While the lion’s share of the conversation surrounding this year’s Academy Awards might be reserved for the record-breaking 16 nominations for “Sinners” or the prospect of cinema legend Paul Thomas Anderson finally being recognized for “One Battle After Another”, it would be unwise to stop your pre-Oscars binge after checking out just a handful of buzzy titles. If you’re feeling adventurous, give one of these three underseen awards season gems a chance and you just might find a new favorite.
“The Ugly Stepsister”
Surprisingly mentioned in the Best Makeup & Hairstyling category, this wonderfully grotesque retelling of Cinderella is much more akin to the Brothers Grimm version than anything Walt Disney would let his name be attached to. In a reversal of the classic tale, the film follows Elvira, the eldest daughter of an opportunistic widow who lacks the traditional beauty and grace that she grows to envy in her newly acquainted stepsister Agnes. With the former out of naive desire and the latter out of pure desperation, they enter a twisted competition for the affection of a handsome prince, who we come to realize is anything but charming.
That aforementioned Makeup nomination is certainly earned by some unsightly body horror scenes sprinkled throughout. Whether it be stomach-churning shenanigans with a tapeworm or a particularly hard to watch sequence of false lashes being sewn into the protagonist’s eyelids, there’s something for everyone to be uncomfortable with. And although it’s rife with depictions of both the beguiling extravagance and shameful depravity of 18th-century Norway, the film’s message is clear: The plight these two face isn’t all that different from the absurd expectations that women still endure in modern times.
“The Ugly Stepsister” is available to stream on Hulu, and for free on Kanopy.
“The Alabama Solution”
A stark departure from the fantastical satire of “The Ugly Stepsister”, this harrowing Best Documentary Feature nominee sheds light on the harshest realities that plague Alabama’s prison industrial complex. Shot largely with contraband cell phones, the film partially tells the story of incarcerated activists Robert Earl Council and Melvin Ray of the Free Alabama Movement who have been organizing strikes and fighting systemic injustices in the Alabama Department of Corrections since 2013.
Along with Ava DuVernay’s “13th”, “The Alabama Solution” is probably the foremost film on this subject through its completely affecting use of the documentary format. Information and statistics are laid out in a digestible way, the importance of the issue is intrinsically understood by the viewer and, perhaps most heartbreakingly, it’s shown how the nation has been conditioned to accept and ignore such glaringly inhumane policy. In the opening moments, an inmate says something to the effect of, “Journalists can be on location in active warzones but aren’t allowed inside American prisons.”
To leave no room for confusion, the film’s closing montage featuring videos of abuse and malpractice in facilities from countless other states affirms the sobering notion that this is a pressing human rights concern throughout the entire country.
“The Alabama Solution” is available to stream on HBO Max.
“If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”
Rose Byrne’s anxiety-imbued portrayal of a working mother stuck in almost Kafkaesque circumstances stands out among an already star-studded Best Actress field. This achievement in subjective filmmaking from Mary Bronstein follows its lead–usually in claustrophobic close-ups–as she navigates strangely antagonistic personalities, the cosmic horror haunting the chasm in her ceiling and the seemingly insurmountable burden of her daughter’s vaguely-described illness. If you’ve ever had a week where it just felt like everything was going wrong, you might find something to resonate with in this one.
Beyond being stressed, the viewer is totally enveloped in all the emotional nuances of this character’s world. As breezy wind and distant waves fill the soundscape on scenes of her late-night walks, you can’t help but relate to those moments of beautiful, yet maybe melancholic calmness. Or when she sings a lullaby to her daughter with the frame soaked in hazy red medical equipment lights, that feeling of affectionate worry is unmistakable. As much as the film is a cortisol-injected look at the nightmares of life as a parent, it’s equal parts a vulnerable ode to the complexities of motherhood.
“If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” is available to stream on HBO Max.