What do you look for when it comes to “best” directing? I confess, for me it’s about consistency: all the performers, all the “crafts”, even the rhythm of the edit (not always under the aegis of the director, by the way), are on the same page, delivering the same tone. If it’s slow and meditative, you’re not bored, because everyone is doing their job to make that purposeful instead of plodding. If it’s broad and loud, no one is over-the-top but everyone is Stylized, Theatrical. You believe in the world of the film because the director has worked on every element to make it real.
I think that's what everyone was responding to in 2003 when Peter Jackson made his inevitable ascent to the Dolby stage, a consistency that spanned 438 days of shooting, three years of release (and reshoots), a cast and crew of thousands, and beaucoup box office. Everyone knew they were waiting for the third movie to give him his reward:
As you see, he wasn't the only nominee, and nobody turned in a bad movie. Ranking them is more a matter of who you love most than who you like least. Here they are, ranked from 5th to 1st.
5. Sofia Coppola for Lost in Translation
only directing nomination; National Board of Review's Special Achievement Award, NYFCC Awards winner for Best Director; BAFTA Award nominee for Best Direction, DGA Award nominee for Best Director, Golden Globe nominee for Best Director
Not sure her "method" of observational ennui is always effective: do some scenes last too long to get the point across, or do they last too long because she doesn't know when she's gotten the point across? The pacing on this might be the only big issue, though. Overall, she nails the alienation of traveling for business - not a tourist, but not at home - and the joy of finding a kindred spirit, a buoy in the storm.
4. Peter Weir for Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
fourth and last directing nomination; BAFTA Award winner for Best Direction; DGA Awards nominee for Best Director, Golden Globe nominee for Best Director
So ably directs this epic of seafaring you almost don't realize how episodic it is. There's action, suspense, comedy - and he really understands the bonds between people, from the crew to the officers. The conversations between Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany are riveting, you could almost make them the whole movie...but then he offers you spectral glimpses of an enemy ship stalking our heroes and realize Weir can do it all.
3. Clint Eastwood for Mystic River
past winner, second of four directing nominations; DGA Awards nominee for Best Director, LAFCA Awards runner-up for Best Director
I know, I know, I did not rate two of the nominated performances very highly; nevertheless, Eastwood's exploration of masculine silence and its repercussions is entertaining and haunting, you have to watch, even if it is depressing. Yes, I said before that I don't think the characters' actions make sense to me, but Eastwood doesn't let whatever shortcomings in the plot effect the strength of the story, if you know what I mean. He gives us a great American tragedy.
2. Fernando Meirelles for City of God
only nomination
What energy! What dynamism! The movie's exciting but it doesn't lose the sense of cyclical tragedy, a community devouring itself generation after generation while the press and the police exploit it as something juicy or an opportunity for gridt, rather than address the ills that have led it here. Loose and fun and horrifying and unforgettable. It's a breath of fresh air, grounded without having to be po-faced.
1. Peter Jackson for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
second and last directing nomination; DGA Awards winner for Best Director, Golden Globe winner for Best Director, LAFCA Awards winner for Best Director; BAFTA Award nominee for Best Direction, NYFCC Awards runner-up for Best Director
He stuck the landing. Three movies, three years of release, four years of actual filming (including reshoots), and every element works. A little long? Yeah, and I can see several points where they could trim a tad, but this is an epic journey, a defining chapter of history for these fantasy creatures, and Jackson makes you feel the full import of it in every aspect and decade of their lives. His achievement is undeniable.
Next time, the nominees for Best Actress: Keisha Castle-Hughes (Whale Rider), Diane Keaton (Something's Gotta Give), Samantha Morton (In America), Charlize Theron (Monster), and Naomi Watts (21 Grams).
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