Is it fair to say that the Academy Awards mean less to people than the awards show did about 20 years ago?
Unfortunately, yes. It does seem that award shows across the board are experiencing a decline in viewership and interest among the general public. And you know what? I couldn’t care less about that, because for movie lovers like myself, it remains a golden opportunity (pun intended) to discuss the best films of the year. For filmmakers and cinephiles like myself, that’s all we ever really want to do. So for today’s blog post, I’ll be sharing my picks for the top awards of the most important film show of the year. Note: I’m not aiming for what I think is most likely to win, but rather personal preferences based on the nominees available. Best Picture: “Everything Everywhere All At Once” This year has many excellent nominees, but it’s an easy choice for me to go with “Everything Everywhere All At Once.” This utterly original film from the filmmaking team known as The Daniels bursts with as much color and creative energy, living up to its flamboyant name with a smorgasbord of multiversal hijinks held together by an original and moving story. Michelle Yeoh, who also received a Best Actress nomination for this film, gives one of the best performances of her already impressive career. Yeoh and the many excellent supporting actors, including Jamie Lee-Curtis and Stephanie Hsu, get the chance to show off their range as they play various versions of themselves throughout this wacky story. But that’s the thing: Behind all the self-aware jokes lies a deeply serious movie about the strains of modern life. The loneliness and disconnection from each other, the confusion over self-identity, the sense that life should be better than it is — it’s all rendered in loving detail. This is absolutely the most original film of the year. Best Director: Todd Field for “Tár” It’s truly disappointing that Todd Field’s psychological drama about a fictional orchestra conductor ended up bombing at the box office last fall. “Tár” deserved more from audiences, and so does Todd Field, who turned out a stunning depiction of conducting with Cate Blanchett giving one of her greatest performances (which is really saying something for a woman who already has two Academy Awards). Following the downfall of fictional composer and conductor Lydia Tár, it premiered at the 79th Venice International Film Festival in September 2022. It won Blanchett the Volpi Cup for Best Actress. Field deserves a nod for this film, and he should get the recognition for it. Best Actor: Daniel Kaluuya for “Nope” Will “Nope” finally bring Jordan Peele the spotlight he deserves? Because while Todd Field feels like an obvious choice for Best Director, it’s hard to argue against the need to officially recognize Peele as one of the great emerging directors of our time. However, his latest film, the genre mashup of science-fiction, western and horror, ultimately didn’t hold together quite as well as the modern horror masterpieces “Get Out” or “Us.” However, Daniel Kaluuya, the star of “Get Out,” brings another brilliant performance in “Nope,” elevating the overstuffed story with an emotional and intelligent approach to his horse-wrangling protagonist. It might not be the time for Peele’s Oscar, but perhaps it’s the right time to recognize Kaluuya as one of his generation’s best actors. Best Actress: Michelle Yeoh for “Everything Everywhere All At Once” Yes, we’re coming back to “Everything Everywhere All At Once” for this one. Michelle Yeoh has led a long and distinguished career, primarily in the martial arts genre, which doesn’t normally get a lot of love from critics or award shows. It’s tough for any actor to play a dozen different versions of the same character, yet Yeoh does so brilliantly, while also retaining a vulnerability that brings the film to a deeply moving conclusion. She also bravely depicts the reality of Chinese family and culture, especially the relationship between mothers and daughters. And yes, it would be pretty cool to finally have an Asian actress take the industry’s most prestigious award. Who better to receive it than one of the most visible Asian actors of all time? Comments are closed.
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AuthorBardya Ziaian is a Toronto-based business executive, film producer, actor, and entrepreneur with specific expertise in the areas of Fintech, brokerage services, and financial systems. Archives
February 2023
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