Movie Meme, Day 3: Favourite Oscar Nominated Movie 2009 / 2010

No need to worry Carey...you're on the list...

This was another outrageously simple day in the meme. Anyone reading the blog from December to June would have seen me going all crazy for Carey Mulligan and An Education. It was my favourite film of the last season, although recently the #2 of the year has been edging closer and closer to the top spot. Right now it’d be a tough choice for me to choose which is my favourite – hence, I’m featuring both today.

...You too Ben...

I have a bit of an unusual appreciation of British films (or at least, British actors) so the #1/#2 status of An Education / Bright Star is not exactly astonishing, for me at least. In my extremely nepotistic (naturally) personal awards canon the two films were my favourite for acting (Whishaw and Schneider of Bright Star, Mulligan of An Education), writing (screenplays for both), song (An Education), score (Bright Star) and runner ups in a host of other ones (including Molina and Pike from An Education and Cornish from Bright Star). Just in case you don’t know what they’re about…

        

An Education (complicatedly, and inadequately, reviewed) is a coming-of-age pseudo drama about a 16 year old school girl in Twickenham, England. And Bright Star (semi-reviewed along with A Single Man and Crazy Heart) tells the story of the last few years of John Keats – poetic royalty – life. Both films garnered most notices (Oscar aside, grrr) for the performances of their leading ladies and considering that Carey and Abbie were one / two in my Actress profile of the last year – the accolades weren’t underserved. I mentioned Carey’s turn in my Performances of the Decade feature as I did with Ben Whishaw (as the eponymous Keats). Both actors have a knack for expert facial expressions. I’d love to see Abbie, Ben and Carey in a movie together.

Technically, there’s little that’s similar between the two – but it’s odd how Cara Seymour and Kerry Fox both give brilliant (albeit short) supporting turns as the mothers of our heroines, and Paul Schneider and Alfred Molina (#1/#2 on my Supporting Actor List) were unjustly ignored for performances that seemed overwrought but were more expertly executed than some seemed to realised. There’s also the fact that both pieces were directed by women. Sure, Kathryn Bigelow was the woman everyone was going wild for last year, but it’s a pity Scherfig and especially Jane Campion couldn’t be more appreciated for their contributions (Campion also wrote the screenplay).

I’ve gotten over Oscar’s fickleness, I'm okay with the fact that Bright Star managed to get only one Oscar nomination and that together the two films won 0. Right now, I'm just glad that 2009 offered two (and more) excellent films. whenever I do eventually revamp my top 100 list to include recent films I’m not sure if An Education or Bright Star would come out higher – but they’d both be there. I do love them both...

           

Which do you prefer?

       

And herein ends another day of the MEME…