Big Picture Big Sound

Waiting until Wednesday afternoon to secure a pass for Day Two of AMC Theaters' Best Picture Showcase (after my marathon Day One session) proved to be a tactical error, as I learned that my theater of choice, the AMC Hoffman 22 in Alexandria, VA, had sold out for the event. Sold out?? This was unheard of! As a result I found myself casting around for another local(ish) option and thus wound up heading to Gaithersburg, MD, and the AMC Loews Rio theater for "Brooklyn", "Spotlight", "The Martian", and "The Revenant". Among the lineup I had only seen "The Martian" previously, and I found it entertaining but not particularly memorable. I was particularly looking forward to "Spotlight" - being an ex-pat Bostonian I'm always intrigued by movies that take place there, even when the subject matter is so uncomfortable. I was also eager to see "The Revenant"; I loved "Birdman" and what I had heard about director Alejandro Inarritu's follow up had piqued my curiosity, though mostly I was going in with technical factoids such as Mr. Inarritu's insistence on shooting with natural light, the actors going through grueling trials to film authentic-looking sequences, and general references to the level of violence in the story. As to the actual story, I didn't have much more than the basics to go on. I'd also heard that "The Revenant" was difficult to watch, so I was glad that it would fall at the end of the day's lineup.

Once again, I took a few minutes between movies to tweet out my thoughts and impressions. Here's how my second 10-hour (yes, ten hour) day at the movies went. I love the Oscars!

9:39am: New locale for Day Two of AMC Best Picture Showcase: hello, @AMCTheatres Loews Rio Gaithersburg! #amcbps

Yes, new locale, but there I was in my usual neighborhood over on the left side of the theater as the lights went down. Comfy seats, nobody in front of me so I could occasionally prop my feet up if I wanted to, and although there were people on both sides of me nobody objected when I pulled out a container of cold oatmeal with peanut butter and blueberries to eat for breakfast during "Brooklyn". I've come to the conclusion that trying to bring fun and creative food to the theater for these movie marathons is too much work, so this time I pretty much went with my usual day's provisions. Others nearby had no qualms about digging into oversized bags of popcorn at 10am, but to me that just doesn't say "breakfast of champions".

9:41am: Reading the sched right this time & prepped for #Brooklyn #Spotlight #TheMartian #TheRevenant in-that-order #gettingitrightthistime #amcbps

Yes, this time I did get it right!

9:56am: Oh, and thank you @AMCTheatres for not starting showcase with #TheRevenant. That would set an uncomfortable tone for the day. #amcbps

Now that I've seen "The Revenant" I stand by my observation: nothing really could have followed it. Kudos to AMC on the programming decision there.

9:59am: #Brooklyn may be my contender for movie I might not have seen w/out the nomination. Day Two, here we go! #amcbps

12:00pm: Totally charmed by #Brooklyn; came away w renewed appreciation for immigration experience, #Irish & others #amcbps

"Brooklyn" was indeed this year's "movie I might have missed", and I'm so glad I didn't. It's a simple story about a young girl, Ellis, who emigrates from Ireland in the 1950s and moves into a ladies' boardinghouse in Brooklyn. She takes a job at a department store, starts a romance with a boy she meets at a neighborhood dance, and blossoms as she gains confidence and begins to enjoy her independence. The only shadow over Ellis's life is her occasional homesickness, and guilt over leaving her mother and sister behind in Ireland. As she develops roots in New York Ellis is also drawn back to her family in Ireland, and she becomes conflicted about whether to reconnect with her home country or continue building a new life in America. Star Saoirse Ronan received a Best Actress nomination for her role as Ellis, and it's well-deserved. The emotional experience of watching "Brooklyn" is totally tied to Ms. Ronan's performance, and it's through her luminous eyes that we understand the immigrant experience. It's easy to forget the degree of courage needed to leave behind everything familiar and strike out for the unknown, to be completely removed from family and friends and never be sure of reuniting with loved ones.

Also worth noting here is actor Emory Cohen, who plays Ellis's suitor, Tony. He's earnest and straightforward, wearing his heart on his sleeve as he courts Ellis and slowly lays out stepping stones for their future together. The bond between the two is sweet and natural, and when a situation develops that puts that bond at risk, it really feels like there is something at stake. "Brooklyn" is a lovely, old-fashioned film that sheds light on an experience that's still common in the modern world as people move from place to place in search of a better future, and it's a beautiful reminder that our lives are built by our choices and there's always a new road ahead.

12:06pm: Been anticipating #Spotlight, next up in Showcase; won't be #Boston at its best, but still my hometown #lovethehub #amcbps

2:36pm: Wow, #Spotlight; knew the facts going in but unprepared for sheer scope of coverup & reality of impact on victims. Devastating. #amcbps

I'll get a few things out of the way up front: I will always consider myself a Bostonian. I've lived in DC for several years and I'm generally happy here, I still get home every couple of months, but I miss the hell out of Boston and an arial shot over the city in the opening moments of "Spotlight" was enough to make me tear up. The movie deals with sensitive topics and I was always aware of that, but I also took time out to appreciate the filmmakers attention to detail: place names are pronounced correctly, geography and distances are referred to accurately, people riding the T get on and off at stops that are actually near the places where they are supposed to be, and when characters are drinking beer, the Harpoon labels on the bottles are subtle but unmistakeable. I can't write about a Boston movie without noting the accents, and Michael Keaton deserves a huge congratulations for his portrayal as Globe editor and Boston native Walter "Robby" Robinson. In addition to providing a strong throughline as the steady moral compass of the film, Mr. Keaton is also one of a small number of actors, ever, who clearly took the time to learn the mechanics of the Boston accent instead of just giving it the ol' Kennedy try (hello, Martin Sheen in "The Departed"). He nails it by underplaying and knowing that you don't just broaden your "a"s and drop all of your "r"s - that's amateur hour.

I did get caught up in "Spotlight"'s story, about the Boston Globe investigative reporting team who doggedly researched a rising number of allegations of priests sexually abusing children and eventually brought to light a coverup by church officials that kept hidden the systematic, historic practice of moving priests from one location to another when their crimes came to light instead of actually finding a solution for the problem. In some ways, Boston was destined to be at the center of such a story, with the strong parochial influences at the heart of city government and institutions, and the Irish Catholic population that's given the region so much of its rugged, tradition-bound, and at times obtuse character. "Spotlight" presents the facts of the story in a way that illuminates the "how" and the "why" but it never loses sight of the damage done to the victims, and that is made unmistakably clear in two unforgettable moments. One is when the founder of a survivor support group explains that abuse at the hands of priests is a "spiritual rape" because in addition to physical trauma it also robs victims of a fundamental source of solace and emotional support by destroying the foundations of their faith. The second is at the end of the film when several lines of text introduce a list of communities in addition to Boston where similar long-term abuse and coverup practices were discovered. The list of cities fills the screen, then there is another list. And another. And another. Every time a new list appears it's like a punch in the gut, and this is where the true scope of the problem really hits home. It isn't an easy story to hear but "Spotlight" tells it with tact and sensitivity, effectively walking the line between factual recitation and over-dramatization. Beautifully done, and a strong contender for Best Picture.

2:38pm: Next up: #TheMartian; saw it already, liked but didn't love. Let's see if 2nd viewing changes that impression. #amcbps

5:24pm: Enjoyed seeing #TheMartian again- clever, educational & entertaining love-letter to the space program- but not my pick for best pic #amcbps

"The Martian" really is a love-letter to the US space program. It's a reminder of the complexity of space travel, of the millions of calculations and components that have to come together just right for such a leap to be possible, and that getting to the moon or anywhere else outside of earth's atmosphere is a towering achievement. As the story of an astronaut who's accidentally left behind when a mission to Mars goes wrong, "The Martian" is certainly entertaining, and Matt Damon does most of the heavy lifting with tons of screen time. He plays botanist Mark Watney, who despite finding himself the only person on a planet millions of miles from home and initially without any hope of rescue remains staggeringly cheerful as he confronts a variety of obstacles and keeps himself alive. He's given to wry observations and maintains a surprisingly healthy awareness of the absurdity of his situation, but that's about as deep as his characterization gets. Other characters are equally sketched in, identified more by their functions than their facets, but that's ok because the movie isn't really about the characters, it's about the situation. "The Martian" is all about the problem-solving; it's a series of puzzles laid out in the context of a dire situation with solutions being worked out against a ticking clock. It's neat, it's different, it's definitely smart, it ends on a satisfyingly upbeat note...but it's not the year's best picture.

6:06pm: Final showcase pic is #TheRevenant; beyond reports of tough filming conditions & dire warnings re: violence not sure what to expect #amcbps

9:10pm: Finished #TheRevenant, must go home immediately to take a bath, turn up the heat, & look at some bright colors #amcbps

As noted, I went into "The Revenant" not exactly sure what to expect, and I came out of it not quite sure how I was feeling. I wanted to love it, but I'm not sure it's a movie to love. I definitely respect it as an accomplishment, but I never got lost in it the way I did in "Mad Max", or "Room", or even "Spotlight". "The Revenant" is a beautiful film, but something about it always kept me at a distance. As a viewer I was frequently aware of wanting to remain cognizant of the effort that went into a certain scene, thinking, "Wow, it looks like Leonardo DiCaprio really went into that river and braved those rapids" or, even more distractingly, "How the hell did they get insurance coverage for this production??"

"The Revenant" does tell a compelling story, of frontiersman Hugh Glass who was part of an ill-fated fur trapping expedition in the early 1800s. After their party was attacked by Indians, Glass barely survived being ravaged by a grizzly bear only to be nearly killed by a traveling companion and ultimately left for dead. The remainder of the story shows Glass's fierce battle to stay alive despite exposure to the elements, multiple immersions in freezing water, near-starvation, encounters with Indians, a fall off a cliff...it's almost too much to fathom. He's motivated by a desire for revenge against his would-be murderer, and watching him overcome obstacles with nearly superhuman determination is in its own way fascinating but I missed an emotional connection with the quest.

There were certainly moments when I was staggered by the fierce beauty of the unforgiving landscape. It made me wonder how on earth this country was ever settled - how did people ever manage to survive in such harsh places? And the performances by Leonardo DiCaprio as Glass and Tom Hardy as his nemesis Fitzgerald are in part displays of sheer force of will. When they encounter each other toward the end of the film both have become virtual elemental forces, stripped to bare essences with a purity of motivation that demands respect of the viewer, but the outcome of their final contest doesn't deliver the expected emotional catharsis. That may in fact be my final take on the film, and the same could be said for the wilderness in which it is set: it's to be respected but you're probably not going to love it.

Whew, there it is: my take on the 2015 Best Picture Nominees. It was, as always, lots of fun...and you know I'll be back next year.