Would “The Grand Budapest Hotel” be as funny if editor Barney Pilling wasn’t willing to hold on certain shots for longer than some normally would? Or as cutting abruptly to a reaction when others might take their time or cut the reaction at a normal pace? For someone that’s never worked with Wes Anderson, Pilling gets it. Take a look at his past editing work (“Never Let Me Go”, “An Education”, “One Day”) and you realize his focus has been more on the heartwarming and slowly paced dramas, not quite what “The Grand Budapest Hotel” is exactly. But for him to step up and deliver such an impressive comedic previous one of his first times at back at it, shows just how great of an editor he must be. Pilling has captured the style of an established, yet quirky director and has run with it, proving so by this nomination, this being his first.
What’s its competition? Best Film Editing gets interesting because every single nominee is nominated in the Best Picture category as well. As much as Pilling might capture the heart of what makes a Wes Anderson film special, all the other nominees add something just as convincing to the argument of why they should win as well. “American Sniper” has the intensity and suspense building, as does “Whiplash,” which is actually saying something, since it does not create suspense out of war and death, but out of something that should be so much milder but isn’t. No other film has stopped my breathing as much as “Whiplash” did last year. And with the strong presence of “Boyhood” this year and the editing process that spanned over twelve years, to keep the same tone of editing throughout is a real accomplishment as well. So if you can tell me what deserves it more, I’m all ears, but for the time being, suspense will likely win out over cute and comical.
// Produced by Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales, and Jeremy Dawson // Directed by Wes Anderson //
// Dated Viewed: Sunday, January 25th, 2015 // BLU-RAY // 33 films – 29 days //
