Extremely mainstream yet incredibly close to being amazing. Now let me explain.. This movie is a little ass kissing of the Academy but I can't help but think that there's something very special about it. The film captured New York quite well, both the unfriendly people as well as those who are genuinely nice, the way people interracted with each other was amazing. But then 9/11 comes into the picture, which is totally uncalled for.. However, it is staying true to the novel, which is important.
The acting is absolutely brilliant, Tom Hanks is great in everything he does and although I feel Sandra Bullock is overrated, she's not half bad in this film. Viola Davis, Jeffrey Wright and John Goodman are also in this film.. but the two main actors that caught my attention were Max von Sydow and Thomas Horn. Max von Sydow is a living legend, he is nominated for his role in the category of "Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role". I personally think he deserves it. Thomas Horn, who is playing the main role of Oskar Schell does so quite well. Keep in mind that this is his very first film.. the emotions coming out of that kid is just amazing, especially during those rough scenes. At first, I disliked him a little, he's an unlikeable character, he's rude, obnoxious and treats his mother like shit, although that's what you get when you spoil your kid too much and give him everything he's ever pointed his finger at. However when he does emotional scenes, you can't help but find him more sympathetic and he grows on you.
It is the story of Oskar Schell, a 9 year old boy, much different from everyone else. He's an amateur inventor, franchophile, pacifist among other things and has an amazing relationship with his father. They go on treasure hunts etc. His father dies on 9/11 and a year after, Oskar discovers a mysterious key located in a blue vase he accidentally breaks. Oskar becomes determined to find the matching lock for the key and is set out on an adventure all around New York City.
I think what hurt this film the most is the bad timing of this film. Director Stephen Daldry and producer Scott Rudin had been working on the film adaption of the book for five years.. maybe if it had been released 5 years ago, people would still think it would be okay to use 9/11 as part of a story. Even though it is an event that beat NYC to its knees, it just feels very cheesy to still be using 9/11 in movies and making a profit off of it. Although it is staying true to the novel, I know, I know! However, the movie captured human feelings tremendously.
But they could have still BASED the film on the novel and removed the 9/11 part or replace it with something else.. that's what bugs me if anything. But I still love Stephen Daldry and I think he's one of the most interesting directors out there..
Also, although I haven't seen "Hugo" yet, I can't help but think that the two films seem very similar. Boy losing father, father leaves key which sets off kid to a big adventure.
Should this have been nominated for "Best Motion Picture of the Year" though? It's quite hard to say.. It's a film people will either love or hate... I actuall had to re-write this review.. At first I didn't think it should have been nominated for "Best Motion Picture of the Year".. however after seeing bits of it yet again, it makes me realize how great this movie truly is... The writing is AMAZING especially Oskar's view on life at times. I think it's better than avarage, especially when there are some films in the "Best Motion Picture of the Year" category that don't deserve a nomination. It is a great film about moving on, or at least trying to move on from a tragic event that brought everyone a little closer together. The Academy has been known for nominating cheesy films in the past years... it's just not about artistic merit anymore as much as a dick swinging contest. It's all just so corrupted that it's sad. If it were for real artistic merit, you would have seen a heck lot more independent films being nominated as well as lesser known actors. It is cheesy at times but the acting, writing etc. still makes it better than most movies nominated for an Oscar. There's something about this movie that I love, I just quite haven't figured out what yet..
However I still feel this movie is a little better than avarage.. It's worth a look... hell, any movie is worth a look because you will be able to form your own opinions.. something no one can ever take away from you.
My rating: 7,5/10
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