Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Oscar Park: "Drive"

Seeing as 'Carpet-Bagging' is more speculative than concrete, I thought it appropriate to expand things a fair degree. Or, I just wanted another chance to talk about "Drive" in a different respect, and I couldn't find any better way to do it. "Drive" has had plenty of us talking about its merits, and I hold a strong position of restrained adoration for Refn's film. I see the slight cracks in the pavement, but I still fell head over heels for the extra-sensory, semi-psychological musical/superhero/fairytale/action/drama cacophony that the cast and crew were miraculously able to pull off. But, what about the Academy?

Many ignorantly assume that any film they thought was brilliant or deeply affecting is a surefire candidate for Best Picture. I think it's clear that "Drive" has few chances to really break into this year's Oscar races. Best Picture? Forgedaboudit! Not their type Best Director? Not a chance. Refn has never had a focus on that, and he probably still doesn't. Best Actor? Sadly enough, Gosling has better chances with "The Ides of March", which I refuse to call a top Oscar player or a dud. Best Supporting Actor? Now we're talking, as Albert Brooks has had strong buzz going for months, and now that we've seen his performance, we're just waiting on those first critics awards for confirmation.

A cinematography nod is also in the cards, and I think the Academy would be crazy not to recognize it as such. I'd like to say costume design, but Academy types have a better tendency towards extravagance than restraint and intelligence in that category. There could very well be some sound accolades in store, and I wouldn't be one to rule it out. All the same, this isn't the sort of thing that plays like gangbusters with the Academy. All that gratuitous violence and such. Plus, will they still be talking about it by January? So to recap.

Strong bets: Supp. Actor (Albert Brooks)
Possibilities: Cinematography, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing
Long Shots: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor

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