Tonight was Hollywood’s night for glitz and glamour. Tonight was the night of the 81st annual Academy Awards. Being the movie lover that I am, this was an exciting night for me. Some of my favorite movies and performances from the last year (see 2nd blog for descriptions of the movies) were honored tonight, and some were lucky enough to take home the golden statue called Oscar.
I was happy to see Kate Winslet win the Oscar for Best performance by an actress in a leading role for her performance in “The Reader”. This was her sixth nomination, and finally she was finally rewarded for all of the great characters she has created in cinema. In the movie, she plays Hannah, a former SS agent during Hitler’s third Reich, who has an affair with a much younger man and is later put on trial for being a Nazi conspirator. Winslet was able to make you sympathize with her Nazi character, as well as despise her and that earned her the award.
Sean Penn won the Oscar for Best Performance by an actor in a leading role for his performance in “Milk.” Penn’s portrayal as the openly gay politician fighting for equal rights for homosexuals in the 1970’s was convincing enough for the Academy to grant Penn with his second Oscar (Penn previously won the same award for 2003’s “Mystic River”.) His performance was worthy of the Oscar, because of the level he enthralled himself into the character, however this is the award I believe the Academy got wrong tonight.
As much of a fan I am of Penn’s work, I believe the Oscar should have gone to Mickey Rourke. Rourke’s performance in “The Wrestler” was fantastic from beginning to end. Rourke carried the movie, and made the audience fall for a “broken down piece of meat” as his character refers to himself in the film. Although it wasn’t meant to be, it is clear that Rourke has tossed his name in the hat of Hollywood’s elite.
“Slumdog Millionaire” was the big winner of the night, winning eight of the ten Oscars it was nominated for including best picture. This film was my favorite to win the award and I thought that it deserved it. Director Danny Boyle, who won the Oscar for best director for this film, was able to take a no name cast, a small budget, destitute locations, and make it into a masterpiece. The film has a timeless story of love that many of the great ones do. “Slumdog Millionaire” was the best movie of the year, and many are considering it to be one of the best of the last decade. Only time will tell how this film lives in cinema history.
As I had in my previous blog about movies, I’m ending this one on a personal note. In that first blog, I wrote that I am a big fan of the late Heath Ledger. Ledger was nominated for best performance by an actor in a supporting role for his performance as the Joker in “The Dark Knight.” Tonight, 13 months to the day of his untimely death, Ledger was honored with the Oscar. Ledger’s family was in attendance and accepted the award on his behalf while getting a standing ovation from the celebrity filled Kodak Center in Los Angeles, California. Many of those actors had tears in their eyes as Ledgers father, mother, and sister all contributed to the acceptance speech, and I was left with some as well. His performance meant so much to me being a fan of the Batman franchise since my youth; I toasted a beer in Ledgers honor after his victory. His memory will always live on screen and with his young daughter, Matilda, who will be given the Oscar in honor of her late father once she reaches the age of eighteen.All in all it was a great night for movie lovers. During the credits for the show, we were shown glimpses of movies that are coming out in 2009, and are left to wonder where cinema will be one year from now.
Photo Credit:
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