The Academy Awards will be held Sunday night, and I will be eager to see who takes home the coveted Oscars. I have at this point seen five of the nine films nominated for best picture: The Artist, The Descendants, Midnight in Paris, The Help, and Money Ball. Of these, I would give the nod to The Artist, which is an absolute delight.
Last Saturday night I went with friends to see The Iron Lady which deals with the life and career of Margaret Thatcher, the longest serving British Prime Minister of the 20th century and the only woman to have ever held the position. As always, Meryl Streep gave an amazing performance and clearly deserves her Oscar nomination for best actress, but having said that, I found the film sad and oddly disturbing. Margaret Thatcher's policies and politics engendered such strong feelings, both positive and negative, and yet this film seems to focus far more on Margaret Thatcher in her later years and with the decline of her mental faculties. Since she is still alive, it seems unfair and insensitive at best that The Iron Lady focuses so much on this aspect of her life. For that reason, I wouldn't recommend this film. It would have been stronger had it dealt more with her controversial politics, policies and actions as Prime Minister.
One more thing, I can't wait to see what Billy Crystal does as host of the Oscars. No one does it better. He'll probably have a field day with The Artist.
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