So this is the movie that won Best Picture between Lawrence of Arabia and My Fair Lady? That's...odd. Now, I didn't live through the 60s, but Tom Jones feels much more like a late 60s than early 60s movie, right? It's bawdy and irreverent. This plays like a counter-culture movie. Even before the Beatles and the hippies though, the Academy of the 60s was pretty playful. As many comedies and musicals won best picture that decade as stuffy austere movies. I've seen enough of these comedic takes on this era (The Favourite, Love & Friendship) that some of the novelty of Tom Jones at the time is lost now. It's a fun and funny movie though. Albert Finney is a force. It's surprising that this movie could win Best Picture without giving him Best Actor. He's so much of what makes it all work. The overt and subtle winks to the camera worked. They stopped just short of overdoing it. It's really striking how much of this movie feels modern. Like the silent film opening: that's something I associate more as a modern gag than one of that era. I think I like this Best Picture win more than I necessarily like the movie, if that makes sense. It's more interesting to see this in the list of Best Picture winners than if Cleopatra or How the West Was Won had won.
Verdict: Weakly Recommend
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