Time for even more coverage of this year’s Oscars with looks at the nominees, snubs, and surprises in store for the races for Best Cinematography, Editing, and Direction. Be sure to check out our columns on the Animated/Documentary/International features, supporting performances, costuming and production design, music, screenwriting, and the hair and make-up/sound/visual effects categories, as we build towards our look at Best Picture. Who will win? Who knows? Movies are great, though.
Best Cinematography
The Brutalist – Lol Crawley
Dune: Part Two – Greig Fraser
Emilia Perez – Paul Guilhaume
Maria – Ed Lachman
Nosferatu – Jarin Blaschke
How did the Academy forget about… ?
Jomo Fray’s work on Nickel Boys put a dazzling and emotional new spin on what first-person storytelling is capable of accomplishing. And even though it went somewhat overlooked when the film came out Phedon Papamichael’s work on A Complete Unknown was one of the biggest assets in director James Mangold’s limited arsenal. Sayombhu Mukdeeprom is one of Luca Guadagnino’s best collaborators and his work on Challengers was kinetic brilliance. Also, how quickly did Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga fade from people’s minds? Simon Duggan’s camerawork on that project was a thing of beauty.
What are they doing here?
I would like to say that about Ed Lachman and his nomination for Maria, but his recent upset win at the ASC awards suggests that he has a ton of support here (in spite of the fact that the film itself is dreadful). But the bigger surprise here is Guilhaume, whose cinematography hasn’t really been noticed by many other awards bodies and guilds. Probably because it’s pure candy coated chaos.
What do you think will win and what should win?
The Brutalist on both counts, although Nosferatu and Dune: Part Two are both gorgeous looking pictures. Cinephiles, both professionals and those outside the industry itself, love to see a dead technique resurrected for a visual showstopper, and Crawley’s resurrection of the long dormant VistaVision format was an inspired gimmick that paid off huge, and helped to shape The Brutalist into the awards contender it is at the moment. I wouldn’t bet against it, and that’s for the best.
Best Editing
Anora – Sean Baker
The Brutalist – David Jancso
Conclave – Nick Emerson
Emilia Perez – Juliette Welfling
Wicked – Myron Kerstein
How did The Academy forget about… ?
September 5 scored a Best Picture nomination, and while it’s one of the lesser films in the running there, Hansjörg Weißbrich’s razor sharp cutting deserved some recognition here. Ditto the team that worked on The Substance, a film that cannily always knew when to linger on something grotesque and when to cut away to the reaction shot: the definition of both perfectly executed black comedy and horror. And I feel like I keep beating this same drum, but where is Challengers in this category? And pretty much every other category. Did it come out too early in the year for anyone to remember it?
What do you think is going to win and who do you want to win?
Going to skip over the “what are they doing here” bit for this category. They all did a great job. Cutting a musical together is difficult business, so Kerstein and Welfling’s nominations make perfect sense, although the latter did a finer job. Wicked isn’t a film known for its brevity, and neither is The Brutalist, so the editing on both projects might go over the heads of Academy members who prefer to keep things snappy. That leaves Anora and Conclave as the frontrunners. I’m going to pull for Conclave and think it’s the one to beat. I think Baker will be awarded with bigger prizes at the end of the night, and to make something as seemingly boring as a meeting of cardinals into a tightly wound powder keg of activity requires a great editor to keep it all on track.
Best Director
Anora – Sean Baker
The Brutalist – Brady Corbet
A Complete Unknown – James Mangold
Emilia Perez – Jacques Audiard
The Substance – Coralie Fargeat
How did The Academy forget about… ?
RaMell Ross for Nickel Boys. Yes, fellow best picture nominees Denis Villeneuve (for Dune: Part Two) and Edward Berger (for Conclave) belong in this category, too, but the snubbing of Ross particularly stings because his was the most thematically and visually ambitious work. None of the films in the Best Picture category directed themselves, and a case could be made for all three of them to be included here.
What are they doing here?
I’ve never been a big fan of Audiard as a director, but I begrudgingly understand why – before the backlash – Emilia Perez was such a juggernaut. I still think there are better directors that missed the cut. But the biggest head scratcher is James Mangold, a director who’s really only hired to get the job done. His films always have a workman-like sameness to them. They are competently done, often with good material, but there’s zero authorial stamp on them. Nothing discernible from any number of other hired gun directors who could do the same thing. Also, Mangold has pretty much made this exact same film before, making his inclusion here as an industry veteran all the more frustrating to see. His work isn’t terrible by any stretch, but his nomination over so many other better contenders is a slap in the face of anyone trying to do something original or boundary pushing.
Who’s going to win and who do you want to win?
I am thrilled to death that Coralie Fargeat is nominated here because it’s truly deserved. If she wins for The Substance, I will leap out of my chair for joy. That film is truly a feat of direction if ever there was one. I really don’t think it is going to happen, but I can always hope.
But I’ll happily take victories from either of the big frontrunners, Baker and Corbet. I think that Baker, who has been on the cusp of Academy recognition for a decent amount of time now, has the edge. Is that a preview of things to come later in the night for Anora? We’ll have to wait and see.
Where to see the nominees:
Anora is now playing in select theatres. It is also available to buy or rent on digital platforms. It will be streaming on Prime Video in Canada starting March 18.
The Brutalist is now playing in select theatres. It is also available to buy on digital platforms. It will be available to buy on Blu-Ray and DVD and to rent digitally starting March 18.
A Complete Unknown is now playing in select theatres. It is also available to buy or rent digitally.
Conclave is now playing in select theatres. It is also available to buy or rent digitally or on 4K, Blu-Ray, and DVD.
Dune: Part Two is now streaming in Canada on Crave. It is also available to buy or rent digitally or on 4K, Blu-Ray, and DVD.
Emilia Perez is now streaming on Netflix.
Maria is now streaming on MUBI. It is also available to buy or rent digitally.
Nosferatu is now playing in select theatres. It is also available to buy or rent digitally. It will be available to buy or rent on 4K, Blu-Ray, and DVD starting March 4.
Wicked is now playing in select theatres. It is also available to buy or rent on 4K, Blu-Ray, and DVD. It will be streaming on Prime Video in Canada starting March 21.
The Substance is now streaming on MUBI. It is also available to buy or rent digitally.
