Random Noise

Best Director

I don’t have much time today to put my last two picks together, so I’m going to go easy on the commentary and just add a few notes to each. First up, my selection for best achievement in directing, in reverse order as usual:

#5 - Jason Reitman, Juno

Juno is a fun movie to watch, and I’ve hard from many people that they left the theater more upbeat, happier about live and love. Perhaps its these qualities are the reason behind Jason’s nomination… If not, then I’m a bit confused - I thought the movie was told in a straightforward manner and didn’t see much evidence that this film was pushing the definition of the art. So it’s my #5 selection.

#4 - Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton

Among other things, I was struck by how this movie was able to build such tense moments. The very beginning of the film throws us directly into the fire with an intense, passionate narration from Tom Wilkinson - there isn’t much on the screen so we gravitate towards the madness in his voice. This is juxtaposed against the out of breath, sweaty Tilda Swinton which immediately starts your mind racing. Tony rewinds to four days earlier and uses much of the film to build the tension back up to, then passing this level. It was a really effective technique and keep my interest in the film peaked throughout.

#3 - Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a movie about a man (Jean-Dominique) who has a stroke that leaves him paralyzed. He’s only able to blink one eye, which is how he communicates with the world. The directing in this movie was really amazing and very different from anything I’d seen prior. The movie begins with a blurry picture, it’s hard to focus and recognize people, and then you realize that it isn’t a story about some character, it’s a story about YOU. YOU ARE Jean-Dominique. The first half of the movie is told entirely from your perspective. You try to speak with others, but you can’t move our mouth. The narration (if you can call it that) is actually what you’re thinking. This technique is so effective that during the last half of the film, which is focused mostly on Jean-Dominique’s family, we know exactly what Jean-Dominique is feeling. He’s completely motionless, except for his eye, yet we know exactly what must be going on in his head.

#2 - Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood

There Will Be Blood begins by showing us just how difficult mining was back in the late 1800’s. There’s no dialog for the first 15-20 minutes as we simply absorb the struggle and determination of Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis). The movie also has humor at unexpected moments, and creative musical elements during important scene transitions. Although long (2 hours 40 minutes) the pace is steady and keeps our interest (unlike the unnecessarily long & slow moving Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford from Andrew Dominik).

#1 - Joel & Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men

This year my pick goes to the Coen brothers for No Country for Old Men. This film is an amazing, modern western. Watching the film, I was surprised by the lack of music. There is absolutely no music throughout the entire film. This leaves it up to the director & actors to produce all the drama seen on screen. This might tank other films, rendering important scenes as comical or scripted - yet in this movie the pacing & characters bring the film to life. Some scenes are bleeding with tension, others evolve with a sense of discovery - actions & reactions seem more genuine, more visceral. The film was amazing to watch, and I think the directorial vision was the biggest reason why.