By Felix Glanville, Second Year History
It was just over a week ago that Anora was crowned best picture at the Oscars becoming victorious in arguably the most important of all film industry awards. Sean Baker's indie romance won five awards, with Mikey Madison winning best actress in what had become the most competitive category: swinging either way for Demi Moore's fearless performance in The Substance or for Fernanda Torres' beautifully raw portrayal of Eunice Pava in I'm Still Here (which is absolutely worth the watch). Madison owned the screen in Anora, and her victory will undoubtedly catapult her career into further acclaim and success.
But, Anora's surprise dominance was not the only key talking point from the ceremony. It is fitting we look to the opening of the ceremony, where stars of what became 2024's biggest and most culturally significant film, Wicked, took to the stage to perform a much-needed musical medley. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, both of whom were nominated for best actress and best supporting actress, sang 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' from The Wizard of Oz, 'Home' from The Wiz, and finished with Wicked's iconic 'Defying Gravity'. Although Erivo's staple battle cry did not quite hit the same powerful mark as in the film, or indeed in the Target advert, she is still wickedly good, and an award deserving actress on the cusp of EGOT status.
It was then host Conan O'Brien that kept the flair of the Oscars rolling, delivering a memorable and simply absurdist Conan monologue where he admits that 'he won't waste your time tonight', before delivering a Cabaret-inspired dance performance. Perfectly on the nose. We saw some of the year's most relevant film characters, such as dancing Deadpool and the sandworm from Dune Part Two playing the piano. Well, obviously.
For me, one of the biggest moments of the night was Conan's joke at disgraced Emilia Pérez star, Karla Sofía Gascón, as he said to her that if she wanted to tweet during the Oscars 'my name is Jimmy Kimmel!' Not only did Conan shame the controversial Gascón for her Islamaphobic and anti-BLM tweets which put the final nail in the coffin for her pretty abysmal Oscars campaign, but O'Brien reminded us that he is the far superior and refreshing host compared to several years of Kimmel's simply bland hosting duties. A final standout before we even got to any awards was Conan pointing out the classically relaxed Adam Sandler, wearing his typical baggy shorts and hoodie, to which Sandler delivered a dramatic getaway and raged out of the theatre.
We haven't even touched the moment of the night, in the form of Adrian Brody, his flying gum to his wife, and delivering the longest speech in Oscars history. The race for best actor has not been as tight as the actress one, but after Timothée Chalamet's surprise win at the SAG awards a week before the Oscars Brody's victory looked uncertain. However, The Brutalist lead did win but seemed to have left a slightly nasty mark on the evening.
During his speech the orchestra began to play the play-off music after around two and a half minutes of Brody speaking. Brody did not feel happy about this interruption to his speech, declaring that 'I've been here before...this is not my first rodeo', referencing his 2003 best actor win for The Pianist. This cocky and self-important move was heavily criticised, and was even more unfair when compared to sound designer, Brit Gareth John being cut-off before he could even speak to accept best sound for Dune Part Two. It begs the question whether the Oscars should have awarded Brody again, after a similar vein of character portrayal between The Pianist and The Brutalist. Timmy Chalamet and Ralph Fiennes are both extraordinary actors who have never been awarded by the Academy– both already being nominated before.
Aside from the opening Wicked performance, there was a wonderful tribute to James Bond, with Margaret Qualley opening it with an elegant dance routine then followed by singers Lisa, Doja Cat (an odd choice, I know) and Raye singing some iconic Bond songs– albeit not as good as their original counterparts. I was expecting a grand reveal of who the next Bond would be, but was left disappointed as this seemed like an end to the traditional franchise after Amazon's takeover looks to focus on spin-offs and mini-series.
Other notable winners of the ceremony was I'm Still Here triumphing over Emilia Pérez for best international feature, a surprise that came to the heavily-criticised film which was nominated for a whopping thirteen awards, leaving the evening with only two to its name. Zoe Saldana picked up best supporting actress, as she has done at practically every award ceremony, and 'El Mal' won best original song.
In terms of the other winners of the evening, Dune Part Two won a respectable two for sound and visual effects, after going under the radar despite its critical laudation upon release back in March 2024. Wicked also received two awards for costume design and production design but Conclave, the favourite after the Golden Globes, only went home with one for adapted screenplay. Yet some films left empty handed after receiving several nominations and public appraisal such as: A Complete Unknown, The Apprentice, Sing Sing and Nosferatu. Anora had destroyed any chances for a more even spread of wins in the standings after its five win sweep.
Overall, the Oscar's this year felt a lot less political than usual, probably due to the recent Los Angeles fires that have hit Hollywood badly–destroying many celebrity homes, studios, and film locations. The LA firefighters were given a large tribute in the ceremony, colouring the ceremony with a more sombre and delicate tone than last year's Barbie bonanza. Trump's second term in office also played a surprisingly small role, with the Academy Awards being one of the many ceremony's this year that made little mention of America's new leader.
But, despite these darker contemporary events, that did not stop the ceremony providing the usual nail-biting entertainment and pompous glamour. It concludes a gripping awards season, that has celebrated a whole array of acting performances, box-office giants, technical work, and the genre variety in contemporary film. It seems that Anora's victory is Hollywood declaring themselves as still the supporters of small, independent cinema– a fitting contrast to America's bi-partisan corporate political culture.
You cannot beat the Oscars, it is absurd and ridiculous, and that's what makes it brilliant.
What did you think of the Oscars this year?
