Preview of the 2023 Oscars nominations
The oscar goes to… PHOTO CREDIT: rd.com
Another year of movies has come and gone and another Oscars night will descend upon us on March 12. As always, this will lead to another night of people getting upset over every winner only to move on and forget about everything within a week.
Unless something unique happens. After all, no one remembers the best picture winner of last year but everyone remembers the infamous Will Smith/Chris Rock slap heard around the world. However, until another celebrity makes a fool out of themselves and completely eclipses the movies that the Oscars are meant to celebrate, let’s discuss those movies and try to find out who is the most deserving of each award. I can’t go over every category of the 23 that are listed, but I will go over some of them.
Best Picture: This year has a pretty good selection of possible best picture winners, mixing some smaller scale movies with big crowd pleasing blockbusters. There are many factors, both obvious and hidden, that determine which film will win each award. While I am rooting for “Everything Everywhere All At Once” or “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans” has a big name attached to it and is a movie about movies which the academy loves. Additionally, “Women Talking” is the sort of quiet moody film that the academy may want to promote to prove just how thoughtful and smart they are. No offense to “Women Talking” of course.
Actor in a Leading Role: Much fewer nominees compared to best picture, five instead of 10. While Austin Butler was surprisingly excellent in “Elvis” and Colin Farrell is continuously proving himself to be one of the most diverse actors working today, I’m rooting for Brendan Fraser to take home the much deserved award for his heartbreaking performance in “The Whale.”
Actor in a Supporting Role: It is wonderful that “Everything Everywhere All At Once” actor Ke Huy Quan is back on the big screen after a long break, but I think that Brendan Gleeson mixes dark humor and stoic sadness that makes “The Banshees of Inisherin” as effective as it is.
Actress in a Leading Role: Ana De Armas does deserve credit for being one of the only bearable aspects of “Blonde,” but compared to her competition, I don’t think anyone would be satisfied with her receiving the Oscar. However, everyone who has seen it can most likely come together and claim that Cate Blanchett deserves as much recognition as possible for her performance in “Tár.”
Actress in a Supporting Role: “The Whale” is a movie that relies almost entirely on its performances to carry itself from mediocrity to excellence. I don’t think Hong Chau gets enough credit for being just as effective and emotionally powerful as her male co-star. Hopefully, the Oscar will get her that credit.
Animated Feature Film: This one is rather cut and dry. Disney will most likely win with “Turning Red,” which will be both unsurprising and disappointing, but “Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio” should take home the statue just for the animation alone.
Directing: This one could go in multiple directions and I think everyone has earned the nomination, but Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert made one of the most creative and complicated movies with “Everything Everywhere All At Once.” That kind of dedication to achieving your vision should help them take home the Oscar.
Film Editing: One of the most important aspects to filmmaking has a lot of distinct competition in this category; from Baz Luhrmann’s frantically crazy camerawork in “Elvis” to the calmness of “The Banshees of Inisherin.” However, I think “Top Gun: Maverick” will take the gold in this category because of how much it impacted people and how impressive and difficult it must have been to capture the footage they used and to edit it properly.
Writing (Adapted Screenplay): As much as I love the fact that “Glass Onion” is nominated, “Women Talking” is very much exactly what it sounds like and the rich dialogue littered throughout the movie almost demands it receive the golden statue.
Writing (Original Screenplay): Five films all attempt to do something different, from movies about friendship and drifting apart to movies about dozens of coalescing realities to movies about family struggles and the passion for finding what you love. I think any of the nominations could take home the gold without angering too many people, but I would have to place my bets on “The Fabelman’s,” both because of it’s clearly heartfelt and meaningful story and because it checks off all of the boxes: comedy, drama, humor and of course, heart. It’s the perfect winner for an original screenplay.
2022 was a good year for movies and a better year for nominating movies that deserve to be nominated. So, regardless of who wins what and who gets snubbed and which celebrity attacks who, I think we can all agree that every film on the ballots have been and will continue to be inspirational and iconic in their own right. After all, this is what every film should strive to be.