Awards, Beginnings and Hope

In the movie industry the start of the new year heralds the advent of "Awards Season". The studios release their carefully planned contenders and suddenly there are posters everywhere emblazoned with The Canne Film festival's palm symbol and festooned with 5 star ratings, but not grotesquely large stars that indicate some nuts and bolts/popcorn fare but discreet stars taken from reviews by the Guardian or Sight and Sound.

It is a good time to have an Unlimited Card. In the summer months they can go largely unused apart from the one credible, non animation film that comes out month as Hollywood plays to the hoardes of children baked and bored by long summer breaks. But at times like these a trip to the cinema can be justified every night and I feel safe in the knowledge that what I'm going to watch will be both enjoyable and well made.

I have had the good fortune of seeing a fair amount of this year's major contenders that have been released thus far. All of them are striking, beautiful and brilliantly acted and all have completley different subject matter. Mickey Rourke is incredible in the bleak, poignant and darkly comic The Wrestler and is a favourite for both an Oscar and a BAFTA. Sean Penn is equally as indistinguishable from his character in Milk the story of a San Franciscan gay activist in the the 1970's. Perhaps the film that has garnered the most attention, perhaps due to it's almost unanimous critical and commercial sucess is British director Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire. Like it's contender's it is superbly acted but it mixes a socially concious, intelligent script with brilliant melodrama whilst being hilariously funny in a way that I have never experienced before in a film.

Still to come are The Curious Case of Benjamin Button featuring a Brad Pitt in the prime of his career and will be hoping to make up for missing out on being nominated last year when he was criminally overlooked for his astounding turn in The Assasination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.

Whatever the outcomes this year has been the year for bringing Hollywood into every day life. Barack Obama's inaugaration was the most dramatic piece of theatre, symbolism and the fruition of a long un-realised dream. Like a piece of drama there was no easy route to the happy climax (although it was actually Chief Justice Roberts who fluffed his lines not the big O) but the day was one tinged with high emotions even for a white British teenager 4000 miles away. It was a sweet sight to see the democratic pair sworn in and as they were I imagined the horror I would have felt seeing Sarah Palin doing the same. Despite the rising tide of optimism President Obama dampened over-expectation with inevitable eloquence and the usual rhetorical flair. The millions there in startling scenes along the Mall were a testament to the hope and inspiration he has instilled in people. Politcally and morally he had to acknowledge things were going to be tough but whatever the tough decisions that need making, the economic turbulence that should arise or the difficult defensive strategies that need to be carried out the best man for the job is Barack Hussein Obama.