Matthew's Road to the Oscars
It has been weeks since Matthew McConaughey's Best Actor win for Dallas Buyers Club, and his acceptance speech on looking up to three things in life still attaches to the very bottom of my mind. He set another great example of successful comebacks of Hollywood actors and actresses. There is an answer to his resurrection from shallow romantic comedies to ultimately a transformational and indelible Oscar performance.
Before the instant influence of Dallas Buyers Club and the awareness towards the film, Matthew has already paved his way to be the spotlight of the year. The journey started from the early release of Mud, when he played a convict trying to reunite his lover with the help of two young boys. This Southern drama has echoed the minds of audience and voters at that time, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 98%. However, being an independent film itself would be a disadvantage if the momentum cannot be built throughout the year of 2013 until the Oscars season. Therefore, it was eventually forgotten by most, along with other indie films such as Fruitvale Station. Yet, Matthew's performance kicked off the goodwill that was later surmounted.
His road to the Oscars continued when Dallas Buyers Club was released in November and the film in general along with Jared Leto's remarkable acting have generated good reviews. Moreover, the release was in coherence with the awards season that earned Matthew nominations in other major awards before the Oscars. The more crucial factor comes when he actually starred in one of the big hits of the year, The Wolf of Wall Street. With the following scene sitting opposite with Leonardo diCaprio, his hums with his fist thumping against his chest set off the tone and pace of the film. Imagine if Leo and Matthew swapped their roles with Leo playing Dallas Buyers Club, one will realise this does not quite work when Leo is always playing characters within his pretty boy image comfort zone. This explains no Oscars yet for Leo.
Truly eye-catching in True Detective
Matthew has already marked a good impression throughout the industry when Oscar voters were about to tick him in their ballots. However, here comes the killing factor that led to the fatality of the other four contenders for Best Actor, which is the HBO production of True Detective. Aired in the period from January till early March with only eight episodes for its first season, True Detective was truly the hit of the time among Americans when the drama is well plotted with conspiracies and suspense. Not only viewers and critics had speculation on what would happen next to the lives of two detectives played by Matthew and Woody Harrelson, this instant influence spread to the film spectrum when voters once again notice Matthew's contribution to the media world. His performance as Rust Cohle was once again as brilliant as what he did in Dallas Buyers Club, delivering physical changes and emotions which viewers and voters like to see. If you are a huge fan of mysteries and in particular an admirer for Matthew, True Detective is absolutely an entertainment to appreciate.
Sadly, Matthew has stated clear that he would not cast in the coming seasons of True Detective.
Coming up next... Interstellar (2014)
The milestone ahead of Matthew, after his Oscar win, comes with the highly speculated film Interstellar (2014) directed by visionary Christopher Nolan. Although the first released trailer did not reveal much about the plot, which is expected of Nolan to keep the suspense, the narrative speech by Matthew drew power and hope to this exciting sci-fi film on wormholes and time travelling.
Interstellar, which will be released in November 2014, is the type of films that are targeted to win awards, in particular its sci-fi plot which its success strongly depends on the technical aspects of filmmaking. My respect for Nolan who insisted on using IMAX cameras to film Interstellar, instead of the recent mainstream DCP which eliminated the use of 35mm films in the past.
Matthew McConaughey is the first Best Actor winner to work with Christopher Nolan, and his recent win would increase the credibility of Interstellar. With Christopher Nolan's vision and mission to film challenging stories, the character created for Matthew is likely to be scarred by the past and fear, as seen in Batman Begins and Inception. To overcome the barrier, the acting and interpretation of the character will be left to Matthew's talent. If Matthew gets it right, it is very likely to be another Oscar nomination in his record, so one would not disagree that Interstellar generates high expectations. Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain are also the leads in Interstellar.
If Christopher Nolan gets the space-time travelling correct in a clear-cut and logical manner, he will be nominated for Best Director, considering his past snub for Inception.
Interstellar can possibly be nominated for the following categories in the 87th Academy Awards:
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Actor - Matthew McConaughey
Best Supporting Actress - Jessica Chastain
Best Original Screenplay
Best Film Editing
Best Cinematography
Best Visual Effects
Best Sound Editing
Best Sound Mixing
Best Production Design
The Hero
Matthew McConaughey really deserved the Oscar considering his enormous effort and contribution in 2013 and this years yet to come is all down to his positive attitude in chasing after the hero he will never be, as remarkably stated by him at the Oscars acceptance speech. To me, what Matthew has done was an act of hero and to humbly serve the film industry is never a trivial job. Every film lover has their place for heroes in life and in films, and I certainly have mine for Matthew.
