In the first few months of the year, the Oscars are always a subject of intense and highly opinionated discussion. From the films and people who failed to receive nominations (or were “snubbed”) to debate about which nominee should be crowned victorious, the event is regularly quite contentious. This year was no different.
While watching everything from this year was a bit of a feat (as it usually is), I managed to see a decent number of the nominated films. The following opinions are, of course, opinions but are also entirely right. My reasoning? Because I said so.
I have to begin by discussing the most award-winning film of the Oscars (and now of all time) — “Everything Everywhere All at Once” ("EEAAO"). Michelle Yeoh plays Evelyn Wang, a middle-aged Chinese-American immigrant who owns a laundry business with her husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan). We find Evelyn in the midst of being audited by the IRS, being served divorce papers from Waymond, dealing with her father during his visit for Chinese New Year and wrestling with her 20-something daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu).
Through various events, she finds herself becoming aware of the multiverse in an attempt to stop Jobu Tupaki (an alternate version of Joy) as she schemes to destroy everything. Though this is one of many multiverse movies created over the past decade or so, it is innovative, clever and incisive. It’s funny, heartwarming and emotionally devastating.
My love for the movie aside, people around the world seem to agree that it’s one of the best movies made in the recent past. “EEAAO” won a total of seven Oscars — Best Film Editing, Best Original Screenplay, Best Director (Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert), Best Supporting Actor (Quan), Best Supporting Actress (Jamie Lee Curtis as auditor Deirdre Beaubeirdre), Best Actress (Yeoh) and Best Picture — and the various speeches made were enough to win the hearts of the world.
Among the other big awards, Brendan Fraser was crowned Best Actor for his role as Charlie in “The Whale.” Charlie is a morbidly obese and reclusive English teacher who is only regularly in contact with a few people. He reaches out to his daughter Ellie (Sadie Sink) in an attempt to reconnect with her after abandoning her and his ex-wife Mary (Samantha Morton). While this is one of the movies that I haven’t seen yet, I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews.
As an avid lover of A24, I think their recent mainstream productions have been nothing but spectacular (save for “Bodies Bodies Bodies”). Brendan Fraser’s return to Hollywood has been inspiring and emotional, and this made his speech at the Oscars ceremony even more tear-worthy. “The Whale” also received Best Makeup and Hairstyling, particularly for the innovative technology used to create Charlie’s appearance.
Another movie that garnered a lot of awards was “All Quiet on the Western Front,” which received Best International Film, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography (James Friend) and Best Production Design. “Naatu Naatu” from the movie “RRR” won Best Original Song — the first from an Indian film to do so. However, the Academy has been receiving a lot of backlash from the performance of the song during the ceremony due to the lack of South Asian dancers. The song itself is within a context of colonial oppression and embraces Indian culture and dance.
Many other controversies have come to light since the ceremony, including Curtis’ Best Supporting Actress Win. Many fans of “EEAAO” were astonished at the win considering that Hsu was also in the running. While she has not acted in as many films as some of the other nominees, her impeccable performance as Joy will undoubtedly be career-defining.
Some other snubs from the ceremony include “The Banshees of Inisherin,” “Tar,” “Triangle of Sadness,” “Aftersun” and “Babylon,” not to mention all the films that failed to receive any nominations (I want justice for “Nope”).
Despite the ups and downs that come with awards season, I believe this year’s Oscars highlighted many voices in the industry that are often silenced and overlooked. In an industry that can be so restrictive, exclusive and money-hungry, it was refreshing to see deserving people be recognized for their amazing talent.
