Introduction: 72nd Academy Awards: 1999
Winner: American Beauty
Best Loser: The Sixth Sense
Overview
1999 was a incredible year for films - Three Kings, Fight Club, Magnolia, Being John Malkovich, The Blair Witch Project, The Cider House Rules, The Insider, The Green Mile and The Matrix could all have been worthy winners - That year marked the emergence of Spike Jonze, Paul Thomas Anderson and David O. Russell as major directorial talents. The Matrix blew people away with its twists and special effects. In another more lean year, this reviewer would have gone for the moving, Green Mile or Magnolia for their range, depth and humanity.
Posters
Why did American Beauty win?
American Beauty wasn’t a safe choice for the winner. It was a black comedy-drama written by Alan Ball and directed by Sam Mendes. Kevin Spacey is Lester Burnham, an advertising executive going through a midlife crisis - he becomes infatuated with his teenage daughter's best friend, played by sultry Mena Suvari. The film concentrates on consequences for the family. Annette Bening, is always funny and charming, even as Lester's materialistic wife, Carolyn. Thora Birch plays their insecure daughter, Jane. Wes Bentley, Chris Cooper, and Allison Janney give great support. American Beauty plays as a satire of the dissatisfaction of the American middle class. It is an almost romantic film, but it is not the most inventive, when you look the others that year. But it seemed to capture a growing belief that the shallowness of the 80's and 90's self seeking materialist culture was coming to an end. It had its zeitgeist - coming up to the turn of the century, when it looked like real change was possible. Within a few years Obama was to become president. The film captured the public imagination, solidly made with genuine poetic moments. It is said Mendes, softened many cynical aspects of the original novel on which it was based to give the film broader appeal.
Released in North America on September 17, 1999, American Beauty received widespread critical and popular acclaim; it was the best-reviewed American film of the year and grossed over $350 million worldwide against its $15-million budget.
Why this film should have won
The Sixth Sense is the most monumental undertaking of all the nominees. It is supernatural drama that came out of nowhere, crafted with discipline and focus by M. Night Shyamalan, a filmmaker most moviegoers had never heard of and whose work since, has not come anywhere near the breadth and depth of this. It became a phenomenon - it took audiences by surprise — but the twist never would have worked without the patience, Shyamalan invested in the film making or the empathetic performances by Bruce Willis, then of Die Hard fame. Willis was already an action film superstar, but this broke convention for him and revealed a sensitive side. Haley Joel Osment is a young boy with a gift: "I see dead people" and he acts with passion and confusion - he cannot understand what is happening to him and the audience feels very much for these two people. A genuinely gripping, moving and timeless ghost story. Released by Buena Vista Pictures on August 6, 1999, critics praised its atmosphere and performances, particularly those of Willis, Osment, and mother, Toni Collette who switches between anger, confusion, frustration and love for her son. It was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for Shyamalan, Best Supporting Actor for Osment, and Best Supporting Actress for Collette. Hopes were high for it. It was the second-highest-grossing film of 1999, taking about $293 million in the US and $379 million in other markets. A genuinely moving and gripping ghost story. Still the best of its genre in this reviewer's opinion.
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