AWARD SEASON ENDS: THE OSCARS RECAP

It is now the conclusion of this year’s award season as the 96^th Academy Awards aired with an array of pleasing, if not predictable, results.

You might be sensing a bit of a pattern from these award ceremonies. The Golden Globes, Critic’s Choice and BAFTAs alike have all seen Oppenheimer explode (no pun intended) in most if not all of the major categories. And now that the Oscars have passed, this year’s award season can be safely deemed ‘Oppenheimer and the rest’ as it took home seven awards, including Best Picture and Director.

Us Oppen-homies can rejoice at the hugely satisfying display of Christopher Nolan clutching Best Director. Despite being acclaimed as one of the greats of modern cinema, the auteur has struggled to twist the awards in his favour as he has done with time and linear narratives. His only wins are one for the effects in the sci-fi odyssey Interstellar and a posthumous Best Supporting Actor for the late Heath Ledger. Now, not only is Nolan’s award shelf jam-packed, but he might have to build another as the Academy is finally recognising his distinct impact on the industry. His team of technical wizards also scooped their fair share, as Oppenheimer won Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Original Score respectively.

Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr. took the last two awards for their impeccable performances. Murphy paid tribute to his homeland, calling himself “a proud Irishman” standing in the spotlight. Downey Jr. deserves much credit considering his hardships, which he alluded to in his speech. With pure deadpan, he stated: “I would like to thank my terrible childhood and the Academy, in that order.” Both actors received their first Oscar wins, with Downey Jr. previously nominated on two other occasions and Murphy having been nominated only once.

I know the big phenomenon was Barbie rivalling Oppenheimer for ticket sales upon their joint releases (flippantly titled Barbenhiemer), but when it came to the awards, the bout was heavily one-sided. Poor Things, however, stepped in Barbie’s place and was an almost worthy opponent at this award season for Oppenheimer. It swept the artistic categories – Best Costume Design, Production Design and Hair and Makeup – as well as gave Emma Stone her first Oscar. A very welcome selection of wins, particularly since Barbie was tipped to win Production, but the weird and wonderful way director Yorgos Lanthimos brought a Salvador Dali painting to the screen was always my hopeful pick. Stone also deserved the win; although I had Killers of the Flower Moon’s Lily Gladstone, Stone produced something that required a stretch across all forms of acting to reflect her character’s journey. She has come a long way from the ‘pretty girl’ trope.

Da’Vine Joy Randolph has been a true success story throughout this award season, scooping up Best Supporting Actress like there’s no tomorrow and it's nevertheless deserved. In fact, the entire evening was full of brilliant wins that I had hoped for but had doubted given the Academy’s track record with questionable choices (I, of course, refer to Jaime Lee Curtis’ last year, to name an example).

The biggest surprise was to see The Zone of Interest, the pseudo-documentary of Rudolph Hoss and his family living life whilst next door to the Auschwitz camp, gain Best International Feature and Sound. If you have not yet had the privilege, I would recommend experiencing through earphones, as I did, to endorse the effectiveness of this disturbing feature.

Fans who loved Barbie have had grievous disappointment constantly. First was the lack of nominations for Margot Robbie (a frontrunner for Best Actress) and Greta Gerwig (Director). Now they will only get to see the film scoop up Best Original Song (Billie Eilish’s What Was I Made For?). The only saving grace was that we got to see Ryan Gosling performing a flamboyant and lavish rendition of his popular song I’m Just Ken, also nominated, with his fellow Kens from the film.  

The overall ceremony after Gosling's performance was very jaded, as can be expected. Jimmy Kimmel returned to host for a fourth time but, again, his showman qualities come across as very vanilla and very few of his jokes landed. I fear he has about as much charisma as the golden men handed to the winners. The other celebrity presentations were not much better unless you enjoy a stark-naked John Cena.

That aside, there did seem to be much more vigour in this award season than others previously and I argue much of that has to do with the nominations. Audiences have had the privilege of enjoying and experiencing a group of nominees with distinct personalities; from the vibrant Barbie to the haunting The Zone of Interest, from the cavalier The Holdovers to the ominous Oppenheimer. Thus, whilst this award season has not thrown many surprises, it was a very sufficient evening, witnessing plenty of people and products taking home their deserved prizes.