OVP: Best Film Editing (2004)
The Nominees Were...
Thelma Schoonmaker, The Aviator
Jim Miller & Paul Rubell, Collateral
Matt Chesse, Finding Neverland
Joel Cox, Million Dollar Baby
Paul Hirsch, Ray
My Thoughts: After two contests that largely ignored our Best Picture field we now get into a contest that cited 80% of the contenders (we're back in the pre-2009 era so we only have five nominations for Best Picture). 2004 is also in an era where I'm relying more on distant memories; though I have notes for all of these films, these pre-date this blog completely (if you go back far enough, you'll see that I actually started this blog & then it disappeared in 2005 before it became a daily thing in 2012) and I don't have time to rewatch every single one of them. As a result, the invisible art of editing becomes even harder to gage, so I wanted to start out with a movie that stands out not just because it's the only film not cited for Best Picture, but also because it's got noteworthy & impressive editing.
Collateral is a thriller, and much of what makes a thriller work is its editing. The timing of the shots, the pacing of the unfolding story-these are critically told through their editing. What makes Collateral so unique is while it's the height of the "trailer giving away the film's best twist," the revelation of Tom Cruise as the bad guy never feels like it's cheating the audience out of a major dramatic swing in the story. Instead, the bigger reveals are the way we get to know both Cruise & Foxx's characters through repetitive pacing, frequently similar shots that show their power dynamic changing hands, all leading up to a tense final chase. It's a smart action movie, made smarter by its editors.
The only other film that comes close to Collateral in terms of "editing cliches" is Million Dollar Baby. There's practically a law that states that boxing movies are to be cited here, and while we're going to go on a journey with this movie (I don't like it, but I don't hate it like I did the first time I saw it...also fun fact-the first date I ever went on with a guy was to Million Dollar Baby, though my feelings about the film are unrelated), the editing is somewhere in the middle for me. Swank's fight scenes are done well, giving us enough medium or long shots to give us a sense of the actual prowess of her fighting skill (boxing films that rely too much on closeups miss the appeal of the sport), but the rest of the movie is edited conventionally, and oftentimes is drowned out by Eastwood's moody lensing filters.
Speaking of being edited conventionally, we have Ray. Another movie we're about to go on a journey with, Ray is the kind of movie that would both become a prototype (literally every musical biopic for a decade afterward looked exactly like Ray) and was still pretty routine at that time (this style of story was already cliched by then). The movie's editing is one of its least successful elements. The ways they keep underlining the same points over-and-over again (and relying too deeply on Ray's childhood)...the editing is sloppy & overwrought, bringing out the worst parts of the story.
At least Ray, though, has some sort of editing to notice. While we aren't quite in the era where Miramax could get literally anything nominated for an Oscar (that had ended the year before when Cold Mountain was skipped in the Picture & Director categories), the studio was still a powerful force, and their push for Finding Neverland resulted it getting in a few categories it didn't remotely deserve inclusion, this being one of the bigger ones. The film plays so little with hints of the Neverland to come, and oftentimes throws asunder the best humorous bits (plus, for a man playing an eccentric they really underplay Johnny Depp being quirky, which shouldn't be a problem for Johnny Depp of all people). Overall, a strange nomination with virtually nothing to lend it, in a movie that is middling.
We end with Thelma Schoonmaker, possibly the greatest living film editor & one of her many achievements. Schoonmaker's work here isn't as showy as Million Dollar Baby nor as obvious as Collateral, but it is impressive. She needs to cobble together some of Scorsese's more indulgent attributes (specifically trying to ensure that the film feels like it's getting a taste of Hollywood while not drowning in it, as the focus must stay on Howard Hughes, not his cascade of cinematic recreations), but she does this. Yes, the movie is too long, but she still weaves together a great epic, one of impressive range, and she does so while clearly adhering to the director's vision.
Other Precursor Contenders: The Eddie Awards have nominees for both Drama and Comedy/Musical, and so all five of these films are represented in their lineup. The Drama category went to The Aviator, who bested the Oscar lineup (save Ray) plus Kill Bill Volume 2 and Kinsey, while Comedy/Musical was handed to Ray over De-Lovely, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Sideways, and The Incredibles. BAFTA got quite creative here, giving the trophy to Eternal Sunshine and keeping just Collateral & The Aviator to go alongside House of Flying Daggers & Vera Drake (Spoiler Alert: the BAFTA lineup is leagues better than Oscar's). I honestly don't know who was sixth here, but I suspect it was a battle between Eternal Sunshine (the precursor champion, and a showy option) & Sideways (if they were going to nominate Ray and Finding Neverland the remaining Best Picture nominee couldn't be far off).
Films I Would Have Nominated: I would have largely abandoned most of Oscar's lineup. House of Flying Daggers' fight scenes are the stuff of legend, and would have made an outstanding nomination here, and I would have found room for Eternal Sunshine and its mind-erasing. I also think that Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, for the first (only?) time in that series was crisp enough to appeal to both casual & diehard fans alike, and keeps a long novel flowing.
Oscar's Choice: Like much of the evening, the battle was between Million Dollar Baby and The Aviator, and here Martin Scorsese's epic took the crown.
My Choice: I'm going to choose differently though-it's close between Aviator and Collateral, but I feel the latter has a slightly better pace & a more successful task (but not by much). In third is Million Dollar Baby, with Ray and Finding Neverland bringing up the rear.
Those are my thoughts-what are yours? Do you agree with me that Collateral is the standout of this bunch, or are you over with Oscar celebrating Thelma? What exactly is the draw of a movie like Ray or Finding Neverland for Best Editing? And was it Eternal Sunshine or Sideways who just missed this lineup? Share your thoughts below!
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