I've Seen All Five

Well, I made it. My wife and I saw the 5th of the best picture nominees on Tuesday. I am glad I got to see it before Sunday- and on the big screen.

It is a masterpiece of a movie. It does not have the overpowering violence at the heart of No Country for Old Men.Nor does it have the sweeping western epic of great greed that is in There Will Be Blood. Nor does it hook into all kinds of environmental and political themes so boldly and wonderfully portrayed in Michael Clayton. Like Juno it is a film about people trying to live with the consequences o f their actions.

It is awesome. Like the book it starts slowly but never stops. It builds through a remarkable middle of some of the best scenes and editing I have seen in ages. It captures the author's (Ian McEwen) truly rich language in pictures that is hard to beat. The actors are as rich in their character development as the language.

In short it is another example of great movie making and I am not in the least bit surprised that it is one of the five. I can only say that I was honored to sit and watch this movie. It touched me!

So having seen all five, what's my personal favorite. I'll talk more about that in the post on Saturday, the day before the awards. It is quite a year for film. Again.