The debut of Jeff Nichols' Mud (to mostly solid reviews, though nothing on the level of Take Shelter) signaled the end of the Competition at Cannes 2012. Awards will be announced tomorrow, though I think the universal view of those at the festival would be that it's not one of the strongest lineups in recent memory.
Nonetheless, the second half of the festival was jumping. Not always in a good way, mind you (more on that later), but there was a lot to talk about, and where the first half was marked by muted praise, the second featured lots of weird and wild shit that strongly polarized audiences.
"Polarized" wouldn't exactly be a word to describe Leos Carax's Holy Motors, but "weird" and "wild" definitely would be. The film wowed the Croisette. Even with Cronenberg, Dominik, Reygadas, and others premiering since Carax's film, it's still the one people are talking about, and Palme or no Palme (probably no Palme), it's likely the film this year's festival will be remembered by. If the Palme seems unlikely, look for maybe a Director prize for Carax or an Actor prize for Denis Lavant.
I definitely wasn't expecting a ton out of Lee Daniels' The Paperboy, yet it apparently managed to surpass my expectations of goofiness and mediocrity. The boos, it seemed, rained down from on high after the lights came up at the premiere of the film, which stars Nicole Kidman, John Cusack, Matthew McConaughey, and Zac Efron. "Future camp classic" is the label the film's few supporters are using. I can dig that, actually. Not sure Daniels is ever going to be the storytelling people want him to be, but if he wants to do his Andy Kauffman thing and make a film his way without compromising, I can respect that. Besides, the film features Kidman peeing on Efron. How often are you going to get to see that?
Carlos Reygadas' Post Tenebras Lux had a lot of buzz going into the festival. The director's small but very vocal group of enthusiasts praises Reygadas' super unconventional storytelling style, and this one was supposed to be his The Tree of Life. But where Malick's film won the Palme and earned a Best Picture nomination, Post Tenebras Lux will have to be content with leaving Cannes empty-handed and possibly never seeing the light of day (at least in America). The film was summarily dismissed (though not nearly as much as The Paperboy) as being far to incomprehensible for its own good. Unconventional is good, challenging is great, but incomprehensible is not a good adjective for a film, and when most critics at Cannes can't figure out what a film is trying to do or say (not to mention what it's about), you're in a bit of trouble.
It's not often a David Cronenberg film is only the fourth weirdest at a festival like Cannes. Cosmopolis premiered late in the game, and it's pretty much what most people expected. It also happens to be a strange companion piece to Holy Motors (strange limousine rides are, apparently, a theme this year), as well as a showcase for Robert Pattinson, who's gotten quite a bit of praise. His Twilight co-star, Kristin Stewart, hasn't faired quite as well with On the Road. Walter Salles interpretation of Jack Kerouac's beloved novel is, according to most, faithful to a fault. Salles' On the Road isn't setting any new cinematic standards, and Stewart is merely OK.
Andrew Dominik is back with a new film, five years after he wowed the film world with The Assassination of Jesse James. Killing Them Softly, which also stars Brad Pitt, received mixed-to-positive reviews, with many praising the film's cinematography and performances while bemoaning its politics. I still can't wait to see it. Meanwhile, my halfway-through Palme pick, Sergei Loznitsa's In the Fog, walked away strong, but probably not Palme strong.
A few others flew, surprisingly, below the radar. I'm referring mostly to Ken Loach's The Angel's Share and Alain Resnais' You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet. Im Sang-soo's The Taste of Money, which I was quite looking forward to after a great trailer hit before the festival, underwhelmed the few still around to see it.
Besides No and Beasts of the Southern Wild, big hits outside of the Competition were scarce. Meanwhile, The Weinstein Co. picked up an Australian comedy/musical The Sapphires, which pleased crowds in the same way The Artist did at Cannes last year.
Now that everything has played, I have revised my predictions heading into the awards announcement. It's really a bit of a crapshoot, but here goes nothing:
Palme d'Or
Amour
Grand Prix
Rust and Bone
Jury Prize
In the Fog
Best Director
Leos Carax, Holy Motors
Best Actor
Mads Mikkelson, The Hunt
Best Actress
Cristina Flutur and Cosmina Stratan, Beyond the Hills
Best Screenplay
On the Road
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