It’s that time of year again: award season. Actors in Oscar hopefuls are doing press junket after press junket to stay as visible as possible in the eyes of the Academy; awards pundits are creating prediction lists that mysteriously lack any films directed by Black women, only to complain about the Academy’s own lack of diversity post-nominations; film Twitter is in shambles. As much as I hate to admit it, it’s my own personal Christmas. Every year I try and ignore the awards cycle, and every year I fail. In my defense, studios don’t make it easy! Dumping all the years’ most exciting movies in November and December makes it hard to forget that Oscar nominations are afoot (reminder that The Iron Claw is in theaters now, as is, allegedly, The Zone of Interest). Fighting for my own film favs on Twitter is a pastime that, no matter my efforts, I always succumb to, every year. This year, I’ve practically been conducting the Earth Mama campaign train.
I digress. The point I’m trying to make is, since I can’t avoid it, I might as well join it, full throttle. So here I present my own personal Oscar picks. A couple disclaimers:
I won’t always be doing listicles on here. My next issue will be something different, I promise.
The subheading is a joke! These are my picks. Mine and mine alone. I’m doing this for my own enjoyment.
I haven’t seen everything. I haven’t even seen a tenth of everything! Part of that is because some studios (I’m looking at you A24 and NEON) make it notoriously difficult to catch their movies in theaters, especially if you live anywhere that isn’t New York and LA. But also, I got things to do.
A couple that I haven’t been able to see but are on my radar: The Zone of Interest, Ferrari, Perfect Days, Origin, La Chimera, Fallen Leaves, The Color Purple, American Fiction, A Thousand and One, All of Us Strangers, Monster, Godzilla Minus One, and many, many others. I DO plan on updating this list after the nominations. I’ll watch some more I swear.
OneI didn’t see on purpose was Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé. In accordance with BDS, I’m boycotting.
I have seen Barbie.
I’m going to be using the Academy’s categories and rules to make things simple. So that’s 5 nominees per category.
One change I will make is I’m including runner-ups for each category, as well as some honorable mentions for any popular misses.
Also, what qualifies for Original Score is up to me.
I’m not going to pretend that I watch a lot of documentaries and shorts, nor am I going to pretend I know much about sound design or visual effects. So as to not bite off more than I can chew, I’m going to simplify things.
For International Feature (I’ll definitely update this once I’m able to see more), Editing, Animated Feature, and Live Action Short I’ll do 3 noms, no runner-ups.
For Original Song, Visual Effects and Sound, I’ll just do a winner.
I am omitting Documentary Short, Animated Short, and Documentary Feature. I do want to rectify these blind spots, so if anybody’s seen something really good, please recommend!
The Blue Caftan was submitted to 2023’s Academy Awards as a 2022 film, but it wasn’t made widely available until April of 2023, so in defiance of the film’s distributors I’m counting it as a 2023 release. These people will learn.
Without further ado, let’s get into it.
Best Picture
Anatomy of a Fall (winner)
May December (runner-up)
The Blue Caftan (runner-up)
Earth Mama
Oppenheimer
Priscilla
Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret.
Afire
Spider-man: Across The Spider-Verse
Past Lives
The top pick should be no surprise given the amount of lauding I did in my previous issue. Justine Triet’s murder investigation turned marriage investigation was by a mile the best thing I saw last year. Not to discredit the other films on the list: Todd Haynes’ disturbing masterwork and Maryam Touzani’s tender romantic drama moved me just as much.
Some honorable mentions: Theater Camp, Poor Things, Shayda
Best Director
Justine Triet - Anatomy of a Fall (winner)
Yorgos Lanthimos - Poor Things (runner-up)
Christopher Nolan - Oppenheimer
Todd Haynes - May December
Savanah Leaf - Earth Mama
I was shocked by how much Justine Triet’s direction struck me upon my first viewing of Anatomy of a Fall. The stylistic choices she makes, especially in the beginning, are almost chaotic, but strangely fitting. Jarring camera movements and lens changes (news footage and iPhone cameras included) create a distance between the viewer and the characters - and their motivations. We are constantly reminded that, in spite of the French courts’ best efforts, their lives remain impenetrable. On the other side of the same coin is Yorgos Lanthimos, who takes his already very unique style to new heights. It’s audacious, and I can’t say it always works, but his vision and guts are undeniable.
Honorable mentions: Maryam Touzani for The Blue Caftan, Sofia Coppola for Priscilla, Celine Song for Past Lives, Raine-Allen Miller for Rye Lane, and Martin Scorsese for Killers of the Flower Moon.
Best Actor
Teo Yoo - Past Lives (winner)
Saleh Bakri - The Blue Caftan (runner-up)
Zac Efron - The Iron Claw
Cillian Murphy - Oppenheimer
Franz Rogowski - Passages
I already (kind of) spoke about Teo Yoo’s performance in my last issue, so I’d like to focus on Saleh Bakri this time round, who I didn’t include then because I counted The Blue Caftan as a 2022 release. Playing a closeted man (Halim) torn between the love he has for his dying wife and the love he has for his new apprentice, Bakri is quietly devastating. The joy of finding new love is undercut by the pain of grief and the desire to remain loyal to his wife, even if it means suppressing himself even further. The situation is delicate and uncomfortable, and Bakri’s performance treats it with the nuance required.
Honorable mentions: Leonardo Dicaprio in Killers of the Flower Moon and Gael García Bernal in Cassandro.
Best Actress
Sandra Hüller - Anatomy of a Fall (winner)
Tia Nomore - Earth Mama (winner)
Emma Stone - Poor Things (runner-up)
Zar Amir Ebrahimi - Shayda
Natalie Portman - May December
I’ve already covered all these performances, so I’ll just address the major snub: Lily Gladstone barely didn’t make it in. I promise. This was hard. I’ve gone with two winners and a runner-up. That’s how hard it was.
Honorable mentions: Lily Gladstone in Killers of the Flower Moon, Vivian Oparah in Rye Lane, Cailee Spaeny in Priscilla, Greta Lee in Past Lives, Lubna Azabal in The Blue Caftan, and Abby Ryder Fortson in Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret.
Best Supporting Actor
Milo Machado Graner - Anatomy of a Fall (winner)
Charles Melton - May December (runner-up)
Noah Galvin - Theater Camp
Ben Whishaw - Passages
Ayoub Missioui - The Blue Caftan
I’ve covered all these performances except for the lattermost so really quickly: he’s terrific. On par with Bakri and Azabal. Almost made me cry.
Honorable mentions: Swann Arlaud in Anatomy of a Fall, Willem Dafoe in Poor Things, Robert Downey Jr. in Oppenheimer, Glenn Howerton in Blackberry and Robert De Niro in Killers of the Flower Moon
Best Supporting Actress
Rachel McAdams - Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret. (winner)
Erika Alexander - Earth Mama (runner-up)
Julianne Moore - May December
Tilda Swinton - The Killer
Paula Beer - Afire
In the past week I’ve gained some sense and realized the strength of Erika Alexander’s performance in Earth Mama. Miss Carmen, a group therapy counsellor and social worker, is a place of refuge for Nomore’s Gia, a motherly figure in a sea of judgement. Alexander plays the role exceptionally well; her voice is soft and kind, her manner attentive. When Gia speaks, she leans in. So (spoiler), after Gia relapses, and Alexander utters the words “You don’t have the right to abuse yourself or your child.” (I paraphrase), it hits hard. Her disappointment genuinely feels gutting. But behind her eyes, we can see the love. The real desire she has to see Gia do better. And the hatred for the system that put Gia in her position.
Honorable mentions: Doechii in Earth Mama, Molly Gordon in Theater Camp, Ayo Edebiri in Bottoms, and Hong Chau in Showing Up.
Best Original Screenplay
Justine Triet and Arthur Harari - Anatomy of a Fall (winner)
Samy Burch - May December (runner-up)
Nabil Ayouch and Maryam Touzani - The Blue Caftan
Christian Petzold - Afire
Celine Song - Past Lives
Honorable mentions: Raine Allen-Miller for Rye Lan, Noor Niasari for Shayda and Kelly Reichardt for Showing Up
Best Adapted Screenplay
This is anything based on pre-existing material. Earth Mama and Theater Camp are based on short films. Nominees include writers of pre-existing material.
Savanah Leaf - Earth Mama, based on The Heart Still Hums by Savanah Leaf and Taylor Russell (winner)
Christopher Nolan - Oppenheimer, based on American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin (runner-up)
Sofia Coppola - Priscilla, based on Elvis and Me by Priscilla Presley
Kelly Fremon Craig - Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. based on the novel by Judy Blume
Dave Callaham, Phil Lord, and Christopher Miller - Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, based on the Marvel Comics
Honorable mentions: Molly Gordon, Ben Platt, Noah Galvin, and Nick Lieberman for Theater Camp, and Tony McNamara for Poor Things
Best Animated Feature
Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse (winner)
TMNT: Mutant Mayhem
Nimona
I have seen How Do You Live? It pains me to omit it but I think it’s a grower. I’ll know for sure soon.
Best International Feature
Anatomy of a Fall (winner)
The Blue Caftan
Afire
Best Live Action Short
The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar - Wes Anderson (winner)
Girl Blunt - Clementine Narcisse
Artificial - Channelle Tyson
Best Original Score
Jerskin Fendrix - Poor Things (winner)
Marcelo Zarvos - May December (runner-up)
Kelsey Lu - Earth Mama
Ludwig Göransson - Oppenheimer
Daniel Pemberton - Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Honorable mention: Reznor & Ross for The Killer and Richard Reed Parry for Eileen
Best Original Song
Camp Isn’t Home written by Ben Platt, Mark Sonnenblick, Molly Gordon, Nick Lieberman, and Noah Galvin. Produced by Bill Sherman, Mark Sonnenblick, and Will Van Dyke (embarrassing snub on the Academy’s part)
Best Sound
Oppenheimer - Dan O’Connell, Richard King, Kevin O’Connel, Alex Gibson, Willie D. Burton, and Christopher Flick
Best Production Design
Poor Things - Shona Heath and James Price (winner)
Barbie - Sarah Greenwood (runner-up)
Oppenheimer - Ruth de Jong
Killers of the Flower Moon - Jack Fisk
Asteroid City - Adam Stockhausen
Best Cinematography
Robbie Ryan - Poor Things (winner)
Hoyte van Hoytema - Oppenheimer (runner-up)
Dan Laustsen - John Wick: Chapter 4
Jody Lee Lipes - Earth Mama
Rodrigo Prieto - Killers of the Flower Moon
Honorable mention: Simon Beaufils for Anatomy of a Fall and Fraser Taggart for Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Priscilla (winner)
Poor Things (runner-up)
Barbie
Theater Camp
Oppenheimer
Best Costume Design
Holly Waddington - Poor Things (winner)
Jacqueline Durran - Barbie (runner-up)
Khadija Zeggaï - Passages
Stacey Battat - Priscilla
Jacqueline West - Killers of the Flower Moon
Best Film Editing
Jennifer Lame - Oppenheimer (winner)
Kirk Baxter - The Killer
Thelma Schoonmaker - Killers of the Flower Moon
Best Visual Effects
The phenomenal team that created Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse. Lord and Miller should be ashamed of themselves.
Conclusion
Fin! We have reached the end. I’ll mark the date here (January 10th, 2024) because, as I mentioned before, I do intend to update this after the nominations come out, as I’ll have seen many more films. Til’ then!