I'll be frank. I've had a rough time with the awards race this season. This is usually the halfway point of my viewing year, which means that I have about six months of 2024 movies still to watch before I make my own list of favorites - I don't have access to everything I want to see any sooner. Of the Best Picture nominees for the 97th Academy Awards, I still need to see three. That's normal for me. However, I find myself more frustrated than usual by the Academy's picks. "Anora" and "The Substance" are among my favorite films of 2024 so far. Great. "Wicked" and "Dune: Part Two" are solid, maximalist, popular favorites. No complaints there. "Nickel Boys" and "I'm Still Here" are smaller films that were heavily championed by critics. Fine. No comment on "The Brutalist" or "A Complete Unknown" yet.
However, that leaves us with "Conclave" and "Emilia Pérez," two films I find exasperating to have to keep thinking about. Neither worked for me, and "Emilia Pérez" is especially mystifying considering the ongoing backlash from the Mexican and transgender communities. It's not a bad movie, but I struggle to call it successful at anything it's trying to do. I do not understand what Jacques Audiard is doing in Best Director instead of Denis Villeneuve, Edward Berger, or RaMell Ross. "Conclave" was just too silly for me to take at face value, though it fits a certain mold of socially conscious Oscar bait that I guess I can follow the logic of. The fact that these two are the likely frontrunners in the Oscar race right now makes me feel a little crazy. "Emilia Pérez" has thirteen nominations, which makes me wonder if Netflix finally called in supernatural intervention in their quest for a Best Picture statuette.
The most obvious snubs are "Challengers" and "Hard Truths," which were totally shut out. "Sing, Sing" made a valiant effort, but didn't make the Best Picture list - if it had to be "Sing, Sing" or "Nickel Boys" though, I'm happy it was "Nickel Boys." Also-rans like "Gladiator II," "All We Imagine as Light," "September 5," "Maria," "Babygirl," "The Last Showgirl," and "I Saw the TV Glow" never managed to gain enough traction to be real contenders. I'm genuinely surprised that Denzel isn't in Supporting Actor for "Gladiator II" and Daniel Craig isn't in Best Actor for "Queer." "The Apprentice" picking up nods for Sebatian Stan and Jeremy Strong is very gratifying though, after the difficulties that movie had to navigate all season.
In the less visible categories, "Flow" popped up in both Best Animated Feature and Best International Feature Film, which managed to get around the language rules by having no spoken dialogue. "No Other Land," the Palestinian feature about resistance efforts in the West Bank, still has no U.S. distribution at the time of writing, but hopefully the increased attention will help. Elton John getting a Best Song nomination for his recent documentary feels like a blatant ploy to get him to play the Oscar telecast, which I can't be too mad about as someone who actually watches the Oscar telecast - except they're skipping the song performances this year. "Nosferatu" got a Cinematography nod and three craft awards, which suggests that it was a stronger contender than I had thought - "Dune: Part Two" essentially got the same thing when you take out the Best Picture nomination. "Wicked" is noticeably missing from the Cinematography category, in case you were following that bit of controversy.
Between the Los Angeles area fires and the Trump administration antics, I'm already exhausted at the thought of watching this year's ceremony. However, Conan O'Brien is hosting, and that's a minor miracle that I can't ignore. I already know that my favorites aren't likely to win anything, and I don't really mind right now. Maybe after I've seen more of the nominees that will change. I feel about the Academy Awards nominations like I feel about the state of the world in general in 2025 - defeated, disengaged, but doing my best not to throw in the towel. The entertainment industry is important to me, and whatever you think about the Oscars, cancelling them just means more financial hardship for the movie business.
So, bring on the disaster relief appeals and the trans solidarity and the "Succession" jokes. The show must go on.
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