Next stop on the Oscar Watch 2011 Express is Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Tom Hanks's mostly-annual Oscar bait flick. As a whole, I enjoyed this film quite a bit, and don't really understand the outrage from some film blogs about this being nominated for Best Picture. It's not a perfect film by any stretch of the imagination nor is it anything groundbreaking or important or anything like that, but it is far from the worst film of the 9 nominees this year.
One of the biggest problems this film faces is the 9/11 background for the story. This is a story that simply cannot be told without almost reliving that nightmare of a day, and director Stephen Daldry does not tread lightly here. For that reason, EL&IC may not be an easy watch for some. All of the 9/11 imagery and descriptions and everything may be necessary to the story, but I'm not sure all the superfluous details and speculation was necessary (if you see the film, you'd know exactly what I'm referring to).
Another problem for the film is the unabashed sentimentality in the film. The story is clearly a story that will draw tears, something else Daldry is not shy to go for. In fact, some portions of the film play to that effect far too much, bordering on overkill. Had there been a little more restraint in this department, this film could be something special.
Beyond those two things, everything else about this film is absolutely lovely. The cast is top notch, with especially wonderful work being turned in by Viola Davis (again), Jeffrey Wright, and Mac Von Sydow. As was the case in War Horse, the supporting cast had to be strong and make an impression in limited screentime, and they most certainly did just that.
Based on the reactions to this film being nominated, it's clearly a polarizing one. In fact, I'd say I enjoyed it a whole lot more than Marissa, who saw it with me. Other people I've talked to was the same thing - some really like it, others not so much. For that reason, this is a film that has next to no chance for the Oscar... in fact, I'm going to guess it was the 8th or 9th nominee, which is a shame. Nonetheless, it's a film worth seeing.
Random sidenote, almost a postscript... I enjoy that James Gandolfini's name is on the poster I've embedded, courtesty of Wikipedia. His role was cut from the film.
