Oscar Notes: LOVING and ARRIVAL

In part 2 of my Oscar Notes series, I look at two Oscar hopefuls: the civil rights romance biopic Loving and the sci-fi mind-bender Arrival.

Loving
The buzz: Jeff Nichols' film had its world premiere at the Canned Film Festival, where it competed for the Palme D'or. The film is based on the story of Richard and Mildred Loving, who were persecuted under anti-miscegenation laws. Forced to leave their home in Virginia, the couple settled in DC to raise their children. Unable to live far from their family, they decided to fight the laws and took their case to the Supreme Court. The fim stars Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga.

Possible nominations: Ideally, this movie could get nominated for Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Original Screenplay, and Cinematography. I think that is not going to happen. At best, this movie could be nominated for Picture, Actress, and Screenplay. Joel Edgerton could get a nomination because the Best Actor category is rather light this year. Ruth Negga should be a shoo-in, but Best Actress is more crowded than ever in recent memory. Jeff Nichols will probably get lost in the busy Best Director list.

Any problems? The things I like best about Loving could actually work against it in the Oscar race. The film is unassuming, humble, and simple. No grandstanding or speechifying. Oscar voters like their civil rights movie to be larger than life, with passionate heroes and evil villains. The Lovings are American heroes, but they just wanted to raise their family and live a quiet life. The film honors their legacy without any courtroom histrionics or unnecessary scenes of racist attacks against the Lovings. Refreshingly, Nichols avoids all the obvious traps for big stakes drama, The Oscars would want a Big Movie, with Joel Edgerton as a white savior. But Loving has different goals.

My take: I loved this movie. It's such an authentic, subtle movie that uses small gestures and simple camerawork to convey its message. I think movies like this should be appreciated for resisting the temptation to be larger than life. While the film is impactful, I can see Oscar voters not really remembering how impactful it is when it comes time to vote.

Arrival
The buzz: Arrival premiered at the Venice Film Festival earlier this year. Directed by French-Canadian filmmaker Denis Villenueve, Arrival stars Amy Adams as expert linguist Dr. Louise Banks who is recruited to communicate with aliens after 12 spacecraft unexpectedly arrive on Earth. The film received acclaim at its various festival appearances and in wide release earlier this month. (Read my review here.) People are reacting both to the science fiction elements and the emotional story about a mother and her daughter. Plus, Amy Adams' performance is considered one of her best.

Possible nominations: Best Picture, Director, Actress, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Editing, Visual Effects, and Original Score. If I had my way, Best Costume Design. I think this movie could be a big player at the Oscars when it comes to nominations. This is especially true for the technical categories.

Any problems? Well, Arrival being a science fiction movie could hurt it, since the Academy doesn't really take to genre movies. But sometimes they do, when the movies aren't all spectacle. So this movie could go in the way of Gravity (7 wins against 10 nominations) or Interstellar (1 win against 5 nominations). Amy Adams could be the best bet, but she is in a crowded race for Best Actress. Much like Ruth Negga, her subdued but powerful work could be overlooked for something a little showier. I don't think Arrival could win any of its nominations just because other movies might be seen as more urgent simply for being louder or flashier. And I'm afraid the woman centric narrative could be seen as "boring" or "irrelevant" for the old white men in the Academy.

My take: Arrival is one of my favorite movies of the year, and it features incredible work in front of and behind the camera. It's an emotionally expressive movie, with a puzzle of a story and a gorgeous visual palette. Just being a well-liked movie could be its own reward, even if the Oscars don't appreciate it.

I'm not sure how the Academy will react to Loving and Arrival. But, these movies exist, they're excellent, they star good actors like Ruth Negga, Joel Edgerton, and Amy Adams. That's enough to be thankful for.

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