10 Great Movies With ONE Terrible Element
1. Ugly Colour Grading - Women Talking
Sarah Polley's Women Talking is one of the most critically acclaimed films of the past year, as well as receiving Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.
It's a brilliantly acted, towering meditation on patriarchal oppression, forgiveness, and faith, but also one of the ugliest movies to ever receive a Best Picture nod.
While cinematographer Luc Montpellier does a totally rock solid job with the actual framing of the movie's images, filmmaker Sarah Polley's decision to grade the movie's colours to near-monochrome isn't merely distracting - it's hideous.
Though Polley desaturated the movie's colours with the apparent intent to have it reflect the female protagonists' own embattled lives, is that visual allegory really worthwhile when it produces a film so actively unpleasant to look at?
It's tough not to feel like the hard work from the cast and crew was trampled over by a clumsy, unnecessary aesthetic choice that makes an otherwise terrific piece of work look like an abject eyesore.
This technique feels very film school, despite Polley being a reputed filmmaker of considerable talent, and may well have contributed to her missing out on a Best Director nomination.