2020 Films and Oscars

[Hayden]

[AgainstMeAgainstYou]

[Hayden]

[Applerill]

I really like the idea of PYW being a prestige Megan is Missing

In all seriousness, I really love wild, even reprehensible tonal shifts; sometimes I feel like they’re my favorite thing that cinema can do. I even explicitly sample one of the most egregious I’ve seen, in David Lynch’s daughter Jennifer’s film Chained, in one of my own shorts. Without spoiling it, I’ll say that the tonal shift that happens ends up turning a seemingly bland Lifetime Saw movie into one of the most heartbreakingly powerful films about domestic abuse I’ve ever seen.

Because by refusing a natural catharsis, it makes the emotional world of the movie so much complicated and messy (and helps me see what seems like copaganda much more ambiguously)

All of this is to say that I really connected to Cassie in the movie, even in a death that’s so easy for me to fall into myself as a disabled trans woman. In fact, one of the brilliant subversions in the movie is that Laverne Cox’s Black trans character, exactly the demographic we associate more with death than almost any other, is just living her own life, tolerating cis people’s bullshit and keeping her cool. And I connected so much to her too <3

It’s by no means a perfect movie, but it’s so ambitious and ready to infuriate as a double feature in a way I can’t help but deeply admire.

[CA Dreamin]

I don't think the director intended to steer the viewers' thoughts on Cassie in one specific direction. Antihero? Protagonist? Tragic victim? Bipolar psychotic? I found her to be a fully-constructed character who had elements of all of the above, which made her feel like a real person with nuances and complexities. She wasn't a villain though. The villain was clearly Al Monroe, the character who raped Cassie's best friend and set off the chain of events that left Cassie in the state she was in. And as devious and conniving as she was, I think we're supposed to feel some sympathy. She was hit by triple whammy. First, her best friend and soulmate (Nina, who never appeared on screen) was raped while they were both in medical school, and everyone swept it under the rug so the guy got away with it. Second, Nina later committed suicide. And finally, Cassie was so distraught by this, she dropped out of school. So, this one event led to the loss of her friend and her career, while the guy accountable got away. If that's not reason for at least some empathy, I don't know what is.

I understand AMAY's point about the harshness of Cassie's schemes against the dean and Alison Brie's character, while Cassie was rather lenient with the Alfred Molina lawyer character. Although IIRC, didn't she hire someone to attack the lawyer, but then called it off after the lawyer showed remorse? I agree there could have been more there, and agreed perhaps Cassie went too far with the dean. Alison Brie's character, though? After Cassie tormented her, she came back later in the film and gave Cassie the video evidence of Nina's rape, implying that Brie knew exactly what had happened all along and kept silent about it. That scene also revealed that Cassie knew that Brie knew, thus their first scene together at lunch was Cassie's attempt to force her to admit it. When Brie refused, Cassie set her up to feel what it was like to be Nina's shoes, to feel raped and then powerless to anything about it afterward. It's cruel for sure. Anyway, I know I'm rambling but my point is Brie's character was no saint.

Sure, the dean and Brie fell into the most cruel of Cassie's revenge schemes, but then again we never learned the full extent of her plan against Al Monroe because, well, that plan failed in an unexpected way. However, I think we can assume she would have put Al through worse torment than what we saw in earlier scenes. But again as we know, things didn't go according to plan. The double endings can be hard to digest, but they fall in line with the film's overall messages that rape victims are too often silenced and predatory men too often get away with it. Nina, the victim, was silenced, gave up and died. But Cassie didn't give up although she had to turn to vigilantism to find some justice/closure for her friend. She succeeded there on some level. But anyway, I don't think the film insisted the fates of Nina and Cassie had to happen the way they did. Rather, and specifically Cassie, I viewed her decision at the end to go the bachelor party as part of the natural progressions of her character and the movie's plot-line. But I don't think the film meant to represent her as all victims and justice-seeking women. The movie is fiction after all. Still, a fiction film that examines real social issues, and navigates a complicated, messy world. And yeah some of the decisions these characters made, as well as the film in general, are morally questionable. But currently I don't find that as a weakness, but a strength. For one, it kept the movie's suspense high. As a thriller, I thought it worked well and kept me engrossed all the way through. Further, the movie's ethics ultimately ask us difficult societal questions that lack clear-cut answers. It gets conversations going, and divides us on how good or bad the film handled its topics. And I find interesting how the divide here on BEA has come out so far. We have myself, RockyRaccoon, and Applerill appreciating the movie, while Hayden and AgainstMeAgainstYou did not. There's been many disagreements on movies here before, but not along those lines until now (is the Canada vs. US a coincidence? joking).

In sum, I liked the movie. It worked as a thriller with tidbits of black comedy. And I didn't even mention Bo Burnham before but his role, as well as the chemistry between him and Mulligan were great. One of my issues was the winky face at the end, that was kinda useless. I also question the logic and plausibility of the plot at times, specifically the timing and precision of Cassie's wilder schemes that just seemed too perfect to actually happen. But they came with purpose, bringing us back to the film's societal/ethical questions, which may or may not have been handled right. But very thought-provoking, nonetheless. Best Picture or Best Screenplay? Nah, there are better choices for those. But I wouldn't mind seeing Mulligan win.

One last question, AMAY, you mentioned there are reviews out there that express your views on the film but go into more detail. Can you send links? I'm curious to read.

[Hayden]

[AgainstMeAgainstYou]

[Applerill]

Okay, this opinion might ruffle some jimmies, but while it WAS beautifully shot and acted, The Father was genuinely one of the most eugenicist movies
I’ve ever seen. It literally uses the format of the Rooney Mara breakup scene in The Social Network to frame disability as something that old white abusive men have and nobody else, and that disability is a burden on society that keeps girlbosses like Olivia Coleman (who are NEVER disabled, and whose whiteness and straightness and thinness doesn’t matter because she’s a woman) from living their lives normally. And it’s sorta sad to see so many abled people frame their reviews this way: “I had a grandpa with this disability; that was really hard for me when he couldn’t remember my name or get me the presents I wanted.”

This takes itself more artistically seriously than a lot of ableist Oscar bait, but it still ultimately focuses on making abled people feel good for being allies than anything else. I know things like The Diving Bell and the Butterfly aren’t perfect either, but at least that movie focused entirely on the disabled person’s legacy.

ALSO, it’s worth noting that there are a LOT of people (several of whom I know personally) who have this sort of memory loss young because of things like depression or DID or Down Syndrome, which makes the connection here between Alzheimer’s and “lol ok boomer” all the more egregious here

[EyeKanFly]

[Applerill]

Okay, to be fair, it IS much better than Green Book in most ways.