Wednesday Oscar Watch with Abe

Welcome to a new weekly feature here at Movies with Abe, Wednesday Oscar Watch with Abe. It’s a bit early to be able to accurately predict the eventual Oscar nominees, but around this time, plenty of likely contenders are being released. I’ll be looking every Wednesday at the awards chances for all of the films released the previous week. Until I begin my official predictions, I’ll be adding and removing contenders as their popularity, buzz, or reviews rise and fall. Chime in with your thoughts on the Oscar chances for these films in the comments section.

Capitalism: A Love Story
After picking up an Oscar in 2002 for “Bowling for Columbine,” Michael Moore got cocky and tried to enter “Fahrenheit 9/11” in competition for Best Picture. He learned his lesson when the film got completely shut out in 2004. In 2007, he submitted “Sicko” in the Best Documentary category, earned a nomination, and lost to “Taxi to the Dark Side.” I’m fairly certain that Moore will wisely submit his latest in the Best Documentary category and should be a serious contender.

The Boys are Back
This movie shouldn’t really factor into any races with the possible exception of Best Actor. Clive Owen is a past nominee, and this seems very akin to when Will Smith got nominate for “The Pursuit of Happyness” in 2006. I don’t think that Owen’s chances are terribly good, due to middling reviews and much quieter buzz. This is likely the best of Owen’s three big roles this year (the other two being “The International” and “Duplicity”), but that kind of screen presence in one year can often lead a performer to be completely forgotten. Just ask Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale in 2006.

Coco before Chanel
Anne Fontaine’s biopic probably has the best chance in the Best Actress category, though I’m not convinced it will happen. Audrey Tautou gave tremendous performances in two magnificent French movies, “Amélie” and “A Very Long Engagement,” and didn’t come close to a nomination for either one, even though both films placed in other categories. It’s hard for foreign actresses to cross over, and Penelope Cruz has been the only one to do so recently, mostly under the direction of very notable auteurs Pedro Almodovar and Woody Allen. Tautou probably won’t make the cut because the film won’t be big enough, and the film being foreign may also keep it off the list for Best Costumes and Best Art Direction. As an additional note, it is not France’s official submission in the Best Foreign Film race.

Fame
This film earned pretty poor reviews, and the only way it could have a shot at putting “Oscar-nominated” on its DVD release is if it contains any original songs. The first “Fame” won both Best Original Song and Best Original Score. Then again, the original movie also got nominated for Best Original Screenplay, and I have a slight feeling that this one isn’t going to be a contender in any race based on dialogue or plot.

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men might have a prayer if it had earned better notices or been released more widely, but I’m sure it’s out of the race at this point. Regarding this week’s less highbrow releases, you’re kidding yourself if you think Pandorum, Surrogates, Paranormal Activity, or I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell could possibly come anywhere near Oscar.

Be sure to come back next Wednesday for a look at this Friday’s theatrical releases and their Oscar chances. And remember to offer your thoughts on the chances for these films in the comments!

Movie with Abe: Coco Before Chanel

Coco Before Chanel
Directed by Anne Fontaine
Released September 25, 2009

What any good biopic needs to really distinguish itself is a compelling story that makes the central character’s life worth making into a movie. Originality is ideally key, but then again, the source material isn’t exactly editable, and often some stories look and sound just like others. In the case of Coco Chanel, her path from poor roots to worldwide fashion designer is an intriguing tale, but the movie chooses to focus only on her adventures and exploits before achieving fame and glory. It’s an interesting discourse that brings to mind recent films like “Bright Star” and “The Duchess,” but it’s important to remember that this is, after all, Coco’s true story.

The film is most comparable with a recent French hit, the Oscar-winning “La Vie en Rose.” Both are the stories of prominent French cultural icons that rose from humble beginnings to achieve renowned celebrity. The most striking similarity is the complete immersion into their lead roles by actresses Marion Cotillard and Audrey Tautou, respectively. Cotillard picked up an Oscar for her performance, and Tautou’s commitment to her role is similarly commendable. Tautou’s previous credits include fabulously optimistic and energetic portrayals in “Amélie” and “A Very Long Engagement,” and her utter scorn for the world around her as Coco is jarring to see. Playing against type, however, works for Tautou, and she turns in a muted but still lively performance. Her supporting cast is wonderful, particularly the effortlessly charming Alessandro Nivola as her British lover Boy.

It’s very interesting to see the young Coco, at first a destitute bar singer, overcome societal conventions and achieve success in a field most women of the time would never have even dreamed of entering. Unfortunately, the movie stops once Coco finally finds herself free to work as she pleases and skips past any of Chanel’s bright career. It’s all in the title – the film doesn’t claim to show Coco’s life anytime while she was trendsetter Chanel – and therefore the build-up to what might have been an equally fascinating story results in a somewhat expected letdown. It’s a stunningly-decorated and carefully-prepared period piece, but Coco’s own sense of redemption once she finally breaks through suggests that there’s more to say, yet the film doesn’t cover any of that. It’s still interesting in its own right, but the lack of a satisfying, success-filled third act makes it difficult to wholly separate from those other biopics.

B-

Read about the making of “Coco Before Chanel” in my roundtable feature story.

The Legend before Her Fame: Coco before Chanel Roundtable

Coco Chanel is a name known throughout the world, and she had a singular impact on the world of fashion. The story behind her rise to fame is one that very few people know, and also a history with many gaps and holes. Director Anne Fontaine (“The Girl from Monaco”) was inspired to tell the unknown Chanel story after meeting Chanel’s late assistant. Fontaine was awed by how she was “independent, free, and original in a masculine way,” and adds that she likes “people who live, who are inventive – Chanel lies a lot. To love is to lie.” Fontaine describes a lifelong connection to Chanel, explaining, “I can do it since she’s been inside of me for a long a time.” Fontaine’s past work has been very personal, and therefore the undertaking of a larger-scale period piece was a new experience. She wanted period perfection so that nothing was inaccurate or wrong. But most of all, she wanted her star.

Fontaine told actress Audrey Tautou that if Tautou was interested in playing Chanel, she would make the film. Otherwise, she would pass. Tautou is best known for her enthusiastic lead roles in “Amélie” and “A Very Long Engagement,” and made a crossover to American cinema several years ago when she starred alongside Tom Hanks in “The Da Vinci Code.” Fontaine describes Tautou as “very French, incredibly thin, and a reincarnation.” Tautou does credit her casting in part to the physical resemblance between her and Chanel, pointing out that they’re both “gents de la terre” from deep France. Tautou is aware that she isn’t necessarily everyone’s cup of tea, and firmly believes that “to please everyone is to please no one.” She was adamant that she didn’t want to show only the strong Chanel that everyone knows, and this was the perfect opportunity for that. The movie tells the story of Chanel’s relationship with two men who treated her in very different ways, both of which shaped the person she became.

One of those men was “Boy” Capel, played by Alessandro Nivola. The actor, a native of Massachusetts, had a particularly transformative experience filming the movie among an almost entirely French cast and crew. Nivola explains that he is one of the few American actors who have worked overseas extensively, though his venture into international films wasn’t planned. He has played other aristocratic characters and become skilled with different accents, and therefore taking on the role of a Brit who speaks the entire time in French wasn’t as daunting a challenge. He did not, however, know French before accepting the role, and lied to Fontaine about his familiarity with the language. He quickly “hit the French grammar books,” and lived alone in Paris for months where he was forced to speak French on set all day. He was initially told by Fontaine that he “walked like a cowboy,” but describes the experience of making a film in France as “very civilized” and typically French. The film took four months to shoot, and without all of the long meals in between, he believes the film could have been completed in six weeks in the United States. He notes, however, that “French cinema is what American independent film bases itself on,” and that French films are translating very well in the United States. Nivola had a unique opportunity with his role as Chanel’s doomed love Capel, who “wasn’t so well known, where material was available but the performance didn’t need to be an impersonation.” Capel was only an influence on Chanel, and this isn’t primarily his story, but rather a look at the way he provided Chanel with an outlet for her creativity.

Fontaine discusses the difference between fashion and style, determining that “only style remains” if fashion is broken down into “personality and clothes.” Fontaine was never fascinated by fashion, and explains that Chanel created her own fashion to feel more alive in her time, and that to want to work as a woman at that time was something amazing. Tautou echoes Fontaine’s sentiments, classifying her personal relationship to fashion prior to making the film as distant. Now, style and clothes don’t intrigue her any more than ever before, but her way of looking at Chanel style and creations has changed, and she’s particularly awed by their singular nature. She attributes Chanel’s appeal to the fact that her sense of style comes from a woman who made clothes for herself first, and created a breakthrough way of seduction for women. Chanel was a woman unlike any other in her time, though modern women can still relate to her struggles. Nivola describes the modern career woman as “faced with the same kind of dilemma, to have an impact, or conform to normalcy.” Chanel certainly stood out, and a story that charts her journey from anonymous bar singer to fashion magnate is sure to stand out as well. “Coco Before Chanel” opens in select cities this Friday, September 25.