"I think the mid-century emotional oomph of War Horse is glorious; I’m perplexed by commentators who have dismissed it as “sentimental,” as if sentiment is some big secret trick that War Horse tried to pull on them but they were just too smart to fall for it. You don’t think the song score for Drive, which literally tells you that the main character is “a real hero,” is sentimental? You don’t think Trent Reznor’s use of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” in the Dragon Tattoo credits is manipulating you by creating a soundscape that contextualizes the entire world of the movie? Please. As I’ve said before, everything is manipulative and everything inspires sentiment. You can complain about what’s being manipulated, how, and to what end, but not about the fact that it’s happening."

- Mark Harris is my absolute FAVORITE Oscar blogger (and I love him from his EW columns, as well), and this is one of the reasons why. While I may not be the biggest fan of War Horse, he hit the nail so hard on the head with this. Who cares if something is manipulative? That’s what art does: it manipulates you.
  1. ethanaboutnothing posted this