Rodney's 2011 Oscar Wishlist *A Correction & An Addition*

     As those of you who keep up with the blog know, I had planned on an afternoon date with my partner Steven to go see War Horse last Monday, but due to unforseen circumstances, we couldn't make it. I ended up seeing it alone Wednesday night, and on my drive there, I did some thinking. I was thinking of late night trips to the movies (many of which with my dear friend Blake

-i.e. when we saw Up in the Air), Oscar seasons passed, and those films and performances that go without nomination or even inclusion in the Oscar conversation.

     With Up in the Air on my mind, my thoughts obviously turned to Vera Farmiga and how that film made me fall in love with her. As I've been writing these Oscar blogs, I've been so wrapped up in this year's Oscar conversation and all the movies confined within the ever-narrowing Oscar landscape that I completely forgot to include one of my favorite films of the year (one that, unfortunately, is totally absent from 2011's Oscar consciousness): Higher Ground. Not only does Vera give an award-worthy performance it it, but it is also her directorial debut.

     One of the hardest things that an actress can evoke is true personal transformation -those moments in life when one decides to completely change (not on a whim, but due to a personal realization that one's life is no longer what one wants it to be). Working from a screenplay based off of Carolyn S. Briggs' memoir This Dark World, Vera's film tells the story of Corrine, a woman who makes two such transformations in her life: 1.) At the precipice of adulthood, she chooses to actively persue a relationship with Christ that she entered into at a young age. 2.) Due to the self-contradictory-nature of the other Christ-followers that surround her, she chooses to end her involvement on the church's spiritual journey and set out on one of her own (possibly without any spirituality at all).

     Vera could have taken the easy way out on this film: villify the Christians, make Corrine a hero. But rather than opting to manipulate her audience by demeaning the Christians down to hypocritical and disinegenuous caricatures, Vera bravely shows everyone involved in the story to be sincere (even if some are sincerely wrong). She hasn't set out to make a film with some kind of anti or pro Christian agenda; Vera has simply created a movie that embodies the experience of a genuine spiritual seeker when Gandhi's quote, "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians." becomes real in their life. Though (as a Christian) it was painful to watch, Higher Ground 's acurate depiction of what happens when the church fails to love is the wake up call that the American church needs.

     The film's success must be attributed to Vera's delicate directorial handling of its material as well as her brilliant work as an actress in conveying true personal transformation. And although I still feel that Elizabeth Olsen gave the performance of the year in Martha Marcy May Marlene, in spite of her wonderful work in Young Adult, I'd like to rescind Charlize Theron's Best Actress nomination on my 2011 Oscar Wishlist and nominate Vera Farmiga for her work in Higher Ground.

     And in reference to War Horse: (the film I actually saw that night) It is a beautifully shot and scored film that brings back memories of the grandiose sweeping epics of yesteryear. So although Take Shelter still easily has my favorite score of the year, I'm adding War Horse's to the list of my Original Musical Score nominees (bringing the total to the usual number of five nominees). Here's a CLIP.

    

     Due to time constraints (the Oscars air tomorrow night on ABC), I may not post an Oscar Wishlist for the technical categories, but my Best Picture Wishlist (which will have only 5 nominees -as God intended) will be up by or on Sunday. Stay tuned!