90th Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actress

Oscars 2018: Best Supporting Actress

Here we are at last with the final main Academy Awards category to gloss over before the ceremony takes place on the 4th of March, and following in the footsteps of its' predecessors, the Best Supporting Actress this year is yet another strongly contested battle between five stars who each are deserved of prestigious recognition. With Allison Janney my own personal tip for taking home the gong after her success at the BAFTA's for her hilarious role in I, Tonya, such a decision speaks more so from the head whilst the heart points in the direction of Leslie Manville for her absolutely brilliant and stunningly nuanced role in Paul Thomas Anderson's wickedly subversive, Phantom Thread, a movie which unfortunately may be completely overlooked in most of the categories in which it has nominations. Elsewhere, Laurie Metcalf and Octavia Spencer earn the plaudits for their brilliant performances in Lady Bird and The Shape of Water respectively, whilst Mary J. Blige completes the ticket for her role in the Netflix funded Mudbound, and whilst the likes of Sylvia Hoeks and Rosamund Pike could easily been nominated likewise for Blade Runner 2049 and Hostiles also, we conclude our Academy Award rundown with the final main points below...

Winner - Allison Janney (I, Tonya)

Personal Favourite - Leslie Manville (Phantom Thread)

Nomination Snub - Sylvia Hoeks (Blade Runner 2049)

Film Review: Phantom Thread

"Reynolds Has Made My Dreams Come True. And I Had Given Him What He Desires Most In Return..."

Of all historic collaborations which have resulted in works of acclaimed artistic brilliance, the combination of director, Paul Thomas Anderson, and acting aficionado, Daniel Day-Lewis, deservedly unearths a mouthwatering level of anticipation, particularly after their rousing success together on 2007's There Will Be Blood, a movie which not only garnered Academy Award success for the English screen legend but remains my personal favourite Anderson release within a career blossoming with quality examples of modern cinema ranging from the intertwining character study of Magnolia to the drug infused oddity of Inherent Vice. Returning together with Phantom Thread, a beautifully twisted romantic drama with a self-proclaimed final performance from Daniel Day-Lewis as the fictional renowned fashion designer, Reynolds Woodcock, Anderson's latest is a flawlessly designed work of art which mirrors its' leading character's penchant for exactness and measured perfection with a swooning, subversive portrayal of a household bursting with colourful and beautifully constructed characters which are brought to fruition in ways larger than life by a cast which under the wing of Anderson, are truly magnificent. 

Focusing on the blossoming relationship between Day-Lewis's Woodcock and the foreign, quaint muse figure of Vicky Krieps' (A Most Wanted Man) Alma Elson, Anderson's script moves in an unpredictable and sometimes quirky fashion, switching from a romantic tale of wonder to a character study of indecision and power, one which utilises minor incidents of subverted gothic tragedy and a heavy dose of laugh out loud comedy to create a combination of elements which only a filmmaker with the pedigree of Anderson could have successfully pulled off. With Lesley Manville's (Hampstead) eagle eyed and priggish Cyril Woodcock equally as fascinating as her on-screen sibling, Phantom Thread's triage of leading performers all work in equal symmetry in bringing to life an absorbing, sometimes jaw-droppingly beautiful piece of cinema, and with a well orchestrated accompanying score from Radiohead's stupidly talented, Jonny Greenwood, whose Academy Award nomination slightly makes up for the ludicrous decision to prevent him from being nominated for There Will Be Blood, Paul Thomas Anderson's latest is really something, and if we are indeed witnessing the final performance of the truly magnanimous Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread sure is an outstanding way to bow out. 

Overall Score: 9/10 

Film Review: Hampstead

"Everyone Wants Me To Change And Now You Too..."

Aided by a successful long-term collaboration with Woody Allen and a recurring starring role within Coppola's Godfather trilogy, Diane Keaton remains one of the most iconic actresses to cross the barrier between the 20th and 21st century, and whilst the spotlight hasn't entirely shone on the Californian star within recent years, Hampstead offers the opportunity for Keaton to show whether or not she still has the acting pedigree she once had when working back in the day alongside a rafter of incredibly talented and inspirational filmmakers. In the opposite chair, the contemporary icon of Ireland which is Brendan Gleeson graces the big screen once again with perhaps the most impressive beard he has grown to date, portraying a character within a narrative which bases itself upon the life of Harry Hallowes, a rough sleeping Londoner who after a rafter of legal battles managed to become the owner of land worth a breezy couple of million. Directed by Joel Hopkins, Hampstead is a remarkably safe, nuts and bolts romantic drama, one which although brought me within an inch of falling into a sleep induced coma, when up against the likes of Transformers this week, is really quite harmless. 

Whilst Keaton is a shadow of her former acting self, taking a plain sailing approach to a character who chops and changes her decision making whenever the narrative direction tells her to do so, Gleeson is as charming and watchable as ever, using his gruff, edgy demeanour to some form of effect, even if the character development doesn't really offer him or the audience up much more than an on-the-face-of-it kind of approach. Aside from the film's two leading stars, Hampstead suffers rather woefully from an excruciating array of secondary characters, with Jason Watkins and Lesley Manville being the leading lights of utter tedium, with the former's eerie, pestering nature being a complete hindrance on any sort of likeability whilst the latter suffering from what can only be regarded as being the type of toffee-nosed, greenhouse loving, cat hating, right-wing bastard which I tend to completely disagree with from the outset. Aside from such matters, Hampstead is similar to the likes of the Moody Blues or say the last remaining rich tea in the biscuit tin, with it not really causing much damage at all but not likely to spring to the forefront of many people's minds at any time soon. 

Overall Score: 4/10