16-year-old Karolina on how Paul Thomas Anderson’s new film might do this in year’s awards season
This year’s film awards season will launch properly in December, with nominations for the Golden Globes, and culminate in March, when the Academy Awards gala – aka the Oscars – will take place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles.
It will all be taking place against the backdrop of the political situation in the US, where President Trump’s divisive second turn in the White House has, for example, prompted hundreds of Hollywood A-listers to bring back the First Amendment Committee, an organisation that defended freedom of speech in the 1950s, following the short-lived firing of Jimmy Kimmel from ABC, owned by Disney.
The big question is whether Hollywood will reward films that take a political stance or evade difficult questions by giving awards to politically neutral films. Both moves will result in strong criticism, as juries will infuriate either Trump and his supporters, or the growing anti-Trump movement.
Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another’s position in that puzzle is quite unique – it could either benefit from confrontation, or lose because of how afraid Hollywood is of President Trump.
However, regardless of the politics, Anderson has fielded a strong contender. A story of rebellion against an oppressive government relates to common themes of power and control, while the father-daughter relationship adds a human element – both are what award juries tend to respond to positively.
The film’s technical accomplishments would justify a number of statuettes. Anderson’s precise direction, Jonny Greenwood’s expressive score, and Michael Bauman’s prominent cinematography – all strengthen the chances in categories such as Best Director, Best Original Score and Best Cinematography. Experts agree that Anderson’s film might be one of the strongest contenders in this year’s awards.
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Anderson’s trajectory in movie awards may resemble that of Martin Scorsese. His film The Departed won Oscars for both Best Picture and the Best Director in 2007, but this victory was considered not to be because of the excellence of film, but a recognition of the director’s long and acclaimed career, consisting of films such as Taxi Driver, Goodfellas and The Aviator.
Anderson, similarly, has an outstanding history with movies such as Magnolia, The Master, or even There Will Be Blood, and might win, especially if the political winds work in his favour.
We will see whether One Battle After Another will become a rainmaker.
This article is a part of Harbingers’ Film & Book Club, an initiative of 18 students from 2SLO in Warsaw, Poland.
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