Featured photo via GoDaddy
Story by Shauna Reynolds
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The 96th Academy Awards, held March 10 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, included a few surprises among many predictable winners. Some of the most celebrated films of 2023 are still showing in theaters, and most are available on streaming services. Trying to decide what to watch first? Here is a rundown of the must-see Best Picture nominees – as well as a few cinephiles might want to skip.
Actually won:
Oppenheimer
“Oppenheimer” didn’t sweep at the Oscars as some expected it to, but Christopher Nolan’s biographical epic was the evening’s biggest winner. The portrait of enigmatic American physicist and atomic bomb creator J. Robert Oppenheimer won seven awards, including Best Picture.
Cillian Murphy’s turn as the brilliant Oppenheimer, persecuted late in his career for being a little bit of a communist, is transformative. Nolan masterfully creates suspense in scenes history has already revealed the ending to—the audience knows the bomb test in the desert will be a success—but leaves viewers holding their breath anyway.
“Oppenheimer” is worth a watch but is a bit of a time commitment at a solid three hours.
Could have won:
Poor Things
“Poor Things” is a science fiction-fantasy-comedy fever dream in which well-meaning mad scientist Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe), God for short, transplants the brain of a fetus into the body of its freshly deceased mother. He names her Bella (Emma Stone), loving her like a daughter while observing her like a lab rat. Bella Baxter is delightfully strange. She’s as curious as her creator and full of wonder about the world around her as well as her own body. Stone could have taken home an Oscar for Bella’s giant toddler walk alone.
However, “Poor Things” isn’t perfect. Mark Ruffalo’s inconsistent accent is hard to ignore, and the introduction of a third suitor—and Bella Baxter’s quick acceptance of him—near the end of the film feels rushed. The pacing is choppy, and at over two hours, a tighter edit would have served it well. But the fantastical elements mixed with sharp social satire make up for the film’s shortcomings.
Should have won:
Killers of the Flower Moon
“Killers of the Flower Moon” is Martin Scorsese’s historical saga of the Osage people discovering a wealth of oil under their land. They become profoundly wealthy almost overnight, and white men arrive to take advantage of them almost as fast. Part of this scheme involves marrying into Osage families to obtain the headrights to the land—and sometimes murdering women to accelerate the process. Dozens of Osage people died suspiciously or disappeared during this time in history, and Scorsese gives them a voice.
As wonderful as Stone was in “Poor Things,” Lily Gladstone probably should have won Best Actress for her portrayal of Mollie Burkhart. Burkhart is an Osage woman deeply in love with Leonardo DiCaprio’s Ernest Burkhart and is well aware her fortune is no small part of his attraction to her. Gladstone’s subtle portrayal of a complicated and conflicted woman is the highlight of an already stellar film.
Movie lovers will still be talking about this film of epic scope years from now, and yet, even with 10 nominations, it won nothing.
Nominees also worth watching:
The Holdovers
“The Holdovers” was a pleasant surprise. The film takes place in the early 1970s at an idyllic boarding school that has been all but abandoned for the holidays. It’s like Dead Poet’s Society if most of the boys went home and Robin Williams was a colossal jerk. Out of bitterness and isolation, a lonely teacher, a troubled student and a grieving cafeteria manager form a temporary family as loyal and loving as it is awkward and dysfunctional.
Past Lives
A quiet and contemplative gem. “Past Lives” explores how a person can be perfectly content with their life while still yearning for and mourning what could have been. It’s the story of a woman who immigrated from South Korea to Canada with her family and then moved to New York to pursue a writing career. A reunion with her childhood friend and mutual crush challenges her as she contemplates her Korean identity and what her life might have been if she had never left Korea.
Zone of Interest
A Holocaust film centering on the perpetrators while leaving the victims faceless sounds like a terrible idea, but “Zone of Interest” is not a “good people on both sides” situation. A death camp commandant and his well-provisioned family casually enjoy the spoils of war within shouting distance of the terrors on the other side of their garden wall.
Watch if there’s nothing else to do:
Barbie
“Barbie” was never a serious best-picture contender but is a visual treat. The scenes in the plastic paradise of Barbie Land are entertaining, the casting is perfect and the soundtrack is fitting.
The movie’s downfall is ironic: Giving Barbies and Kens specific identities and stations in life strips away the best thing about Barbie dolls. Barbies are classic toys for open-ended play that puts kids in charge of the story.
Anatomy of a Fall
This French drama starts with a man driving his wife slightly mad by playing a steel drum cover of a 50 Cent song at top volume on repeat. It’s not surprising he is next seen dead on the ground below his attic window. It is unclear whether he jumped. The audience and the courtroom learn the muddy details of his death as his wife faces murder charges. The closest things to witnesses are the couple’s blind son and his guide dog. The mystery is compelling, and the acting is strong, but the conclusion of “Anatomy of a Fall” is unsatisfying.
American Fiction
“American Fiction” is a tragicomedy about a Black author frustrated with the way books full of stereotypes and the commodification of Black pain find their way to the top of bestseller lists. The writing is clever, and the cast is impressive. However, there’s a disconnect between the gimmicky storytelling and some of the serious plot elements. Leaning further into the comedy might have led to a better movie.
Not worth it at all:
Maestro
More like Meh-stro. Viewers expecting a nuanced portrait of a complicated genius might find this film relies too heavily on the complicated part. “Maestro” is the story of the relationship between composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein and his wife. The minimal focus on Bernstein’s creative pursuits, motivation and life’s work was puzzling. Maybe if director and star Bradley Cooper hadn’t tried hard to create an Oscar-winning film, he would have.
2023 was a solid year for movies. Now is a good time for film lovers to catch up on anything they might have missed before making predictions for the best of 2024.
Shauna Reynolds is a contributing writer for MTSU Sidelines.
To contact Lifestyles Editor Destiny Mizell and Assistant Lifestyles Editor Shamani Salahuddin, email [email protected].
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