I am very excited! The 2012 Oscar race has cast-off nicely! About a year ago I saw a little movie called Win Win and it stayed in my #1 spot for 2011 all year! Does Salmon Fishing in The Yemen have the same kind of staying power? Probably not.
Don’t get me wrong, I really liked the movie and it is totally worth seeing, however the ending feels pretty rushed… and a bit forced. With all the wonderful things Salmon Fishing had going for it, they just weren’t able to do what Win Win did so masterfully: make their poignant and heartfelt ending look easy and natural.
That said, my wife, Serena, who merely tolerates my movie addiction, liked it a lot… which is a huge compliment because she almost never likes anything. About a month ago I attempted to show her two movies: Easy A and Once, and she asked for both to be turned off about ten minutes in. Erg! So yeah, it is very hard to find movies she will actually like. However, director Lasse Halstrom was totally my ace in the hole. When I told Serena Salmon Fishing was directed by the same guy who directed Chocolat, her all-time favorite movies, she totally bought into my plans for date night.
The movie itself is a wonderfully quirky and joyous story about salmon fishing that touches on a number of much deeper issues like the war in Afghanistan and Terrorism… as well as much more personal issues like the loss of a loved one and a marriage of convenience. There are four standout performances in this film, each actor and actress portraying characters with their own different baggage coming together to realize one common dream.
Best Actor: Ewan McGregor (#1 on the Dynamic List)
Well… at least Ewan is #1 for now… along with all the other folks earning a spot on my ‘Best Performances’ dynamic list for 2012. Merely because it’s the first movie I’ve seen for the year! But that doesn’t mean Ewan isn’t worthy. If he wasn’t he wouldn’t be on the list at all!
After the movie Serena and I talked for a bit. I couldn’t help but reminisce a little. I first took notice of Ewan in 1994 when I just happened to pick up an interesting little movie called Shallow Grave from the video store. I took it home, watched it… and then called a bunch of my friends, showed it them… then called some more friends… I probably watched the movie about eight times over the course of the week long rental. And I remember thinking… “who the heck is this Ewan McGregor guy? He’s totally going to be someone… or at least he should!” Two years later Trainspotting and Brassed Off were released and the rest is history. Perhaps I reminisced because it’s been 18 years… and look how far he’s come since Shallow Grave. Remarkable.
I also reminisce because Ewan is currently doing the best work of his career. Beginners and Salmon Fishing are probably the best two performances of his career. In Salmon Fishing he plays a fisheries expert for the British Government who is too smart for his own good and begrudgingly gets involved with the ridiculous Yemen salmon fishing project. At the same time he is a dutiful husband in a somewhat stale marriage to a woman who gives him little to no attention.
His performance was so… so… pompous and judgmental… while also endearing and hopeful. He carried over a lot of the quiet internalized pain he showed us in Beginners however he made it fresh… new… he was a completely different person. Acting!
Best Actress: Emily Blunt (#1 on the Dynamic List)
You know? I think I have a tendency to underestimate Emily quite a bit. And that’s probably because she’s not always looking to bask in the proverbial spotlight of Hollywood. She does voice over work, supporting roles, bit parts… leading roles in obscure period pieces no one sees. But every once in a while she’s in something I really like. Like The Great Buck Howard or Dan in Real Life and I remember… Huh… Emily isn’t just the poor man’s Anne Hathaway.
Emily Blunt is a subtle and dynamite actress. And her nuanced performance in Salmon Fishing is the best I’ve seen from her so far. She’s cute… while also totally believable as a finance manager whose boyfriend has been deployed to Afghanistan. Her performance is very honest. But this shouldn’t come as a surprise… after all, she is married to the king of subtle and nuanced performances: John Krasinski from The Office.
Emily actually has me excited about The Five-Year Engagement.
Best Supporting Actor: Amr Waked (#1 on the Dynamic List)
Thank you Amr! Finally! Finally! Finally! We finally have a portrayal of a Middle Eastern man who is warm, courageous, and loveable. Aka. Not a terrorist.
Now Amr is no stranger to playing darker side of Middle Eastern roles. He played the big cheese terrorist is Syriana, however I wasn’t able to place him and make that connection while watching the Salmon Fishing. And the only other film I had seen him in was Contagion, but I can’t even remember what role he played.
That said… this was the role of Amr’s life! Amr breathed so much life into Sheikh Muhammad making his character’s own brushes with terrorism, Middle Eastern vs. Middle Eastern, all the more poignant and interesting. If this film has been released after October Amr might had found himself with an Oscar nomination.
Best Supporting Actress: Kristin Scott Thomas (#1 on the Dynamic List)
Now, timing is everything when it comes to winning Oscars. A year ago, last Spring, when Win Win came out I predicted that it wouldn’t get nominated for anything because of the timing of its released. And I was right. Spring releases don’t win awards. The same goes for Salmon Fishing in The Yemen, which is really a shame… and the big loser here is Kristin Scott Thomas. She… Is… PHENOMINAL!
Forget The English Patient, forget Gosford Park, forget Four Weddings and a Funeral, Nowhere Boy, Life as a House… forget them all. Kristin’s performance as Bridget Maxwell, the British Prime Ministers equivalent to the President’s Press Secretary, is the greatest performance of her career! BRAVO!
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