Prestige epic Atonement (
my review and on my
top ten list) just got
much easier to see. It added hundreds of screens today just as its Oscar buzz began to dwindle. There's definitely evidence of a backlash brewing (already boiling?) but hopefully you'll see it and decide for yourself. Whether the sudden "so what?" greeting it is another example of a typical long buzz/late release combo problem (
Memoirs of a Geisha, Dreamgirls, also suffered that way, though
Atonement is a better film than either of those recent glitzy December stumblers) or something else (a challenging film dismissed due to its distinctly romantic bent) is for each person to decide for themselves. One wonders exactly why some movies wait so long to come out.
Timing... 'tis a tricky thing.
It's just one man's opinion (mine, duh) but I think the December release, while favored by virtually all studios for Oscar campaigns, only works in the way they intend it to when the film is
not considered a front runner and is more of a surprise movie --we didn't hear much about
Million Dollar Baby before it was released and
There Will Be Blood, which has a lot of heat right now, was never an "Oscar Front runner" though it was heavily anticipated in cinephile circles.
Anyway,
Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue Entertainment Weekly chose Keira & James to sell their
famous Oscar issue (pictured left). Yum. and Ummmm, unless they know something we don't... those
Atonement Oscar bids are looking really unlikely now. FWIW, I think both Keira and James are super in the movie. It's just that both leading categories are overflowing with strong candidates this year.
On a personal note: I'm shocked but also delighted to see that a publication as big as Entertainment Weekly went for the same 'big surprise' Actress prediction as I did in
my predictions. Cross your fingers if you also enjoy the work of
Laura Linney. She needs all the psychic goodwill she can muster, given the way the precursors have treated her.
It's just one man's opinion (mine, duh) but I think the December release, while favored by virtually all studios for Oscar campaigns, only works in the way they intend it to when the film is not considered a front runner and is more of a surprise movie --we didn't hear much about Million Dollar Baby before it was released and There Will Be Blood, which has a lot of heat right now, was never an "Oscar Front runner" though it was heavily anticipated in cinephile circles.
