For the first time ever I have seen all nine Best Picture nominees a full month before the Academy Awards ceremony on 4th March (living in LA has its advantages). So, I thought I’d take this chance to give you my (very subjective and personal) take on the nominees and my predictions for what will happen on the night.
Original Song:
MIGHTY RIVER – Mudbound
MYSTERY OF LOVE – Call Me by Your Name
REMEMBER ME – Coco
STAND UP FOR SOMETHING – Marshall
THIS IS ME – The Greatest Showman
Should win: Mystery of Love
Will win: Remember Me
Should have been nominated: Visions of Gideon (also from CMBYN)
Original Score:
DUNKIRK – Hans Zimmer
PHANTOM THREAD – Jonny Greenwood
THE SHAPE OF WATER – Alexandre Desplat
STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI – John Williams
THREE BILLBOARDS – Carter Burwell
Should win: Phantom Thread
Will win: The Shape of Water
Should have been nominated: Loving Vincent – Clint Mansell
Sound Mixing/Editing:
BABY DRIVER – Julian Slater, Tim Cavagin and Mary H. Ellis
BLADE RUNNER 2049 – Mark Mangini and Theo Green
DUNKIRK – Richard King and Alex Gibson
THE SHAPE OF WATER – Nathan Rabitaille and Nelson Ferreira
STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI – Matthew Wood and Ren Klyce
Should win: Baby Driver
Will win: Dunkirk
Editing:
BABY DRIVER – Paul Machliss and Jonathan Amos
DUNKIRK – Lee Smith
I, TONYA – Tatiana S. Riegel
THE SHAPE OF WATER – Sidney Wolinsky
THREE BILLBOARDS – Jon Gregory
Three Billboards being nominated in this category is a travesty! Lady Bird, Get Out and CMBYN all have much better editing!
Should win: Baby Driver
Will win: Dunkirk
Should have been nominated: Blade Runner 2049
Cinematography:
BLADE RUNNER 2049 – Roger A. Deakins
DARKEST HOUR – Bruno Delbonnel
DUNKIRK – Hoyte van Hoytema
MUDBOUND – Rachel Morrison
THE SHAPE OF WATER – Dan Laustsen
Darkest Hour’s nomination is an absolute joke in this category.
Should win: Really torn between Deakins and Morrison here
Will win: Dunkirk or Shape
Should have been nominated: CMBYN and Columbus
Visual Effects:
BLADE RUNNER 2049
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2
KONG: SKULL ISLAND
STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI
WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES
Should win: Blade Runner 2049
Will win: The Last Jedi?
Should have been nominated: Okja and Colossal
Production Design:
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
BLADE RUNNER 2049
DARKEST HOUR
DUNKIRK
THE SHAPE OF WATER
This category is the one I care most about (along with costume, hair/make up). The fact that Beauty and the Beast and Darkest Hour are here hurts my eyes and my heart.
Should win: Blade Runner 2049
Will win: The Shape of Water
Should have been nominated: The Florida Project
Costume:
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
DARKEST HOUR
PHANTOM THREAD
THE SHAPE OF WATER
VICTORIA & ABDUL
Should win: Phantom Thread
Will win: The Shape of Water
Should have been nominated: Lady Macbeth and The Beguiled
Hair and Make Up:
DARKEST HOUR
VICTORIA & ABDUL
WONDER
This category makes me angry every year. It is poorly treated and dismissed as if unimportant. They can barely scrape up three nominees and they always choose the wrong films!
Should win: Literally none of these
Will win: Darkest Hour
Should have been nominated: I, Tonya and The Last Jedi
Adapted Screenplay:
CALL ME BY YOUR NAME – James Ivory
THE DISASTER ARTIST – Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber
LOGAN – Scott Frank, James Mangold and Michael Green
MOLLY’S GAME – Aaron Sorkin
MUDBOUND – Virgil Williams and Dee Rees
Should win/Will win: CMBYN – however, the fact that James Ivory will likely be the only winner from this film is a joke! Luca Guadagnino heavily altered the screenplay (for the better) during filming.
Should have been nominated: Thor: Raganarok (yes, I’m serious) and The Beguiled
Original Screenplay:
THE BIG SICK – Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani
GET OUT – Jordan Peele
LADY BIRD – Greta Gerwig
THE SHAPE OF WATER – Guillermo del Toro & Vanessa Taylor
THREE BILLBOARDS – Martin McDonagh
There are 4 excellent choices here and 1 excruciatingly bad one.
Should win: Get Out
Will win: optimistic – Get Out pessimistic – Three Billboards
Should have been nominated: Phantom Thread, Colossal, Logan Lucky
Directing:
DUNKIRK – Christopher Nolan
GET OUT – Jordan Peele
LADY BIRD – Greta Gerwig
PHANTOM THREAD – Paul Thomas Anderson
THE SHAPE OF WATER – Guillermo del Toro
By far the best and most exciting category. I am thrilled with the nominees here and would genuinely be happy with any winner here.
Should win: So, so tough – I cannot choose between them!
Will win: Guillermo del Toro (I am happy, but it is for the wrong film as usual!)
Should have been nominated: Luca Guadagnino – CMBYN
Supporting Actor:
WILLEM DAFOE – The Florida Project
WOODY HARRELSON – Three Billboards
SAM ROCKWELL – Three Billboards
RICHARD JENKINS – The Shape of Water
CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER – All the Money in the World
A horrible category in my opinion – I would not have chosen any of these 5.
Should win: Dafoe or Jenkins
Will win: Rockwell (I would choose Harrelson over him, if it has to be someone from 3B)
Should have been nominated: Armie Hammer, Adam Driver, Michael Shannon, Bob Odenkirk and Benny Safdie
Supporting Actress:
MARY J. BLIGE – Mudbound
ALLISON JANNEY – I, Tonya
LESLEY MANVILLE – Phantom Thread
LAURIE METCALF – Lady Bird
OCTAVIA SPENCER – The Shape of Water
An almost perfect category! Very happy with these choices!
Should win: Lesley Manville
Will win: Allison Janney
Should have been nominated: I would have chosen Holly Hunter over Octavia Spencer.
Actor in a Leading Role:
TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET – Call Me by Your Name
DANIEL DAY-LEWIS – Phantom Thread
DANIEL KALUUYA – Get Out
GARY OLDMAN – Darkest Hour
DENZEL WASHINGTON – Roman J. Israel, Esq.
Very happy that Franco was not nominated (in a victory for the Me Too/Time’s Up movement). However, please do some research on Gary Oldman.
Should win: Timothee Chalamet (Kaluuya in a close second)
Will win: Gary Oldman
Should have been nominated: Harris Dickinson, John Cho, Hugh Jackman (for Logan not The Circus Musical!)
Actress in a Leading Role:
SALLY HAWKINS – The Shape of Water
FRANCES MCDORMAND – Three Billboards
MARGOT ROBBIE – I, Tonya
SAOIRSE RONAN – Lady Bird
MERYL STREEP – The Post
Should win: Ronan (Robbie in a close second)
Will win: McDormand
Should have been nominated: Florence Pugh, Rachel Weisz, Aubrey Plaza, Vicky Krieps
Best Picture (I will rank them from 9: Least Favourite to 1: Favourite):
I can’t really begin to explain how much I hate this film. For me, its main faults are in the writing and casting, but I could go on. It is inexplicable to me that this is getting so much recognition and I could potentially be very angry on Oscar night. Hoping and praying that it doesn’t sweep the board.
I was so bored watching this film that I tried to rub my own skin off. Then the underground scene happened and I also tried to poke out my eyes and ears. It’s bad.
- The Post
We have left truly terrible territory and we’re now in ‘meh’. The Post is a solid enough flick, but would not be amongst my Best Picture nominees. Bob Odenkirk was the stand-out, for me.
- Get Out
There is another big leap here. Numbers 6-2 are very, very close for me and I’m very happy that they are nominated for Best Picture. I would not be upset if any of these won. Get Out is outstanding and I’m extremely pleased to see such an original genre film nominated for an Oscar.
A lovely, funny, very well-written and acted film. Extremely empathetic and realistic characters and dialogue. Make sure you see it when it comes out in the UK!
I’m extremely gratified to see Guillermo Del Toro finally get the recognition he deserves. This isn’t my favourite of his films, but again I am very happy to see such an unusual film in the Best Picture category.
Seeing this in 70mm IMAX (yes, I know, yawn) will be one of the most memorable cinematic experiences of my life. An extraordinarily tense viewing experience, extremely well acted by its young cast.
- Phantom Thread
I am not an unequivocal fan of PTA – he has made films I love and films I dislike. This is now second only to Magnolia as my favourite PTA. It features one of my favourite DDL performances and the sublime Lesley Manville. Vicky Krieps is a sensational new discovery. Make sure you seek this out!
- Call Me By Your Name
Anyone who follows me on Twitter will be unsurprised – I have been ‘stanning’ for this film since it came out in the US in November 2017. I have seen it 5 times at the cinema – far more than I’ve seen any other film in theatres. It is now in my Top 10 of all time. It is a stunning and emotional film and I implore you to seek it out if you haven’t seen it.
Should win: CMBYN (obvs)
Will win: pessimistic – 3B optimistic – Shape or Lady Bird
Should have been nominated: The Florida Project, Mudbound, Blade Runner 2049
So – there you have it! This is going to be an odd Oscar year for me. I can’t remember the last time that a film I truly hate and a film I truly love (to these extremes) have both been nominated for Best Picture. It is a very strong field over all though, with 6 extremely good films. Excited to see what will happen on Oscar night!
