My Annual Genie's Post

E very year when the Genie Nominations are announced, I try and see as many of the films that are nominated as possible - but I usually peter out before the ceremony itself. This year, I think it will be different. For one thing, I have already seen three of the Best Picture Nominees (A Dangerous Method, Cafe de Flore and The Whistleblower - look for my review tomorrow of the first two, check the archives for The Whistleblower), and can see another, Starbuck, this weekend as it is available on DVD. The fifth nominee, Monsieur Lazhar, will come to a theater near me in February, and I was already planning on checking it out.

The other reason why I don't think I'll peter out this year, is because most of the major nominees come from these five films - or else are not available to me anyway. The five best picture nominees contain 12 of the 20 acting nominees. I've already seen another of the acting nominees - Garret Dillahunt in Oliver Sherman - and another, Taylor Kitsch in The Bang Bang Club is already available on DVD. Three of the remaining acting nominees come from Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster, which is not available, so I have no idea when I can see it. The other three are Best Actress nominees from Nuit #1, The Girl in the White Coat and Take This Waltz, which are also not available.

Out of the "below the line nominees" I have seen Daydream Nation, and can see Funkytown, as it is available on DVD. The rest, as far as I know anyway, are not available, so I don't have a chance to see them.

I cannot say I was surprised at the nominees. A Dangerous Method is the best Canadian Film of the year, from the best Canadian director of all time, so it makes sense that it got the second most nominations of any film. Cafe de Flore is the second best, and comes from the beloved Jean-Marc Vallee, rebounding from his dull English language feature The Young Victoria to return to the type of film that made his year (like CRAZY), so the fact that it led the nominees is also not surprising. Monsieur Lazhar is Canada's entry into the Foreign Language Oscar race this year, so you knew it would be a major nominee. The Whistleblower is a strong, gut wrenching film, starring an Oscar winner (Rachel Weisz), so it was bound to be a nominee. And Starbuck was an audience friendly Quebec hit, starring their biggest star Patrick Huard.

The two biggest surprises for me both involve Sarah Polley's Take This Waltz. First, I didn't know it was eligble, since it didn't receive a theatrical release, at least as far as I know. And second, since it was eligible, how poorly it did - just picking up two nominations. I heard nothing but great things coming out TIFF this year about the film, and given how the Genies fell head over heels in love with Away From Her, Polley's first film, I thought it would be a major player. Apparently not.

Out of the nominees I did see, I am happy that A Dangerous Method and Cafe de Flore did so well. Both are among the best films of 2011 - Canadian or not. I liked, but did not love The Whistleblower, but it's a valid nominee - and I love how they nominated Roxana Cordurache for her great performance. I also love that they nominated Garret Dillahunt, whose performance was stronger than the movie itself in Oliver Sherman.

Brief, preliminary winner predictions. Cafe de Flore will take picture and director, Fellag will win Best Actor for Monsieur Lazhar, Vanessa Paradis will win best actress for Cafe de Flore, Viggo Mortenson will win supporting actor for A Dangerous Method, and Helene Florent will win supporting actress for Cafe de Flore. Yes, I think they'll go for Cafe over A Dangerous Method - they have shown some reluctance to award Cronenberg too much in recent years.

Anyway, watch for reviews of some of these films in the coming weeks. As mentioned before, The Whistleblower, Daydream Nation and Oliver Sherman already have reviews ib this site and A Dangerous Method and Cafe de Flore will be up tomorrow. The rest that I can see will trickle in over the next few weeks.The nominees are:

Best Picture

Café de Flore
A Dangerous Method
Monsieur Lazhar
Starbuck
The Whistleblower

Director

David Cronenberg, A Dangerous Method
Phillippe Falardeau, Monsieur Lazhar
Larysa Kondracki, The Whistleblower
Scott Silver, The Bang Bang Club
Jean-Marc Valle, Café de Flore

Actor

Garrett Dillahunt, Oliver Sherman
Michael Fassbender, A Dangerous Method
Fellag, Monsieur Lazhar
Patrick Huard, Starbuck
Scott Speedman, Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster

Actress

Catherine De Lean, Nuit #1
Pascale Montpetit, The Girl in the White Coat
Vanessa Paradis, Café de Flore
Rachel Weisz, The Whistleblower
Michelle Williams, Take This Waltz

Supporting Actor
Antoine Bertrand, Starbuck
Kevin Durand, Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster
Marin Gerrier, Café de Flore
Taylor Kitsch, The Bang Bang Club
Viggo Mortenson, A Dangerous Method

Supporting Actress
Roxana Cordurache, The Whistleblower
Helene Florent, Café de Flore
Julie Lebreton, Starbuck
Sophie Nelisse, Monsieur Lazhar
Charlotte Sullivan, Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster

Original Screenplay

Café de Flore
Nuit #1
Son of the Sunshine
Starbuck
The Whistleblower

Adapted Screenplay

The Bang Bang Club
In Darkness
Monsieur Lazhar
Oliver Sherman

Cinematography

The Bang Bang Club
Café de Flore
Daydream Nation
Monsieur Lazhar
Snow and Ashes

Editing

A Dangerous Method
In Darkness
Jaloux
Monsieur Lazhar
The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom

Art Direction

The Bang Bang Club
Café de Flore
A Dangerous Method
Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster
Funkytown

Costume Design

Afghan Luke
Café de Flore
A Dangerous Method
Funkytown
Keyhole

Score

The Bang Bang Club
A Dangerous Method
Jaloux
Monsieur Lazhar
The Whistleblower

Song

Cloudburst – My Love My Love
French Immersion – A Different Sort of Solitude
Funkytown – Waiting For Your Touch
Good Neighbours – Oeil Pour Oeil
Starbuck – Quelque Part

Sound

The Bang Bang Club
Café de Flore
A Dangerous Method
Monsieur Lazhar
Wetlands

Sound Editing
Café de Flore
A Dangerous Method
In Darkness
Wetlands
You Are Here

Makeup

Amazon Falls
Bumrush
Café de Flore
Snow and Ashes
Take This Waltz

Visual Effects

Bumrush
Café de Flore
A Dangerous Method
Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster
Snow and Ashes

Documentary

At Night They Dance
Beauty Day
Family Portrait in Black and White
The Guantanamo Trap
Wiebo’s War