Rosanne's Lounge

The night before the Oscars. I’ve seen everything I can see bar The Good Shepherd which I’m seeing tomorrow and The Queen which I’m not interested in.

I’m troubled by three of the major nominees having themes of pedophilia or at least inter-generational predation and with a sympathetic ear. Notes on a Scandal comes across as sympathetic to Cate Blanchett’s character simply because Judi Dench’s is so purely malevolent (and one of the most disturbing lesbian stereotypes in cinema in a long time; moreso because it’s simply so well done). Little Children is more typical in its characterisation but leaves you with a creepy sense of discomfort but no solutions for the major issue and definitely with far too many neat and predictable solutions for everybody else’s suburban dramas. Venus, meanwhile, is just disturbing. While I loved Hanif Kureishi’s screenplay (my new flatmate Josh felt it was amateur, while I just felt it was theatrical and very English), the motivations of the characters are awful and sometimes inscrutable, and there is no judgement whatsoever of our 90-year-old and his creepy attempts to seduce a vulnerable but bratty 19-year-old. More disturbing is that nominations in each case go to the person who played the predator: Cate Blanchett (Best Actress, Supporting), Jackie Earl Haley (Best Actor, Supporting) and Peter O’Toole (Best Actor, Leading).

That said, here are my thoughts on what I’d like to see get up