This has been a great year for film; many of the films nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars this year will enter the history books, whether for cutting satire and innovative filmmaking- like The Substance and Nickel Boys respectively- for controversy- Emilia Pérez, I’m looking at you! – or great, classic-style filmmaking- like The Brutalist and Conclave. I tuned into the Academy Awards live stream, as I have for the past three years, to watch the ceremony in the early hours of Monday morning, eager to see which actors and films would take home the biggest prizes and henceforth enter the hallowed Oscars Hall of Fame.
Sean Baker’s Anora took home the most awards with five: Picture, Director, Film Editing, Original Screenplay and Actress, for Mikey Madison. Madison’s win was a pleasant surprise as many had tipped The Substance’s Demi Moore for the win, due to her legacy in the film industry, however, as BAFTA had forecasted, the ingénue took home the gold. Even Baker, upon receiving his award as Best Director, thanked iconic auteur filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, who presented the award, for giving Madison her first major role in Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (2019) which allowed her to be seen by Baker and subsequently cast in Anora, in which she plays the eponymous sex worker.
Madison’s win was a pleasant surprise as many had tipped The Substance’s Demi Moore for the win, due to her legacy in the film industry, however, as BAFTA had forecasted, the ingénue took home the gold.
In general, the love was shared around, with many films getting their flowers. Fan favourites Dune: Part Two and Wicked both walked away with two Oscars pieces: Sound and Visual Effects for Dune and costume and Production Design for Wicked. Also, Anora’s fellow front-runners, The Brutalist and Conclave walked away with some awards too; the latter winning Adapted Screenplay, and the former winning Cinematography, Score and Actor, for Adrien Brody, whose rambling and self-indulgent speech was, I’m sorry to say, a low-point of the night. However, perhaps the much-hated Emilia Pérez, this award season’s villain due to its never-ending scandals, continued polarising audiences with its two wins: Zoe Saldaña for Supporting Actress, a just win for an actress who deserves recognition, and Best Song for “El Mal”, performed by Saldaña and the disgraced Karla Sofía Gascón in the film, and awarded to the deranged songwriters, who ended up distastefully singing upon collecting their award. To all of the Emilia Pérez haters’ relief, before Oscars night, it was announced that the traditional song performances from the Best Song nominees would be scrapped in favour of other musical performances. Overall, I appreciated this choice; it gave us a mini medley of three songs from Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in honour of Wicked and its cinematic predecessors (The Wizard of Oz [1939] and The Wiz [1978]) and a James Bond tribute sung by Raye, Doja Cat and BLACKPINK’s Lisa.
Furthermore, ostensibly the biggest upset of the night was Brazilian historical political drama I’m Still Here’s win in the Best International Feature Film category. Many assumed Emilia Peréz, the French-made, Mexican-set pop-opera musical, would clench the win with the same confidence that Kieran Culkin would take home Best Supporting Actor for A Real Pain (which he did!). However, I’m Still Here, which featured a tour-de-force performance from Fernanda Torres and a powerful true story, with great significance in modern Brazilian politics, won the award.
Live TV is always hard, as can be seen by the mixed reactions to host Conan O’Brien’s inconsistent comedy. However, if you are interested in cinema, the Oscars are always worth a watch. Seeing movies celebrated and new types of storytelling rewarded is always a magical experience for any cinephile.
Seeing movies celebrated and new types of storytelling rewarded is always a magical experience for any cinephile.
