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Originally Posted by EPOCH6
I'm afraid it looks like I'm the odd one out here but I didn't find Selma very memorable. The Civil Rights Movement was memorable, MLK Jr. was a memorable man, but Selma just didn't blow me away like other films this year (Whiplash, Birdman, Grand Budapest Hotel etc). I think it really succeeded as a compelling story, I think David Oyelowo did an excellent job as MLK (as well as a fantastic job with his small part in A Most Violent Year), but I didn't feel like there was anything Selma had from a technical perspective that made it stand out. Birdman was a technical masterpiece, Boyhood was an ambitious 12 year act, and Grand Budapest Hotel was a massive fast-paced visual adventure. I don't think I'd argue with Selma replacing Imitation Game in Best Director but still I could never imagine it beating the top 3. Same with Best Actor, David Oyelowo was excellent but I couldn't imagine him beating out Michael Keaton's role in Birdman, but again I think it was at least on par with Cumberbatch in Imitation Game, I wouldn't have argued with a nomination. We have to remember that it takes a lot more than compelling emotional impact to succeed in a lot of these categories. I don't know if I'd go as far as calling its exclusion atrocious, this year has a lot of really tough competition, but I am surprised.
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Dude, I'm a film major - I know how films are made, and that is one well directed film. Better directed than The Imitation Game by a longshot. It's an insult. You'll seldom find better photography than Selma's this year. The three films you mentioned are well directed too, and I think Linklater deserves it far more than anybody else - but a nomination for an Oscar goes a long way in building someone's career, this is Ava DuVernay's third feature and it's incredibly accomplished. An Oscar nomination could have given her the opportunity to become the world class filmmaker I know she can be.
With David Oyelowo, again the wins don't matter. He deserved a nomination. I would put his performance on a par with Keaton's, and it dwarfs the work of Cumberbatch, Carell, and Redmayne. Jake Gyllenhaal does too. I've not seen American Sniper yet, but I don't have high hopes for Cooper.
Oyelowo's performance is subdued, subtle, but ultimately human, and incredibly painful at points. This role could have become a parody so easily, but Oyelowo makes it his own and challenges history's image of MLK, avoiding simple public perception and playing him as a real person. Astounding performance in my eyes. Every movement of King's eyes perfectly relays his doubts, his inner conflicts, his morals, and the heavy weight racism has placed on his shoulders.
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Originally Posted by The Batlord
I like what you said about Selma, though I'm kind of burned out on Civil Rights movies. I teared up at Amistad, sure, but I'm kind of uncomfortable with being a white guy watching those movies. Like, I'm clearly down with black people being treated like human beings, but I can never shake the feeling that I and the black community in general are being exploited and made to feel like I should like this movie, just like WWII movies make me feel like I'm being expected to pay tribute to the Greatest Generation rather than enjoying it as a film.
Most of these movies (the Civil Rights ones) are probably being made by majority white guys, and there's usually some emphasis on white people overcoming their prejudices or showing that all white people aren't like those white people. It's why, god damn length aside, I liked Malcom X. It gave a look into Civil Rights not tarnished by some white guy's desire to look like the most enlightened white guy in white guydom.
I loved those prison scenes where Malcolm was being taught all these racist things, like, white people make black the "evil color" as a way to subliminally demonize black people, and that black people were the chosen of god, meaning that white people were of the devil (I think that was the gist of it, but it's been a few years since I saw the movie). Really gave the guy depth in an uncomfortable way that made his ultimate change of heart after going to Mecca all the more poignant.
I liked your description of Selma too. I'm lazy about checking out movies, but I really do look up to MLK, and a more true to life depiction of him would be refreshing.
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I love Malcolm X and I believe Selma belongs in the same category. Hey, now they share an Oscar snub! Selma was made by a black woman. and the film has a lot of emphasis on the women that made change possible as well as the men. I also despise films made by old white men about race, and gender too. Hence why the idea of Steven Spielberg making his own MLK film a few years down the line is gross to me.
Hell, that's what pissed me off about 12 Years A Slave last year. Steve McQueen is black yes, but he's British! How can a British man make a film about slavery, something so deepy ingrained in America's history and culture, and put the same passion and emotions into it as a native? Still a good film, but it ultimately bothers me. Ava DuVernay as a black woman has clearly experienced her fair share of both the change MLk helped bring around, and the lingering backlash against it.