For my friends at the Luzerne County Arts & Entertainment Hall of Fame, this is my official endorsement of Norman Reilly Raine’s eventual induction. Raine is a Wilkes-Barre native who won an Oscar in 1937 for the best picture winner “The Life of Emile Zola.” The category he won for was best adapted screenplay, and that’s the category we’re going to talk about today. (Note to the Hall of Fame: The Mankiewicz brothers, also of Wilkes-Barre, were nominated in this category as well.) Let’s see which of this year’s nominees stack up to the legends of Luzerne County’s past.
Let’s start with “Barbie,” written by Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, which is properly placed in this adapted category. Some complained that the film is wholly original other than the characters, but… what? In that case, every sequel should probably be an original screenplay. This is a ludicrous discussion. As for the screenplay itself, I think it’s the weakest in the category. I like “Barbie” quite a bit, but some of the dialogue in it is, as the kids say, cringe. Maybe it’s not what I’m made for.
Before I get into the screenplays I love, there’s another on the nominee list I’m not quite sure works. “American Fiction” was a highly anticipated film for me this year, and I even snagged the book it’s based on, “Erasure” by Percival Everett. Screenplays are more than dialogue, which I think is clever in this case, but the structure of the story beats in “American Fiction” really jerk the audience around. I don’t think that the issue falls on the editor.
“Poor Things” has a great screenplay, placing the characters in interesting situations that require them to question and challenge each other. My favorite character of the year, Bella Baxter, is uncoincidentally the most well-written character of the year. Her interactions with the different men in her life, and her unique dynamic with each of them, are the key to the film’s success.
“The Zone of Interest” being nominated here is the single coolest nomination of the year. Remember when I said a screenplay is more than just dialogue? “The Zone of Interest” is less reliant on strict dialogue and more focused on visual and auditory cues. Those are the hardest beats to hit in a screenplay in my experience, so to see them integrated so effectively in a film is inspiring.
“Oppenheimer” is at least the most interestingly formatted screenplay of the year. It’s written from the title character’s point of view, a technique I can’t recall being deployed in any other screenplay I’ve read. Were I voting on my personal preference, I would take this one over any other option this year. Christopher Nolan pumps so much personality into every corner, and it’s easily his best writing work in over a decade. Pages 26-28 are hilarious, punchy and terrifying. What a great flick.
At the very least, each of these screenplays are taking big swings. Even “Barbie,” my least favorite of the options, pulled off the unthinkable by turning “the doll movie” into a prestige picture worthy of the Academy’s praises. Due to the semi-ironic level of originality on display, it should be a competitive race until the end.
