2015 films for Best Actress 45 Years and Brooklyn

I am down to the nitty gritty of the Oscar nominated films; 11 films that I probably will not see in time for the Oscars, although hope springs eternal. I saw the following two films with one of my movie buddies in the same day, our third 'double feature' of the movie season. 

2/13/16 45 Years, nominated for Best Supporting Actress, 2015

As I watched 45 Years all I could think about was that this would be a good television movie, maybe on Masterpiece Theater, but not necessarily a full length film that needed to be seen in the theater.  The titular 45 Years is the 45th wedding anniversary of Jeff and Kate Mercer. The movie opens as Kate returns from a walk along the Broads and brings in the post which contains a letter, in German, for Jeff. The letter reveals that Jeff's girlfriend from over 45 years ago, Katya, has been found buried in the ice in the Swiss Alps. The movie takes place over 6 days, and it is six days of Kate questioning Jeff about his past with Katya, questioning the whole of their relationship, and Tom avoiding as much discussion as he can. This leads up to their big anniversary party. Tom gives a great speech, they dance to the same song they danced to at their wedding, "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" by The Platters. While Kate and Jeff give the impression that they could have another twenty years together, the perceptive viewer knows that is not likely. The basis for the movie was a short story, and I think this would have been very good as a short film, as a feature it seemed to drag. I thought that Tom Courtenay and Charlotte Rampling were good, but after watching most of the other nominees (and some non-nominees), I'm not sure she should have been nominated. It didn't strike me as strong of a performance as Brie Larson in Room, Cate Blanchett in Carol or Saoirse Ronan in Brooklyn.


2/13/16 Brooklyn, nominated Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, 2015

I may or may not have seen Brooklyn if it wasn't nominated for three Oscars. I thought it was going to be a sicky sweet romantic movie, but it was not. Saoirse Ronan is Eilis Lacey, an Irish immigrant in 1950s Brooklyn. Eilis's sister, Rose, facilitated her emigration through her golf and church connections. Eilis has a rough sea voyage but arrives in Brooklyn to stay at Mrs. Kehoe's (a scene stealing Julie Walters) boarding house with other single, Irish women. The first part of the movie is Eilis getting acclimated and overcoming her extreme homesickness. Father Flood (Jim Broadbent) helps her by enrolling her in bookkeeping classes and hosting dances for the Irish immigrants. She meets Tony Fiorello and they begin a slow courtship culminating in a secret marriage. Things seem to be going well for Eilis and her American dream, too well, because there was still at least an hour left in the movie. Her older sister, Rose, dies suddenly and Eilis heads back to Ireland to comfort her mother, and what is supposed to be a short visit, unexpectedly turns into a longer stay. Perhaps because she was embarrassed that Tony was Italian, or that they married without her mother's permission, Eilis never mentions that she is married, which leads to some confusion with one of the more well-off locals, Jim Farrell (played by the seemingly omnipresent Domnhall Gleeson - also in The Revenant and Ex-Machina, three nominations, two for Best Picture). I enjoyed seeing Eilis transform from a mousy, quiet and insecure young woman to a confident, educated, almost worldly young lady who is now giving advice to young emigrants. There's no question that Ronan is the star of the show, supported by veterans like Broadbent and Walter but also very ably by Emory Cohen as Tony. I don't know if I enjoyed Brooklyn so much because I was comparing it to 45 Years, which I had just seen, or if I would have liked it anyway. Maybe it doesn't really matter. If someone asks, should I see Brooklyn, I would say absolutely. Maybe watch it and Carol for look into 1950s New York from either side of the Brooklyn Bridge. Will it win Best Picture? I don't think so, and I think the Best Actress category is pretty tough with Blanchett and Larson. But I think if Ronan gets the right projects, she will be nominated again.

A shout out to my friend who had to tell the idiots in our row to be quiet - and they were! Seriously, you are not at home and this not your personal theater, so keep your comments until the end.