When I did my predictions post, I made a comment that a lot of the winners were set in stone...which would certainly make for a rather boring ceremony.
In truth, there were a lot of tech categories that could've gone in 2-3 different directions so those ended up being some of the bigger nail biters of the night. I will make sure to go into the tech categories more, but I do think that this is one of those ceremonies where you would likely be bored if you really hated the films that were winning.
Then again, you could argue that it was boring even if you DID like the films.
As a whole, I was mostly pleased with the ceremony. It moved at a fairly swift pace most of the time, and even if I do find Jimmy Kimmel to be erratic as a comedian, he does do a solid job in this role. His bit involving Trump's Tweet was certainly borderline "clapter" but it was humorous nonetheless...and I do enjoy how the clapback likely infuriated that prick.
There was a certain elegance to the ceremony that felt a little more "classic" and yet it still felt a little modern too. I have seen both sides of the argument that the Acting Presentations were either great or frustrating. There is a reverence to doing these tributes by previous winners and it is obvious how much these can mean to the nominees...just look at how moved Carey Mulligan was to get praised by Jessica Lange (although perhaps a lot of that was scripted...to be honest, I am not sure how personal these speeches are).
One comment I heard was that "we've already seen the films, we don't need to see clips". For me, I feel like the clips could be a possible gateway to get someone interested in seeing a film if they were potentially impressed by the clip. Like, Sandra Huller in Anatomy of a Fall for example...imagine if they showed a clip from her fight scene with her husband. To be fair, we saw a small clip of that during the Original Screenplay category presentation, but the clips can be potentially helpful to gaining more attention for someone who hasn't seen some of these films.
This may be in hindsight, but I remember when Marion Cotillard was nominated at SAG for La Vie en Rose and they showed the clip where she realizes that (spoiler alert) Marcel is dead. During that award season, Cotillard was sort of behind in terms of precursor wins. Due to the 2007-08 Writers Strike affecting the Golden Globe ceremony, she didn't get to give a speech there when she won. She did eventually win at BAFTA but I can still remember when they showed the "Marcel!!" clip at SAG and when it cut back to Cotillard in the audience, it just seemed like there was this energy of "Ummmm....that looked impressive".
At any rate, that could just be hindsight bias as I was a huge champion of Cotillard that season.
I did love the set and how much the lighting helped make it pop. It was that great mix of modern and classy, and I particularly loved when they put it in the violet hue...which just so happened to match presenter Zendaya perfectly when she came out for Best Cinematography.
I do have to comment on Best Song, as some people have said they feel that "I'm Just Ken" was more worthy to win over "What Was I Made For?". Frankly, I am not sure that a song that was a lot of fun and just happened to be staged at chaotic spectacle means it should automatically win.
It does come down to taste preference, but I do think Eilish/O'Connell warranted this win, maybe even a little more than their first one. It is such a haunting little number, and certainly worthy to win. I do think the Academy needs to stop nominating Diane Warren though. At this point, you almost get the sense that a small faction is desperate to give her an Oscar but she just isn't giving us anything more than bland filler year after year.
I also loved that we ended up getting Messi the dog from Anatomy of a Fall in attendance (although some suspect it was actually a lookalike) after reports claimed that some Hollywood insiders were actually jealous of how much promotion the dog got at the Nominee Luncheon. He even got his own seat!
I also want to discuss the tech categories, because this year was actually quite exciting with the results.
Oppenheimer more or less won what was expected of it: Cinematography, Editing, Score...but there were many that expected it would take Sound. It made sense as it certainly has a very dynamic and exciting sound design...but I am truly impressed and thrilled that they opted for The Zone of Interest.
If you did not see my review of that film (here) or know very little about it, The Zone of Interest is about the family of Nazi Commandant Rudolf Hoss who lived in a house right next door to Auschwitz. Putting it simply, the proximity to the camp leads to some truly...unsettling sounds: gunshots, screaming, the humming of the ovens burning up the bodies....
So yeah...it was a very intricate and disturbing soundscape, but also incredibly effective. I think it was an inspired choice...and the right choice, even if there was no denying the power of Oppenheimer's design.
Considering it is the 70th Anniversary of the first Godzilla film, it felt very sweet and exciting to see Godzilla Minus One take the Visual Effects prize...and it was a category that had a lot of people divided over what might win.
I think the real showdown was often between Poor Things and Barbie in a few categories, but a lot of people suspected Barbie would likely carry the day only for Poor Things to not only take both Production Design and Costumes, but it managed to overtake Maestro in Makeup/Hairstyling.
I will say that Barbie would've been a worthy winner in the categories it lost to Poor Things but I absolutely fell in love with those designs and found that film to be truly glorious to look at...when it wasn't trying to be TOO weird at least.
I am now going to go into my thoughts on the Big Eight categories:
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
American Fiction - Cord Jefferson
I was kind of noticing a shift in predictions where people expected
Oppenheimer would somehow pull off the win here despite the fact it basically won nothing in terms of major Screenplay precursors.
There was also some speculation that maybe Gerwig and Baumbach could sneak in and take it for Barbie being in a brand-new category after competing in Original basically everywhere else all season.
While I would've voted for Tony McNamara's work on Poor Things, there is no denying how witty and entertaining American Fiction was...if not maybe a tad toothless and not as brash as it could've been. I think he is still a worthy winner at least.
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BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
Anatomy of a Fall - Justine Triet & Arthur Harari
The award season began with people expecting this category would likely go to
The Holdovers with
Past Lives as the dark horse (and now there is a claim that
The Holdovers may have been plagiarized so we will see how that story unfolds...), but then at the Golden Globes,
Anatomy of a Fall managed to win Screenplay in the combined Original/Adapted category and that set off the path to it being the near inevitable victor.
I feel like Past Lives would've been a worthy winner here. A lot of it may have seemed moodier and sparse, but it did have a certain whimsical and poetic beauty about it. I did also have stronger feelings towards Past Lives over Anatomy of a Fall...but I do support this win as many of the film's scenes that either involved the courtroom or the amazing fight scene that was Sandra Huller's defining moment were rich with amazing dialogue.
I also have to add that I LOVE the fact that they played the PIMP cover when they announced the winner as the use of the song is so crucial and unexpected in the film...not to mention, the Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band arrangement is insanely catchy.
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BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer
Considered pretty much a foregone conclusion, I do feel like it was nice to see RDJ have this moment and that he won for a performance that was very good. Some have bemoaned that this falls under the career win category, and perhaps that is partly true.
If I am being honest, I would've voted for Mark Ruffalo...but I do think that RDJ does very commendable work as Lewis Strauss and provides the film with a great antagonistic energy. I keep hearing people say that he gave the role more than it needed. I don't know if I would necessarily put it that same way, but I would say that he manages to give the role a life/energy that I am not sure he has really given a role in quite some time...unless you want to count more of his earlier Tony Stark efforts.
RDJ's journey is pretty well documented and known, so to see him still soaring at a career high after his addictions nearly consumed him in the 90s is a wonderful sight to see.
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BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
DaVine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers
Even more of a foregone conclusion that RDJ is that of DJR...funny how that intial thing works out.
When it comes to award sweeps, the amount of awards that DJR won amount to the biggest ever given to a performer. At first glance, I do have to wonder if this performance was actually THAT undeniable...but if we are going off of the performances here and the long-lasting effect she has after seeing the film, this was an incredibly worthy win.
This is a mostly subtle performance that only has one real breakdown scene...and even that is mainly done with a lot of restraint...but this is also a performance that relies a lot on command and screen presence.
I have been familiar with DJR for years due to her history in the musical theatre world and if there is one thing I can say about her, she is an actress of great power...and to see her be able to command the screen with, at times, very little dialogue is a true joy to witness.
She gave such a beautiful speech as well and it was a wonderful way to kick off the evening.
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BEST ACTOR:
Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer
On his first nomination, Cillian Murphy manages to ride the wave of being the face of 2023's most epic film to win the award...but make no mistake, this is a very deserving win.
Murphy's work is compelling. Considering this is also a very subtle performance, it is truly remarkable how much he can achieve with his eyes. One thing I can truly say about Murphy as an actor after this performance is how well he would've worked in the silent movie era and that all comes back to those expressive eyes of his.
Considering how much he has been working for over 2 decades and always a solid strong supporting player in most films...including many of Nolan's...I found myself truly happy to see Murphy have his moment here.
Kudos to the other nominees: Giamatti, Domingo, and Wright.
As for Bradley Cooper...I think he needs a nap.
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BEST ACTRESS:
Emma Stone, Poor Things
This was the only acting category that had some suspense behind it, because you could truly make the case of either Emma Stone or Lily Gladstone winning.
I did fall into the Lily Gladstone camp as it seemed like there was a lot of passion for her and her SAG win seemed very unexpected as they often don't go for more passive performances.
However, the passion for Poor Things by what seems to be many of the international voters and tech voters may have possibly swayed everything into Stone's favor. Killers of the Flower Moon was not winning anything else, so once Poor Things started beating Barbie in the tech showdown, I think many of us suspected that Stone was very likely to take it.
The truth is that while I was not exactly a fan of Killers, there is no denying that Lily Gladstone is an actress of great power. Much like DaVine Joy Randolph, Gladstone was able to do so much with so little...but I think the real issue is that Gladstone was more of a supporting player.
I do have to wonder how this season would've played out had Gladstone chosen to stay in the supporting category, but I do commend her for being able to get the recognition in lead. I just hope that people will actually keep casting her as it is obvious she will help make any film better.
It also didn't help Gladstone that Stone was the true star/face of her film, and her work falls more into the "showboat" category. This isn't meant to be a knock at her though, because this is a performance that deserves such recognition.
I do think I may have been inclined to vote for Sandra Huller here as I feel her performance, while mostly subtle, does have a nice tightrope to walk so that we don't quite know at first if she is innocent or guilty...not to mention that glorious fight scene where she gets to do some fantastic yelling.
As it stands, I can't fault this win. Stone was my other real favorite in the category, but I do want to mention Carey Mulligan as well considering she was the only true saving grace about Maestro. I am anxiously awaiting for her to finally get an Oscar...because at this point, she honestly deserved two (if we are basing it just off of the actual nominees).
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BEST DIRECTOR:
Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer
Nothing to really add that hasn't already been said.
I will reiterate mainly what I said about Nolan when I reviewed the film. I can't say that he is a filmmaker that I have ever had much passion for. I am one of those film people who has been saying Memento was still his best work for the past 20 years now.
Oppenheimer definitely took that spot, and that is what I find so remarkable.
Nolan achieved greatness here.
I will say that Lanthimos and Glazer both deserve mentions for sure as their work is so strong that I suspect both of them could win in a lot of other years.
Triet's nomination was also richly deserved here, and I wish that she got more attention rather than be overshadowed by the snub of Greta Gerwig.
Scorsese is definitely a legend and it is obvious that he still can direct with great authority, but I also don't think it was enough to stand out this year. If anything, I still think Killers was mainly a disappointment that was too long and didn't focus enough on Mollie (Lily Gladstone).
Nolan outdid himself and this is a very worthy effort for him to win on.
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BEST PICTURE:
Oppenheimer
Going into award season, there was a lot of talk about whether or not
Oppenheimer would win Best Picture. I certainly thought it COULD, but I did feel like there was a case where Nolan would easily win Director but that something else could manage to slip in and win this category thanks to the ranking ballot system.
However, unlike films like The Power of the Dog, it is easy to see that Oppenheimer was one of those rare films that managed to ignite widespread audience interest and equal adoration from critics. I feel like we may have to go back to LOTR and Titanic to have films of peak phenomenon level and manage to get such strong award attention at the same time.
If I am being honest, I think any of you that have been reading my posts over the last few years will know that I tend to lean more towards indie & foreign films. I often like what they bring to the table, especially if they fall under the category of what may not be typical Oscar fare.
There are always exceptions to the rule, and Oppenheimer is CLEARLY one of those exceptions.
I already said that Nolan outdid himself, and it bears repeating.
For a 3 hour film, I found that Oppenheimer flew by (well deserved Editing win for Jennifer Lame right there!!) and while I would argue that Nolan is still rather bad at giving a lot of material to women (Blunt and Pugh were wasted despite owning all of their moments onscreen), everything else was easily his finest moments as a filmmaker in quite some time...if not, his finest ever.
I was not expecting to actually love this film as much as I did, and it does feel rather crazy to think of this as my favorite film of 2023.
Actually, that kind of mentality isn't unusual. I have seen so many YouTubers make the comment about how boring of a choice it is of them to name Oppenheimer as their #1 film of 2023 and yet...I will likely end up doing the same once I get around to finally making my top 10-20 list.
It is nice to be able to enjoy the results of these wins despite how a lot of them were predictable...something that I truly didn't get with either 2021 or 2022.
So there is that at least...
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