More Post-Oscar Pix

Triangle of Sadness

I've seen two additional Oscar-nominated films after the actual Oscar ceremony thanks to streaming services: Triangle of Sadness (Best Picture and Original Screenplay nominations, plus Golden Globe Supporting Actress nomination for Dolly DeLeon) on Hulu and Aftersun (Best Actor for Paul Mescal) on Amazon, rented for $6.99. 

Triangle is a clever social satire from Swedish filmmaker Ruben Ostlund (there's an umlut over the o but I don't feel like figuring out how to type one). The Oscar-nominated screenplay is divided into three parts: 1) the romance of two supermodels where they squabble over who picks up the restaurant bill (the woman earns more than the man, yet she still expects him to pay for them both); 2) a journey on a luxury yacht resembling Ship of Fools; the supermodels are just two of the passengers who also include a crass Russian capitalist and a British couple (Oliver Ford Davies is the husband) who manufacture grenades; 3) the ship sinks after an attack by pirates and a storm at sea resulting in much vomiting and diarrhea. The last part is a modern spin on JM Barrie's The Admirable Crichton in which I appeared as a Stable Boy in a high school production . Of course, Abigail the toilet attendant on the ship (DeLeon), becomes the captain on the desert island since she is the most capable of hunting and fishing. The balance shifts as Abigail pressures the male supermodel into a sexual relationship in return for food. Funny, sharp, scary.

Frankie Corio and Paul Mescal in
Aftersun

Aftersun was a weird coming-of-age story with jittery, off-center direction and editing. A Scottish depressed father (Best Actor nominee Paul Mescal) and his 11-year-old daughter are enjoying a vacation at a seaside resort in Turkey. I think Mescal got a nomination because he has a nude scene where he cries hysterically. The film was ultimately unsatisfying because we don't get enough information about the dad. Many of the shots have the main characters in the background while focusing on inanimate objects like a stack of books. There are also many scenes where we see the dad and daughter reflected on blank TV screens or through closed windows. The director keeps us at a distance, I suppose because that's how the daughter feels about her father. The clues seems to point to the father committing suicide and this is their last trip together. There is a flashforward with the adult Sophie waking up in the middle of the night with her female partner and tending to a crying off-camera baby. The implication is she feels damaged by her dad's alienation and it effects her current feelings about her new baby and her relationship. But I could have done with just a bit more inclusion. Wonderful young Frankie Corio as Sophie, the daughter carries the bulk of the film.

Oscar/Other Award Nominated Pictures Seen:
All Quiet on the Western Front (Netflix)
The Banshees of Inisherin (Amazon)
Elvis (HBO Max)
Everything Everywhere All at Once (Amazon)
The Fablemans (Amazon)

Tar (an actual movie theater--Kaufman Astoria Studios)

Triangle of Sadness (Hulu)
Women Talking (Amazon)

Till (Amazon)
To Leslie (Amazon)--surprisingly moving little indie film with a great lead performance by Andrea Riseborough as an alcoholic ex-Lottery winner (also loved Allison Janney as usual)

Aftersun (Amazon)

Living (Amazon)
The Whale (Amazon)

Causeway (Apple TV+)
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (Netflix)
All the Beauty and Bloodshed (Amazon)
Navalny (HBO Max)

Pinocchio (Netflix)

Nominated Short Films:
The Flying Sailor (YouTube)
The Ice Merchants (YouTube)
My Year of D**ks (Hulu)
An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It (Vimeo)--I liked this one best. Very funny satire on stop-motion animation.
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse (Apple TV+)
The Elephant Whisperers (Netflix)
Haulout (YouTube)
The Martha Mitchell Effect (Netflix)
Stranger at the Gate (YouTube)--Very moving story about a former Marine who plans to bomb a mosque, but ends up converting to Islam after meeting the people there.
Nightride (YouTube)