Awards Baiting: A Reaction to the 2023 Oscar Nominations
Well folks, it's the most wonderful/terrible time of the year: publicists are working around the clock, the red carpets are being rolled out worldwide, and the smell of discourse is fresh in the air. It can only mean one thing: Awards Season!! And now Oscar nominations have dropped, it's time to indulge this annual celebration with some insights on this year's crop of contenders!
The Numbers Game
Kicking things off, the smash hit indie blockbuster Everything Everywhere all at Once came out of the gate with the most nominations at eleven, which I found quite exciting and surprising. The nominations include four acting nominations , best director and best original screenplay for the writing/directing duo The Daniels, best costume design, best editing, best original score, best original song, and, of course, best picture. Pretty solid lineup, though I would have liked to see their small but brilliant visual effects team get some recognition and I think the score isn't that spectacular, definitely some others I would have liked to see in that category (like GDT's Pinocchio or The Batman), but still, good lineup. I don't know how all these nominations will affect its chances for best picture, as the film with the most nominations rarely wins the top prize, but I'm optimistic.
In The Trenches
War!! What is it good for?! Well apparently, awards. That's right, the dark horse of this year is the German adaptation of the classic World War One novel All Quiet on the Western Front, racking up nine nominations on Tuesday, including best international film, best adapted screenplay, and best feature, as well as a bevy of technical awards. To be honest, I haven't seen this one yet, but it doesn't surprise me; the Academy loves war movies. I expect it to do fairly well come Oscar Night, picking up at least one or two technical awards and possibly best international film.
Blacklisted
Alright, before we talk about more of the winners, let's talk about the snubs. Probably the most significant snubs were flims led by Black talent. Films like Gina Prince-Bythwood's The Woman King and Chinonye Chukwu's Till were completely shut out from the Oscars despite incredible lead performances from Viola Davis and Danielle Deadwyler respectively. Jordan Peele's horror blockbuster Nope also received zero nominations, despite Peele's fantastic directing, Hoyte Van Hoytema's mind blowing cinematography, and incredible sound design and visual effects. I am also bummed that Park Chan-Wook's Decision to Leave, one of my favorite films of 2022, was also completely ignored by the academy. Definitely should have been among the best international feature nominees, and I could argue Park Chan-Wook should've been nominated for best director. But, alas...
Out of Focus
OK, before I move on, can we talk about how weird the Best Cinematography category is? Like none of the five nominated are bad, we've got some of the great cinematographers in there like Roger Deakins and Darius Khondji, but there's a bunch of films I'm shocked aren't in there. I already mentioned Hoyte Van Hoytema's incredible work on Nope, but there's Greg Fraser on The Batman, Janusz Kaminski on The Fablemans, and Ben Davis on The Banshees of Inisherin. Hell, I'm flabbergasted that they didn't acknowledge Claudio Miranda's spectacular aerial cinematography for Top Gun Maverick. Like I said, very weird.
Now That's What I Call Acting!
But the acting categories this year were really really good! The best Lead Actor category is the strongest it has been in year with the frontrunning trio of Brennan Fraser, Colin Farrel, and Austin Butler, rounded out with the welcome surprise inclusions of Bill Nighy and Paul Mescal. Best Lead Actress is also looking solid, with the competition focused on Cate Blanchett and Michelle Yeoh. The supporting category nominees are also looking great, with a significant number of fantastic first time nominees, including Ke Huy Quan, Brian Tyree Henry, Jamie Lee Curtis, Hong Chau, Barry Keogan, Brendan Gleeson, Stephanie Hsu, and Kerry Condon.
The Cream of the Crop
And now, let's take a look at the best picture lineup, which to me, seems like a fairly solid spread. You've got the frontrunners everyone has been talking about all year (Everything Everywhere All at Once, The Fablemans), you've got a few big blockbusters (Elvis, Avatar: The Way of Water, Top Gun: Maverick), some more highbrow indie films (The Banshees on Inisherin, Women Talking, Tár) and even a couple movies from outside the Hollywood wheelhouse (Triangle of Sadness, All Quiet on the Western Front). Who do I think is going to take home the big prize? Hard to say at this point, but we've got some fantastic contenders.
The Luck of the Irish
And lastly, I just want to point out how great a year this was for the Emerald Isle. Yup, not only are a quarter of the acting nominees Irish (Colin Farrel, Paul Mescal, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, Barry Keogan) but this year is the first time in Oscar history that an Irish film has been nominated for best international feature, with The Quiet Girl.
With that, I'd like to wish best of luck to all the nominees!!
