By Grace Labatt
The 2011 Academy Awards® take place this Sunday, February 27, the culmination of months of speculation about who will wear what, who will have the hardest time with the TelePrompTer, and, of course, who will win. But regardless 
of who goes home with an Oscar—whether it’s Natalie Portman for playing a tormented ballerina or Annette Bening for playing a tormented wife—language lovers already have plenty to celebrate with this year’s honorees. Films in 2010 had an array of unusual linguistic choices that highlighted their screenwriters’ unique skills.
Kings and billionaires, both accidental
The film to generate the most adulation for its language was probably The Social Network, in which the dialogue from screenwriter Aaron Sorkin was spoken so quickly (and so articulately, even for Harvard students) that a 162-page script became not a five-hour saga but a two-hour rush of suspense. Sorkin’s script made legalese and technology terms not just comprehensible but exciting, introduced the term “Winkelvii” (to describe the pompous Winklevoss twin characters), which now gets 14,000 hits on Google, and reminded us that articles are never hip—according to one of the characters, Facebook’s success is rooted in founder Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to drop the “The” from the title.
The Social Network is a frontrunner, but its main competition is The King’s Speech. One of the central themes of this historical biopic of King George VI is the importance of clarity in communication—something all writers and speakers strive for, and a goal achieved by the film itself. At once point King George remarks, “I am the seat of all authority because they think that when I speak, I speak for them.” Scriptwriter David Seidler uses this tactic—words as tools to enthrall and enlist—to make audience members align themselves with an actor playing a king (which couldn’t be further from what most audience members are).
Ballerinas, boxers, and LaBoeufs
Three other best picture nominees couldn’t be more different from one another, but are united by a common thread. Black Swan, True Grit, and The Fighter all delve into a distinctive subculture and embrace that culture’s linguistic idiosyncrasies. Dancers, cowboys, and boxers use language that would sound foreign to anyone outside their professions: chaîné, tendu, fouetté, rond de jambe, tinhorn,
0 Comments on And the winners are…language lovers! as of 2/25/2011 11:29:00 AM
Eat, Pray, Love. Javier Bardem and Julia Robers in Bali.
I saw Eat, Pray, Love this past weekend, and it made me hungry—for Italian food, for marvelous life, and for Javier Bardem. I read the book when it first came out, so I knew it was a memoir by Elizabeth Gilbert, about Elizabeth Gilbert. I very much related to the book, so I was interested (and a little defensive, maybe) to see how casting would work out.
Julie Roberts, I was okay with, although I hadn’t see her in anything I’d particularly enjoyed in years. Billy Crudup as her ex-husband? Perfect. Richard Jenkins as Richard? Excellent. Javier Bardem as Felipe? Urg … um … that guy with the creepy hair from No Country for Old Men? Urg … what?
Apologies. I’m getting ahead of myself.
Eat, Pray, Love is the memoir of “Liz” Gilbert. Liz has everything a modern woman is supposed to dream of having—a husband, a house, a successful career—yet she finds herself lost, confused, and searching for what she really wants in life. Following her heart-breaking and messy divorce, Liz has an affair with a younger man, David. She begins to dress like David, think like David, eat like David … she comes to realize that whenever she is in a relationship, she soaks up the personality of her mate. For years, she has been a woman with no identity, and upon this realization, Liz goes numb. She feels nothing, and in order to feel again, she decides to break free of her comfort zone and leave the U.S. for a year. In that year, she will visit Italy, India, and Bali. Hence, “eat, pray, love.”
Julia Roberts looks amazing in this movie. Whatever she’s eating and putting on her skin at night, I want it. Liz’s interior dialogue is priceless. She thinks about a lot of things I think about, which is again, why I so thoroughly related to Eat, Pray, Love, in book form. Bill Crudup, cast as her emotional ex-husband, did nothing but look teary in an elevator at one point, and it made me sob. Richard Jenkins, telling his own story of loss and despair, similarly had me biting the inside of my lip to stop from crumbling to the floor in tears. And as I mentioned, Javier Bardem, as her love interest in Bali, was sexy and utterly charming. (Where the heck did that come from? He is perfect as a creepy dude; now, I believe he’s perfect as a romantic lead, as well.)
Overlooking Rome in Eat, Pray, Love.
The beautiful locations made me want to pack my bags and leave town. In the film, Liz wants to “marvel at something.” There is plenty of marveling, for Liz and the audience. Each location has its own charm, and the director does a good job of changing the tempo to further illuminate the heightened cultural differences between, say, Italy and India. The music was all over the map—highlighted by Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold” and “Harvest Moon” (which again, made me get all emotional)—plus a score like a 1960s romance flick.
What I’m trying to say: Eat, Pray, Love is an emotional flick. There are at least a dozen gems hidden from scene to scene—lessons to live by, similar to what I learned while reading the book. Generally, this is a movie about SLOWING DOWN. It starts in Italy,
I agree that Eat Pray Love was an emotional flick (yeah I’m a guy and I went to see it voluntarily, without arm-twisting. However the reciprocation movie that was agreed upon in advance is The Expendables.
), but I was very creeped out by Javier Bardem, who I didn’t realize was Javier Bardem until you just mentioned that it is Javier Bardem. Eat Pray Love…blow up?
I instantly did not like this strangeoid when he kissed his son on the mouth. That’s just weird, and although I’m sure it is a cultural thing, to me is simply weird. Did I mention it was weird? LOL
Then, he gives that speech to Julia Roberts toward the end of the movie saying that she should make jump, and give into him, blah blah blah, and after protesting vehemently, she jumped on the boat with him the next day! To me, this seemed the antithesis of what the movie stood for, which was finding yourself. I just personally thought that she was caving in to the guy’s wishes, and she would inevitably end up exactly where she was before she went on her journey of self discovery…albeit on a secluded island with no HDTV.
Just my thoughts out loud.
Sara,
You don’t know me at all and I found your blog through a google search (my last name is actually very similar to yours).
I have been following your blog for a while now and I just have to say I really enjoy reading about your life. And this post REALLY made me want to go out and see Eat, Pray, Love. I read the book and liked it a lot, and was also skeptical about Julia Roberts as Liz. (In the book Liz is so vulnerable and self depreciative, it’s hard for me to imagine Roberts being able to portray that). Anyway, thanks for sharing yor thoughts on the movie.
On a side note, I’m a writer (journalist) as well and I’ve been wanting to start up my own blog. After reading yours I might just have to start blogging about my life too.
Ha. I expect a full review of The Expendables. I’ll probably see it on video, but that’s just because I love Jason Statham and Mickey Rourke.
You didn’t realize that was Javier Bardem?? I guess I did because I was shocked when they cast him as a romantic lead. In regards to that … kissing on the mouth is definitely a cultural thing. I was kissed by total strangers everyday when I was in Europe. Weird to an American, yes, but normal to Europeans. In fact, NOT kissing is weird over there, in France in particular.
And in regards to the ending, I think, through her relationship with Felipe, she finally realized that she had found herself, because she makes a conscious, well thought-out decision to be with the guy. The whole time, she was afraid of losing balance, as she had done in so many relationships prior to Bali. However, when she goes to see her medicine man one last time, he makes it clear that although balance is GOOD, life would be meaningless if we never lose balance a little bit–especially for love. I think being able to accept this is what shows Liz’s strength.
Plus, they end up together in real life. Since it is a memoir, it’s kinda hard to alter fact …
MY thoughts out loud.
A “Dobies!” Nice to meet you!!! Thank you so much for your kind words about my blog. As a writer, it’s always a comfort to hear someone out there is reading. You should see the movie, especially if you’ve read the book. Roberts did an excellent job, although I suppose she is a bit more confident than the “Liz” in the book. I would definitely suggest starting a blog. It’s a pleasant, quiet form of personal catharsis. And please let me know when you do so that I can read along! Thanks, again!