Battle of Directors is a weekly column that pits two filmmakers against one another, sheds light on their respective filmographies, and then asks readers to state which director they prefer. Thoughtful discourse and discussion is encouraged and desired. Enjoy!
Woody Allen. Charlie Chaplin. Wes Anderson. Robert Altman. Stanley Kubrick. Sidney Lumet. Quentin Tarantino. Terrence Malick. Steven Soderbergh. Richard Linklater.
Those are merely a few of the filmmakers we’ve discussed thus far in Battle of Directors. All of whom are or were masters of their craft, purveyors of wonderful stories and characters, mammoths in the field of directing. They have been fun to talk about, dissect, and discuss with you readers week after week.
Today I offer a respite: two young filmmakers who are on the up-and-up. They each have created three films in their short, promising careers.
What they have in common? Humanism. The ability to capture modern times purely and honestly. Family, love, childhood, parenting, working men and women, contemporary struggles juxtaposed with our current economic affairs. The subjects Nichols and McCarthy tend to tackle are ones not typically found on the silver screen. Thoughtful narratives brought to us by thoughtful filmmakers — a concept I’m willing to advocate for every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
The films of Thomas McCarthy:
Win Win
The Visitor
The Station Agent
vs.
The films of Jeff Nichols:
Shotgun Stories
Mud
Take Shelter
…
So which filmmaker do you prefer?
The choice is yours.
24 thoughts on “Battle of Directors: Thomas McCarthy vs. Jeff Nichols”
Having only seen Win Win, I gotta go with Nichols. Shotgun Stories was fairly mediocre in my book, but Take Shelter was on another level, and Mud also looks just as strong. Though to be fair, I have no idea if my mind would change if I saw The Visitor or The Station Agent finally.
The Visitor is heartbreaking. Richard Perkins … one of my favorite character actors that was finally given a leading role.
I want to go for Nichols but I’ve only seen Take Shelter. As far as Thomas McCarthy is concerned. I’ve seen everything else he’s done and I love his work with The Visitor I think is his best film so far.
I’ve seen two films from each director. How’s the Station Agent?
It’s really good. It’s the one film of McCarthy’s that I need to re-watch and write a review for.
Need to keep an eye out for it. Thanks.
Both fantastic up and coming directors, but I gotta go with my man Jeff Nichols. Shotgun Stories was one of those off the beaten track films I discovered back in the day and I loved championing Nichols back when no one knew who he was. Glad he’s broken out into the scene now. Plus, Michael Shannon!
I’m not entirely sure he’s “broken out” into the scene James. We’ll see where Mud takes him.
Maybe not in terms of hitting the mainstream, but I don’t know if that will ever happen for him. His films are crafted in such a way that I don’t think they’re going to have broad commercial appeal. I meant more that he’s now recognized as one of those directors to keep an eye on for the more savvy movie watchers.
I’m making a prediction: Mud will grant him mainstream appeal.
I’ve seen one from each- Win Win and Take Shelter. Since I liked the latter better, I’m going to go with Nichols.
Take Shelter is a masterpiece. Such a mesmerizing piece of work.
I’ve only seen one movie from each, McCarthy’s “Station Agent” and Nichols “Take Shelter,” so while I’m not too versed in both filmmakers visions I would have to side with Nichols. “Station Agent” is an enjoyable little film with a great performance from Tyrion himself (Peter Dinklage), but “Take Shelter” is a film that will blow you away. I’m incredibly excited for “Mud” and hope this is the beginning of a prosperous career for Nichols.
Everyone continues to say that Take Shelter blew them away — it did the same for me too. But it seems everyone I speak to outside of the film community doesn’t quite care for it. Not sure where the disconnect is.
I really like both directors. You might say that what you have here is a win win situation. Damn. I think I just picked McCarthy, didn’t I?
Clever Adam. Clever.
Take Shelter is my favorite film of the last four years, gotta go with Nichols.
Last four years. Really? Great movie.
I’m not sure what my favorite film of the last four years is.
Just a side effect of my OCD.
Nichols damn
Yeah, Damn, Mervyn.
Of course I have to pick Tom McCarthy. My kid was in Win Win, but I also enjoyed his other films too.
Up and coming brilliant Filmmaker Antonio Racciano (2013) has been making an impressive showing throughout the Indy circuit. We had the good fortune to meet at the Toronto Film Festival in 2012 when he was making his film debut as an actor in Ben Affleck’s Argo, playing a small cameo role as “The Waiter”, in the scene at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. I had the good fortune to sit down with Antonio for an impromptu interview.
Click here for entire interview: http://independentfilmnewz.blogspot.com/2013/03/up-and-coming-brilliant-filmmaker.html?showComment=1363846161260#c6211895692322278179
Antonio Racciano’s IMDb page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2750806/
Antonio Racciano’s Movie links: https://sites.google.com/site/antonioraccianoproductions/