2024 Oscars

Words by Kerry Speckman

Awards season is in full swing with the nominees for this year’s Oscars being set. 2023 was, to put it mildly, a mixed bag for Hollywood; the blockbuster bubble seemingly burst with a string of “safe” tentpoles collapsing in on themselves, and the industry-halting strikes have left us with a barren-looking slate for 2024. However, there was something of a return to form with the breadth of quality films released last year as the industry seemingly overcame its struggle to get fully back on its feet after the pandemic. This is by far the strongest set of Best Picture nominees we’ve had since 2020 when “Parasite” triumphed over the likes of Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” and Greta Gerwig’s “Little Women.” Unlike that year, where it felt as though anyone could win going into the night, this season has been dominated by one film that has obliterated everything in its path. Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” has been the Oscar frontrunner since its release in July, and that status has only been cemented further as the season has worn on with the film set to beat out the likes of Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” and Gerwig’s “Barbie.”

With the quality of this year’s crop of nominees for the top prize — which includes crowd-pleasing dramas such as “The Holdovers” and “American Fiction,” breakout international films “Anatomy of a Fall” and “Past Lives,” two films about women stepping into the real world and having to endure men with “Barbie” and “Poor Things,” a pair of challenging depictions of historical horrors in “The Zone of Interest” and “Killers of the Flower Moon” (there was even room for a self-serious biopic with Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro”) — it should maybe be more of a surprise that the race is such a foregone conclusion. “Oppenheimer,” however, ticks many of the boxes of an Academy Award Best Picture winner: A biopic of a consequential historical figure with an A-list cast that was a hit with both critics and audiences and came from a revered filmmaker who has yet to be recognized by the Academy is quite the recipe for Oscar gold. For some it goes even deeper. “Oppenheimer” represents a beacon of hope for the future of the industry. In a time in Hollywood where recognizable properties are king, it is something of a miracle that a three-hour, non-linear film that is mostly scenes of men talking in government offices is an almost billion-dollar grossing hit. And sure, give or take a James Cameron, there are no other filmmakers whose name alone garner such attention. “Oppenheimer” is irrefutable proof that if a project is given the necessary resources, it can be a breakout success and impact the culture at large.

While Nolan is locked in as the presumptive winner for picture and director, it remains to be seen if “Oppenheimer” will do a full sweep of the ceremony. Robert Downey Jr. is likely to be rewarded with Best Supporting Actor for his return to serious acting after a decade-plus of getting rich by delivering quips, while Cillian Murphy is in a coin toss of a race for Best Actor with Paul Giamatti, who gives a virtuosic turn in “The Holdovers” that works as a grand summation for his career. Also, from “The Holdovers” Da’Vine Joy Randolph’s supporting performance has been a runaway success in the precursor awards and is likely to be triumphant at the Oscars. The Best Actress race has narrowed down to two with Emma Stone’s performance in “Poor Things” going up against Lily Gladstone’s in “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things” is a funny and strange film that has struck the right nerve with the voters as it earned 11 nominations, lending credence to the theory that Stone’s unique central performance seems likely to be rewarded ahead of Gladstone’s far more mournful turn. 

Best Animated Feature is a coin toss between “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” and Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron.” Despite how groundbreaking “Spider-Verse” is for the future of animation, Miyazaki is a legend of his medium, and I feel he will be triumphant for what may be his final film. “Barbie,” the biggest film of the year, received eight nominations and is the apparent front-runner for Best Costume and Best Production Design. Director Greta Gerwig and her husband Noah Baumbach may also be the only nominees to be able to beat out “Oppenheimer” in Best Adapted Screenplay. And while Gerwig once again missed out on a nod for directing, she’ll just have to settle for having a blank check on whatever she wants for her next few projects.  

This year’s Oscar class was so competitive with potential nominees that there were legitimate snubs in multiple categories. “Barbie” star Margot Robbie didn’t make the cut this time, but she is one of those performers who will inevitably be crowned on a future Oscar night, while many critics would argue that Lee’s “Past Lives” was even more deserving of a nomination. Leonardo DiCaprio was a surprising omission after doing some of the best work of his career in “Flower Moon,” and in a different year, Andrew Scott’s heartbreaking performance in “All of Us Strangers” could’ve be a frontrunner for Best Actor. Zac Efron quietly gave a transformative performance in the well-received wrestling drama “The Iron Claw” but was never considered a contender for a shot at the gold. And Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore and “Riverdale” alum Charles Melton, the three leads of Todd Haynes’ dark satire “May December,” all went unrecognized for their subtle portrayals of a very f*cked-up dynamic. Perhaps the most egregious miss by the Academy this year was for Daniel Pemberton’s magnificent and expansive musical score for “Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse,” which is certain to go on to be a touchstone for future compositions, regardless of if they’re made by humans or software.

The Oscars have had their own fair share of surprises over the past few years, but this year’s ceremony is shaping up to have few in store for us. A preemptive congratulations is in order for Christopher Nolan, as it is nice to see a populist filmmaker be rewarded for making a project on his own terms. Let’s see if they shock us all by pulling the football on Oscar night March 10.