It feels like we go through this almost every other year. One movie stands out from all the others and just runs away with the Awards race up until the Oscars. Some films crap out before the Oscars, but most other ones ride it out 'til the end. This year, The Social Network looks to be one of those films that will be getting every award imaginable until it can't possibly win any more.
A lot of people expected The King's Speech to win over the HFPA's hearts moreso than The Social Network. But, as the evening went on, it became apparent that The Social Network was easily going to win. Having seen both The King's Speech and The Social Network, aside from being the "safe pick," I didn't see how The King's Speech could win over The Social Network. As I said in my review, The King's Speech felt light and very easy to swallow. It had a predictable, feel-good ending that didn't really have much emotional punch even though King George VI just gave a very important speech that would affect millions of lives. The Fighter had a predictable, feel-good ending too, but it had that emotional punch that is necessary for feel-good endings to really work. Let's face it, we live in a cynical world nowadays, you just can't end a film happily without leaving some sort of mark. In the Fighter, Christian Bale's performance is what resonated with you because it was so unpredictable and his character was dangerously living on the edge almost throughout the whole running time. Whereas, The King's Speech just didn't resonate with me as much as it should have and I think that, overall, that's why it won't win the awards that was first expected for them.
Now I enjoyed Black Swan and Inception more than I enjoyed The Social Network. I feel that they are the better films. But those films are so ambitious and try to do so much that, overall, I think it wound up dividing people on just how good those films really are. I think, in time, those two will be the clear standouts of 2010 but for right now, The Social Network just has too much going for it that it makes a lot of sense that it would win everything. It was a box office success and it was a film that people were buzzing about for quite some time. It has the cultural relevance and most importantly, it has a star writer/director package: Aaron Sorkin and David Fincher, two guys who have yet to receive major accolades from the film industry. So it's obviously their time to shine. And you know what? They completely deserve it. They did everything right. It's not like they made a bad film, they made a great film that is nearly perfect in every aspect of filmmaking. It's endlessly entertaining, the story is engrossing, it's well-written, superbly directed, and the music fits so well with the story that I can't imagine how the film would play out without it. It also has great acting all around with a very talented up-and-coming cast. The reason why I can't rate it above Black Swan, Inception, or even Toy Story 3 is because the stakes just didn't seem high enough and I just wasn't emotionally involved enough or completely wowed by it. But it did everything that it was supposed to do, it was as good, if not, better than anyone could have expected from it. So the reason why it will win out and why I don't care if it does win out is because, it is indeed a film that does everything right. David Fincher took what was an excellent script and brought it to a level of greatness that most other directors could not do. I watched the film a second time the other day on DVD and his stamp is all over that film. Just like Aaron Sorkin's words all over that film, David Fincher's signature, slick visual style is absolutely all over that film and it completely works. Still, when I watched it again, it confirmed to me that it simply isn't as good as Black Swan, Inception, or Toy Story 3. But that's just my personal opinion.
What people have to realize is that, overall, it doesn't matter if your favorite film wins all the top awards. In fact, Inception and Black Swan NOT winning the top awards can only do it good. You don't want either film to win the top award if you're a big fan of those films because they will forever be subject to scrutiny and there will always be people who felt those films didn't deserve to win. Contrast that with The Social Network. The Social Network had like 95% on rottentomatoes and metacritic's score was right around there too, but the detractors are talking louder than ever. People will voice the same opinion as I did when talking about the movie but they will amplify it to absurd and undeserving levels. Because, yes, it may not be as good... but so what? It's still a damn fine movie in its own right and when you break it down, there's nothing wrong with it winning as many awards as it is. So don't feel let down when the inevitable comes. You may think The Social Network was overrated, but you and I know that it's not a bad film and it should be looked at as a positive, knowing that Fincher is gonna get an Oscar this year. Who would've thought? It's gonna be a great moment, just like Danny Boyle winning the Oscar was a great moment. Was it for the right film? No, but RARELY will a director win best director for the right film. Just like I'm sure Aronofsky and Christopher Nolan could very well wind up winning Best Director at some point in their careers. We'll be happy for them, but it won't be for the right film. So there's no reason to go crazy over this upcoming Oscar race. Take it all in stride and appreciate the fact that great filmmakers will be winning Oscars this year.
Best Picture - Drama
Winner: “The Social Network”
“Black Swan”
“The Fighter”
“Inception”
“The King’s Speech”
Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Winner: “The Kids Are All Right”
“Alice in Wonderland”
“Burlesque”
“Red”
“The Tourist”
Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
Winner: Colin Firth, “The King’s Speech”
Jesse Eisenberg, “The Social Network”
James Franco, “127 Hours”
Ryan Gosling, “Blue Valentine”
Mark Wahlberg, “The Fighter”
Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
Winner: Natalie Portman, “Black Swan”
Halle Berry, “Frankie and Alice”
Nicole Kidman, “Rabbit Hole”
Jennifer Lawrence, “Winter’s Bone”
Michelle Williams, “Blue Valentine”
Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Winner: Paul Giamatti, “Barney’s Version”
Johnny Depp, “Alice in Wonderland”
Johnny Depp, “The Tourist”
Jake Gyllenhaal, “Love and Other Drugs”
Kevin Spacey, “Casino Jack”
Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Winner: Annette Bening, “The Kids Are All Right”
Anne Hathaway, “Love and Other Drugs”
Angelina Jolie, “The Tourist”
Emma Stone, “Easy A”
Julianne Moore, “The Kids Are All Right”
Best Supporting Actress
Winner: Melissa Leo, “The Fighter”
Amy Adams, “The Fighter”
Helena Bonham Carter, “The King’s Speech”
Mila Kunis, “Black Swan”
Jacki Weaver, “Animal Kingdom”
Best Supporting Actor
Winner: Christian Bale, “The Fighter”
Michael Douglas, “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps”
Andrew Garfield, “The Social Network”
Jeremy Renner, “The Town”
Geoffrey Rush, “The King’s Speech”
Best Director
Winner: David Fincher, “The Social Network”
Darren Aronofsky, “Black Swan”
Tom Hooper, “The King’s Speech”
Christopher Nolan, “Inception”
David O. Russell, “The Fighter”
Best Screenplay
Winner: Aaron Sorkin, “The Social Network”
Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy, “127 Hours”
“Lisa Cholodenko, “The Kids Are All Right”
Christopher Nolan, “Inception”
David Sieber, “The King’s Speech”
Best Animated Feature
Winner: “Toy Story 3”
“Despicable Me”
“Dragon”
“The Illusionist”
“Tangled”
Best Foreign Language Film
Winner: “In a Better World”
Biutiful
The Concert
The Edge
I Am Love
Best Original Song
Winner: “You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me,” “Burlesque”
“Bound to You,” “Burlesque”
“Coming Home,” “Country Song”
“I See the Light,” “Tangled”
“There’s a Place For Us,” “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader”
Best Original Score
Winner: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, “The Social Network”
Alexandre Desplat, “The King’s Speech”
Danny Elfman, “Alice in Wonderland”
A.R. Rahman, “127 Hours”
Hans Zimmer, “Inception”
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