to shine, just an excuse for big-ass visual effects.

My rating for the film: 6/10. Gladiator won for Visual Effects that year, but it wasn't much of a competitive category. 

Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) (2nd time)

A British woman is determined to improve herself while she looks for love in a year in which she keeps a personal diary. [imdb]

Nominated for 1 Oscar:

Best Actress: Renee Zellweger

No better film to see on New Year's Eve than Bridget Jones's Diary... I hadn't seen it for more than 10 years and I had a feeling I need to watch it again, because I underappreciated it the first time. I was right: this has got to be one of the best romantic comedies of our times. It's funny, it's smart, I giggled my way through it, while admiring that this is a silly comedy for grown-ups, not for silly teenagers. 

And it has got to be Renee Zellweger's best performance (one could argue for Chicago, but I'm sticking with this), as this Oscar nomination in the crowded 2001 was no accident. Oscar doesn't usually go for romantic performances, but I'm happy voters were seduced by Renee. It's her most charming, natural, feel-good performance. I loved Bridget, and what Renee did with the character. A nomination for Adapted Screenplay would've been great too - unfortunately it didn't happen. With the grade I'm about to give, a Best Picture nomination wouldn't have seemed ridiculous either, but I must admit 2001 was such a fabulous year for films.

Colin Firth is adorable, Hugh Grant is just right for the part. The screenplay is sharp, just as tight as it needs to be. Highly recommended, on any occasion.

My rating for the film: 9/10. One of the ages.

The Apartment (1960)

A man tries to rise in his company by letting its executives use his apartment for trysts, but complications and a romance of his own ensue. [imdb]

Nominated for 10 Oscars:

Best Picture (WINNER)
Best Director: Billy Wilder (WINNER)
Best Actor: Jack Lemmon
Best Actress: Shirley MacLaine
Best Supporting Actor: Jack Kruschen
Best Original Screenplay (WINNER)
Best Cinematography, Black-and-White
Best Editing (WINNER)
Best Art Direction, Black-and-White (WINNER)
Best Sound

Many seem to believe that the Best Picture winner for 1960 is one of the best films to get such a distinction in this category, one of Billy Wilder's best films and an overall romantic classic. Allow me to disagree with the majority this time. It was not an issue of high expectations: while I had never seen it before, I gave it a fair shot, and I must say I was really underwhelmed by it. While the film has plenty of OK & good moments, it never really shines.

I guess the highest achievement of the film stands in the acting of the two leads, and they're both good and they both do their best, but the screenplay does offer its limitation. Wasn't convinced at first about Jack Lemmon performance, but he gets better and better as soon as we find out a bit about the character's background. In the end, it's a touching performance, worthy of a nomination, but not Lemmon's best. 

Shirley MacLaine is sweeter than ever, and likeable, and charming, and nails the scenes where she has to cry or pose as a victim. But the role never becomes challenging enough. She lost the Oscar to Elizabeth Taylor's controversial performance in BUtterfield 8, and while I wouldn't dare to compare the performances, I can't really say Shirley was robbed of the Oscar. Just like in Lemmon's case, it's a good performance, but far from her best (which I guess came a year later under the name of The Children's Hour and was completely ignored by the Academy).

Strangely enough, I guess my biggest issue is with the screenplay. Billy Wilder certainly did not win Oscars for his best work - while this screenplay is quite creative at times, it just doesn't... sparkle. It feels flat, especially in the first half, not to mention the hard to ignore misogynistic tone. Sure, The Apartment gets better in the last 15-20 minutes, but it's not enough to change the film around. I consider it an ok romantic comedy, but it lacks  the excitement factor.

My rating for the film: 6.5/10. Nominations for Cinematography, Art Direction (win!), Sound & Supporting Actor make no sense. Billy Wilder's directing win (in competition with Hitchcock's Psycho) feels quite undeserved. My Best Picture series will continue.