IF you didn't know any better, you'd assume that in America we secretly loathe our greatest movies -- otherwise why would we subject them to the demeaning, nauseatingly superficial ritual known as Oscar prognosticating?
When I went to an early screening of Terrence Malick's "The New World" the other night, my first reaction was one of almost giddy pleasure. It felt too good to be true that this notoriously reclusive artist had delivered a film that is not only a spellbinding portrait of our country's origins, but a singularly personal meditation on romance.
Of course, my next reaction brought me down to earth. What would happen to Malick's film when it was ground through the sausage factory of Oscar blogs and websites that have transformed the Academy Awards from a celebration of movies into a silly exercise in Ouija board-style predictions and lamebrained analysis? In other words, forget about "The New World's" artistry -- let's get to the musings you can expect from Oscar pundits: Haven't films set in the 19th century won more best pictures than movies set in the 17th century? What are the movie's chances when no best picture winner over the last 25 years has won without a lead actor in serious contention for an actor prize? And, of course, will the academy punish Malick for refusing to participate in the humiliating spectacle known as Oscar campaigning?
If you think I'm exaggerating, you haven't been reading many Oscar bloggers lately. They don't even need to see the movie to declare it a best picture favorite -- or a nonstarter. MovieCityNews' David Poland wrote a recent column in which he proclaimed, after seeing the trailer of "Munich," that the film "is a prohibitive front-runner to win the Academy Award for Best Picture." (This from the guy who said "The Phantom of the Opera" was the only movie that could beat "The Aviator" in last year's Oscar race.) In the midst of comparing "Munich's" best picture chances with those of "Memoirs of a Geisha," Poland offers this sage analysis: "Oh boy, is there a lot of death in the movies that have won [Oscars]. Only four of the last 25 winners do not have death or war as a central part of the story. I'm sure someone will die dramatically in 'Geisha,' but 'Munich' wins the body count hands down."
