Join me on my walk down Delusion Avenue, where the Academy Awards turned out according to what I believe an ideal Academy would reward.
The award for Best Picture, won by "Munich," could not have been more deserved. In a time when movies range from the meaningless to the mean, "Munich" made a telling comment about violence.
It does not, as many have wrongly interpreted, state that we should be soft on terrorists. It simply points to how, sometimes, perfectly honorable people respond to evil in ways that are less than honorable.
Pulitzer Prize winner Tony Kushner, who co-wrote "Munich," pointed out in a Los Angeles Times editorial the need for us, in this age of emphatic certitudes, to allow our "unshakable convictions a little breathing room." Between black and white lie infinite shades of grey, and "Munich" captures each shade with breathtaking honesty.
If the award for Best Picture acknowledges a message, the messenger cannot be far behind. Steven Spielberg well deserved the Best Director award, ahead of the competition by several miles. It takes a skillful raconteur to use violence to analyze the human response to it. Spielberg is capable of coming up with gems like "Munich," as well as tripe like "War of the Worlds."
The award for Best Actress was perhaps the trickiest, in terms of how much both Keira Knightley and Reese Witherspoon deserved the statue. Knightley's portrayal of Elizabeth Bennet was deft and empathetic. And her heavenly beauty is almost unmatched.
Witherspoon is in a league of her own. She did not merely walk the line. Instead, as an actress and a personality, she represents the best hope of the entertainment industry.
Joaquin Phoenix was indeed the Best Actor. His performance as Johnny Cash may not have been the best ever in the history of cinema, but enacting a legend that today's generation may or may not relate to is a tall order. Phoenix excelled at representing the passion of the performer as well as the frailties of the person.
A performance this superlative within a well-made mainstream movie is as rare as a well-made mainstream movie itself. He disproved the notion that a good performance necessitates an unusual story concept.
Woody Allen adeptly pointed out life's idiosyncrasies and randomness in "Match Point." The movie ended with a succinct message: Life is based on luck and greed.
Allen richly deserved the Best Screenplay award for defying the norm that good people win in the end, especially since reality presents substantial evidence to the contrary.
With the awards given to their worthy winners, it is worth mentioning how movies address the needs of our times. The movies that eventually made it to the nominations indirectly paint a vivid picture of the status quo.
For example, racial injustice would exist in an unstated manner, most of us lacking the courage to point at the elephant in the room, if it weren't for "Crash."
"Good Night, and Good Luck" reintroduced us to the idealistic notion of holding people accountable, even as they are intoxicated by power.
Of course, having Jon Stewart as host was the icing on an already delicious cake.
Nishant is a computer science graduate student. Reach him at Nishant.bhajaria@asu.edu.
