Brokeback: First LAFCA, next the world?
For those obsessed with the Oscars, the Los Angeles Film Critics vote carries some (small) meaning. Will Vera Farmiga's best actress win result in an Oscar nod? Of course not. Will Phillip Seymour Hoffman's LAFCA win for Capote result in an Oscar nod? He was going to get one anyway.
But what about the best picture win for "Brokeback Mountain"?
Sifting through the tea leaves, it's hard not to see Ang Lee's gay love story as the clear best picture favorite for the Oscar. Critics love it; LAFCA won't be the only group to honor the film. Audiences' tear ducts -- at least those on the coasts who have seen it -- seem to be in heavy faucet mode. It has everything Oscar voters love -- beautiful landscapes, epic storytelling and the appearance at least of being Important. (And it some respects, it truly is.) Its acting is impeccable. (The Oscar best actor race will come down to Brokeback's Heath Ledger against Hoffman, just like it did with LAFCA).
And really, what movie will beat Brokeback?
King Kong? It's great. But too much. And Peter Jackson already got his.
Capote? It's great. But too small. Phillip Seymour Hoffman and a screenwriting award and maybe Catherine Keener for supporting actress. (Though she was better in The 40-Year-Old Virgin.)
Munich? It's Important. But too obvious. You can't disagree with its ideas -- violence bad, perpetrating it will destroy your soul -- but Spielberg doesn't shut up about it.
Memoirs of a Geisha? Dead.
Walk the Line? Too similar to Ray, an undeserving best pic nominee from last year. Settles for acting nods.
Constant Gardener? Was this released in 2005?
The New World? Not as good as "The World." (Not a prequel, the Zhang Ke Jia film.)
So there you have it. Start engraving the statue now.
