Heaven can wait ... Paul Dano in a scene from Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood
It may come as no surprise to hear that Hollywood is overrun by godless heathens. But it's now been confirmed by Him Upstairs - or at least His Catholic representatives on earth, after Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano took a theological approach to their criticism of this year's Oscars. An opinion column by Gaetano Vallini laments the fact that the Academy chose to reward those films that portrayed an America "without hope".
Particular papal stick was reserved for Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood and the Coen brothers' No Country For Old Men. Both offer bleak portrayals of a world where corruption, greed, violence and immorality outweigh compassion, with little hint of salvation to come. The Coen brothers, despite being praised by critics for their maturity, are singled out for the way in which "the American dream is obliterated" in their film.
However, nominee Julian Schnabel is commended for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, his "secular hymn to life", and, perhaps most surprisingly, a former stripper bearing the name of the devil is praised in the same article. Oscar winner Diablo Cody is congratulated for writing Juno, the tale of a teenager who decides to go ahead with an unwanted pregnancy and give the child up for adoption. After all, there is more rejoicing in the Vatican newspaper over one sinner who repents ...
