I’ll start this piece with a quote from one of my non-ironic favorite films of all time: “Maybe the country was shocked tonight by your arrow, but once again — I was not.”
This quote from Haymitch Abernathy was on the tip of my tongue all evening. This year’s Oscars certainly ruffled some feathers with nominations thrown at some and dangled like a carrot in front of others. But once again, the internet seems to think the wrong people won and the right people lost. Why do we always love the losers?
The truth is, the winners almost always deserve it. It’s just when they deserve it that becomes the issue. Winners like Adrien Brody for The Brutalist or Jamie Lee Curtis for Everything Everywhere All at Once were arguably legacy awards; their rewarded parts were perhaps not Oscar-worthy, but they were long overdue. The reaction of the audience should tell you all; a room full of “greats” (as Timothée Chalamet called them) would know who’s deserving and who isn’t.
Think about the case of Timothée Chalamet here. In his acceptance speech for his SAG award just last month, he spoke of attempting exceptionalism. He wanted to be one of the best, even going as far as to say that the award he held tight in his grasp was not the aim but just another part of his legacy. The Academy was unlikely to award a man who’d essentially just brushed aside an award in the pursuit of something greater, in the same way, they were unlikely to reward such a high-profile actor at such a young age when the competition was as steep as it was last night. They essentially don’t want to call it early because where does Chalamet go from here if he wins?
Adrien Brody may not have been my choice, but it was long deserved, and my lord, is he talented. My issue is instead with how The Brutalist used AI in crafting Brody’s accent. If the film is, in Viola Davis’s words, a celebration of life, then we should award those who attempt to bypass it. My choice instead would’ve been Sebastian Stan playing a young Donald Trump in The Apprentice, in which he turned a biopic into a chilling horror film.
That’s that thing; the Academy cares most about time. Emilia Pérez was nominated in excess, in my opinion, because the Academy wanted to seem “woke” and aware of Trans issues; though, of course, by choosing such performative activism, they completely ignored how problematic of a depiction of both Trans and Mexican culture and also how abominable of a movie it was. Wicked wasn’t given Best Picture, and Ariana Grande, despite a stellar performance, wasn’t given Best Supporting Actress because Wicked was the guaranteed first installment of a two-film series.
The Oscar, in cases like these, only ever goes to the sequel. Thus, I’ll be expecting Wicked to sweep awards season (including finally cementing Cynthia Erivo’s EGOT status) when Wicked: For Good is released, but not now. Also, on a more personal note, Wicked’s lighting was dogsh*t, and casting Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero was the “look-at-us-we-know-who’s-trending” choice, and not the smart one.
It’s when the Academy chooses “trending” over talent that really belittles what the Oscars stands for. Kieran Culkin’s name is on everyone’s mind, so his win for Best Supporting Actor was the most predictable of the night. And A Real Pain did most certainly deserve an Oscar, but Jeremy Strong’s captivating performance as Trump’s aide, Roy Cohn, made The Apprentice. I’m not ashamed to admit his performance made this film the only movie I’ve ever cried at (apart from Marley and Me, but hey, that’s a given). I believe that Strong’s performance is just another stellar part in a long line of perfect portrayals. He simply set the bar too high, and the Academy has essentially grown bored of perfection. Moreover, I do have to admit that Eisenberg’s A Real Pain was a better movie.
But just like last year, I ask you to look beyond your tunnel vision over Wicked’s loss for Best Picture. Fixating on these so-called “snubs” always detracts from the real wins of the evening. Flow’s win for Best Animated Feature was a testament to the power of silent film and proved that stories can be told without needing to be translated. Salles’s I’m Still Here and No Other Land (a documentary produced by both Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers) were my most deserved wins of the night, although I would’ve liked to see I’m Still Here win Best Picture, but alas, I know better.
Zoe Saldaña’s win as Best Supporting Actress, although counted as a win for Emilia Pérez (boo), was very deserved. Her performance was truly the only good thing about the movie, and she was incredibly captivating (I’ll note that it does pain me to say this, as I’m very aware of her history of donning Blackface and using a prosthetic nose to portray Nina Simone in Nina). Taken out of the context of the movie, Saldana’s performance was a guaranteed win; it was just whether the Academy wanted to brave the backlash.
The Academy’s real problem is context. Professional context was the driving force behind Adrien Brody’s win, but the context of using AI to perfect his accent was ignored. Emilia Pérez was nominated as an attempted ode to the current political climate, but Saldana’s history of blackface and ignoring the comments of the communities she portrays, not to mention Karla Sofía Gascón’s abomination of a social media presence (note: I omit the ñ from “Saldaña” purposefully as she did not pronounce the “ñ” until marketing Emilia Pérez, and thus I see it as performative on her part). The Apprentice was neglected arguably because of a certain someone whispering in the ears of Academy members; Wicked and Dune II just because they were part of a franchise. Context seems to matter deeply in those cases, but not in some of the most divisive. Make it make sense.
If you’re going to fixate on snubbing, for the love of God, focus on Challengers. Every performance gave their all; Mike Faist broke out into serious acting, and Zendaya delivered an Oscar-winning performance. Not to mention the score — this creation of absolute beauty really serves as Reznor and Ross’s magnum opus and I’m still not over the film’s absence of a Best Score nomination. The cinematography? The POV of the tennis ball shot? The sub-terrain shot of the court? The creativity was off the charts. Safe to say I’m heartbroken.
I’d comment on Dune II, but in all honesty, I’ve seen a bit too much of Chalamet and Zendaya this year for me to be particularly passionate about its two wins (Best Sound and Best Visual Effects). Just like Wicked, I’m expecting it to sweep for its third and final installment, Dune: Messiah. As long as I don’t see Christopher Walken playing Christopher Walken again.
Please, I implore you, don’t take your advice from tumultuous teenagers who have too much time and troll on TikTok. Let the Academy at least attempt to do its job. Is the Academy perfect? Of course it isn’t (mainly because Challengers didn’t even receive one nomination, what the f*ck). It’s entirely too white, too male, and too disproportionate, so the odds are never really in the right person’s favor. But they’re there for a reason, so be reasonable.
P.S. Where in fresh hell was Nosferatu?
For those of you at all interested, my picks for the main categories would’ve been:
- Best Picture: Anora
- Best Actress: Mikey Madison (Anora) or Fernanda Torres (I’m Still Here)
- Best Actor: Colman Domingo (Sing Sing)
- Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande (Wicked)
- Best Supporting Actor: Jeremy Strong (The Apprentice)
- Best Director: Coralie Fargeat (The Substance)
- Best International Feature: I’m Still Here
- Best Animated Feature: Flow or The Wild Robot
- Best Original Screenplay: Anora
- Best Adapted Screenplay: Conclave