I’ve never really followed the Oscar’s, but then again, I’ve never really watched many films either.
This year, clearly I’ve seen many a film, but hadn’t actually made my way through many of those that’d been nominated for Best Picture. And so, I decided to change that.
So, ahead of the Award’s this evening, here’s the ten nominations for Best Picture:
As of last week, I had only seen Marty Supreme, Hamnet and Sentimental Value.
And so, I went to see One Battle After Another on Monday night, Sinners on Friday night and managed to get through both F1 and Train Dreams last night, leaving me on a colossal (by my standards anyway) seven out of ten watched.
They were all brilliant films, and I can see why they’ve been nominated. If I was a member of the Academy, here’s how I would score them:
1. Sentimental Value
This is the best film of the lot in my opinion. It was beautifully shot and it really showed that every single camera angle and scene was incredibly thought through. The story was also incredible - the dynamic between the Dad and his daughters is expressed so wonderfully and you really feel what they’re feeling. It’s also mostly in Norwegian, which I’ll admit I hadn’t realised until I sat down in the cinema, but that didn’t detract from anything. In fact, it was actually quite nice, because it felt like the actors/actresses were really being themselves.
Excellent film that you should go and see if it’s on.
2. Sinners
To be honest, it was really close between Sinners and One Battle After Another. Sinners edges it for me, because of just how many things were going on and how excellently it was all sewn up and brought to a satisfying end. Michael B. Jordan playing both of the twins was brilliant and I enjoyed watching most of the cast actually, I think they all did a stellar job. Hailee Steinfeld was an unexpected feature and to be honest I still think of her as a singer than an actress, but was very good. It was really satisfying and I really enjoyed it.
It’s the kind of film you’ll watch back in 20 years with delight.
3. One Battle After Another
I generally go into Leonardo di Caprio’s films with a bit of prejudice, but despite that, I really enjoyed this. It’s a fun story and a little bit absurd, but then you sit back and think that actually we could end up in a world like that in the not so distant future. I’m not sure if they were trying to make a political point and I suspect it was released just before things really kicked off, but it did a feel a bit like that given ICE and everything. The story is told brilliantly and I was quite satisfied by the ending, although it did leave me with a couple of questions which is why Sinners edged it to second place for me.
On the whole though, a fun film and another you’ll watch back in 20 years with joy.
4. Hamnet
This was heartbreaking, and the shear magnitude of the emotions it makes you feel single handedly pulls this up the list. It is technically about Shakespeare yes, but to be honest, I think that’s a fairly minor plot point. To me, it’s a story of loss and tragedy, and a family trying to balance their devastation with world-changing ambitions. Jessie Buckley was fantastic and will almost definitely win Best Actress. I can’t believe that the only other thing I’ve seen her in was Taboo opposite Tom Hardy (on the BBC, worth a binge), but somehow I’m sure that’ll change now.
Great film that will probably make you cry.
5. F1
I like sports films and I like films where there’s an old school underdog. This was both of those things and was quite a fun, exciting experience. It was shot really well, courtesy of Apple, and did a great job of bringing the exhilaration of the sport to life. This felt like a bit of a cross between Rocky and Top Gun. I like both of those films and so I liked this too. It wasn’t complex, but that’s okay - films don’t always need to be trying really hard. I was happy with this and came out smiling.
Satisfying, feel good sports film.
6. Train Dreams
This film is also beautifully shot, second only to Sentimental Value. It tells an incredible story in a wonderful way for the first two-thirds or so. Towards the end though, I thought it lost its way a little and I found the ending quite random. It’s a sad film on the whole, but it feels a bit like they try to force a happy-ish ending on it. That’s probably okay, but I thought it was a bit strange, and so that’s why it’s as far down my list as it is.
Beautifully shot film with a dissatisfying ending.
7. Marty Supreme
Timothée Chalamet’s character is a dick and I really didn’t like him. I know that the fact that I feel so strongly about that is a sign of great acting, but I don’t want to leave the cinema annoyed, which I did with this film. It is very well shot and aesthetically quite a pretty film, but the main character and the ending he gets annoyed me enough that this was always going to be at the bottom of this list.
Marty Supreme is an arsehole and I can’t get over it.
For what it’s worth, I don’t expect Academy members will vote as I would. As great as Sentimental Value is, I struggle to see how a foreign-language, European film beats two real Hollywood box office staples with major A-list main characters. I expect it’ll go to either Sinners or One Battle After Another, but I think the rest will pick up awards across the other categories.
And if not, then I’m sure they’ll have an after-party for the decades to either celebrate or forget.
RH