HBO dominates the Emmy nominations

Premium pay channel HBO dominated the nominations Thursday for the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards , earning a stunning 104 nods, including honors for itstwo freshman series, "Game of Thrones" and "Boardwalk Empire," as well as the acclaimed miniseries "Mildred Pierce" and the TV movies "Cinema Verite" and "Too Big to Fail," about the nation's banking crisis.

In fact, "Mildred Pierce," the period melodrama starring Kate Winslet in the role that Joan Crawford made famous in 1945, earned the most nominations, with astaggering 21 nods including best miniseries, best actress for Winslet, and best director for Todd Haynes.



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The Road

The road is a post-apocalyptic film following the lives of a man (Viggo Mortensen) and his son (Kodi Smit-McPhee). Based on the book of the same name (written by Cormac McCarthy), It tells the story of how the man provides for and looks after his son, until he becomes very ill and the son then has to look after his father. We never learn what the event was that led to the the destroyed world in which the film is set, but through flashback we do see why the mother (Charlize Theron) is no longer around. When the man finally dies (tuberculosis? I don’t think we actually find out), the boy is found by a “veteran” (Guy Pearce), his wife and two kids, and so he finds some stability in this world (presumably...).

The shattered world in which the film is set is very 28 Days Later/Survivors/I am Legend-ish, but what sets is apart is the colour: there isn’t any! Everything is so subdued and mute that the film is essentially black and white, except for fire. Sometimes warming, sometimes sinister when it appears that the sky is burning; the fire brings a stark contrast to everything else in the world. Perhaps this is a reflection that fire is the only thing that is man-made now. The only other colour is a rainbow in a waterfall; all animals are dead, the trees are dying and falling down, there is really nothing colourful.

Adding to the sombre feel of the film is another haunting soundtrack by Warren Ellis and Nick Cave. Perhaps not as stunning as the soundtrack from The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford; but still, that looking out of the window on a rainy day/sense of loss ambiance is very apparent. The chord progressions these two come up with get me every time; the track “Memory” is very “Song for Bob” (which actually really choked me up the first time I listened to it outwith the film).

Viggo is superb as the everyman character who is thrust into this situation by the fate of the world, and who just wants to take care of his son. He manages to bring a humility and realism to the character, who is completely committed to his son:

“All I know is that the boy was my charge. And if he was not the word of God. Then God never spoke.”

But at the same time he is able to show a real desperation, and demonstrate that he is prepared to do anything to protect the boy. I really think Viggo is perfect for this role; don’t get me wrong he is great as Aragorn, Weps (apart from the flat-top), and in G.I. Jane; but his “guy next door” demeanour is far more suited to this film than as the King of Gondor. There is also a very brief appearance by Robert Duvall, though you can hardly tell it’s him; and despite what the extras on the DVD say, it really probably wasn’t worth getting him for the 5 min he’s on screen.

Overall The Road is a very good film, not a very cheery film, but a good one. The dynamic between the Man and his Son works really well, and you really feel the emotions the characters are going through as they try to find food, avoid cannibals, and not lose the food that they have found. Viggo is great, and the whole film has an atmosphere that is far more bleak than other films in this genre, and is difficult to shake.

 

The King's Speech

On the face of it, a film about a guy with a stammer and his struggle to overcome said speech defect so that he can speak in public, doesn't sound like it would particularly get bums on seats. But make the guy Prince Albert of York (soon to be King George VI), get Colin Firth to play him, and fill the role of the elocution teacher with the excellent Geoffrey Rush; then play the film against the backdrop of George V's death, the abdication of Edward VIII and imminent war with Germany in 1939 and the result is a great film full of many dramatic and funny moments.

Essentially; Prince Albert has suffered from a stammer from a young age, but now that he is expected to make public appearances and speeches, his difficulty in speaking is quite a hindrance. Having seen many speech therapists his wife Elizabeth (played by Helena Bonham Carter, who is also excellent) finds a therapist with some unorthodox methods. This therapist Lionel Logue (Rush), finds it hard to get to know "Bertie", but following the death of his father George V, he starts to open up to Lionel.

With the Death of George V, Bertie's brother Edward (Guy Pearce) becomes King, but his desire to marry a twice-divorced woman (not favourable in the eyes of The Establishment) results in his abdication of the throne. Bertie is therefore crowned King, not as Albert (considered to Germanic to be appropriate in 1936) but as George VI.

The new King struggles to find confidence to speak at his coronation, but doesn't have to say very much anyway. His big moment comes when he is to be broadcast live to the country and all the colonies following the outbreak of World War 2. This is the climax of the film, and of course he gets through the speech without stammering, but also not without dramatic pauses as he struggles for control.

I really did enjoy this film. The cast is superb. Colin Firth does deserve his Golden Globe, but I think Geoffrey Rush is at least as good as Firth. Helena Bonham Carter is also great (quite a departure for her, not being in a Tim Burton film!). She really seems to wear the trousers in the first part of the film where Bertie comes across as being a bit self pitying. Derek Jacobi puts in a solid performance as Archbishop Cosmo Lang, but is only ever a minor character. And I must not forget Timothy Spall as Winston Churchill, with surely an award-winning scowl if ever there was one!

I feel the cinematography is worth a comment. The overall palette of the film was very mute, even in some of the very opulent rooms inevitable in a film about Royals. I'm not sure if this was to reflect Bertie's overall mood as he is constantly struggling against his speech impediment; or rather to reflect the mood of the time leading up to war with Hitler. Or maybe neither and I haven't a clue what I'm talking about.

There were also a noticeable number of scenes (particularly if characters were sitting down) which were framed so that their heads mostly occupied the lower middle and left part of the screen. This left a lot of wall in the background which was made far more obvious. And I really can't think of a reason why some scenes would be shot like this. Maybe this is just me being weird, or perhaps I need my eyes corrected! But did anyone else notice this? Danny Cohen does have a BAFTA nomination for this work, so maybe no-one else did notice it!

Despite my potential weirdness I thought the film was excellent. Fantastic that us Brits can make a film about something so quintessentially British, and do it bloody well! What ho!