Review for

IN THE DARK/Jonathan Richards

THE YEAR'S TEN BEST AND THE OSCARS

You won't find "Chicago" on this list, or "The Hours", or "The Two Towers". That doesn't mean I didn't like them. It means I didn't like them as well as the ones below. Anyway, they're all on the Academy's list. They'll weather this slight. Here's a bunch that really stood out. Some of them you can even still see on the big screen. For the rest, harass the video places.

1. Russian Ark (Sokurov) - A tour-de-force that wanders the halls of the Hermitage and covers the history of modern Russia from Peter the Great to the eve of the revolution, all composed in one single astonishing 96 minute shot.

2. Talk to Her (Pedro Almodóvar) -- An unlikely friendship develops between two men in a hospital tending to their comatose girlfriends. Funny, serious, and provoking, it's about loneliness and communication, about being non-judgmental, about what women want and what men are capable of.

3. Chihwaseon (Im Kwon-taek) - This rip-roaring Korean historical epic about 19th-century painter Ohwon Jang Seung-up is one of the best stories ever put on film about an artist and the artistic process.

4. Rivers and Tides (Thomas Riedelsheimer) - A remarkable movie about creativity from the perspective of Scottish artist Andy Goldsworthy, who creates works of art with the life span of a mayfly. The movie, paradoxically, is a permanent record of things whose essence is impermanence, but it captures something very near the soul.

5. Bowling For Columbine (Michael Moore) - This wildly entertaining, soberingly reflective diatribe takes the Columbine High School massacre as its point of departure for examining America's love affair with firearms, and why our gun homicide statistics are so shockingly out of kilter with the rest of the world.

6. Far From Heaven (Todd Haynes) - With this pastiche of the Douglas Sirk melodramas of the 1950s ("Magnificent Obsession"), Todd Haynes improves upon the master, as he plays powerfully on themes of homosexuality and racism that could barely be hinted at a half century ago. A superb performance by Julianne Moore anchors it.

7. The Pianist (Roman Polanski) -- Unrelieved by distractions of humor, romance, or personal relationships as it sinks ever deeper into the nightmare of the Jewish experience in Nazi occupied Poland, this harrowing true story is a testament to the strongest muscle in the human body, the spirit.

8. I'm Going Home (Manoel de Oliveira) -- Manoel de Oliveira and Michel Piccoli have a century and a quarter in movies between them, and they've pooled that experience in a beautiful film about age and impermanence. "I'm Going Home" reflects on the gossamer line between here and gone, between hello and goodbye, between is and isn't.

9. 25th Hour (Spike Lee) - The last day of freedom, with some flashbacks and a flash forward, for a yuppie drug dealer (Edward Norton) headed up the river for seven years hard. A cautionary tale, unaccountably overlooked by critics and audiences alike.

10. Adaptation (Spike Jonze) - Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (with his imaginary brother Donald) tells two-thirds of the most original story of the year. The descent into action/adventure at the end is a great idea but doesn't come off as well as it should.

And now, handicapping the Oscars...

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY - Nia Vardalos has already had the year of her big fat Greek life. One of the weaknesses of "Gangs of New York" was the screenplay. This could be the place for Oscar to honor one of the year's very best, Almodóvar's "Talk to Her".

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY - "About a Boy" was nicely done, but Oscar patronizes light comedy. Similarly, "The Pianist" is probably too heavy, and Hollywood still hasn't forgiven Roman Polanski. The most original (it should be in the other category) is the Kaufman Twins' "Adaptation", but look for "Chicago" to blow away the competition.

SUPPORTING ACTOR - John C. Reilly got more screen time than Saddam Hussein this year, but the SAG awards didn't seem to care. Paul Newman's best chance is for Best Salad Dressing. The strongest competition comes from Chris Cooper and Ed Harris, but they can't catch the refurbished, user-friendly Chris Walken.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS - Who's not to love? But Latifah's laurels rest mostly on a song, and Bates hasn't caught the breeze. Julianne Moore is strong in both Actress and Supporting, but may cancel herself out. It's tight between SAG winner Catherine Zeta-Jones-Douglas and the best actress breathing, Meryl Streep, but Oscar ought to be ashamed of leaving Streep out from "The Hours", and try to make nice.

ACTOR - To Jack or not to Jack? That is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to honor Hollywood's favorite bad boy for a mediocre movie, or to recognize Daniel Day Lewis for what was a truly outstanding job - in a mediocre movie. Actually "Gangs" isn't mediocre, it ranges from the sublime to the ridiculous.

ACTRESS - I love it that Oscar hasn't yet succumbed to the PC BEST ACTOR-FEMALE. Competition as always is heady here. René Zellweger showed the power of "Chicago" at the SAG awards, but I think Oscar will duke it out between Julianne Moore's Fifties housewife (which one? "Far From Heaven") and Nicole Kidman, unafraid of Virginia Woolf and overlooked last year. Pick: Kidman by a nose.

DIRECTOR - If Almodóvar wins, it'll be for screenplay. If Polanski wins, it'll be a miracle. If Daldry wins, it'll be a shame - with that fabulous cast he should have made even more of "The Hours". So what it comes down to is Hollywood legend Martin Scorsese and Hollywood newcomer Rob Marshall. Scorsese's never directed a winner. Marshall's never directed a feature. Lifetime Achievement, or the Achievement of a Lifetime? Ask yourself this, Oscar - do you feel sentimental? Probably not.

PICTURE - "Two Towers" topped a lot of critics' lists, but nobody gives it a snowball's chance in Mordor on Oscar night. "Gangs of New York"? Too many people hated the violence. The Academy's traditional embrace of Holocaust movies will be offset by its skittishness about Polanski's morals sheet, and "The Pianist" will suffer the consequences. "The Hours" is a somber movie from a terrific book with an outstanding cast. "Chicago" is a dazzling movie musical from a hit Broadway musical with non-dancers in the lead dancing roles. Does Oscar want to send us home moody, or tap-dancing? Please!

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