Awards Season: Oscars debrief

Senior Screen Reporter Emily Leahy offers her perspective on the curtain closer to the cinematic awards season, the Oscars…

Image Credit: LA Times

The 85th Academy awards was a musical spectacular; reflected in both the award winners and the night’s entertainment. Peppered with dramatic accidents onstage (Jennifer Lawrence’s fall) and outrageous gags from the host Seth Macfarlane, clearly the highlight of the night was the show’s musical theme and its show stopping performances.

 

The biggest winners of the night included Daniel Day-Lewis for his leading male role in Lincoln, Jennifer Lawrence for her leading female performance in Silver Linings Playbook, Christoph Waltz for his supporting role in Django Unchained and not forgetting Anne Hathaway’s win for her supporting female role in Les Miserables. None of these were particularly surprising wins, however; it was always apparent that the academy would choose to favour Lawrence over Jessica Chastain’s fierce character pursuing Bin Laden in Zero Dark Thirty.

 

More unexpected was the Best Motion Picture award going to Ben Affleck’s Argo, both because the director was so clearly snubbed in the Best Director category of the awards and because fellow pro-American film Lincoln was firm favourite early on. Ang Lee won the title in the end, which wasn’t undeserved. Life of Pi was in fact the overwhelming winner of the night, taking home four awards for Cinematography, Music: Original Score, Visual Effects and Best Director. Lincoln, the initial favourite ahead of the ceremonies, actually performed fairly averagely, winning only two of the twelve gongs it was nominated for. It was a welcome change for the academy to acknowledge the achievements of films outside the traditional ‘Hollywood’ choice, even if Argo is a film about Hollywood saving the day.

 

This year the awards uniquely carried a theme, celebrating the musical film genre. There was an abundance of musical talent on display, most notably the medley performed by the Les Miserables cast. Additionally, Jennifer Hudson gave a breathtaking performance of ‘And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going’ from the film she won her Oscar for, Dreamgirls. In contrast, it has been disputed whether Catherine Zeta Jones’ performance was live during her rendition of ‘All That Jazz’ from , nonetheless, she successfully resurrected the character for which she won her Oscar in 2002. In addition Barbara Streisand also took to the stage, performing ‘The Way We Were’ from the Oscar winning film of the same title during the ‘In Memoriam’ section of the ceremony.

 

In extension of this, the British institution of James Bond films was celebrated through its musical contributions. Dame Shirley Bassey performed, in her usual fashion, the classic ‘Goldfinger’, whilst Adele represented the modern Bond with an outstanding performance of ‘Skyfall’. She more than justified her later triumph in winning the award for the Best Original Song, and her pure shock ensured her acceptance speech carried her spontaneous London charm.

 

Conversely, Seth Macfarlane was an underwhelming host, with a mix of average to frankly offensive jokes rather than boundary-breaking humour. Stand out moments included likening the violent Django Unchained to Rihanna and Chris Brown’s relationship and referring to the unoriginal topic of Mel Gibson’s apparent racism. Perhaps his most original moments came in the form of the pre-recorded segments: such as the brief appearance of Captain Kirk pointing out the lack of success in his hosting skills and the subsequent ‘Boob Song’ which documented all the occasions various female celebrities had shown their breasts on screen (or not, in the case of Jennifer Lawrence).

 

Overall, the awards were successful but more due to the musical interludes than the host himself. This was probably for the best, as it focused the attention on the talented nominees rather than the funny man role which has overshadowed the real talent at so many ceremonies before. The most successful films of the year were recognised and although it was disappointing Affleck didn’t even receive a nomination for the Best Director award, for the most part the winners were deserving and gracious.

 

Emily Leahy, Senior Screen Reporter

Awards Season: Les Misérables – Victor Hugo

Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables has inspired generations. Its theatrical adaptation has spent decades touring the West-End and its recent cinematic release has swept through this year’s awards season. With three Golden Globes, nine BAFTA nominations, and eight Academy Award nominations to name but a few, Freya Godfrey takes a look at the book that sparked such a torrent of creative adaptations. With so much material to work with, Freya focuses on the character of Valjean; Hugo’s moral figure, the crux of 365 chapters, and the man that inspired Hugh Jackman’s stunning performance on the silver screen…

Sharing its name with one of the longest-running plays in history and now an Oscar-nominated film, Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables, in its original novel form, is often overlooked. Granted, its 365 chapters may put some people off, but for me, it is one of the greatest novels ever written.

Victor Hugo’s novel, in the briefest of summaries, follows the life of John Valjean, an ex-convict, as he struggles to create a life for himself despite his criminal background and the relentless efforts of police inspector Javert to recapture him. However, Hugo does not ‘follow’ Valjean in the conventional literary way. Instead, the novelist introduces a number of sub-narratives, only part way through which we realise that an apparently new character is in fact Jean Valjean. (Indeed, Valjean takes on five different aliases during the novel.) As well as this interweaving of narratives, Hugo entwines his story within a selection of essays. These essays take up almost one quarter of the book and have little connection with the story, instead serving to demonstrate either a moral point or Hugo’s extensive knowledge. However, I would argue that the most pertinent assessment that Hugo makes is not within his essays but through the story of John Valjean: a critique of the nineteenth century French justice system.

John Valjean was sentenced to five years in prison for stealing bread for his starving sister and her children: a menial and, dare I say it, well-meaning crime. Condemned to a further fourteen years imprisonment for repeated escape attempts, we meet Valjean recently released from prison for the first time in nineteen years. Unable to find work due to the yellow papers that identify him as a former offender, Valjean seeks refuge in the home of Bishop Myriel of Digne. Despite the kindness the bishop shows him, the influence of Valjean’s time as a convict is demonstrated in his attempt to steal the bishop’s silverware. Caught by the police and brought before the bishop, Valjean is surprised to hear the bishop telling the police that the silverware had been a gift and even admonishing Valjean for ‘forgetting’ to take his silver candlesticks. Overwhelmed by the compassion shown towards him, this scene acts as a catalyst for John Valjean who vows to live his life righteously from this point.

John Valjean may be an ex-criminal, but he is also the ultimate hero. He is courageous, loyal and strong. He saves the lives of three men, through each demonstrating his unusual strength and perseverance, and even possesses a James Bond-style weapon: a file concealed within a coin with which he escapes capture. However, police inspector Javert sees Valjean in the eyes of the law: a criminal who must be returned for prison. It is only when Valjean has the opportunity to kill Javert and chooses, instead, to set him free that the police inspector realises his internal dilemma: should he continue to pursue a man who has done nothing but good since his release from prison, or should he let him go free and ignore the justice system that is so decisively ingrained in his character?

The wandering epic that is Les Misérables introduces many unforgettable scenes, such as the tragic downfall of Fantine, the beautiful love story between Eponine and Marius and the fierce sense of nationalism expounded at the barricades of the French Revolution. Filled with passion and power, this novel certainly makes an impression on the reader and forces them to ponder their own moral position. As Hugo himself writes, ‘so long as ignorance and misery remain on earth, there should be a need for books such as this.’, a statement with which I wholeheartedly agree.

To see what the Exeposé Screen team made of Les Miserables: http://xmedia.ex.ac.uk/wp/wordpress/?p=5693
By Freya Godfrey

Ed. by Georgina Holland – Exeposé Online Books Editor