THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (David Fincher Version) - Film Review

Did the 2009 Swedish classic "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" really need to be remade?

No.

The brilliant tension of the original has hardly had a chance to grow stale in the whopping TWO whole years since it's initial release. Aside from a few small changes, the story hasn't changed much as laid out in the late Stieg Larsson's smash hit novel "Men Who Hate Women" (retitled for the film release). And even the presence of one of my favorite directors David Fincher is hardly enough to justify remaking an already exemplary movie trilogy just because of American's inexplicable reluctance to read subtitles.

I don't think I'm overstating things when I say that the character of Lisbeth Salander (here played by Rooney Mara but originated on screen by Noomi Rapace) is one of the most dynamic creations in recent literary history. Pint-sized in stature, she appears superhuman in her ability and ferocity. A goth hacker with a punk-rock hairdo who's never met a match she can't defeat, or an evil she can't out-duel. Okay, that's oversimplifying a bit. Actually, it's oversimplifying a lot.

You see, what makes the Salander character so interesting is not that she's invincible. It's that she only appears to be invincible.

Beneath the tattoos and piercings is a wounded girl. Some of the details of her wounds are better explained in later chapters of the trilogy and won't be discussed here. But the bravado is on display from the word go. The dark eye liner. The black leather. The snarl. Every minute of her existence is geared toward signaling to the world that she isn't to be messed with.

But what lies beneath that is a woman has been deeply messed with. A woman with a deep distrust of people, she instead keeps them at a distance. A woman so hurt be past relationships that, instead of misplacing her love, she decides rather not to give it at all.

So why let down her guard for Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig)? The weathered news reporter is coming off the public embarrassment of trying to tell the truth about someone wealthy enough to change what the truth is. Hired by a wealthy Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer) to investigate a family so maladjusted as to achieve Shakespearean proportions, Mikael first engages Lisbeth as a research assistant. She's the best. He should know. She was the one they hired to investigate him.

The suspense that follows is just the icy scales of the story, while it's heart rests in the relationship between Mikael and Lisbeth and how each perceive exactly what that relationship is.

It's impossible to review this new film without comparing it to the old one. Since there's very little fundamentally different about this film other than it's clearly superior budget, the main point of conversation lies on the slender shoulders of... you guessed it, Lisbeth Salander.

Trying to replace Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander is like trying to replace Vivien Leigh in a remake of "Gone With The Wind" (I only use that as an example Hollywood. Please DO NOT remake "Gone With The Wind."). Rapace so fully embodied Salander that it's really hard to imagine another actress ever playing the role. Miss Mara does an admirable job. However, where Miss Rapace seemed to BE Lisbeth Salander, I never shook the sense that Miss Mara was simply PLAYING Lisbeth Salander. And there's a lot to play with. The tough exterior. The wounded interior. The tattoo. Like Scarlet O'Hara, the role of Lisbeth Salander is pure gold. I think the difference between their two performances lies in the fundamental differences between Hollywood movies and those made in the rest of the world. The depth is there in both, it's just that the rest of the world is a little more comfortable burying things a bit deeper.

Rapace's Salander is a constant enigma. I know it sounds strange, but she's almost not human. More like a feral animal. Unpredictable. You have no idea what she'll do next. And she never telegraphs her motivations. When the original Salander climbs into bed with someone, you get the sense that she is asserting her power. She screws, she doesn't make love. Making love would be too personal.

When this Salander makes love, there is a kindness to it. When she meets a woman in a nightclub, there is almost a shyness to the initial encounter. Later, when taking a man into her bed, it directly follows seeing a picture of him as a happy couple, signaling to the audience that what she really wants is love.

Oddly, this may be true. For both versions of Salander. She's built up this unpenetrable persona to push the world away. But on the inside, all she really wants is for someone to pierce the shield. The difference between the two films is that Rapace's Salander would never be caught dead letting on to that fact. Whereas Mara's Salander projects an inner warmth just waiting to be uncovered.

It will be interesting to see what happens with this new series. The original trilogy, as good as it was, did trail off over the course of three films, with the third being the weakest (not coincidentally it's also the one with the least amount of screen time for the actual Girl With The Dragon Tattoo). Here, David Fincher has more openly introduced a possible emotional arc for the character of Lisbeth Salander that could potentially span the three films. While I would call a match up between the two versions of the first chapter a draw that slightly leans towards the Swedish version, I think Fincher's team has a chance to perhaps make a more effective complete trilogy. An extended epilogue in this film not present in the original, sets up a nice narrative conflict for coming episodes. And as much as I may dislike remakes, I'll definitely be on board for part two. Or, part five. Not exactly sure how to say that.

SHAME - Film Review

There's nothing inherently wrong with pornography.

There, I said it. A little kinkiness every now and then never hurt anybody. Unless, of course, you're into that. Human beings are naturally curious. We're also, naturally sexual. So when you put those two things together, it's only natural that we should be curious about each others sexuality. That's a good thing.

But it is possible to have too much of a good thing.

Like alcohol, pornography has a way of sucking you in. You take one sip, you feel fine. You take two, even better. Pretty soon, you find yourself wanting more and more. Then needing more and more. Even long after you've forgotten how it even tastes, you find yourself using it out of habit.

And as with any narcotic, once you get used to a certain thing, you find yourself needing to find harder and harder drugs to keep the same high. Pretty soon, the pornography you started with just doesn't do the trick anymore. So you have to keep looking for different outlets. Different stimulus. You suddenly find yourself turning to images and fantasies you may never have even dreamt of just to get back to normal. Pretty soon, this sexual narcotic has taken an effect on your life. No, you're not likely to find yourself shaking in the corner without your daily dose, but it can have an affect on your relationships and how you see the world. And if you're not careful, there may be no turning back.

Such is the case with Brandon Sullivan (Michael Fassbender), a Manhattan suit who's so deep into pornography that his work computer is for a time confiscated for being "filthy."

As a side note, I've always considered that to be the true sign of addiction to porn. If you can't get through the work day without a little taste, it may be time to get help. Oh, and how good must he be at his job that this isn't a fire-able offense?

But I digress. The fact is that Michael's entire life could be termed "filthy." When not surfing the naughty web, he fills his days and nights with frivolous sexual encounters. Even though one of the perks of looking like Michael Fassbender is that those encounters are plentiful, he still can never seem to get enough. Like a hungry child, trying to stuff his face with sweets in an effort to get full, he's missing the main ingredient, sustenance. He's got the quantity, but not the quality. And that's how he likes it. Like the impersonal skin flicks which he uses for his arousal, Michael sees sex as a carnal expression devoid of emotion. His longest "relationship" has been four months. From what we see, most of his sexual encounters don't last more than four minutes. Just enough time to serve the purpose.

It be easy from that description to draw that Michael was a truly despicable guy. But if we look deeper, we understand the reasons for his erotic dependence. A fear of intimacy. Like an alcoholic tossing back shots to dull the pain, Michael sees sex as an emotional antibiotic. These brief sexual trysts are in fact the only vacation he has from the pain of simply being him. Sex with emotion robs him of that safety zone. Love is too close for him. Love means pain. So when people threaten to get too close to his heart, he pushes them away.

At least he tries to. But some people just can't take a hint. That includes Sissy Sullivan (a once again terrific Carey Mulligan), Michael's sister who appears in town to throw his life into chaos. Not that it wasn't chaotic before, but her sheer existence seems to make him angry. The cool and collected Michael is a raging bundle of emotions around his sister. When his sleaze of a boss, David Fisher (James Badge Dale) makes a play for Sissy, Michael can barely contain himself. In excess of brotherly protection, Michael's resentment from seeing Sissy with another man seems to run deeper. While it is never known for sure, we suspect that Michael's relationship with Sissy may be at the root of his intimacy issues. When she climbs into his bed at night to snuggle, his discomfort is palpable. When she stands before him bare in the shower, one can't help but wonder what is going through his mind. And in Carey Mulligan's affecting performance, we suspect that the same thing may be running through her mind as well. At times, it seems as if the adventurous black sheep is almost baiting him. As if she knows the effect she has on him and is constantly searching for more. Sissy has a way of using love to salve her own wounds. And Michael's affection seems to be the medication she seeks the most.

Have Michael and Sissy ever been intimate? We don't know. But her effect on him is undeniable.

So is the effect of this film. I suspect that at least half of the audience members at the screening I attended were sick to their stomachs by the time the story ended. They, no doubt, saw the film as just another cheap exploitation of taboo. It made them uncomfortable, and they no doubt resented it.

But if you look deeper, you'll see the beauty in the film, and especially Michael Fassbender's performance. It is a character study of addiction. A man who seems so in control, but all the time is spinning out of it. We understand the root cause, even if we don't know the exact details. And director Steve McQueen, definitely one to watch, allows us to linger inside Michael's emotions. Through mostly a combination of brilliantly chosen one-shots, he allows us to contemplate Michael's inner turmoil. Michael's actions are not those of a pervert. They are the actions of an addict. A man filled with pain who tries to cure himself in the best way he can. But will the very cure lead to his own destruction?

MELANCHOLIA - Film Review

I suspect we all know it.

As artists, we all feel it.

For creative people, life isn't so much a linear journey towards the dream. Instead, for dreamers, life can often seem more like a constant pendulum swing between euphoric hope and utter despair. The absolute high that arrives when art surges through our veins, escapes from our fingertips, and take on a life of it's own. The totalitarian low that we succumb to when we realize that, despite the achievement, in the long run it may mean nothing at all. Our script may never get made. Our photo never seen. Our novel never read. Our lives becoming a chronic civil war between our inner optimist and the encroaching, inevitable, melancholia.

You don't have to be an artist to understand the feeling. You simply have to be alive. To wonder, if at the end of the day, any of it really matters.

Such was clearly on the mind of Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier when making his new film "Melancholia."

One of the leaders of the Dogme '95 film movement which championed the return to basic storytelling over unnecessary artifice, von Trier begins this film indulging in a bit of the latter. A long slow motion sequence compiled of some of the most innovative images you'll ever see on screen primes us for the story to come. It also establishes the film's slightly operatic tone which doesn't diminish, even when he returns to his Dogme roots to tells the story of two sisters.

The first of the two sisters, Justine, is played by Kirsten Dunst. Bringing new meaning to the word "bipolar," Justine swings wildly from happiness to depression as she and her soon-to-be husband (Alexander Skarsgard) arrive at a divine country estate for their wedding ceremony. But despite the apparent opulence, there is a thinly veiled aura of torment running just beneath the surface. While her sister, Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg), and brother-in-law, John (Kiefer Sutherland), treat her with kid gloves, nothing seems to ease the onset of Justine's pain. Constantly trying to run away. Always in search of an escape from the pain. Justine seems to have the world on a string but yet still find herself unable to pull it.

Her sister, Claire, on the other hand, seems to be far more well adjusted. The disciplined wedding planner in the first section of the film, so keeps herself occupied with keeping everyone else occupied. She holds herself together, by holding everyone else together. But as Justine's story plays out in part one, and we learn more of Claire's story in part two, things are not always as they seem. Claire too may need support. And we are forced to wonder, are Justine's antics truly madness? Or genuine clairvoyance?

Both women inhabit their roles with brutal honesty. These are not glamorous parts. Their characters are raw and unnerving. They both live their lives under the constant threat that it can come crashing down on them at any moment. Literally. I won't explain that last word just yet. I'll leave you to watch the film to know what I mean by it.

And watch the film you must. The opening ten minutes alone is worth the price of admission. The two leads hold your attention throughout. And the excellent supporting services of Sutherland, Skarsgard, Skarsgard's famous father Stellan, the always dependable John Hurt, and the ever alluring (even when behaving badly) Charlotte Rampling fill the film with nuance. All of it stewarded by the curious hand of Lars von Trier. A man not afraid to take chances. A man not afraid to fail. A dreamer willing to try to make his dream come true. Even while knowing that melancholia may come again and leave him wondering if anything is really worth it in the end.

At least one thing we know. This film certainly is.

MY WEEK WITH MARILYN - Film Review

"First love can be such despair."
Dame Judi Dench as Dame Sybil Thorndike

I'm not sure if it's because I love film history. Or because I currently find myself falling for someone way outside my league. But Simon Curtis' new film "My Week With Marilyn" was just about one of the best films I believe I'll see all year.

Part historical document, part coming-of-age story, this beautiful work of non-fiction stars the wonderful Michelle Williams as the radiant Marilyn Monroe and Eddie Redmayne as Colin Clark the still wet-behind-the-ears third assistant on Sir Lawrence Olivier's (Kenneth Branagh) 1957 directorial effort "The Prince and the Showgirl." Like most of the world, then and now, Colin falls in love with Miss Monroe on first sight. But unlike most of us, Colin's admiration gets to extend beyond the silver screen.

Rita Hayworth was famous for saying of men who courted her attention that "they go to bed with Gilda, but wake up with me." The point being of course that people fall in love with the legend, not the woman. And that the woman herself in inevitably a disappointment. In the case of Marilyn Monroe, the real Norma Jean was so racked with insecurities that she spent her life trying to fill the void left by the gaping hole which should have easily been filled by a self confidence to match other's adulation. She tried to fill the void with drugs. With men. Already one of the most famous "stars" on the planet, she still clamored for the respect that is afforded to great "actresses" knowing full well that being a star and being a great actress are hardly the same thing. Yet, as much as she pushed for artistic respect, the world pushed back with it's own expectation. She was a sexpot, pure and simple. And try as she might, the world at large refused to accept her as anything else. At one point during the film, a bewildered Lawrence Olivier, exhausted from the effort it takes simply to deal with Monroe's eccentricities blurts out what was just beneath the surface on the mind of many, "why don't you just be sexy. Isn't that what you do?"

To a certrain degree, he was right. That is what she was known for. But the real Marilyn was so much more.

Of course, there's always the question of who really was "the real Marilyn." And trying to get at the heart of that point is the brilliantly layered portrayal by Michelle Williams. I suspect Miss Williams, about the same age now as the real Marilyn Monroe in the film's timeframe, knows all too well the trappings of being a actress in Hollywood. Introduced to much of the world as Jen Lindley in the soapy teeny bopper TV drama "Dawson's Creek," Miss Williams film career has been far more ecclectic. A notable sense of risk marks her choices as an actress. Whether playing the loving wife of real life husband Heath Ledger in the drama "Brokeback Mountain," or matching Ryan Gosling's brilliance step-for-step in last year's bitter sweet romance "Blue Valentine," Miss Williams is clearly one for bold choices. And she makes all the right choices here playing Marilyn Monroe. Her Marilyn is sexy yet vulnerable. You want to reach out and cradle her in your arms. Yet, at the same time, you begin to suspect that the vulnerability itself may too be part of the act. A concious way of drawing in new protectors. Of filling the void. Olivier points out in the movie that no actress, no matter who she is, gets to the level of success that Marilyn achieved without a certain level of strength. She may seem to the outside world to be all over the map, but don't think for a second that she doesn't know exactly what she's doing.

Matching Miss Williams in the tight rope act necessary for portraying real life people in a fictional world is a tremendous supporting cast. Kenneth Branagh sparkles as the aforementioned Sir Lawrence Olivier. He's able to play Olivier's incredible vanity without allowing him to become a caricature. Olivier has an ego for sure. He's the most acclaimed actor in the history of the English stage, who wouldn't like themself in that situation. But he's as smitten with Marilyn as the rest of us. Even if she does drive him to the point of insanity. Dame Judi Dench plays the less well known Dame Sybil Thorndike. She portrays her with the necessary English stoicism, but also with a knowing warmth. She serves as both Marilyn's co-star and protector. Even more of a protector than those claiming to be the title bearers of the position, her manager Milton Greene (Dominic Cooper) and personal acting teacher Paula Strasberg (Zoe Wanamaker). Both see Marilyn more as a meal-ticket than human being. Yet still, the film is wise enough to allow each their own moments to suggest they too once had their own week with Marilyn at one point that affects their actions.

As for the current one-weeker, Colin Clark, Mr. Redmayne plays him with such wide-eyed optimism that we never have a moment to doubt his intention. Marilyn flies into his heart with reckless abandon, and he returns to her his affection with the furvor reserved for those just learning what it means to be in love. He cares for her nakedly and openly. Unafraid of being hurt, he pursues her without fear, which I suppose is evidence of a life yet to be lived. At one point, Lucy, a costume designer on the production played by Emma Watson, asks if Marilyn has broken his heart. Why does she ask? "Because it needs breaking."

I guess maybe this adage is as true in real life as in this movie. Sometimes we need to be hurt to know what it is that we are missing.

One thing that is for sure is that you shouldn't miss this film. A wonderful picture sure to be a major factor come awards season. And a loving reminder that first love can feel so good. And hurt so bad.

LIKE CRAZY - Film Review

Why do we go to love stories?

Is it to escape the reality of our own romantic entanglements, if only for two short hours, and revel in a love that we've always dreamed of yet never knew? Or is it to see an honest reflection of the way love really is? Messy. Unpredictable. And without the guarantee of happily ever after.

Some of the greatest screen romances ever told have taken the latter route. From "Annie Hall" to "Once," filmmakers have been taking honest looks at both the ups AND downs of modern romance. And while the new indie romance "Like Crazy" may not reach the same stratospheric level of success as those two films, it clearly aims to occupy the same territory.

In this present, we are concerned with the fortunes of Jacob and Anna (Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones). The two meet in college and have one of those whirlwind romances that are usually only reserved for the under 25 set. But like all solid movie romances, their courtship comes with an obstacle. While Miss Jones' British accent may have had both Mr. Yelkin and myself at "hello," it seems as though United States Customs and Immigration agents aren't so charmed. As if conspiring to keep these two apart, the laws of the land keep throwing speed bumps into their fairy tale and threaten to tear the two apart.

Not that this film is an indictment or deep comment on immigration. If you want that, you're better off going for Thomas McCarthy's excellent "The Visitor" from 2007. Come to think of it, that film may also offer more in depth perspective on unspoken love as well.

But, as often is the case, the problem for Jacob and Anna isn't the number of times they verbalized their feelings. Or even the strength of them. It's the fact that in the movie, like outside of it, life too often gets in the way.

I've often compared love to launching a space ship. Simply everything has to go right for it not to end in tragedy. First, you have to meet the right person. Then, you have to meet them at the right time. Then, that person has to actually like you too (therein lies my own usual stumbling block). So, let's say you've miraculously met all the first three requirements and somehow fallen in love. Now, immigration comes along and takes them away and your too poor (or I suspect in the case of Jacob's character too selfish) to fly to England to be with them.

It sucks.

This film asks a number of poignant questions. Why is it that Jacob can't move to England? Doesn't it seem like she's always the one making the sacrifice. Amazingly enough, it's the beautiful Miss Jones that even makes the first move. Talk about things that only happen in the movies! Just because you have an amazing love with someone, does this mean that you're really meant to be with them long term? Can a love like this even survive forever?

This film gets so many things right. That is, if you're one of the people who prefer their fairly tales with a touch of reality. If not, there are plenty of the alternative. "Jerry Maguire," "Notting Hill," "When Harry Met Sally," or any other love story that ends with either one or the other partner literally running to catch the other. And if you prefer those, that's okay. All three are among my favorites and have made me cry on more than one occasion.

But if you're looking for something to remind you of the soul crushing roller coaster ride of love in the real world, this film is for you.

WARRIOR - Movie Review

It's one of the best kept secrets of good writing.

Sure, most stories come down to the battle between good and evil. The hero on the white horse dueling it out with the evil narcissist with the twirled mustache and a penchant for bad things. It's easy. The audience can always understand it. They know who to root for. With a well timed musical cue, they may even know when to root.
But, in real life, things are rarely so crystal clear. Life is lived in the grey areas and the distinction between black and white is hardly the wide gulf we were lead to believe. And our toughest decisions aren't the ones between a wrong and a right. They lie in deciding the greater good or the lesser of two evils. And this is where great stories come from.

While we know who we want to win between the capital G Good Guy and the capital B Bad Guy, try this scenario on for size. In Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski's brilliant ten-part series, "The Decalogue," a doctor is presented with a quandry. A young wife comes to seek his expert advice. Her comatosed husband is under the doctor's care and the woman needs to know for sure whether he will live or die. The reason she needs to know with such immediacy is that she's just learned that she is pregnant. Her husband is not the father. Knowing what the news would do to her husband should he ever wake up, she considers an abortion. However, if he will never wake up, she will keep the baby. The doctor, a deeply religious man, is constrained between two hard choices. If he tells her the truth, that her husband will live, he is condemning the unborn child to death. However, saving the baby will require him to break another of the Ten Commandments by telling a lie. Which does he choose? You'll have to rent "The Decalogue" to find out.

In the new film "Warrior," from the director of "Miracle," Gavin O'Connor, the audience is faced with the opposite choice. The choice between the greater good. Like all sports movies, the film comes down to a battle between two teams. Or, in the case of a mixed martial arts movie, it's a battle between two individuals. Now for the catch. The two warriors are brothers.

Brendan Conlon, played with nice guy sincerity by Joel Edgerton, may have been an athlete in the past. But now on the wrong side of thirty, he teaches physics at a cheery suburban high school in Philadelphia.

His brother, Tommy Conlon, played by Tom Hardy is a recently returned war hero, budding alcoholic, and so filled with rage that one imagines, without life in the ring, he'd probably take out his frustrations on whoever passes him on the street.
Neither brother is a bad guy. And both's reasons for wanting to win the Sparta tournament (sort of like a MMA Super Bowl) are admirable. Brendan Conlon, a victim of a predatory bank loan and an unsympathetic school board is three weeks away from losing his house. Tommy feels he owes a greater debt, which I will not reveal here, but his need for the money is equally altruistic.

Tommy also draws a significant amount of rooting interest from the fact that he is a legitimate war hero. But as every punch deserves a solid counter punch, Brendan is nursing a serious case of parental neglect. Their alcoholic father, played with an appropriate sense of sadness by Nick Nolte, clearly has favored his super athlete son Tommy to the more reserved Brendan. And one can see Brendan's plight as equal parts providing for his loving family, while trying desperately to win the respect of his unloving father.

I'll admit. Watching the trailer for "Warrior," the too-cool-for-school side of me couldn't help raise the corny alarm. This is hardly a movie with much "indie" cred, despite low key cinematography by Masanobu Takayanagi. It's clearly a movie aimed squarely at playing your heart strings with a swelling musical score and characters so relatable that rooting against them would feel like rooting against our own family.
But, here's the thing. It worked. I found myself dabbing tears from my cheek on more than one occasion (shhh, don't tell anyone). And discovering that best kept secret, screenwriters Anthony Tambakis, Cliff Dorfman, and Gavin O'Connor, craft a compelling story where the audience has an impossible choice to make. Who do we want to win? What's the greater good.

Whichever hero you choose in the end, this film is definitely worth the price of admission. While the film doesn't necessarily break any new ground, it will break through your hardened emotional shell. Bring the tissues. Or, maybe just claim allergies when your date asks you about the droplets of water running from your eyes.

If I Picked The Oscars...

Because you care :-) As the awards season rolls down, I offer you my own choices for the Academy Awards. Each category is followed by a list of nominees in ranked order. The winner is listed in bold. So for those of you filling out your last minute ballots, or for those of you with just a few free minutes on your hands, without further to do, here are my choices for the top films of 2008.

BEST PICTURE
Slumdog Millionaire
The Wrestler
The Visitor
Synecdoche, New York
The Dark Knight

BEST DIRECTOR
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
Darren Aronofsky, The Wrestler
Thomas McCarthy, The Visitor
Charlie Kaufman, Synecdoche, New York
Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight

BEST ACTOR
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
Sean Penn, Milk
Leonardo DiCaprio, Revolutionary Road
Sam Rockwell, Snow Angels

BEST ACTRESS
Kristen Scott Thomas, I’ve Loved You So Long
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Marissa Tomei, The Wrestler
Melissa Leo, Frozen River
Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Javier Bardem, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Josh Brolin, Milk
Frederic Pierrot, I’ve Loved You So Long
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Viola Davis, Doubt
Kate Winslet, The Reader
Hiam Abbass, The Visitor
Rebecca Hall, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Elsa Zylberstein, I’ve Loved You So Long

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Charlie Kaufman, Synechodoche, New York
Martin McDonagh, In Bruges
Robert Siegel, The Wrestler
Andrew Stanton/Pete Docter/Jim Reardon, WALL-E
Dustin Lance Black, Milk

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire
David Gordon Greene, Snow Angels
Alan Ball, Towelhead
Christopher Nolan & Jonathan Nolan, David Goyer, The Dark Knight
John Patrick Shanley, Doubt

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Roger Deakins, Revolutionary Road
Anthony Dodd Mantle, Slumdog Millionaire
Tom Stern, Changeling
Claudio Miranda, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Wally Pfister, The Dark Knight

BEST EDITING
Chris Dickens, Slumdog Millionaire
Lee Smith, The Dark Knight
Herve de Luze, Tell No One
Andrew Weisblum, The Wrestler
Elliot Graham, Milk

BEST ART DIRECTION
Kristi Zea, Revolutionary Road
James Murakami, The Changeling
Donald Graham Burt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Nathan Crowley, The Dark Knight
Mark Friedberg, Synechdoche, New York

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“The Wrestler” Bruce Springsteen, The Wrestler
“Little Person” Jon Brion, Synechdoche, New York
“Down to Earth” Peter Gabriel, WALL-E

BEST SCORE
A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire
Clint Eastwood, Changeling
Danny Elfman, Milk
James Newton Howard/Hans Zimmer, The Dark Knight
Nico Muhly, The Reader