In the first part of our Fall Drama Preview, we looked at some of the films that'll be lighting up theater screens between now and Christmas -- and, in more than a few cases, starting up the Oscar race; in Part Two, we'll look at a few lesser-known films that will be in the Oscar race and competing for your box-office dollar between now and 2010. …
The Road (Nov. 25)
Based on Cormac McCarthy's best-selling, Oprah-praised novel about a father (Viggo Mortensen) trying to keep his son (Jodi Smit-McPhee) alive after the collapse of civilization, The Road is a strong, serious take on what could have been more Mad Max-esque claptrap, but director John Hillcoat keeps the focus on the drama, not the world after the world. I saw The Road in Toronto, and found it very strong and raw, but it faces three big challenges. First, the movie has to compete with the book, and McCarthy's harsh, bleak vision has a bruised poetry to it that plays out straight, fine and true in a way no film can really match. The second problem is the heavy, tough-to-take subject matter; Academy voters barely live in the real world, and aren't exactly ready to contemplate the end of it as the stuff of serious drama. And, finally, there's the chance that The Road may fall in-between sci-fi fans ready for an end-of-the-world film but put off by the serious handling and tough tone, and people looking for a tough, ambitious drama put off by the sci-fi sounding pitch. …
Brothers (Dec.4)
Based on director-writer Susanne Bier's original Oscar-nominated Danish film, Brothers follows Jake Gyllenhaal and Tobey Maguire as two siblings; Maguire's a straight-arrow soldier and Gyllenhaal's a ex-con with a shady past -- but when Maguire goes off to war, Gyllenhaal steps into his brother's shows around the house … and finds himself drawn more and more to his brother's wife, Natalie Portman. … With direction by the great Jim Sheridan (In America), this may be a great adaptation of strong source material -- and be the film that gives Maguire and Gyllenhaal the acting showcases they both need while they're between big-budget action franchises.
Everybody's Fine (Dec. 4)
Another foreign-film remake -- this time of a two-decades old Italian film, Stanno Tutti Bene -- Everybody's Fine stars Robert DeNiro as a man who, after the death of his wife, realizes that she was the real bond to their children -- and goes on a roadtrip to connect with each of them. Yes, the plot sounds similar to Jack Nicholson's turn in About Schmidt, but if one thing makes this a must-see it's the cast -- with DeNiro's grown children played by Kate Beckinsale, Sam Rockwell and Drew Barrymore. DeNiro could use a little Oscar heat -- he's been in a few too many bill-paying comedies and thrillers lately -- and if anything can put him back in it to win it for Best Actor, it'll be this sort of drama, if it's well-done and has a few surprises. …
Invictus (Dec. 11)
If any movie is a dead solid lock for a huge number of nominations this year, it's Invictus. Directed by Oscar legend Clint Eastwood? Check. Starring Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela? Check. Matt Damon as the head of the South African rugby team, called upon by Mandela in his first Presidential term to represent, and heal, a nation that had just repealed the racist Apartheid laws? Check. Eastwood is catnip to Academy voters, and this kind of story -- mixing sports and politics, principle and athleticism -- feels like it's very much in Eastwood's sweet spot. Add in the fact that some Academy members think Eastwood was unjustly denied a nomination for Gran Torino, and before I've even seen a frame of Invictus I can say, with no exaggeration, that the Best Director Oscar is Eastwood's to lose this year. …
The Lovely Bones (Dec. 11)
Long before he set box-office records with The Lord of the Rings films, Peter Jackson made a fervid, female-driven fantasy of death and self called Heavenly Creatures that offered the young Kate Winslet one of her breakout roles -- and if you squint, it's easy to see the similarities to The Lovely Bones. Based on Alice Sebold's novel, where a murdered young girl watches her family and town's reaction to her passing from the afterlife, The Lovely Bones might very well be that rarest thing in Hollywood -- an emotional, strong drama made by a master technician. Add in the high-power cast (including Atonement's Saoirse Ronan as the young girl alongside Rachel Weisz, Mark Wahlberg, Susan Sarandon and Stanley Tucci) and The Lovely Bones could put unexpected fractures in the Oscar race. …
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Which fall drama do you think Oscar is going to adore -- and, more importantly, will earn your money and time at the theater?)
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