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These two films will be figuring in the Oscars next week, as they’re both carrying nominations that hopefully, can turn into Oscar gold for some very lucky people.
The Whale (in cinemas) - For Actor in a Leading Role, Actress in a Supporting Role, and for Make-Up and Hairstyling, this psychological drama directed by Darren Aronofsky, based on a play written by Samuel Hunter, will be awaiting what befalls the film come Oscar night. Brendan Fraser, Hong Chao, and the make-up team of Adrien Morot, Judy Chin, and Annemarie Bradley, are all hoping to bring a statuette home; and honestly, it will be a well-deserved win for any of the three nominees. While there is a strong element of ensemble acting prowess, as befits a film whose origin comes as a theater play, one can't deny how Brendan hits it out of the park, gifting us with so much range beyond the mountain of a body suit, and tons of prosthetics, he has to don for the film.
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As for Hong Chao, when you couple her work here with what she provided in The Menu, it’s been a really interesting year for her acting-wise. She’s a wonderful counterpoint to Brendan’s acting, and the slow reveal of the role her character plays in the life of Brendan’s is one sucker punch. Kudos to Sadie Sink of Stranger Things for also giving us a fully charged, tempestuous performance as the daughter. It’s Samantha Morton who leaves us with a rather muted, disappointing turn as the ex-wife. Aronoksky has directed Black Swan and !mother, so it’s no surprise that he’s back with troubled, flawed main characters. Will Brendan add to his SAG Awards hardware with an Oscar? The betting seems to place Fraser and Austin Butler as the favorites heading to the last week before the Big Night.
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The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse (Apple+) - As an Oscar nominee for Short Film (Animated), for Charlie Mackesy and Matthew Freud, there’s a lot riding on this rather faithful adaptation of the much loved children’s book. It’s got a charm of its own, and I won’t argue with how precious a book it was; but what had worked beautifully as a book, has something of a rough transition to film. I won’t complain about the animation, the images, and how the production team has brought the book to life. I can’t complain either about the voice work - Tom Hollander as the mole, Iris Elba as the fox, and Gabriel Byrne as the horse, all pull in strong performances to add to that voicing the boy.
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I would say that it’s in the transition from read text to spoken dialogue that this film falters, and ends up with dialogue that sounds clunky and artificial. It’s like we’re getting an overdose of platitudes and quotable quotes, and that they’re timed to be said every three minutes or so. It becomes so predictable, that I was wondering if Hallmark were in fact the true producers of this animated short, as one could easily imagine the merch of calling cards with scenes and quotes from the film that would ensue. And when I say this, it’s not to fault the performers, as they seem to be doing their best to make their lines sound organic and flow. But watch this and see if you don’t agree with me about how stiff some of the dialogue turns out to be.