…AND THE WINNER IS…

I have finally gotten around to seeing Sentimental Value, which means I have now seen each of the ten films nominated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for their Oscar Award as Best film for the year 2025.

First things first. Sentimental Value is a very good movie. It is the film If I Had Legs I’d Kick You would like to have been (but isn’t). Good as it is, however, I do not think it wins the award for Best Picture, which begs the question, what will? Here are some thoughts:

Most disappointing or biggest let down (therefore with little chance of getting the big prize): Bugonia, Frankenstein, and F1.

The ones, in my opinion, with absolutely no chance of winning Best Picture, and which should not have been nominated, are The Secret Agent and Train Dreams.

Long shots, but possible winners, include Marty Supreme, Sentimental Value and Sinners with the latter having the best chance, not based on any review I might have written, but based on the number of nominations overall that this movie received. For me, the best of these three would be Sentimental Value, but that would represent a major upset.

Which leaves my top two picks for best pic: Hamnet and One Battle After Another, two very different types of movies. They are, in my opinion, at the top of the heap, and in a dead heat to cop the main prize.

My vote? Hamnet, which means, if you take into account the often times perverse nature of the Academy voter, one should not rule out Train Dreams as the winner.

Onward to more of my personal picks from the pics:

Best Director:  Cholė Zhao for Hamnet. Runner up: Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another.

Best Actor: Ethan Hawke, Blue Moon. Runner up: Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another. Michael B. Jordan, who plays twins in Sinners, this season’s box-office surprise, could take it all.

Best Actress: Jessie Buckley, Hamnet. Runner up: there really isn’t one, but a sentimental choice might be Kate Hudson, Song Sung Blue.

Best Supporting Actor: Benicio del Toro, One Battle After Another. Too easy a choice for runner up: Sean Penn, One Battle After Another. My choice for runner up: Stellan Skarsgard, Sentimental Value.

Best Supporting Actress: Teyana Taylor, One Battle After Another. Runner Up: Either of the gals from Sentimental Value (Elle Fanning or Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas).

Best Adapted Screenplay: One Battle After Another. Runner up: Hamnet.

Best Original Screenplay: Sentimental Value. Runner up: Blue Moon.

Best International Feature Film: Sentimental Value. Runner up: The Secret Agent.

Best Casting: Hamnet. Runner up: The Secret Agent or Sinners.

Having seen only one of the five nominated feature-length documentaries, I would normally refrain from comment. Still, it is all but impossible not to make note of Come See Me in the Good Light, featuring poet Andrea Gibson, a truly lovely and loving film that everyone should see. It is everything that Jon Batiste’s American Symphony wanted to be but sorta wasn’t. See it streaming on Apple TV.

And then, I didn’t write… about the more so-called technical awards such as cinematography, editing, production design, costume design, make up and sound. The nominees are all worthy and this is where Frankenstein, Sinners, Bugonia, Marty Supreme, Avatar, F1 can make up a little ground.

Finally, a disclaimer… maybe two. As stated many times, voting members of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are often unpredictable… or rather, maybe too predictable in that they often go for the off-beat movie that surprises many serious cinephiles. Secondly, there is no denying the multitude of nominations garnered by Sinners… nor can one look past that film’s success at the box-office. A speculator on the awards-to-be ignores these facts at his/her peril.

The wait is not long. All will be answered, March 15… ABC or streamed on HULU. Enjoy!

 

Barney Rosenzweig