The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) announced its nominees on Jan. 23 for this year’s Oscars ceremony (airing March 10 on ABC), and while there were a few surprises and snubs, the nominees in all six major categories were what I thought would be selected.
Let’s Start With the Big Kahuna: Best Picture
Of the 10 nominated live-action titles, four are truly deserving: “American Fiction,” “The Holdovers,” “Oppenheimer,” and “The Zone of Interest.” Others that should have made the list, but weren’t included: “Emily,” “Somewhere in Queens,” “The Killer,” and “After Death.”For the first time since “Titanic” 25 years ago, this is a one-horse race and the first movie in more than a decade to deserve the award.
Landing solidly at the top of my 2024 Best of list, “Oppenheimer” has also been named the top pick by the majority of critics groups. It made nearly $1 billion at the global box office—not bad for a three-hour biographical drama about a scientist unknown to most people under the age of 50.
What appealed most to me about the movie was its revealing of the disgraceful manner in which the U.S. government treated the title character (played by Cillian Murphy). Even when it was decided that J. Robert Oppenheimer was the right man to head the development of the atomic bomb, he was put under undue and improper scrutiny while delivering the final product by a rushed due date.
In adding insult to injury, assorted government mouthpieces put him through a mock kangaroo court trial, accusing him of multiple crimes and misdeeds (including being a communist) that were largely unfounded.
Best Director
Recognized as a master of his craft with the release of his first major studio release (“Memento” from 2000), Christopher Nolan is indeed an anomaly among filmmakers. His movies are both critically acclaimed and make a lot of money.It’s hard to believe that “Oppenheimer” is only the second time Mr. Nolan has been nominated in the director category (the other being “Dunkirk” from 2018); on the bright side, no one else has a prayer against him this year.
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Of the five men nominated here, three are deserving: Paul Giamatti in “The Holdovers,” Cillian Murphy in “Oppenheimer,” and Jeffrey Wright in “American Fiction.” Mr. Wright, a first-time nominee, was excellent, but perhaps too understated for most voters’ tastes. For his role, Mr. Giamatti played essentially a riff on the same character he’s delivered in most of his past roles: rumpled, unkempt, irascible, angry, quick-tempered, and broad.Many people will feel that he should win based on sentiment and “lifetime achievement.”
My hands-down vote goes to Mr. Murphy for several reasons. First, he played an emotionally stilted brainiac with very little in the way of interpersonal skills, yet Mr. Murphy made his character eminently empathetic and likable. Never once did he stoop to over-the-top histrionics or do anything out of character.
He also stepped back when needed and let multiple members of the ensemble cast shine—the sign of a true team player.
Best Actress in a Leading Role
This is the least interesting category of the lot. While Emma Stone was excellent, she starred in a movie (“Poor Things”) that turned too many people off. The same can be said for Annette Bening in “Nyad.” Sandra Huller (“Anatomy of a Fall”) was plainly unlikable, and Lily Gladstone (“The Killers of the Flower Moon”) showed a limited range, failing to deliver the type of intensity usually found in pictures directed by Martin Scorsese.A two-time past nominee, my choice, Carey Mulligan, starred as Leonard Bernstein’s wife in “Maestro” and did so in a masterful slow burn. Although her character (Felicia) was successful in her own right as an actress, she gave it all up to be a mother and her husband’s biggest fan and supporter while suffering through his many personal indiscretions.
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Of the five nominees, just three made my cut: Sterling K. Brown in “American Fiction,” Ryan Gosling in “Barbie,” and Robert Downey Jr. in “Oppenheimer.” Robert De Niro and Mark Ruffalo: two hard no thank you’s.An actor since he was a toddler, Mr. Downey has had many professional highs and more personal lows, and by the 1990s, he was written off as a has-been and industry burnout.
This is Mr. Downey’s third Oscar nomination, and the sentimental pull for him is strong, which helps but doesn’t always seal the deal (see: Deborah Kerr and Glenn Close). This was a rare role in which he played a thoroughly unlikable character, which tends to do well in supporting category competition, and he simply gave the best performance of his career.
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Generally the most volatile category of any year, this will be the closest to a sure thing win in a long while, and I only concur with two of the five nominations.While I agree that Da’Vine Joy Randolph was terrific in “The Holdovers” (she played the mother of a teenage son who was killed in Vietnam), it wasn’t the best performance of the year.
Although she has turned in a half-dozen award-worthy past performances, this marks the first nomination for Emily Blunt, who co-stars as the wife of the title character in “Oppenheimer.” Purposefully left unadorned with minimal makeup, Ms. Blunt goes the “less-is-more” route. The scene where she calls a bullying attorney out is only one of many highlights in a movie strewn with them.
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