Best Picture: “Anora” | Sammy Wynn
The Oscar goes to “Anora,” but should it have? Like many nationwide, I didn’t expect the film to win best picture, especially with other blockbuster hits, such as “Conclave” or “The Brutalist.” Nominated alongside instant classics like those, how could “Anora” possibly win?
Well, “Anora” winning was by no means a fluke. This gorgeous film, directed by Sean Baker and starring Mikey Madison, highlighted the sex worker community with honor and prestige.
Many overlooked this film or didn’t believe in it, however, after one watch, I knew it was special. This film felt personal, a real story, unlike films like “Conclave” or “A Complete Unknown”, which felt detached from society.
The film highlights an important part of humanity in a previously unseen manner, showing the story of an ordinary girl living through an extraordinary event. Madison’s breathtaking performance beautifully conveyed the gorgeous tale, earning her Best Actress and the film a total of five Oscars.
While there may be controversy surrounding Anora’s win, anyone who saw the heartbreaking film knows it deserved every award it won Sunday night.
Best Actor and Actress: Adrien Brody and Mikey Madison | Melanie Schouppe
This is Mikey Madison’s first Oscar. Her acting in “Anora” was deep and dramatic in all the best ways. It was well-delivered the way she balanced the over-the-top facade of Anora’s layers of insecurity and flat-out complexity was amazing.
Even though I loved Madison’s performance, a part of my heart was hoping to see Cynthia Erivo win her Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and a Tony (EGOT) for her work on “Wicked.” Erivo only needs an Oscar to get that title. I thought she did an amazing job in “Wicked” and I hope to see her win an Oscar next year for “Wicked: For Good.”
Demi Moore had also done an amazing job in “The Substance.” This movie takes a unique theme by emphasizing how women can lose their fame as they age in the entertainment industry.
Moore displays the inner conflict of the character so well, and it shows through even with the horror aspects at the forefront of the story.
“The Brutalist” would not have been as impactful without its leading man, Adrien Brody. He carried the impact in such an inspiring story of the movie. I also want to mention Timothee Chalamet’s performance in “A Complete Unknown.” He did a great job embodying the Bob Dylan story and performing the music in a style similar to Dylan’s iconic stage presence.
Best Supporting Actor: Kieran Culkin | Sammy Wynn
Keiran Culkin’s performance was mind-blowing in “A Real Pain.” Culkin went through emotional levels I didn’t even know were possible. After thoroughly dominating the award season, it was no shock Culkin took home the Oscar. The rest of the nominees gave beautiful performances, however, nothing came close to Culkin’s. The way he effortlessly bounced off co-star Jesse Eisenberg showed a genuine connection between the two and created a deeper meaning to the film.
Eisenberg, who also directed the movie, explained in an interview with Vulture, he hired Culkin for the movie without auditioning or seeing any of Culkin’s past films. After learning this, I can confidently say that he made the right choice.
On its own, Culkin’s performance made the film. His hilarious performance captivated me as soon as the movie started. As the film went on, Culkin produced masterful emotional levels I didn’t know were possible. The only word I can use to describe Culkin’s performance is extraordinary.
Best Supporting Actress: Zoe Saldaña | Melanie Schouppe
I have mixed feelings about the winner of this year’s Best Supporting Actress. The winner was Zoe Saldaña for her role as Rita Mora Castro in “Emilia Pérez.” Going into the ceremony, I was rooting for Ariana Grande to win the award for her performance in “Wicked.”
Grande made an amazing Glinda in “Wicked.” Maybe it’s me being a sucker for musicals, but Grande proved she can do more than just sing pop music. She established herself as just as much an actor as she is a singer. I throughly hope she gets nominated again next Oscars for “Wicked: For Good.”
When talking about Saldaña’s win, that’s where the previously mentioned mixed emotions come in. Saldaña is a great actress and has been a part of many well-loved movie franchises, so why did she have to win for “Emilia Pérez?”
There has been quite a bit of controversy around “Emilia Pérez” and its depiction of the transgender, Mexican and Hispanic communities, as well as its use of AI. I fear will only dampen her name in the future. Saldaña should have been given her chance to shine with another movie because she is deserving of the award.
Best Director: Sean Baker | Sammy Wynn
Sean Baker winning Best Director was by no means a shock. Baker has captivated and created a niche in the independent film scene for decades, winning three Independent Spirit Awards for best director and one BAFTA, among many other awards. Now Baker made history by taking home four Oscars in one night.
I hoped Coralie Fargeat would win Best Director for “The Substance.” Women are often overlooked in this category, consistently losing to their male counterparts. It was proven at this year’s Oscars that a feminist horror would simply not win anything.
However, Baker’s win was not a disappointment. Independent films are often overshadowed by multi-million dollar projects when going through the award circuit, making Baker’s win even more memorable.
Baker connected with his audience beautifully. The audience felt as if they were part of the story, not simply a viewer. With a delicate topic like the life of a sex worker, it can be easy to feed into stereotypes. Baker handled it gracefully and respectfully, not exploiting Madison or the community.
Baker has been prominent in the independent film industry for decades, and now I hope that everyone will know the name Sean Baker.
Best Original Screenplay: “Anora” | Gavin Breunig
Coming into this awards season, I planned to watch all the Best Picture nominees. I fell short (as I do nearly every year) and missed three of them, “The Brutalist,” “I’m Still Here” and “Anora.”
After watching the Oscars, I now see that I have made a grave mistake in skipping those movies. All three of them won an award on the big stage, with “Anora” winning the biggest of them all. Sean Baker won the Best Original Screenplay award for “Anora,” and went on to win two more solo awards for editing and directing, while his film went on to win best picture.
As such, I can’t speak on “Anora’s” win here. However, I did have a personal favorite for this award: “A Real Pain.”
Admittedly, Kieran Culkin carried “A Real Pain” through most of the awards season, but I was surprised how much this little charming movie stayed with me after I watched it. I didn’t know Jesse Eisenberg could feel emotions, let alone write an introspectively rich yet equally comedic film.
The movie struck a difficult balance between comedic moments (which were largely made better by Eisenberg and Culkin’s performances) and emotionally complex moments; an impressive feat. While I’m a bit disappointed that Eisenberg lost this category, I’m excited to see what he can offer in the future.
Best Hair and Makeup: “The Substance” | Hannah Piedad
Hair and makeup is an often unappreciated Oscar category. However, without these aesthetic mediums, none of the films nominated would have the same depth and impact as they do.
This year’s best hair and makeup winner was announced as “The Substance,” which I think was a very justified win. It’s easy for a makeup department to produce glamorous and eye-catching looks. That’s something most makeup artists can do in their sleep (and something “The Substance” did as well). However, what sets this film apart from other nominees, in my eyes, is its grotesque looks.
The end look where Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley’s features are gruesomely transformed into “Monstro Elisasue” is something I can only describe as both off-putting and extremely impressive.
The extent to which these actresses become unrecognizable, and the detail shown by Monstro Elisasue, are enough reasons alone to make “The Substance” the rightful winner of Best Hair and Makeup.
Best Costume Design: “Wicked” | Hannah Piedad
It’s safe to say “Wicked” wasn’t my first choice when it came to the Best Costume Design category. I was rooting for “Nosferatu,” as I immediately fell in love with the period-accurate looks. However, I do think “Wicked’s” win is extremely valid.
With “Nosferatu,” the period-specific plotline does limit costume design. The designers have to focus on accuracy, instead of aesthetics, since one mistake can completely break the viewers’ immersion.
“Wicked,” though, had endless opportunities for costume design creativity, since it takes place in a mythical and magical universe. The costume design was phenomenal, and I appreciated the fact that the designers didn’t try to modernize any of the characters’ looks. Instead, each piece of clothing, accessory or color choice seems entirely intentional, reflecting aspects of the characters’ personalities.
The pure thought that went behind the movie’s costume design is what I think won it the Oscar. It made the story more fanciful and engaging.
Best Original Score: “The Brutalist” | Melanie Schouppe
The soundtrack makes or breaks the viewing experience, and “The Brutalist” had a spot-on score that implemented unique sounds into a cohesive soundtrack. I loved the almost construction sounds that a few of the songs consisted of it added to the story the main character being an architect.
Even with that, I do think the soundtrack for “Wicked” was splendid. I love a good musical, and “Wicked” has such a strong list of songs that don’t fail to move me. On top of the well-written words of the music, the instrumentals are so powerful and entertaining on their own.
Another contender worth discussion is “The Wild Robot”. This is an animated film, and those never seem to fail with soundtracks. The music featured in this movie held whimsy, hope and sadness all in one. The song “Kiss the Sky” is a great stand-alone song, but with the context the movie brings, it makes such an empowering and emotional moment. This movie is worth watching and listening to.
Best Adapted Screenplay: “Conclave” | Gavin Breunig
“Conclave” was seen as a contender for many awards coming into this Oscars season, but it was by far the favorite to win the Best Adapted Screenplay award. If you’re familiar with the film, it’s easy to see why.
“Conclave” is a slow-burning, suspenseful and mysterious movie about the election of a new pope. To make this seemingly boring idea into an incredibly immersive film, Peter Straughan must have made a deal with the devil.
The movie largely takes place in two areas of Vatican City and almost solely relies on dialogue to set the tone and context for many of the scenes. The expertise of both the actors and the writers is what makes the movie interesting, and is the main reason that it was in the running for many awards in the first place.
“Conclave” was my personal choice to win this category. Other nominees here include “A Complete Unknown” and “Nickel Boys.” Both had solid scripts that held their respective films together but didn’t extend much further beyond being the glue, while Peter Straughan’s writing was the fabric for “Conclave.”
Best Cinematography: “The Brutalist” | Gavin Breunig
The award for Best Cinematography went to “The Brutalist.” As I mentioned in the Best Original Screenplay section, I did not watch this movie. Furthermore, this is not a movie that I necessarily wanted to watch as I disagree with its usage of artificial intelligence.
I will note that AI is not used in the cinematography, and I’m sure this movie deserved this specific award. Still, I am not a fan of AI in films at all, regardless of how much it is used. It is a slippery slope that we are in the midst of tumbling down, and I don’t want to be complacent.
I am not going to be complacent on the nominations here either, as “Nickel Boys” wasn’t nominated for this category.
“Nickel Boys,” the disturbing and fiery story of two black teenage boys in the 1960’s, had some of the most beautiful and impressive cinematography that I have ever seen. The incredibly unique choice to use a first-person-perspective throughout almost the entire movie was a bold and risky choice, and I think that paid off.. The connection that the viewers feel to Elwood due to seeing the world from his eyes is something that I’ve never seen done this well in a film before.
I am aware that “Nickel Boys” is not a super well-known movie and that it wasn’t a frontrunner for any of the categories it was nominated in, but this is the most egregious snub that I saw at the Oscars this year, especially considering that it wasn’t even gifted a nomination in this category.
“Nickel Boys” is easily one of the best movies that I’ve watched in the past year and I highly recommend checking it out.
Best Editing: “Anora” | Gavin Breunig
“Anora” won Sean Baker won his second award of the night, this time for his editing work “I saved this film in the edit,” he proclaimed in his acceptance speech. Editing is one of the most crucial aspects of the filmmaking process and can, as Baker alluded to in his speech, make or break a film.
My personal favorite nominee here was “Conclave.” The editing assisted the writing in making this movie as easy-to-digest as it was. But, it wasn’t my personal favorite movie to win this award.
I believe that “Dune: Part 2” had the best editing of 2024. I feel many people forget that editing is critical to properly pacing a film. “Dune: Part 2,” has extraordinarily impressive pacing that allows it to stand head-and-shoulders above both its predecessor and every other movie made last year.
When one can watch a nearly three-hour movie and not feel it drag at any point, the film’s pacing must be incredible, in no short part attributed to the editing. When Frank Herbert’s “Dune” can be adapted into a blockbuster film trilogy and not feel unnecessarily convoluted or confusing, I feel sure that they saved this film in the edit.
Without good editing, “Dune: Part 2” would have felt more akin to “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” an (for all intents and purposes) indefinite drag of a movie and an immense letdown when considering the success of its predecessors.
