Best Achievement in Film Editing. It’s a difficult phrase to define. To a large extent, excellence in film editing can be editing which blends into the film, allowing the director’s vision, screenwriter’s story and actors’ performances to shine without interference. But equally, a film that stands out as a showcase for flashy but motivated construction deserves recognition as well.
What is certain, however, is that in the absence of editors, our films would all be more than three hours long, largely incoherent and/or tremendously boring.
This category has historically displayed a strong correlation to the Best Picture line-up. Last year marked a return to a typical situation – four of the five films nominated for Best Film Editing were also nominated for Best Picture, with the fifth being an action film.
From 2005 through 2007, however, things were a bit shaken up with a two-to-five ratio. At the end of the day, however, Best Picture contenders, thrillers and actions films always do quite well here.
The other genre that frequently finds a home in this category is musicals. Cutting dance numbers coherently and blending between dialogue and songs consistently clearly impresses this branch. In light of this, I’d call “Nine”’s Claire Simpson the early favorite. A past winner for “Platoon,” she returned to the game after a 19 year absence two years ago with “The Constant Gardener.” Barring the film flopping, I’d say Simpson is good to go.