The Oscar Week- Part II

As promised, we're back with another set of reviews! Here goes:


1. Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri

-Reviewed by Manasvi Neyol 
Nominations- 7 Predictions- 4
I was sceptical about watching this one because the name didn’t sound so appealing- I have never been so wrong in my life! (never judge a book by its cover). This one’s a dark comedy, a really really reaallly good one! Fifteen minutes into the movie-I was totally engrossed into the storyline. Half an hour into the movie my dad comments- “I don’t see how any other movie is going to win the Oscars”. That’s how good this movie is! 
After a few months have passed since her daughter’s rape and murder without any significant findings by the police, Mildred Hayes decides to send a message to the respected chief of police William Willoughby by putting up 3 billboards with a controversial message- “Raped while dying. And Still No Arrests. How come? Chief Willoughby.” This draws flak from the whole town but Mildred is determined in her decision and does not bow down to anybody.

The movie is exceptionally well written. Every dialogue is bang-on and the actors have done full justice to their parts, they were phenomenal! To take up such a sensitive topic and write a funny movie without being insensitive in any manner is not easy, Martin MacDonagh makes it seem like a walk in the park.

Francis McDormand and Sam Rockwell are the stars of this movie. McDormand was splendid as Mildred, who is brutal and doesn’t hold back when it comes to giving a reality check to the people in her town. Rockwell deserves all the praise for his brilliant portrayal of the stupid, douchebag mama’s boy (and in my opinion, the Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role). Woody Harrelson was a delight to watch- as always. Peter Dinklage’s part was the icing on the cake.

2.  Call Me By Your Name

-Reviewed by Manasvi Neyol 
Nominations- 4 Prediction- 2 
The movie is an adaptation of the novel by the same name, written by André Aciman. Set in the summer of 1983 in Lombardy, Italy, Call Me By Your Name is the story of Elio Perlman, 17, who
discovers his sexuality when Oliver, a handsome doctoral student who's working as an intern for Elio's father, comes to live with them. Amidst the idyllic surroundings, the two gradually fall in love.

The movie seems a bit slow in the beginning since the build-up to the romance is long. However the experience of watching this movie is like going on a long drive, the destination doesn’t matter, the journey is what counts. Eventually, one becomes so engrossed that the characters’ emotions are your emotions. The dialogues are so beautiful and overwhelming, they go straight to the heart, I literally had goosebumps!
“The meaning of the river flowing is not that all things are changing so that we cannot encounter them twice, but some things stay the same only by changing”

“Call me by your name and I’ll call you by mine” -This dialogue was this movie’s version of “Okay?Okay.” and was definitely my favorite scene from the movie. Oliver (Armie Hammer) says these words to Elio (Timothée Chalamet) and my heart literally skipped a beat.
If I had a decent memory, I would quote from the movie all the time!

One particular monologue by Mr. Perlman (played by Michael Stuhlbarg) blew me away. One of the best monologues I’ve heard recently. Here’s an excerpt-
“We rip out so much of ourselves to be cured of things faster than we should, that we go bankrupt by the age of thirty and have less to offer each time we start with someone new. But to feel nothing so as not to feel anything - what a waste!”
Timothée Chalamet owned the movie with his polished acting skills! He was unbelievable amazing as Elio Perlman and portrayed the multiple facets of the character’s personality brilliantly- his confidence, intelligence, confusion, rawness, vulnerability, passion, desperation, happiness, helplessness. If he wins the Oscar for the Best Actor he would be the youngest awardee ever! (Btw I’m totally rooting for him).

A special mention of the background score is necessary. The music was just heavenly!’. Sufjan Steven’s ‘The Mystery of Love’ played at the PERFECT moment and added more meaning to Oliver and Elio’s love story.
There were some areas that were a bit too scandalizing, but it was necessary to convey the character’s state of mind. It was refreshing to watch a movie about homosexuality where nobody was harassing the protagonists or making fun of them, just a simple story about two people falling madly in love.
This one was a romantic masterpiece. It just keeps getting better every time you watch it.

Now that I’ve watched the movie (multiple times), I can’t wait to get my hands on the novel! 

3. Lady Bird

-Reviewed by Mitali Khachi
Nominations-5, Predictions-1
The underlying theme of Lady Bird is ‘Hedonism’- Happiness and pleasure are the main objectives of life.

This movie revolves around a young girl called Christine who likes to go by the name she gave to herself, Lady Bird. She plays the role of a typical teenager; rebellious, free-thinking, ambitious, confused, a little shallow, selfish, and a whole lot crazy (She jumps out of a moving car just to avoid having an argument with her mother!). It covers her journey from adolescence to adulthood in a small town called Sacramento, a place from where she is desperately looking for an escape.

Lady bird is a dreamer, she wants to attend NYU after graduating high school, even though neither does she have the required grades nor the money to pay for the tuition. She has been underestimated her whole life; she gets laughed at by her career counsellor and her mother when she tells them about her college plans which makes her even more determined to apply for it.
Like many teenagers, she is embarrassed of her parents and goes astray for a while; start cutting classes and co-curricular activities, ignoring her best friend, hanging out with a bad crowd and dates the wrong kind of boy, but in the end, she realizes the error of her ways. She severs ties with her boyfriend and her so-called friends and happily goes back to acting like her goofy self with her best friend.

There were two things that I liked the most in this movie, first is the depiction of mother-daughter relationship. While one second Christine and her mother are fighting like cats and dogs, the next moment they are back to being best friends; going shopping together, talking about boys and doing their own quirky things. There is a dialogue between the two which shows just how much she seeks her mom’s acceptance and validation:-

Christine- “I wish you just liked me.”
Mom- “Ofcourse I love you”
Christine- “Yeah, but do you LIKE me??”
The second thing is just how natural the acting is. All the actors have done a wonderful job at essaying their roles. I almost felt like I was a part of Lady Bird’s world, like I was witnessing all this in person. Even though the movie gets a little slow in the middle and there really isn’t any jaw dropping moment in the story, I loved the acting!

Aaaaaand that's it for now! Next time we will be reviewing Get Out, Phantom Thread and The Darkest Hour. 

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