Dreams of Oscar

I suppose I should write something about the Oscars while they are still fresh in my mind, if no-one else’s, not for the delectation of others but just to remind myself in future years, how I thought in 2009. I was exceptionally pleased that Slumdog Millionaire won - it’s not always that the best film nominated wins Best Picture, but to win Best Director was satisfying in confirming that it was deserving, as well as being a gilded feather in the cap of Danny Boyle. It accrued further Oscar glory, though by taking the two most important awards at the most important film ceremony, it has received industry approval to go with the applause of the critics and the adulation of the public.
Other items that caught my attention was Sean Penn’s victory in the Best Actor category for Milk. Now normally, before the reviews had come out, were I to see a billboard advertising such a movie I would have drawn a blank and it may have fled my memory. But, purely by chance, I went onto Wikipedia’s main page one day (a font of useful and intriguing trivia) and the main bulletin anniversary concerned Harvey Milk, the first openly gay American politician. He had a tragic end and became a martyr for gay rights, but he had an engaging life story too. So when I saw Sean Penn beaming out (in slightly naff clothing) from the Milk poster, the thrill of recognition on something otherwise obscure was deeply fulfilling. And so that co-incidental viewing of the advance notice on Wikipedia fuelled my enthusiasm to go and see the film, which I hope to do next week.
For Best Supporting Actor, Heath Ledger was a shoo-in, fully meriting this title not just for his thespianism but also for carrying the movie The Dark Knight for much of it. This post-humous gong shows that Hollywood knows how to honour its own. It was an incredible performance in a great movie and rather put Jack Nicholson’s rendition rather in the shade, somehow blending that malevolent stint and Cesare Romero’s lunatic fun. The film itself was half an hour too long and one of the set-pieces could have been cut - the jaunt to Hong Kong could have fallen under a script doctor’s scalpel, stuck in there to please the Chinese in Olympic year.
Finally, in the Best Documentary category, it was great to see Man on Wire emerge triumphant. - a picture that knows how to build the story going from daring feat to dashing escapade while intertwining with the characters’ real lives, until the climax suspended between the two towers of the World Trade Center, with all the ghostly echoes that inspires. A movie that celebrates human achievement, ingenuity and ability to dream.