"12 Years a Slave" Wins 2014 Satellite Award as "Best Motion Picture"

by Amos Semien

The International Press Academy (IPA) is an entertainment media association with voting members worldwide who represent domestic and foreign markets via print, television, radio, blogs, and other content platforms for virtually every notable outlet.

Each year the IPA honors artistic excellence in the areas of Motion Pictures, Television, Radio, and New Media via the Satellite® Awards.

The 18th Satellite Awards ceremony was held Sunday, February 23, 2014.  Nominations were announced Monday, December 2, 2013.

12 Years a Slave won the "Best Motion Picture" award.  On the television side of the awards, AMC's Breaking Bad won "Television Series, Drama," and Netflix's "Orange is the New Black" won "Television Series, Comedy."

2014 / 18th Satellite Awards winners (for the year 2013) – Complete List:

MOTION PICTURE CATEGORIES:

Best Motion Picture:
12 Years a Slave - Fox Searchlight

Director:
Steve McQueen for 12 Years a Slave - Fox Searchlight

Actress in a Motion Picture:
Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine - Sony Pictures Classics

Actor in a Motion Picture:
Matthew McConaughey for Dallas Buyers Club - Focus Features

Actress in a Supporting Role:
June Squibb for Nebraska - Paramount

Actor in a Supporting Role:
Jared Leto for Dallas Buyers Club - Focus Features

Motion Picture, International Film
Belgium - The Broken Circle Breakdown

Motion Picture, Animated or Mixed Media:
The Wind Rises - Studio Ghibli

Motion Picture, Documentary:
Blackfish - Magnolia Pictures

Screenplay, Original:
David O. Russell, Eric Singer for American Hustle - Sony

Screenplay, Adapted:
Jeff Pope, Steve Coogan for Philomena - The Weinstein Co.

Original Score:
Steven Price for Gravity - Warner Bros.

Original Song:
“Young and Beautiful” (performed by Lana Del Rey; written by Lana Del Rey and Rick Nowels) from The Great Gatsby - Warner Bros.

Cinematography:
Bruno Delbonnel for Inside Llewyn Davis  CBS Films

Visual Effects:
Charles Howell, Chris Lawrence, Tim Webber for Gravity  Warner Bros.

Film Editing:
Crispin Struthers, Jay Cassidy for American Hustle - Sony

Sound (Editing and Mixing):
Glenn Freemantle, Niv Adiri, Skip Lievsay for Gravity - Warner Bros.

Art Direction & Production Design:
Beverly Dunn, Catherine Martin for The Great Gatsby - Warner Bros.

Costume Design:
Michael O’Connor for The Invisible Woman - Sony Pictures Classics

Best Ensemble, Motion Picture:
Nebraska

TELEVISION CATEGORIES:

Television.Miniseries / Motion Picture Made for Television:
Dancing on the Edge - Starz

Actress in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television:
Elisabeth Moss  Top of the Lake - Sundance Channel

Actor in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television:
Michael Douglas  Behind the Candelabra  HBO

Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television:
Laura Prepon  Orange is the New Black  Netflix

Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television:
Aaron Paul  Breaking Bad  AMC

Television Series, Drama:
Breaking Bad  AMC

Television Series or Miniseries, Genre:
Game Of Thrones - HBO

Actress in a Series, Drama:
Robin Wright  House of Cards  Netflix

Actor in a Series, Drama
Bryan Cranston  Breaking Bad  AMC

Television Series, Comedy or Musical
Orange is the New Black - Netflix

Actress in a Series, Comedy or Musical
Taylor Schilling  Orange is the New Black  Netflix

Actor in a Series, Comedy or Musical
John Goodman  Alpha House  Amazon Studios

Original Short-Format Program
#JustSaying, #SamoKažem  Tuna Fish Studio

New Media

Best Overall Blu-Ray
Star Trek: Into Darkness  Paramount Home Entertainment

Youth Blu-Ray
Rise Of The Guardians  DreamWorks Video

Outstanding Action / Adventure Video Game
Battlefield 4 - EA Digital Illusions CE

Outstanding Mobile Game
Badland - Frogmind

Outstanding Role Playing Game
Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch  Level 5, Studio Ghibli

Outstanding Sports / Racing Game
Need for Speed Rivals - Electronic Arts, Ghost Games

Best Ensemble, Television:
Orange is the New Black

Special Achievement Awards:

Mary Pickford Award:  Mike Medavoy

Tesla Award:  Garrett Brown

Auteur Award:  Guillermo del Toro

Independent Producer Award:  Gabrielle Tana

Honorary Satellite Award:  Ryan Coogler

Breakthrough Performance Award:
Michael B. Jordan - Fruitvale Station
Sophie Nelisse - The Book Thief

-----------------------------

Review: Andreas Wilson Makes Star Turn in "Ondskan" (Evil)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 205 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Ondskan (2003)
Evil – 2006 U.S. theatrical release
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  Sweden; Languages:  Swedish and Finnish
Running time:  113 minutes (1 hour, 53 minutes)
Not rated by the MPAA
DIRECTOR:  Mikael Håfström
WRITERS:  Hans Gunnarsson and Mikael Håfström (from the novel by Jan Guillon)
PRODUCERS:  Ingemar Leijonborg and Hans Lönnerheden
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Peter Mokrosinski
EDITOR:  Darek Hodor
COMPOSER:  Francis Shaw
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA

Starring:  Andreas Wilson, Henrik Lundström, Gustaf Skarsgård, Linda Zilliacus, Jesper Salén, Filip Berg, Johan Rabaeus, and Marie Richardson

The subject of this movie review Ondskan (Evil), a 2003 private school drama from director, Mikael Hafstrom.  The film is based on the 1981 Swedish autobiographical novel, Ondskan (The Evil) by Jan Guillon.  The film received a limited theatrical release in the United States in 2006.

After numerous fights in which he brutalized his victims, a rebellious teenager, Erik Ponti (Andreas Wilson), is expelled from high school after the headmaster declares him “Evil,” while also noting what a good student Erik is.  Erik also has a pitiful home life, in which his bullying Stepfather (Johan Rabaeus) beats him while his Mother (Marie Richardson) suffers in silence.  Erik’s mother sells off some of her family heirlooms to send Erik to the prestigious boarding school, Stjärnsberg.  This is Erik’s last chance to finish high school, which will allow him to move to the next class (called “forms”), the “Sixth Form.”  However, if Stjärnsberg expels him, his chance at law school is finished.

Erik is determined to live in peace at his new school, but after having endured so many beatings from his stepfather, Erik is shocked to learn Stjärnsberg has a similar attitude of abuse.  He faces a constant barrage of verbal and physical threats from the school’s senior class, in particularly a group of students (whose families are nobility) – led by a pompous bully named Otto Silverhielm (Gustaf Skarsgård).  They torment the younger students mercilessly, but Erik refuses to accept a low place on the totem pole and just wants to be left alone.  Although he takes some of their punishment, they want to crack him, but he won’t crack or lash out in violence.  When Otto turns his anger towards Erik’s best friend and roommate, Pierre Tanguy (Henrik Lundström), Erik must face the evil within him and the evil of Otto and his gang of bullies.  Erik also has a romantic entanglement with Marja (Linda Zilliacus), a member of the school’s kitchen staff, which, if discovered, will get him expelled and her fired.

Mikael Håfström’s film Ondskan – English title Evil – received a 2004 Academy Award nomination for “Best Foreign Language Film” as a representative of Sweden.  Although the film may remind some U.S. viewers of Dead Poets’ Society because both share an elite boarding school the setting, Ondskan is probably closer to the 1992 prep school drama, School Ties.  Based on Jan Guillon’s novel (which in turn was based upon some of his experiences as a boarding school student), Ondskan is a rumination on both the evil in people (as manifested by their actions) and the evil they accept (the actions of others that they tolerate out of habit or because of social conventions).  Mikael Håfström manages to delve into the script’s, which he co-wrote, more thoughtful pursuits, while extracting the tense drama the setting – a boarding school full of conflicting ideologies, social classes, cliques, motivations, etc. – allows him.

He has a star in Andreas Wilson, the kind of young actor with the fierce charisma needed to play a screen tough like Erik.  Wilson’s ability to portray quite determination and also hate, rage, and evil boiling under the surface with such subtlety both drives and carries this film.  Hollywood taking notice of him would be a good thing.

8 of 10
A

Saturday, September 30, 2006

NOTES:
2004 Academy Awards, USA:  1 nomination:  “Best Foreign Language Film” (Sweden)

Updated: Wednesday, February 19, 2014


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Full List of Stars Appearing at 2014 Oscar Ceremony Released

Stars Come Out to Celebrate On Oscar® Sunday

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – Oscar producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron today announced the complete slate of stars who will present Oscars at the ceremony. The Oscars®, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, will air on Oscar Sunday, March 2, live on ABC.

The presenters, including several past Oscar winners and nominees, will be:

Amy Adams
Kristen Bell
Jessica Biel
Jim Carrey
Glenn Close
Bradley Cooper
Penélope Cruz
Benedict Cumberbatch
Viola Davis
Daniel Day-Lewis
Robert De Niro
Zac Efron
Sally Field
Harrison Ford
Jamie Foxx
Andrew Garfield
Jennifer Garner
Whoopi Goldberg
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Anne Hathaway
Goldie Hawn
Chris Hemsworth
Kate Hudson
Samuel L. Jackson
Angelina Jolie
Michael B. Jordan
Anna Kendrick
Jennifer Lawrence
Matthew McConaughey
Ewan McGregor
Bill Murray
Kim Novak
Tyler Perry
Brad Pitt
Sidney Poitier
Gabourey Sidibe
Will Smith
Kevin Spacey
Jason Sudeikis
Channing Tatum
Charlize Theron
John Travolta
Christoph Waltz
Kerry Washington
Emma Watson
Naomi Watts

“We are very excited that the Hollywood community will be turning out in force for Sunday’s Oscar ceremony,” said Zadan and Meron.  “We sought to include a tremendous diversity of stars to represent not only this year’s nominees, but the legacy of the motion picture business as well.”

For a full gallery of Oscar presenters, visit www.oscar.com.

Happy Birthday, Laura

I'll be discreet and not mention age.  But have a Happy Birthday and many, many, many more.

Review: "A Mighty Wind" Sounds Good

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 173 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

A Mighty Wind (2003)
Running time:  91 minutes (1 hour, 31 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sex-related humor
DIRECTOR:  Christopher Guest
WRITERS:  Eugene Levy and Christopher Guest
PRODUCER:  Karen Murphy
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Arlene-Donnelly Nelson (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Robert Leighton
Academy Award nominee

COMEDY/MUSIC

Starring:  Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Bob Balaban, Jane Lynch, John Michael Higgins, Fred Willard, Ed Begley, Jr., Don Lake, Deborah Theaker, Larry Miller, Jennifer Coolidge, Bill Cobbs, Parker Posey, Rachael Harris, and LeShay Tomlinson

The subject of this movie review is A Mighty Wind, a 2003 comedy-drama from director Christopher Guest.  This mock documentary captures the reunion of a 1960s folk trio, as they prepare for a show to memorialize a recently deceased concert promoter.

Christopher Guest’s film A Mighty Wind is the third in his popular series of mock documentary films, or mockumentaries, as fans know them, which also include Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show.  Guest and co-stars Michael McKean and Harry Shearer were also the band in the Rob Reiner’s famous mockumentary, This is Spinal Tap.  This time the comedic trio comprises another movie group, the folk trio The Folksmen.

The neurotic and fussbudget son (the sublime Bob Balaban) of a folk music record company mogul, with some help from his siblings, organizes a reunion of three of his father’s biggest acts:  the aforementioned The Folksmen, The New Main Street Singers, and the very popular duo Mitch and Mickey.  As the groups prepare for a nationally televised show (on public TV) staged at Town Hall in New York City, old tensions and conflicts that caused breakups or hard feelings start to arise.  Will everyone have his or her act together in time to show the nation that folk music is alive and well?

Some consider this to be the least among the Guest-Levy comedies, and A Mighty Wind is often too polished and too smooth.  The documentary aspect of the film is also just window dressing; the film is better when it’s more about personal relationships and less about characters being observed by a camera.  The documentary makes the characters appear to be shallow when they’re obviously more interesting than just the surface appearance.  In the end, the players are more interesting than the film’s conceit.

However, there are times when Guest and Levy deal their wit using only the sharpest instruments of satire and farce, but the brilliance in the writing of this film is that Guest and Levy, for all the fun they poke, actually make folk music quite appealing.  The screwy, peculiar, neurotic, and sometimes wacky characters are all quite loveable.  I found myself laughing good-naturedly more than in derision at the cast.  Would that more movies were so endearing even when they skewering.

The film earned an Oscar® nomination for “Best Music, Original Song” for the fabulous and poignant “A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow,” song by Mitch and Mickey.  Guest, McKean, and Levy, however, did win a Grammy® Award in the category of “Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media” for the movie’s title track, “A Mighty Wind.”  These two songs and many others in combination with a musically talented and funny cast make A Mighty Wind a must see for viewers who want their comedy a notch above profanity and gross out.

6 of 10
B

NOTES:
2004 Academy Awards, USA:  1 nomination: “Best Music, Original Song” (Michael McKean and Annette O'Toole for the song "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow")

Updated:  Wednesday, February 19, 2014


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

2014 NAACP Image Award Winners - Complete List

by Leroy Douresseaux

The NAACP Image Award an award bestowed by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).  The award honors outstanding achievements by people of color in film, television, music, and literature.  The awards are voted on by members of the NAACP.

The 45th NAACP Image Awards categories are divided into seven groups:  Television, Recording (Music), Literary (Books), Motion Picture, Documentary (film and television), Writing (for film and television), and Directing (for film and television).

The 2014 / 45th NAACP Image Awards were presented Saturday, February 22, 2014.  Anthony Anderson hosted the ceremony, and Dennis Haysbert was the in-show announcer.

The “Entertainer of the Year” award, which was voted on by members of the NAACP and non-members, was announced during the ceremony and the winner is Kevin Hart.  The other nominees were Beyonce, Dwayne Johnson, Idris Elba, Nicole Beharie, Oprah Winfrey, Pharrell Williams, Steve Harvey, and Tyler Perry

The 2014 / 45th NAACP Image Awards winners (for the year 2013):

TELEVISION

Outstanding Comedy Series
•         "Real Husbands of Hollywood" (BET)

Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series
•         Kevin Hart - "Real Husbands of Hollywood" (BET)

Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series
•         Wendy Raquel Robinson - "The Game" (BET)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
•         Morris Chestnut - "Nurse Jackie" (Showtime)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
•         Brandy Norwood - "The Game" (BET)

Outstanding Drama Series
•         "Scandal" (ABC)

Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series
•         LL Cool J - "NCIS: Los Angeles" (CBS)

Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series
•         Kerry Washington - "Scandal" (ABC)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
•         Joe Morton - "Scandal" (ABC)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
•         Taraji P. Henson - "Person of Interest" (CBS)

Outstanding Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
•         "Being Mary Jane" (BET)

Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
•         Idris Elba - "Luther" (BBC America)

Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
•         Gabrielle Union - "Being Mary Jane" (BET)

Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series
•         Kristoff St. John - "The Young and the Restless" (CBS)

Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series
•         Tatyana Ali - "The Young and the Restless" (CBS)

Outstanding News/ Information - (Series or Special)
•         "The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross with Henry Louis Gates, Jr." (PBS)

Outstanding Talk Series
•         "Steve Harvey" (Syndicated)

Outstanding Reality Series
•         "Iyanla: Fix My Life" (OWN)

Outstanding Variety Series or Special
•         "Black Girls Rock!" (BET)

Outstanding Children’s Program
•         "Wynton Marsalis: A YoungArts MasterClass" (HBO)

Outstanding Performance in a Youth/ Children’s Program - (Series or Special)
•         China Anne McClain - "A.N.T. Farm" (Disney Channel)


RECORDING (Music)

Outstanding New Artist
•         K. Michelle (Atlantic Records)

Outstanding Male Artist
•         John Legend (Columbia Records)

Outstanding Female Artist
•         Beyoncé (Columbia Records)

Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration
•         "Blurred Lines" - Robin Thicke feat. T.I. & Pharrell (Star Trak/Interscope)

Outstanding Jazz Album
•         "The Songs of Stevie Wonder" - SFJAZZ Collective (SFJAZZ Records)

Outstanding Gospel Album - (Traditional or Contemporary)
•         "Best Days Deluxe Edition" - Tamela Mann (Tillymann Music)

Outstanding World Music Album
•         "Natalie Cole en Español" - Natalie Cole (Verve Records)

Outstanding Music Video
•         "Q.U.E.E.N." - Janelle Monáe feat. Erykah Badu (Bad Boy/Atlantic)

Outstanding Song
•         "All Of Me" - John Legend (Columbia Records)

Outstanding Album
•         "Love, Charlie" - Charlie Wilson (RCA Records)


LITERATURE

Outstanding Literary Work - Fiction
•         "Anybody's Daughter" - Pamela Samuels Young (Goldman House Publishing)

Outstanding Literary Work - Non-Fiction
•         "Envisioning Emancipation: Black Americans and the End of Slavery" - Deborah Willis, Barbara Krauthamer (Temple University Press)

Outstanding Literary Work - Debut Author
•         "Nine Years Under" - Sheri Booker (Gotham Books)

Outstanding Literary Work - Biography/ Auto-Biography
•         "The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks" - Jeanne Theoharis (Beacon Press)

Outstanding Literary Work - Instructional
•         "The Vegucation of Robin: How Real Food Saved My Life" - Robin Quivers (Avery)

Outstanding Literary Work - Poetry
•         "Turn Me Loose: The Unghosting of Medgar Evers" - Frank X Walker (University of Georgia Press)

Outstanding Literary Work - Children
•         "Nelson Mandela" - Kadir Nelson (HarperCollins Children's Books/Katherine Tegen Books)

Outstanding Literary Work - Youth/Teens
•         "Courage Has No Color, The True Story of the Triple Nickles: America's First Black Paratroopers" - Tanya Lee Stone (Candlewick Press)


MOTION PICTURE

Outstanding Motion Picture
•         "12 Years A Slave" (River Road/Plan B/New Regency/Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
•         Forest Whitaker - "Lee Daniels' The Butler" (The Weinstein Company/Lee Daniels Entertainment, Laura Ziskin Productions, Windy Hill Pictures, Follow Through Productions, Salamander Pictures, Pam Williams Productions)

Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
•         Angela Bassett - "Black Nativity" (Fox Searchlight Pictures/Mavin Pictures/Wonderful Films)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
•         David Oyelowo - "Lee Daniels' The Butler" (The Weinstein Company/Lee Daniels Entertainment, Laura Ziskin Productions, Windy Hill Pictures, Follow Through Productions, Salamander Pictures, Pam Williams Productions)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
•         Lupita Nyong'o - "12 Years A Slave " (River Road/Plan B/New Regency/Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Outstanding Independent Motion Picture
•         "Fruitvale Station" (The Weinstein Company/Forest Whitaker's Significant Productions, OG Project)

Outstanding International Motion Picture
•         "War Witch" (Item 7)


DOCUMENTARY

Outstanding Documentary - (Theatrical)
•         "Free Angela and All Political Prisoners" (Codeblack Films/Lionsgate)

Outstanding Documentary - (Television)
•         "Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic " (Showtime)

WRITING

Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series
•         Vincent Brown - "A.N.T. Farm" - influANTces (Disney Channel)

Outstanding Writing in a Dramatic Series
•         Janine Sherman Barrois - "Criminal Minds" - Strange Fruit (CBS)

Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture - (Theatrical or Television)
•         John Ridley - "12 Years A Slave" (River Road/Plan B/New Regency/Fox Searchlight Pictures)

DIRECTING

Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series
•         Millicent Shelton - "The Hustle" - Rule 4080 (FUSE)

Outstanding Directing in a Dramatic Series
•         Regina King - "SouthLAnd" - Off Duty (TNT)

Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture - (Theatrical or Television)
•         Steve McQueen - "12 Years A Slave" (River Road/Plan B/New Regency/Fox Searchlight Pictures)

---------------------

Review: "Trainspotting" is Still Cool (Happy B'day, Kelly Macdonald)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 69 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Trainspotting (1996)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  United Kingdom
Running time:  94 minutes (1 hour, 34 minutes)
MPAA – R for graphic heroin use and resulting depravity, strong language, sex, nudity and some violence
DIRECTOR:  Danny Boyle
WRITER:  John Hodge (from the novel by Irvine Welsh)
PRODUCER:  Andrew Macdonald
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Brian Tufano (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Masahiro Hirakubo
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA with elements of comedy

Starring:  Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Kevin McKidd, Robert Carlyle, Peter Mullan, and Kelly Macdonald

The subject of this movie review is Trainspotting, a 1996 British drama and black comedy from the team of director Danny Boyle, producer Andrew Macdonald, and writer John Hodge.  The film is based on the 1993 novel, Trainspotting, by author Irvine Welsh.  Set in Edinburgh, Scotland, Trainspotting the film focuses on a heroin addict who tries to clean up despite the allure of the drugs and the influence of his friends.

Director Danny Boyle captured movie audiences’ attentions with his film Shallow Grave, but it was Trainspotting that blew him up big time.  It’s the story of five young Scotsmen and their decrepit lives – rarely has nasty and slovenliness seemed so appealing.

Mark “Rent-boy” Renton (Ewan McGregor) is a serious heroine addict, deeply involved in the Edinburgh drug scene, who tries to kick his habit and change his life.  Three of his friends are also hooked on smack:  Daniel “Spud” Murphy (Ewen Bremner), Simon David “Sick Boy” Williamson (Jonny Lee Miller), and Tommy MacKenzie (Kevin McKidd).  His other homey is a wacked-out, violent, thief, and ex-con named Francis Begbie (Robert Carlyle), whom everyone calls Begbie.  Renton enjoys the dope, the violent friends, and the wild sex, but despite the allure, he wants to go clean.  If only his friends would let him be and that includes Diane (Kelly Macdonald), the hot young thing whose jailbait body can’t get enough of Renton.

The first half of Trainspotting seems to drag, but the death of a minor, but important character, really kicks off the festivities.  It seems that it took a horrible and gruesome discovery in the narrative flow to wake up screenwriter John Hodge’s storytelling beast.  Suddenly, the vibrant soundtrack, clever editing, dead-on acting, and drug fugue merge to make something splendid.  Boyle’s directing style for this film earned comparisons to films like Pulp Fiction and A Clockwork Orange, and the narrative spool of this film does mirror the latter film in style and execution, but Trainspotting is about sad people.  In Pulp Fiction and Clockwork, the characters are dangerous and dangerously sexy; in Trainspotting, they’re pretty pathetic, more sexual stank than sexually attractive.  Even McGregor’s Renton is a bore.

However, there is a neat trick Boyle and Hodge pull on us.  The closer Renton comes to the surface to free himself from his morass, the more attractive and sympathetic he becomes.  He goes from being the lead loser, the least repellent of the lowlife, to a hero for whom we can root.  As he cleans himself up, the film becomes all the more beautiful.

Trainspotting is something different, but something good, and it requires patience on the part of a viewer.  There’s a reward at the end of the rainbow.  Boyle and Hodge make this Renton’s story, about a kind of resurrection.  They wed him to the viewer, and as he rises, so does the viewer.  It’s an electric experience that has to be experienced; for the adventurous film fan, it’s a reward watching Renton finally win and leave the filth behind, not unlike kicking a bad habit.

7 of 10
A-

NOTES:
1997 Academy Awards, USA:  1 nomination: “Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published” (John Hodge)

1996 BAFTA Awards:  1 win: “Best Screenplay – Adapted” (John Hodge); 1 nomination: “Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film” (Andrew Macdonald and Danny Boyle)

1997 BAFTA Awards, Scotland:  2 wins: “Best Feature Film” (Andrew Macdonald-producer, Danny Boyle-director, and John Hodge-writer), “Best Actor – Film” (Ewan McGregor); 3 nominations: “Best Actor – Film” (Robert Carlyle), “Best Actress – Film” (Kelly Macdonald), and “Best Writer” (John Hodge)

Updated:  Sunday, February 23, 2014


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.