Get on Up--and out of the Oscars

2015 was a year of heavyweights. Controversial as some of them may have been “Imitation Game,” “Selma,” “Grand Budapest Hotel,” and “The Theory of Everything” were perhaps the most justifiably memorable movies to have received the prestige of an Academy Award nomination… but they aren’t the only ones that should have. “Get on Up,” the biopic about Soul icon James Brown, was not among the contenders at this years Oscars. If you thought director Ava DuVernay’s snubbing was an isolated case, think again. Tate Taylor’s depiction of one of America’s most important and influential musical innovators lost out the auto-fellatio that is Hollywood’s “Bird Man,” and Richard Linklater’s second attempt of the cheap gimmick that is “Boyhood.” “Get on Up,” may have had its issues, but with such magnetic actors portraying the well fleshed characters that it has, the film wipes the floor with half of the nominees the Academy selected this year and certainly captivates you more than the snooze-fest of “Foxcatcher.”

The film tells James Brown story, alternating between points in time in a fashion similar to (but less confusing than) Christopher Nolan’s original works. Throughout its course, we learn who he, how he came to be and who else came to be with him—and didn’t. Chadwick Boseman brings Brown to life. The character is built in manic throes of genius, arrogance and insecurity. Nothing about his performance is over the top, or maybe everything is, but it only adds to the believability of the larger than life James Brown persona. Through the nuances Boseman brings to the role, we intimately come to know Brown for all his brilliance, his good and his evil. Everything from the feverish obsession in his eyes, to raspy-ness of his voice, to the soul in his music embodies what one could easily believe is the real James Brown.

It’s hard to say that the nominations for actors and actresses were racist with the total absence people of color in the lead and supporting categories. There just weren’t that many to even consider—excluding of course David Oyelowo, Carmen Ejogo, Henry Sanders, just to name a few from DuVernay’s “Selma.” And, also, not considering the incredible performances in addition to Boseman in “Get on Up,” such as Viola Davis’s portrayal of Brown’s mother, Lennie James’s of his father, and Nelsan Ellis’s of his best friend Bobby Byrd all who brought something vital and poignant to the film.

Though some might argue that the film was inaccurate or overly inventive, some might say stick to documentaries. The movie was written in such a way that it captivates from start to finish and the evolution of James Brown is shown clear and creatively. The supporting roles may be the best part Brown’s portrait, detailed by the brushstrokes they leave on him. His mother and Bobby Byrd especially add a dimension to his character. They separate the protagonist from the cliché artist whose genius alone fuels an egomaniacal belligerence. Instead they show that his hostile superiority comes from an insecure need to be self-reliant and a determination to “do right by him.” Without them, Brown would be seen in a similar light to the one Kanye is shown in.

The editing, too, might seem to be too traditional with its vacillation between present/near present and flashbacks. However, in addition to the fact that there is absolutely nothing wrong with traditional story structure (after all it’s survived for millennia for a reason), it also isn’t quite as traditional as it might seem. While for the most part the film follows a pattern, it starts in the present and then tells the story chronologically with occasional flashbacks, a few scenes are cut strategically in such a way that they don’t reveal everything until it becomes completely crucial to the plot development.  This device keeps the film from finding itself in any lulls and helps to keep disingenuous sentiment out of more dramatic events.

               

The film may not have made noteworthy achievements in cinematography like “Bird Man,” it may not have had quite the social relevance and power of “Selma,” and it may not have had a lot of qualities that nominees for other categories had. However, the screen play should have demolished “Boyhood” and “Foxcatcher”, and the actors certainly should have been contenders. This year the Academy has forgone the pretense of awarding or even nominating token minorities for contributions in the realm of acting, leaving remarkable cast like that of “Get on Up” in the shadow of hollow films and their actors.