BCAT News

As an avid film buff, it pains me to say that my excitement towards the Academy Awards have slowly decreased over the last few years. 

During the pandemic, the show producers did their best to “make it work” for the 2021 ceremony. However, their gamble to try and end the night on a poignant note by moving the award for Best Lead Actor to end of the night (The late Chadwick Boseman was nominated and the frontrunner to win) was doomed to fail from the very beginning.

There was no way of knowing Boseman was going to win until the presenter opened that envelope, and when Joaquin Phoenix did, and read “Anthony Hopkins, The Father” who wasn’t even in attendance, the ceremony ended with all the grace of an awkward Thanksgiving dinner.

Then a year later…well let’s just say Will Smith slapped the rose-tinted glasses right off my face.

However, when this year’s ceremony began with a moving tribute to the city of Los Angeles (and the films that have been shot there) and then a spectacular performance from Wicked’s Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, I couldn’t help but feel excited again. Conan O’Brien, save for a bizarre and unnecessary musical number, was an excellent host and should definitely be asked back next year. 

As for the films themselves, I won’t waste time with complaints that “Nobody sees the films that are nominated” or “It’s a political/popularity contest” because frankly, that may never change. This year was a weird race for Best Picture. Early on, Emilia Perez and The Brutalist both emerged as frontrunners, only to quickly fall from grace, with both films becoming plagued with controversy.

Everyone’s eyes turned to Sean Baker’s Anora, which swept the night with 5 wins, including Best Picture, Director, Lead Actress, Adapted Screenplay, and Film Editing. I really enjoyed Anora. Initially I never thought it had a chance to win any of these major awards, but I am very happy it did. It was still shocking to see Mikey Madison win Best Lead Actress over Demi Moore, the favorited frontrunner for The Substance. Who would’ve guessed the young actress would actually beat out the seasoned veteran?

Unfortunately Emilia Perez did not go home empty-handed, winning Best Supporting Actress for Zoe Saldana (The only award it deserved) and Best Original Song. Despite this, the winners did nothing to speak in support of the Mexican or Trans communities during their speeches (Two communities who were deeply offended by this film). Saldana gave a rather back-handed apology when questioned by a Mexican reporter in the press room, and Writer-Director Jacques Audiard claimed he would have said something if he won. Yet there he was on stage, winning for Best Original Song. Then there’s the fact he was also on stage in the pressroom right then and there. I digress.

While Adrien Brody did give a great performance in The Brutalist, as he went on and on trying to set the record for longest acceptance speech (He did, by telling the orchestra to stop playing him off) he began to feel less and less deserving. There’s also the fact that AI was used, which is what the guilds went on strike for two years ago, to enhance his Hungarian accent for the role, which should’ve disqualified him from the beginning. Then there was the classy moment where he tossed his chewing gum to his girlfriend before he went on stage…

As for Best Animated Feature, Flow may not have been the most structurally sound narrative of the nominees, but its technical achievements alone definitely secured its win (The Wild Robot was robbed!) Surprisingly it’s now been three years since Pixar, and Disney in general, have won this award. It’s nice to see other animated films win, but it’s just a sad reflection on the current state of the House of Mouse.

It was nice to see Wicked come home with a couple trophies (Production and Costume Design). It definitely was this year’s Barbie, meaning the crowd favorite that was nominated for awards but probably only to attract audiences. Musical numbers from both were even performed in their respective years’ ceremony. Sort of makes you think “If these films are such crowd pleasers, why aren’t they winning more awards?”

Well because voting members of the Academy don’t watch the films they vote for. The Hollywood trades often release “anonymous Oscar ballots” leading up to the big night, and some of the voters’ comments are nothing short of embarassing. Many admitted to not finishing or even watching some of the longer films like Dune: Part Two and The Brutalist, while others said things like they didn’t vote for Ralph Fiennes in Conclave for Best Lead Actor because “he won before and Adrien Brody hasn’t” Which a quick Google would tell you that’s wrong. Quite the opposite actually!

Ever since “The Slap Heard Around The World” in 2022, the Oscar ceremonies have gotten progressively better due to a more diverse catalog of films and talent being nominated. While this year was very entertaining and mostly everyone that deserved to won did, the aftermath shall we say, is casting a dark shadow over it.

The Oscars very much should be the film-buffs’ equivalent to the Super Bowl, and let’s be honest, the Super Bowl is more entertaining when your team is playing in it. If Academy voters are going to set the standard for which films deserve recognition, then they need to expand their gaze beyond a handful of films each year, and frankly, do their research.

If I can finish The Brutalist, so can they.