{"id":336,"date":"2016-02-29T17:05:38","date_gmt":"2016-02-29T22:05:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/chrisicisms\/?p=336"},"modified":"2016-02-29T17:05:38","modified_gmt":"2016-02-29T22:05:38","slug":"spotlight-oscar-gets-it-right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/chrisicisms\/2016\/02\/29\/spotlight-oscar-gets-it-right\/","title":{"rendered":"Spotlight: Oscar gets it right"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"S_06902.CR2\"<\/a>
Photo courtesy of Open Road Films.\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

I was prepared to go home crabby.<\/p>\n

Early in last night\u2019s Oscar telecast, it looked like the impossible might happen. \u201cMad Max: Fury Road\u201d swept nearly all of the technical categories, upsetting critically beloved\u00a0\u2014 but thematically hollow\u00a0\u2014 \u201cThe Revenant\u201d in all tech categories except for cinematography. When the Oscar went to \u201cMad Max\u201d for editing, I perked up. Was it possible that this genre film\u00a0\u2014 the fourth film in a series spanning four decades\u00a0\u2014 could actually walk away with the big prizes it had been nominated for? Was it possible that George Miller\u2019s blistering, bizarre post-apocalyptic action flick could ride to Valhalla all shiny and chrome?<\/p>\n

And then Sam Smith won the Oscar for his wretched James Bond song and the evening struck a sour note. When Alejandro G. Inarritu won the best director prize, my heart sank. I\u2019d previously predicted the Oscars would split the difference and give George Miller the best director prize; I\u2019d resigned myself to \u201cThe Revenant\u201d winning best picture. When Leonardo DiCaprio took the stage to collect his trophy, I sighed. As in many years, it looked like the same story was about to play out. The beloved film and probably rightful winner would sweep early technical awards, paving the way for the more traditional winner to take home the big prizes. When Morgan Freeman stepped up to announce best picture, I steeled myself. There was no way \u201cMad Max\u201d was going to win best picture; its director was its best asset. It looked like, for another straight year, a mediocre Inarritu film would be crowned the year\u2019s best motion picture.<\/p>\n

And then, \u201cSpotlight\u201d won.<\/p>\n

I was shocked, of course. The only award Thomas McCarthy\u2019s film had won all night was for its screenplay. And I\u2019d been so focused on a \u201cMad Max\u201d\/\u201dRevenant\u201d split that I pretty much considered the film an also-ran by the time we hit the end of the evening. And while the film slid into front-runner place when it was released in the fall to a flurry of critical acclaim, the end-of-the-year deluge kind of pushed it to the middle or even back of the pack, especially from critics who dismissed it as an important film with boring direction (a charge that I disagree with and which Matt Singer fired back against in a wonderful article<\/a>). The Oscars rarely hold any surprises; but when Freeman said \u201cSpotlight,\u201d it genuinely took me a few seconds to register what had happened.<\/p>\n

And you know what? It was the right choice.<\/p>\n

Coincidentally, my wife and I had just watched \u201cSpotlight\u201d the evening before the Oscars. I\u2019d seen it before, but she hadn\u2019t. And watching it again, I was reminded what a great film it really is.I was glad that its only acting nominations came in the supporting categories, because this film really is a true ensemble. Despite featuring actors like Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams and Stanely Tucci\u00a0\u2014 any of whom could easily carry their own movie\u00a0\u2014 it\u2019s a film where no one jockeys for position. Everyone supports the film and, aside from one dramatic outburst from Ruffalo, no one really has a big \u201cOscar moment.\u201d Its script is smart, and it\u2019s an ode to pavement-pounding shoe-leather journalism and the importance of that field to challenge those in power. It\u2019s about an important issue; it\u2019s the rare film where its ending footnotes produce real feelings of anxiety. And McCarthy\u00a0\u2014 a director whose films \u201cThe Station Agent,\u201d \u201cThe Visitor\u201d and \u201cWin-Win\u201d I love (we shall not speak of \u201cThe Cobbler\u201d)\u00a0\u2014 holds it altogether with tact and restraint. Sure, it lacks many visual frills. But that\u2019s kind of the point; it\u2019s about hard work, paper trails and late-night phone calls.<\/p>\n

So, while I may have had \u201cMad Max: Fury Road\u201d at number one on last year\u2019s top 10 list, there\u2019s a reason that \u201cSpotlight\u201d was a very close number two. And as someone who worked as a reporter for several years and considers that work the best and most important work of his life, it was great to see a film honored that celebrates the importance of investigative reporting and the power of newspapers. \u201cSpotlight\u2019s\u201d a legitimately great film, and there was no disappointment when it walked away victorious.<\/p>\n

Other brief Oscar thoughts:<\/p>\n