INDULGENCE, COMPLACENCY, AND ARTISTIC PURGATORY

January 4, 2018 thedhk

I’ve just finished watching the last of the major award contenders for 2017 and it became clear to me that far too many artists and studios are resting on their laurels.

Sure it’s ultimately the movie business and I can see why studios are hesitant to “gamble” on lesser known talent. The talent who is most often overlooked is also unfortunately usually women and other minorities. Yet it’s this pool of talent that often produces the most interesting and engaging content.

Saoirse Ronan and director Greta Geriwg, Lady Bird – A24

It’s however the well established artists that frustrated me the most this year. They have the clout to get their movies made. I respect that making a movie is incredibly tough. I also respect that many of the artists I’m about to call out have incredibly impressive careers, and many of whom have revolutionized film. However too many of them seem to no longer feel the need to push themselves, and by indulging them, we’re part of the problem.

Sure, it’s a fine balance: you have to work hard and display a certain level of talent to gain the notoriety and clout to continue to get movies made. And I don’t think any artist should never be allowed to make a movie again just for making a few poor artistic choices, in fact that’s part of what makes someone a better artist. However there now seems to be a stage in several artists careers where I can only assume no one is bothering to question them.

For example why did no one question Alexander Payne in casting Matt Damon in Downsizing, or in fact question the entire second act of Downsizing? Is it because he had a pretty respectable in Sideways, Election, Nebraska, and The Descendants? He certainly also had some flops with Gray Matters and I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry. Or why did no one question George Clooney AND the Coen Brothers for their horrible mess Suburbicon (also starring… Matt Damon) which utterly failed as a social commentary AND as a film (more on that here).

Or most egregiously, why did no one stand up to Steven Spielberg and go: “The Post could be amazing if you took more risks with it.” However because he’s Spielberg no one bothered and as a result nothing about it is particularly envelope pushing, it’s typical awards bait. Meryl Streep has a few moments in it that allow her to shine, but these days Meryl Streep could also sneeze and get an Oscar nomination. Which I don’t think is a healthy thing, go ahead, explain to me how her performance in Florence Foster Jenkins deserved a Golden Globe nomination over something like Kristen Wiig in Ghostbusters or hell even Auli’i Cravalho for Moana if you want to get creative.

Meryl Streep, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks for The Post – 20th Century Fox

It quite frankly feels like they’re all coasting. The Post is a good movie – the most impressive part is it started as a spec script from Liz Hannah who was more or less unknown. Hopefully the best part of the film receiving so much attention is that she gains a successful career out of it. However it’s not a great film. It has issues, and there are parts that feel like an “industry veteran” came in and paved over the most intriguing parts of the film because they were the most ambitious. The film felt like it had pockets of potential only to have the originality of it scrubbed away. When no one takes a risk, there are no stakes.

Sure a day that an artistic veteran like Spielberg or Streep or Tom Hanks phones it in is still often better than the heroic best efforts of some. However they’re taking up a spot and resources that could have gone to a newcomer. A newcomer who isn’t going to tell the same old tired story of some whiny white (usually male) protagonist (which could probably be used to describe the following major films from 2017 – Live by Night, Gold, The Great Wall, A Cure for Wellness, Beauty and the Beast, T2: Trainspotting, Song to Song, CHiPs, Free Fire, The Circle, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, Alien: Covenant, Wakefield, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, The Mummy, Baby Driver, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, Wind River, Stronger, American Made, Breathe, Goodbye Christopher Robin, The Snowman, Suburbicon, Thor: Ragnarok, Daddy’s Home 2, LBJ, Justice League, Darkest Hour, The Disaster Artist, The Greatest Showman, All the Money in the World, Downsizing, The Post, Phantom Thread and more). If they aren’t operating at their very best do they really deserve our time and money as audience members if we know they’re capable of better? Do they even enjoy the purgatory of making films that don’t challenge them or are they just doing it because it’s easy.

Jordan Peele, diretor of Get Out – Universal Pictures

Meanwhile other films have to push themselves to be that much better just to get noticed. Get Out, Wonder Woman, The Big Sick, Lady Bird and a few others stood out as the stories of minorities / women that captured the attention of audiences. So think of how many undiscovered talents lie out there who’s films didn’t get made because the studios decided to go with another safe bet?

My hope for 2018 and beyond is that women and minorities are inspired the modicum of progress that was made in 2017. Also more importantly that those efforts are honored at the awards shows, instead of continuing to laud people based solely on their reputation/previous bodies of work.