Oscars 101: Best Cinematography

In which I run down on the nominees (and likely winners) of the Academy Awards.

In keeping with the visual trend of these first Oscars 101 posts, I figured that it was time to touch on Best Cinematography.  This is the category which honors those films which best show, through the camera, the story and characters of the film.  It's everything that is captured in camera married to everything added in after the fact: the singular beauty of what's shown on screen.  This year, the nominees are:

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ida
Mr. Turner
Unbroken

Of these nominees, it is instantly evident that Interstellar should, by all rights, be among them.  It was the most singularly breathtaking film of the year, combining astoundingly gorgeous shots of interstellar space with Depression-era shots of next gen Earth.  The planets, stars, nebulae and black holes were all brilliantly rendered on screen, and it is one of the supremest slights of these awards that it somehow was deemed to be less worthy than the "by the numbers" production of Unbroken.

Birdman - Alejandro Gonzales Iñárritu's latest film is nothing less than a contemporary version of Rope's visionary aesthetic.  Using a combination of extended tracking shots and seamless digital editing, the film creates the illusion of being filmed in one, continuous shot, without a single break from beginning to end.

Birdman was not nominated for any shots of singular breadth or beauty, but for the entirety of its two hour run-time: how the camera stalks the backstage of a ludicrous Broadway show like a silent observer, documenting its final three days before public exhibition.  It really has no serious competition in this regard.  Whereas other films rely on a few breathtaking shots or sequences, nothing that came out in 2014 can really match Birdman shot for shot.

The Grand Budapest Hotel - Wes Anderson appears once again as a major awards contender.  The film has, in my estimation, the best chance of upsetting Birdman's apparently insurmountable lead in this category.

The Grand Budapest Hotel is the most meticulously shot, carefully staged and singularly visionary film among the nominees.  On the strength of its tight shots of opulent interiors and grandiose exterior scenes - mixing over-the-top action scenes with reserved character exchanges - it may be chosen for its technical craft over Birdman's brazen ambition.  That being said, it's still a long shot (at best) to win.

Ida - Haven't heard of Ida before?  Don't worry, most others haven't either.  This Best Foreign Language nominee is the only film this year to break out of that category into another.  Does that mean that it has some unprecedented internal support, or just that it was worthier than the remaining options?

Ida's appeal is basically as a toned-down version of The Grand Budapest Hotel.  It relies on tight shots and careful staging to create a wholly realistic alternative to Anderson's almost caricaturish aesthetic.  It likely won't win out against The Grand Budapest Hotel's higher profile and showier shots, but I wouldn't 100% count it out of anything just yet.

Mr. Turner - Mr. Turner is perhaps the most classically styled entry into the cinematography category this year: relying on beautiful, breathtaking, colorful, instantly memorable shots and scenes to tell the story of the famed painter.  Those in the voting body looking for a return to form from high-concept or comically over-the-top films have a lot of weight to invest into this film.

To put it simply, Mr. Turner looks gorgeous.  Its naturalistic shots are strong beyond compare and is lent additional strength by its beautiful color range and other visual nominations (notably for Costume and Production Design).

Unbroken - How Unbroken was nominated in this category, I will never know.  It is hands down one of the least inspired, least visionary and least impressive films of 2014.  That doesn't mean that it was bad, mind you, just that it was hardly the best of anything that it was trying to do.

Unbroken simply has no chance at winning amidst a field of far superior, far more unique contenders.  Even in a year where Birdman is the apparent winner with this far left to go, each of the other nominees at least has an outside chance of winning: The Grand Budapest Hotel for its immaculate staging, Ida for its classical realism and Mr. Turner for its beyond reproach visuals.  Everyone, that is, except for Unbroken.

Safe Bet: Birdman

Long Shot: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Longer Shot: Mr. Turner

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