In last year’s We Need to Talk About Kevin, Ezra Miller played Tilda Swinton’s demonic offspring. His evil glances and soulless detachment in no way prepare you to his vibrant turn as Patrick in The Perks of Being a Wallflower. In fact, you might even wonder if you’re indeed seeing the same actor. Essentially what Miller proves in Stephen Chbosky’s film is that he’s not just a pretty guy with killer bone structure. His turn in Kevin seemed like a dress rehearsal for a high fashion photoshoot (“be serious”, “fishface”, “wicked, mysterious smile”) but his performance here is so full of life that the viewer becomes truly swept up in the magic and romance of the film.

Every time an Oscar norm is broken, for a bit, people assume that it might set a precedent of things to come…

OMG, Halle Berry won Best Actress…here come Oscars for Angela Bassett and Viola Davis!
OMG, ten Best Picture nominees! All the superheroes will get nominated!
OMG, Sandra Bullock won an Oscar!
OMG Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig got Oscar nominations!
OMG the Oscars love comedy!

First, let’s start by looking at how Oscar got it wrong:

Oscar’s Nominees:

Annette Bening ... The Grifters
Lorraine Bracco ... Goodfellas
Whoopi Goldberg ... Ghost *
Mary McDonnell ... Dances with Wolves
Diane Ladd ... Wild at Heart

When Emmanuelle Riva gets an Oscar nomination for Best Actress in January next year for her shattering work in Michael Haneke’s Amour, her nod won’t help but feel a tad bittersweet for the fact that her equally brilliant co-star Jean-Louis Trintignant not only won’t be nominated as Best Actor, but he won’t even figure into the pre-Oscar conversation as much.

Director Nancy Savoca’s Union Square finds Mira Sorvino back in top form as Lucy a turbulent, blithe spirit drifting in and out of the life of her straightlaced sister Jenny (Tammy Blanchard).  A force of complicated energy with an unashamed foul-mouthed loudness, Lucy is the antithesis of her sister and it revealed early in the film that the two have been estranged for some time. Lucy wants to make her sister believe she has changed but the hesititation on Jenny’s face is apparent, she has been down this same road with Lucy before many times.

Yet the sisterly bond the two share obligates Jenny to go down the road again, a cycle that has made her weary despite Lucy’s needy reassurances that she’s different now. The actresses create a dramatic tension and electric familiarity that makes their relationship feel totally authentic (Producer Neda Armian knows her way around the sister trope having made Beloved and Rachel Gettng Married as well).