Somebody Please Give These People Some Oscars

Here’s my pick for the best picture of the year. Anyone who knows me will know that I’m slightly biased when it comes to David Cronenberg. As for Viggo Mortensen, in spite of being close to two of his biggest cheerleaders (hi Sandy and Mom), I’ve never felt anything for him beyond admiration for his facial bone structure. That being said, I still had high hopes for the film before I saw it. I somehow knew that the meeting of Viggo and Cronenberg would be an exceptional one.


Cronenberg’s direction is brilliant as usual. I honestly don’t expect him to win an Oscar, though I wouldn’t be surprised to see him nominated. The big surprise for me was really Viggo’s performance. His eye-acting is in perfect form. I’m talking about SERIOUS eye-acting here, not just looking hot while staring into the distance (Lord of the Rings) or looking hot while sweating (Crimson Tide). In my opinion there are only a handful of actors who fall into the category of superb eye-actors (Gael Garcia Bernal and Tony Leung Chiu Wai come to mind as obvious examples). Who knows if Viggo will get a chance to put his eyes to good use again, but he proved himself more than capable. The second viewing is even better - the conflict he manages to express is startling.

And what about Maria Bello? The woman needs a veggie burger or fifteen, but I’ve read accounts that she was forced to starve herself for the role (I’m assuming that was the producers’ choice, not Cronenberg’s). She is absolutely Viggo’s match… I’m probably not as excited about her because she’s a chick. She’ll probably get nominated for an Oscar too – and certainly deserves it.

And how about some Best Supporting Actor nominations? Ashton Holmes was fantastic as Viggo’s son, but a nod would more likely go to Ed Harris or William Hurt. The entire cast was absolutely top-notch with the exception of the little girl. Let’s be honest, she sucks, but she’s basically nothing more than a prop. Do you really expect the person who brought you The Brood to accurately portray a child in any of his films?

Well, the point of this long-winded post is: Time to hand out some Oscars. If this movie gets the nominations it should, the Oscar party is at my house, and I’ll be making A History of Violence banners to wave at appropriate points during the broadcast.