It’s the best time of the year, and I don’t just mean March Madness! The 98th Academy Awards/Oscars took place on Sunday, March 15, and gave the world a beautiful celebration of film.
I was lucky enough to see more nominated films this year than in years past, and I accurately predicted 18 of the 24 winners. Aside from my achievements, however, there were plenty of highlights during the ceremony worth mentioning.
First, about the actual ceremony. Conan O’Brien, in his second year of hosting, did a pretty incredible job, with some hilarious skits featuring celebrities and running children (Weapons reference). His jokes never felt out of place, and even the ones that felt like low-hanging fruit were pretty tasteful and appropriately political.
I wish I could say the same about the celebrity presenters, whose comedic bits dragged the already long ceremony. I was excited for a lot of these pairs, too; Chris Evans and RDJ, the Pullman father-son duo, Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman, but they all let me down. The Bridesmaids actresses were the only exception, reading fake notes they claimed were from audience members.
The “In Memoriam” segment was a little lengthier than normal, due to some real greats having passed, especially recently. It was very beautiful and felt thought out, with Rachel McAdams and Barbara Streisand speaking about their personal experiences with Diane Keaton and Robert Redford.
However, the highlight of this segment was Billy Crystal and many cast members reuniting onstage to honor Rob Reiner, whom I spoke about a decent amount in my Stand By Me review. It made me very emotional and grateful that someone as kind as Reiner blessed us with his beautiful work.
Due to the extended “In Memoriam” segment, the original song performances were limited to Sinners’ “I Lied To You” and the eventual winner, KPOP Demon Hunters’ “Golden.” Both performances were great — especially the Sinners number, accurately and impressively capturing the diverse music and dance community live on stage as it did in the film.
Now onto the wins! Frankenstein was a film I haven’t gotten to discuss yet here, but I was thoroughly impressed by the production and the practical effects shown onscreen. I was very happy to see it get awards for production design, costumes, and hair and makeup.
For the first time since 2013 and only the seventh time in history, there was a tie! Two People Exchanging Saliva and The Singers split Best Live-Action Short, in what presenter Kumail Nanjiani joked was the longest award presentation.
Amy Madigan and Jessie Buckley had pretty successful campaigns all season for their respective supporting and lead actress performances; they swept the Oscars like the rest. Buckley in particular (since I’ve seen Hamnet and not Weapons) made my mother and me cry when she accepted her award and dedicated it to “the beautiful chaos of a mother’s heart.”
One Battle After Another had the most wins of the night with six (Best Picture, Supporting Actor, Adapted Screenplay, Director, Casting, and Editing). It was lovely to see American director Paul Thomas Anderson, having been nominated 14 times previously but never winning, receive his roses for a very entertaining and well-made movie that deserved the hype.
However, Sinners was the most popular film of last year, and it walked away with several wins. Ryan Coogler won for Best Original Screenplay, and Michael B. Jordan achieved his first win and nomination for his role playing the twins Smoke and Stack. The cherry on top was Autumn Durald Arkapaw becoming the first woman to ever win for Best Cinematography.
All in all, it was a fantastic ceremony that felt appropriately deserved and a beautiful celebration of how far film has come and where it’s headed.
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