The next three movies on our list; all nominated for Best Picture and one likely and eventual winner:
8 nominations
- Picture
- Director: James Mangold (1st time nominee)
- Actor: Timothée Chalamet (Call Me by Your Name)
- Adapted Screenplay: Jay Cocks (Gangs of New York, The Age of Innocence) & Mangold (Logan)
- Supporting Actor: Edward Norton (Birdman or (the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), American History X, Primal Fear)
- Supporting Actress: Monica Barbaro (1st time nominee)
- Costume Design: Arianne Phillips (Once upon a Time... in Hollywood, W./E., Walk the Line)
- Sound
Cast: Chalamet, Norton, Elle Fanning, Barbaro, Eriko Hatsune, P.J. Byrne, Joe Tippet, Dan Fogler, Scoot McNairy, Boyd Holbrook, Norbert Leo Butz, David Alan Basche
This is an utterly conventional mid-century singer biopic from the director of last year's truly wackadoodle Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. The movie works, though, by which I mean it functions in every single way expected of it. It hits all the right beats and it simply refuses to disappoint. Better still, the film is a musical—despite the Golden Globes' usual absurd classifications—every single emotional beat in the film is part of a song, and the movie is positively filled with music. This is a very good thing. It's a musical disguised as something else, and so it allows people who think they hate musicals to reap all of the emotional benefits of watching a musical while pretending they're watching a drama. Even more impressive, all of the principals sing their own songs, and they all do a good job with the music. When the smoke clears, I expect this to win Best Picture. I think this is the least divisive of the movies nominated, and it's a movie that I find impossible to dislike. In fact, it delivers in all of the ways it promises to deliver, and so watching it actually feels satisfying.
Will win: Picture, Sound
Could win: Director
My rating: #49 out of 93
8 nominations
- Picture
- Actor: Ralph Fiennes (The English Patient, Schindler's List)
- Adapted Screenplay: Peter Staughan (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)
- Supporting Actress: Isabella Rossellini (1st time nominee)
- Film Editing: Nick Emerson (1st time nominee)
- Production Design: Suzie Davies (Mr. Turner) & Cynthia Sleiter (1st time nominee)
- Original Score: Volker Bertelmann (All Quiet on the Western Front)
- Costume Design: Lisy Christl (Anonymous)
Cast: Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Lucian Msmamati, Jack Koman, Brían F. O'Byrne, Rossellini, Bruno Novelli, Thomas Loibl, Carlos Diehz, Rony Kramer, Sergio Castellito
I was really into this movie, and it's a superb follow-up to Berger's last film, All Quiet on the Western Front. One of my favorite things about Conclave is how well you know the central character, played by Ralph Fiennes, and know him so quickly. We know him so well that when Stanley Tucci's character accuses him of harboring a secret desire to be the pope himself, I immediately felt how much he had misjudged, how wrong he was. And I knew this about this character without doubt. The movie makes us confident in some things and suspicious of others. In this way, the movie constantly surprises its viewers. We see some things coming, but the movie has other surprises in store. I don't see Conclave doing very well on Oscar night, though. It's a very respectable movie that I think will take home the production design Oscar, but it might not win anything at all.
Will win: Production Design
Could win: N/A
My rating: #19 out of 93
6 nominations
- Picture
- Director: Sean Baker (1st time nominee)
- Actress: Mikey Madison (1st time nominee)
- Original Screenplay: Baker (1st time nominee)
- Supporting Actor: Yura Borisov (1st time nominee)
- Film Editing: Baker (1st time nominee)
Cast: Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Karren Karagulian, Borisov, Vache Tovmasyan, Lindsey Normington, Emily Weider, Aleksey Serebryakov, Darya Ekamasova, Paul Weissman
I liked this movie too! I really tend to hate Sean Baker's movies, or at least I go back and forth about them about four or five times during the movie, and I almost always hate the way he ends his movies. I find his gaze toward his characters really unkind and mocking. I think this is true in Anora, too. Baker spends most of the movie making fun of his central characters. They're figures of derision and hilarity—much of the film's comedy is very broad and silly—and this works quite well, even if the gaze toward the characters is cold. But with Anora, Baker really crafts a moving, heartfelt ending that shows a wonderful generosity toward his protagonist. For me, this movie's ending made Anora into something special.
Will win: N/A
Could win: Picture, Original Screenplay, Editing
My rating: #44 out of 93
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