The Critics Are Voting; Let the Oscar Buzz Begin

The suspense was hardly bone-chilling when the Los Angeles Film Critics voted Quentin Tarantino’s iconoclastic “Pulp Fiction” the best picture of the year; the National Board of Review pulled its punches even more so, voting on Wednesday to give both “Pulp Fiction” and “Forrest Gump” the best picture nod. And today’s New York Film Critics balloting is not expected to hold many surprises either.

But that’s the kind of year 1994 has been, reviewers claim.

Other L.A. Critics’ choices, such as Tarantino for best director, John Travolta (“Pulp Fiction”) for best actor and Jessica Lange (“Blue Sky”) as best actress had similarly been expected. The National Board’s choices were only slightly less predictable: Tom Hanks won best actor for “Gump” and Miranda Richardson, best actress for “Tom & Viv.” (Their co-stars, Gary Sinise and Rosemary Harris, respectively, were voted best supporting performers.) The almost pro-forma voting occurred in the face of a slew of year-end arrivals from studio movies such as “Nell,” starring Jodie Foster, and “Nobody’s Fool,” starring Paul Newman, to independent dramas such as Roman Polanski’s adaptation of “Death and the Maiden,” with Sigourney Weaver.

It is quite a contrast to 1993 when Steven Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List” emerged amid what is now viewed as an embarrassment of riches. Those included Jane Campion’s “The Piano,” James Ivory’s “Remains of the Day,” Mike Leigh’s “Naked” and Jim Sheridan’s “In the Name of the Father”--all high-quality fall/winter releases that had their constituents.

Many of those films went on to make strong showings in last year’s Oscar derby. But while the critical push for “Pulp” is expected to help it in the nominations, how much spillover it will have on the Oscar race remains a question.

“The last part of the year, which is usually where all the strong films come from, has been particularly weak,” observes Times film critic Kenneth Turan.

“I’ve never seen the end of a year written off so quickly,” agrees Newsday’s Jack Mathews.

But the problem wasn’t necessarily quality as quantity. With so many last-minute arrivals, critics crammed in as many as three or four films a day and still managed to miss some films before they voted. Those who saw the new big-screen version of “Little Women,” starring Winona Ryder and Susan Sarandon, or the British import “The Madness of King George” had positive reports.

No film, however, was able to build enough critical momentum to steal “Pulp’s” thunder. Though the L.A. Critics did not disclose runner-up votes for fear that distributors would mislead audiences by touting them in their ads, a few scribes championed Peter Jackson’s New Zealand-made drama “Heavenly Creatures,” based on a true story about two teen-age murderers, which was released in November. Fine Line Features, the distributor of the urban basketball documentary “Hoop Dreams” (released in October), made a push to lift the three-hour saga out of the documentary pigeonhole.

Mirabella’s movie critic Ella Taylor was not alone in her assessment that “Hoop Dreams” was on an equal footing with this year’s feature film output. Nonetheless, “Hoop Dreams” wound up with the documentary prize in L.A. The New York Critics may get another chance to promote it. The Big Apple reviewers often enjoy opting for a “subversive alternative” on their ballots, Mathews says. But other than “Hoop” this year, the only other “subversion” could be Robert Redford’s movie, “Quiz Show,” say Mathews and Newsweek’s David Ansen.

The assessment of 1994 as a weak year is not limited to end-of-year releases, however. “The movies this year weren’t just bland, they were proud of being so bland,” says the Orange County Register’s Henry Sheehan, president of the L.A. Film Critics Assn. The blandness is not only leveled against Hollywood studio films, but at the ever-increasing number of independent films that seek mainstream acceptance, Sheehan continues.

But in the margins, critics agree, there were noteworthy films. Ansen mentions “The Boys of St. Vincent.” The searing Canadian-made two-part film about child abuse in a Catholic orphanage was originally made for television. But its only theatrical release was in New York at the nonprofit FilmForum because of a quarrel on distribution. (An edited version of the films will surface on cable’s Arts & Entertainment next year.)

Director John Dahl was commended by the L.A. Critics with a new generation award based on his two highly regarded films “Red Rock West” and “The Last Seduction.” Like “Boys,” they debuted on TV, in this case Home Box Office. (All three are disqualified from Oscar consideration because of their TV premieres.)

For the New York Critics and other organizations that have yet to vote, such as the National Society of Film Critics, the acting categories may provide some elbow room. Though Travolta clearly won with L.A., he may have some competition from his co-star Samuel Jackson in New York, Mathews says. And while Lange took the West Coast prize for best actress, she was often mentioned in the same breath as Linda Fiorentino in “The Last Seduction,” who may have a shot at the New York prize.

But don’t be surprised if there’s an upset, note the critics. Nigel Hawthorne, who re-creates his stage role in “The Madness of King George,” or Paul Newman in “Nobody’s Fool” for best actor could sneak in. So too could Jennifer Jason-Leigh in “Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle” or even Crissy Rock in the British social drama “Ladybird, Ladybird” in the best actress category. Again, much will depend on how many of the critics have seen these works and how much momentum can be generated for them.

After awarding studio films--”Unforgiven” and “Schindler’s List”--as best picture in 1992 and 1993, the L.A. Critics virtually overlooked the major studios’ 1994 output. And other critics’ organizations are apt to do likewise--”Quiz Show” being the possible exception.

“There were only three culturally significant films this year,” L.A. Reader critic Andy Klein says, “ ‘Pulp Fiction,’ ‘Natural Born Killers’ and ‘Forrest Gump.’ ”

“Pulp” is considered a strong critical prize contender, while “Gump” is the industry’s front-runner for the Oscars.

Tim Burton’s film, “Ed Wood,” picked up L.A. Critics awards for best supporting actor (Martin Landau), cinematography and music composition. The Disney release, however, is hardly a typical studio film. Nor was “Blue Sky,” a 4-year-old movie from Orion Pictures that sat on the shelf while the company went through bankruptcy. Orion’s place as a mini-major has been taken by Miramax, which produced “Pulp Fiction.” Though it’s owned by Disney, the company still operates out of New York and largely turns out lower-budgeted alternative fare.

As the year-end critical prizes are announced, the biggest question is whether the critics will have any impact this year on the Oscar sweepstakes, which are expected to be dominated by big studio releases.