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Hello there, and welcome to March’s Film Club blog. We are in the business end of the awards season, a period of every year that celebrates the film industry. The biggest awards of them all are the Academy Awards (nicknamed the Oscars) and in just two days’ time, the 96th Oscars will commence. So, to celebrate this, this month I will talk to you about four of this year’s nominees for Best Director and one of their earlier or lesser known films.

We start with the legendary American-Italian director Martin Scorsese (Goodfellas, The Departed), nominated for Killers of the Flower Moon. But we will focus on the neo-noir psychological thriller, Taxi Driver (1976). After establishing his style; which includes graphic depictions of violence and high use of profanity, as well as frequent depictions of organized crime; in Mean Streets (1973), Taxi Driver was his first real big hit at the box office and award-winning film. It features Robert De Niro (Raging Bull, Cape Fear) as the lead character, in his second of 11 collaborations with Scorsese. Supporting cast includes a young Jodie Foster (Silence of the Lambs, Panic Room), Harvey Keitel (Mean Streets, National Treasure) and Albert Brooks (Finding Nemo, Private Benjamin).

The premise follows Travis Bickle (De Niro), a man who takes a job as a taxi driver at night to cope with his chronic insomnia and growing loneliness. His hobby is to frequent adult movie theatres. He slowly becomes disgusted with the crime decay of the city he lives in (New York) and dreams of ridding “the scum off the streets.” He later becomes infatuated with campaign volunteer Betsy (Cybill Shepherd), successfully asking her out but alienating her when he reveals his main hobby. As Travis’ frustration and violent rage grows inside of him, he confides in a fellow driver nicknamed Wizard (Peter Boyle). Travis determines to vent his anger by training himself to fight and become a vigilante around the city. Taking to the streets, he quickly makes a difference, encountering all manner of people including an extremely young prostitute named Iris (Foster) and her despicable and abusive pimp Sport (Keitel). But of course, his antics don’t go unnoticed by the law.

Rather unsurprisingly, Taxi Driver gained controversy for its overt graphic violence and the casting of a 12-year-old as a child prostitute. However, it was extremely well received by critics, Roger Ebert exclaiming it one of the best films he had ever seen. Sight and Sound named it the 29th best film ever in a 2022 list, and it was selected for preservation in the US National Film Registry in 1994. It won the Palme d’Or at the 1976 Cannes Festival and was nominated for 4 Oscars including Best Picture, Actor and Supporting Actress (for Foster). All in all, it is a very good expose on the fragilities of the human mind, the impact of insomnia and environments of crime, but rated 18, it is not for the faint hearted nor children. Watch it only on DVD now, and get a small dose of Travis’ warped mind by watching the clip in the link below:

Our second entry is focused on the work of little-known English director Jonathan Glazer (Sexy Beast), nominated for The Zone of Interest. His work is characterized by his depictions of flawed characters and themes of loneliness. With only four feature films to his name, the choice of work for this director is Under the Skin (2013). Loosely based on a 2000 novel by Michael Faber (of the same name), it showcases Scarlett Johansson (Avengers Assemble, Lost in Translation) as the lead character and the only known actor/actress in the film. The rest of the cast had little to no acting experience at the time of filming.

The story takes place in Glasgow (Scotland), as a motorcyclist retrieves a sluggish woman from the roadside and places her inside a van, a mysterious naked woman then takes her clothes. After buying her own clothes and make-up, the second woman then proceeds to drive the van from town to town, picking up men (who are never seen again…). She lures one particular man to an old rundown house, with him following her through a void but ending up submerged in some sort of liquid with the woman nowhere in sight. As the woman continues to pick up men and the motorcyclist continues to cover up her crimes, her true nature is slowly revealed.

Despite being a box-office failure (with many giving it a miss in cinemas), Under the Skin was lauded by critics, with Peter Bradshaw (The Guardian) described it as “visually stunning and deeply disturbing” and gave it a full 5 stars. Whereas, Richard Roeper (Chicago Sun-Times) gave it 4 out of 4, exclaiming: “This is what we talk about when we talk about film as art”. A number of other critics gave it an outstanding rating, and many publications also named it the best film of 2014 (the year it received a wide release). Experience this piece of ‘art’ now by loaning it on DVD or watching it on e-stream. You can also view the trailer by clicking the link below:

From an expert in the disturbing, to an expert in black comedy, our next entry focuses on Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos, nominated for the acclaimed Poor Things. Making his English-language debut with 2015s The Lobster, Lanthimos is most known for the use of deadpan humour and characters with stilted speech within his work. He has thus far been nominated for no less than 6 Oscars for his work, though is yet to actually win any, will this be his year? Well, his spotlight film is period piece The Favourite (2018), set in 18th century Britain and following the reign of Queen Anne (1665-1714), and two women’s battle to be her court “favourite”. The main trio of its cast is comprised of the extremely talented Olivia Colman (The Father, Wonka), Emma Stone (Cruella, La La Land) and Rachel Weisz (The Mummy, The Lovely Bones); with Nicholas Hoult (X-Men: Days of Future Past, Mad Max: Fury Road) & Mark Gatiss (Dad’s Army 2016, Christopher Robin) appearing in key supporting roles.

In 1705, Great Britain is at war with the French (The War of Spanish Succession). The monarch of the time, Queen Anne (Colman) is in poor health and has little interest in any sort of governance anymore, still mourning the losses of seventeen children (either through miscarriage or having died in infancy). In her stead, her confidante and advisor (and sometimes lover) Sarah Churchill (Weisz) effectively rules the nation by influencing the Queen’s decisions and representing her in parliament, much to the chagrin of leader of the Opposition Robert Harley (Hoult), who constantly tries to undermine her authority. Her position is harmed further by the sudden arrival of her cousin Abigail Hill (Stone) who; having been abandoned by her father (Gatiss); has come to the palace in search of employment, desperately hoping to curry favour due to her relation to Sarah. Alas, Abigail’s societal standing is tainted (thanks in no small part to her father), so she is forced to do only menial work as a scullery maid (the lowest ranked female position) to start.

After Abigail one day notices the Queen has gout (now known as Arthritis), Abigail kindly forages herbs to help and applies them to the Queen (though not without ulterior motives of course). She is whipped for entering her majesty’s chambers without permission but his soon promoted to Lady of the Bedchamber upon the realisation of Sarah that the remedy had worked. Later, Abigail stumbles upon the Anne & Sarah in a romantic trust, yet refuses to reveal her findings to Harley after he asks her to keep an eye on them both for incriminating evidence. She does however allude to Sarah that she knows, and decides to court a friendship with Anne herself. This inevitably leads to more, and as Sarah finds out, a riotous battle to be “The Favourite”.

While audience response to this off the cuff comedy was rather mixed, the critics fell in love with this feature. Peter Travers (Rolling Stone) gave it a full 5 stars calling it a “bawdy, brilliant triumph”, with much praised heaped on the female trio, of which all 3 were nominated for Oscars! In fact, it was unsurprisingly nominated for numerous awards including 10 Oscars and 11 BAFTAs, winning just the one Oscar for Best Actress (Colman), but a whopping 7 BAFTAs! Including Best Actress in both Leading & Supporting Roles (Colman & Weisz) and Outstanding British Film. Hysterical and wild, I can truly attest to this film’s greatness, even though it is brand of humour only some will like. This movie is available to watch on both DVD and e-stream now, and you can experience the comically funny trailer by clicking the link below:

Last but certainly not least, we have the hot favourite to win this year’s Best Director award – Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception), of course nominated for the incredible Oppenheimer. Nolan being well known for the use of time, memory and personal identity as themes in his films; while also championing mathematical inspirations, practical special effects and experimental sounds. However, I actually prefer this example of his early work, the psychological thriller The Prestige (2006). His fifth directorial release; it was based on the 1995 novel by British writer Christopher Priest; and is criminally underappreciated in comparison to his later work. It boasts a stellar cast of many actors still in the early stages of their careers including Hugh Jackman (X-Men, The Greatest Showman), Christian Bale (Batman Begins, American Hustle), Scarlett Johansson (Iron Man 2, Jojo Rabbit), Rebecca Hall (The BFG 2016, Godzilla vs. Kong) and the legendary Sir Michael Caine (The Italian Job 1969, Educating Rita) & David Bowie (Labyrinth).

In 1890s London, we find lead characters Robert Angier (Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Bale), two aspiring magicians working as helpers for an already famous one. They both report to John Cutter (Caine) a stage magic engineer. One fateful night, a water tank trick goes devastatingly wrong resulting in the death of Angier’s wife Julia when she is unable to escape. He subsequently accuses Borden of causing her death and the two fallout and part ways, both begin a solo act, though Borden is aided by Cutter in his. In small retribution for his wife’s death, Angier sabotages one of Borden’s tricks, leaving two of his fingers severed. Responding, Borden develops a mysterious trick called ‘The Transporting Man’, in which he appears to travel between two wardrobes on opposite ends of the stage.

Annoyed by his rival’s success with this new trick and unable to discern how he pulls it off, Angier hires a double to help him perform his own version. Somehow, it is a bigger success than even Borden’s original trick but Angier remains dissatisfied and haunted by Borden. He resolves to send his assistant Olivia (Johansson) to spy on Borden and learn his secrets including how he performs the transportation trick. But that move doesn’t exactly go to plan. The rest of the feature chronicles an intense psychological battle between Angier & Borden for supremacy over both their occupation and the others’ mind, plus Angier’s search for the truth behind the trick, which includes meeting famous scientist Nikola Tesla (Bowie).

The Prestige received a positive response from critics, and yet flew somewhat under the radar with general audiences. Claudia Puig (USA Today) lauded it as “one of the most innovative, twisting, turning art films of the past decade.” The cinematography, as well as the performances of Jackman, Bale and Bowie were all well praised; and the positive reception has only grown since its release, with the A.V. Club naming it one of the best films of the 2000s in 2009. It may be one of Nolan’s lesser known pieces, however I still believe it to be one of his best. Full of intrigue, incredible acting and superb sets, it’s a must-see film! It is available to watch anywhere, anytime only on e-stream. We will also be screening a viewing of this film next Wednesday (13th March)! 1pm in the SU Activities Room GF-25 DHB, so come along and enjoy the movie! You can get sneak peek by watching the opening scene after clicking the link below:

Four incredible directors, nominated for four incredible films. But nothing sums them up more perfectly than their early work and you can watch some of it now thanks to the Library. Grab a copy and get watching in anticipation for Sunday night, the biggest celebration in film.