The 2011 Oscar noms have been read out live on BBC radio. Good news that we all knew would happen: Gary Oldman for Best Actor; Meryl Streep for Best Actress. Of the directors, good to see Woody Allen there, and Terence Malick, two geniuses, as well as the brilliant Scorsese and Alexander Payne. In terms of Best Film, it seems likely a toss up between The Artist, The Help, or Moneyball - though War Horse may slip in by a nose; Midnight In Paris will be a sentimental loser. Big missing film: Drive, the second-best film of the year after Tree of Life. Also, nothing much for Tinker, Tailor, given the early hype. The Best Supporting Actress nod will likely go to The Artist; Best Suporting Actor perhaps to old-timer Max Von Sydow or Christopher Plummer - what amazing careers these guys have had. Nothing for the dog. That's Wuff!
THAT HANDSOME MAN A PERSONAL BRIEF REVIEW BY TODD SWIFT I could lie and claim Larkin, Yeats , or Dylan Thomas most excited me as a young poet, or even Pound or FT Prince - but the truth be told, it was Thom Gunn I first and most loved when I was young. Precisely, I fell in love with his first two collections, written under a formalist, Elizabethan ( Fulke Greville mainly), Yvor Winters triad of influences - uniquely fused with an interest in homerotica, pop culture ( Brando, Elvis , motorcycles). His best poem 'On The Move' is oddly presented here without the quote that began it usually - Man, you gotta go - which I loved. Gunn was - and remains - so thrilling, to me at least, because so odd. His elegance, poise, and intelligence is all about display, about surface - but the surface of a panther, who ripples with strength beneath the skin. With Gunn, you dressed to have sex. Or so I thought. Because I was queer (I maintain the right to lay claim to that
Comments