Preparing for the Oscars: Two Films that Are Receiving Attention

                Every year at about this time, movie-goers are bombarded with ads promoting supposed Oscar-worthy films.  At least a dozen are now getting significant attention in the press as possible nominees for the major awards.  It’s enough to make a person seeking an evening’s entertainment at a movie theater wonder how to choose, especially with many of these films playing at the same multiplex.

                And so, to help that selection process just a tad, here are our thoughts on two films that might be on your “maybe” list.  One is an absolute “don’t miss”; the other is a definite “don’t waste your time.”

                The “don’t miss” film is “The Descendants,” which is one of those movies that combine light humor with meaningful drama.  It is, in other words, one of those “you’ll-laugh-and-you’ll-cry” films that make movie-going such a universally appreciated experience.

                The story is just complicated enough to avoid being trivial.  It concerns a father whose wife is in a terminal coma (resulting from a water-skiing accident), who had largely ignored their relationship and his two daughters (one 17, the other 10) as a busy real estate attorney.  Now thrust into the position of a single parent, he is also the trustee of a major estate for his large extended family, with a critical decision about the disposition of the estate looming on his desk.

                The setting for this family drama is Hawaii.  The family lives in Honolulu (on the island of Oahu), but during the course of the film, the father and his daughters spend time on the big island (Hawaii) and on Kauai (where the massive acreage that constitutes the estate is located).  Thus, in addition to an engrossing story, the film provides a cinematographer’s feast of gorgeous vistas.  (The entire film was shot on location.)

                The film was directed by Alexander Payne (“Sideways”) and co-written by Mr. Payne and Nat Faxon.  It benefits greatly from another terrific performance by George Clooney as the father.  (Look for him to nab an Oscar nomination.)  He gets great support from a cast that includes Shailene Woodley and Amara KIng as his daughters and Nick Krause as the older daughter’s friend.  Clooney and Krause have a particularly powerful scene that just sneaks up on you and really cements the uniquely poignant impact of the film.

                In this era of computer-generated graphics and action-packed thrillers, “Descendants” is a small film.  As such, it’s a film to cherish, and of those we’ve seen, is our pick for the best of the year.

                The “never-mind” entry in the Oscar race is “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy,” the newest version of John le Carre’s book (made famous by the BBC series that starred Alec Guinness as the book’s protagonist, George Smiley).  Fans of the TV series may be mystified by what director Tomas Alfredson (from a script by Bridget O’Connor and Peter Straughan) has done with the tale, which concerns the intricacies of Cold War espionage and was always complicated and demanding.

                But in this re-telling, the intrigue and suspense that le Carre intended in his book are lost in a maze of chronological shuffling.  And since the relative importance of the events themselves is never entirely clear, those unfamiliar with the plot will very likely be lost.

                Why for example is Smiley shown in one brief scene getting into a car or in another walking down a hallway?  Are these scenes supposed to be significant?  If not, why show them?  The film contains many such scenes, none of which have any clear relevance to the development of the plot, such as it is.  And who are all the secondary characters who appear once or twice as if seemingly important, never to be seen again?

                And, perhaps most irritating of all, although the obligatory killings (some grizzly and graphic) are shown at various points, the film is otherwise painfully slow and boring, in a British kind of way (with some dialogue made difficult to appreciate by thick accents), which is not exactly how to maximize audience accessibility.

                Gary Oldman, as George Smiley, heads a large cast of notables, including Colin Firth, John Hurt, Toby Jones, and Ciaran Hinds.  They all have their moments, but none of the characters register sufficiently to make the film’s denouement, in which the double agent is finally revealed, especially memorable.  An additional scene, showing his demise seemed, to us at least, wholly unnecessary and oddly staged.

                “Tinker, Tailor” has received the kind of reviews that might lead an unwary filmgoer to give it a chance.  The advice here is to avoid the temptation.  Instead, look for “The Descendants.”  It’s a movie that fully warrants the great reviews, including this one, it is receiving.