Rick’s Take on the Oscars: Tilda Swinton is Money in the Bank

I figured I’d do a quick Oscar run down since some pretty serious upsets went down last night despite the big ones (Movie, Director, Actor) going as planned. I think it’s safe to say now that the general consensus of the academy is that No Country for Old Men was the movie of the year, taking home statues for Supporting Actor (my boy Javier pictured below enjoying the festivites), Adapted Script, Direction and Movie of the Year. The Coen brothers each took home 3 Oscars last night, although they could have won a record breaking fourth in one year. Apparently the Oscar nominated editor of No Country named Roderick Jaynes in the credits is simply an alias for said brothers. The Coen boys have had a wonderful career of interesting movies with The Big Lebowski, O Brother Where Art Thou? and their latest masterpiece, No Country for Old Men, topping my list of favorites. Congrats bros. I’m glad There Will be Blood didn’t rob you of your year.

I really loved last night’s upsets. Julie Christie was thought to be a lock by most for her portrayal of a woman succumbing to Alzheimer’s in the beautiful and heartbreaking Away From Her. I couldn’t have been happier to see the coveted statue handed over to Marion Cotillard for her portrayal of Edith Piaf through all stages of her life in La Vie en Rose. This little seen movie will now have its DVD stamped with the approval of the academy’s two Oscars and therefore will be viewed by the masses. This little known actress, who I have loved since her role as the comforting wife to a heartbroken man losing his father in Big Fish, will find her career blossoming in ways she couldn’t have imagined. Most notably her paycheck will quintuple for her next movie and the trailer will don her as ‘Academy Award Winner Marion Cotillard.’

I don’t know if I could really call this an upset, but I certainly expected one of the tunes from Enchanted to win for best song despite the performances really sucking it up at the Oscars. Not only was the performance of ‘Falling Slowly’ from the perfect little indie Once quite magical last night, but they also handed the stars of the film the Oscar for their song. If you haven’t seen Once yet, be sure to rent it. It’s short, original and has some songs that will stay with you long after the credits roll.

And now for the best upset of the evening: Tilda Swinton! I’ve always had a lot of respect for this fascinating actress. She’s had lots of small roles that have really stuck with me in some of my top tier films. Tilda doesn’t appear in Vanilla Sky until 2 hours in, yet her 5 minute monologue is a scene that has always struck me as one of my favorites: “The Lucid Dream is worth the risk. And what is any life if not the pursuit of a dream? The dream of peace, the dream of achievement, the dream of hearing someone say these words when they really, truly mean them. I love you David. Te quiero. Roam free David. Most of us live our whole lives without any real adventure to call our own. It’s hard to comprehend, but they laughed at Jules Verne too.” I loved her business exec in Adaptation, her struggling mother in Thumbsucker, and her conflicted litigator in Michael Clayton was certainly Oscar worthy. To top it all off she turned her thank you speech into a joke about George Clooney. He’s got serious dedication to his art (because he keeps that Batman suit with the pointy nipples on all the time, both on screen and off). Hopefully we’ll get to see more Tilda Swinton now, perhaps in some starring roles.

– Rich