2024 Oscar Nominations Prove 2023 Was An Amazing Year for Movies
Matthew McConaughey accepting the Academy Award for Best Lead Actor in 2014. Photo by kifache via Flickr
The 2024 Oscar nominations were released on Jan. 23, and critics and movie watchers have given their thoughts. From snubs to surprises to obvious choices, there has been no lack of drama regarding the Academy's decisions. As for who will win on the biggest night of the year for movies, that remains to be seen.
Best Actor in a Leading Role includes Bradley Cooper, Paul Giamatti, Jeffrey Wright, Cillian Murphy, and Colman Domingo.
Max: Frankly speaking, this is an easy decision. While “The Holdovers” is sure to be a cult classic for decades to come, Giamatti’s performance is incomparable to Murphy. Murphy’s performance as Robert Oppenheimer is an acting job that is going to be up there with Jamie Foxx in “Ray,” Daniel Day-Lewis in “There Will Be Blood,” and Peter O’Toole in “Lawrence of Arabia.” The award season thus far leads many to believe that the race to best actor is neck and neck, but in truth, there should only be one option.
Kyle: If you were to ask me right after the Golden Globes who is winning best lead actor at the Oscars, I would tell you Murphy. However, after Giamatti won the Critics’ Choice Award, I may change my tune. The Globes and Critics’ Choice don’t hold much weight in the industry, but momentum matters. This is obviously between these two, and I think whoever wins BAFTA on Feb. 18 will win SAG and go on to win the Oscar. Narratives matter, and Paul Giamatti is a heavily respected actor’s actor who has been grinding for years and is now in an easy-to-love film that also happens to be a critical hit. They both have a chance, but SAG is very significant; usually, whoever wins that wins the Oscar. As for the other nominees, Cooper was an early favorite who lost steam, Wright was the lead in another critical darling, and Domingo is the only nominee from “Rustin.” As of right now, I think I’m leaning toward Giamatti.
Best Supporting Actor includes Ryan Gosling, Robert De Niro, Sterling K. Brown, Robert Downey Jr., and Mark Ruffalo.
Max: The three nominations that most people expected for best supporting actor are present in the category. Gosling, De Niro and Downey Jr. were locked for best supporting this year and have shown up as nominees in nearly every award show. The surprises were Ruffalo and the dark horse Brown. While “American Fiction" was well written, Brown is very surprising for the category because his performance was comedic, which is often overlooked by the academy. Downey Jr. gives a career-best performance as Lewis Strauss, arguably his most nuanced performance. Gosling is perhaps the funniest addition to a best supporting actor list in years, and it’s more interesting for the fact that everyone saw it coming anyway.
Kyle: Outside of Brown, who was a bit forgettable in “American Fiction,” there are no real surprises here. Maybe people were praying for a Charles Melton nod for “May December” or even Domininc Sessa for “The Holdovers,” but judging based on the Academy's hesitancy towards nominating youngish actors without much respect in the industry (à la Zach Efron for “The Iron Claw”) it makes sense. Of these five, I’d go with De Niro because he was captivating as King Hale, a character crucial to the central plot, and he portrayed him perfectly. But the Academy will probably go with Downey Jr.
Best Actress in a Leading Role is Emma Stone, Annette Bening, Lily Gladstone, Carey Mulligan, and Sandra Hüller.
Max and Kyle: This is easily the biggest toss-up of the big six categories. While Stone is the favorite for best actress, Gladstone has been a huge contender for the whole award season and has been cited as one of the best aspects of “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Another part of Gladstone's nomination is the historic feature of her performance, which Hollywood loves to talk about. Gladstone was the first Native American to win the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama and is the first to be nominated for best actress at the Oscars. Stone has also won in the past, which may hurt her odds. Bening is the legacy nominee here, and her performance in “Nyad” is nothing to write home about. Mulligan is the only fantastic part of “Maestro” by far and will be criminally overlooked by the Academy yet again. Hüller in “Anatomy of a Fall” gave a stellar performance that would be incredibly deserving, but she happens to be in a very strong category this year.
Best Supporting Actress nominees are Danielle Brooks, Jodie Foster, Emily Blunt, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and America Ferrera.
Max and Kyle: The number one draft pick for any Oscars bookie this year is Randolph. Ferrera surprised many with her nomination, Blunt was to be expected and Foster is a familiar face at the Academy Awards. There isn't much to be said about the nominees because the clear winner is not only sweeping the award season but is head and shoulders better than her fellow nominees. Randolph has won 50 awards for her role in “The Holdovers.” Hilarious, crushing, and smart, this is a performance that will hold over for years. The term “lock” is misleading, many nominees that are considered “locks” to win come up short. She may not have had a ton of screen time in “The Holdovers,” but the way she portrayed grief and emotional distress was masterful.
Best Director consists of Justine Triet, Yorgos Lanthimos, Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorsese, and Jonathan Glazer.
Max and Kyle: In a year of few snubs, the surprising lack of Greta Gerwig (possibly one of the most popular filmmakers of the year) drew a lot of outrage from moviegoers, and it is in a lot of ways deserved. Gerwig had a massive year, directing, writing, and producing the biggest movie of the summer, based on a plastic doll and grossing over a billion dollars in a stacked year for movies. Nolan is equally deserving for his work in “Oppenheimer” which he will assuredly be recognized for. It’s a shame the friendly competition the pair have had since both movies were announced is now over, and Gerwig not being on the ballot this year feels wrong. The Oscars have always been, a lot more evidently as of late, about narratives. The comeback narrative, the legacy narrative, the “it’s their year” narrative. And Nolan inhabits the latter most. However, in this case, it’s warranted. Nolan masterfully wrote and directed a critical and commercial smash, a 3-hour film which is now the highest-grossing biopic ever made. This is still a great batch of nominees; everyone is deserving here, including first-timers Triet and Glazer. However, as great as all of these nominees are, this is Nolan’s to lose.
The Best Picture nominees are “American Fiction,” “Maestro,” “Poor Things,” “Barbie,” “Anatomy of a Fall,” “Oppenheimer,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “The Holdovers,” “The Zone of Interest,” and “Past Lives.”
Max: My favorite best picture nominee of last year, “Triangle of Sadness,” was never going to win, not a box office smash, and had few nominations. None of these aspects are true for my favorite of this year, “Oppenheimer.” An easy, albeit expected choice this year, also arguably the greatest movie of the last 10 or 20 years, “Oppenheimer” is akin to “Ben Hur,” “La La Land,” and “West Side Story” as massive nominated films. “Poor Things” is the other film everyone is talking about, and Yorgos Lanthimos seems to improve in nominations every time his work is submitted to the Academy. “Anatomy of a Fall,” “American Fiction,” and “Maestro” all fall by the wayside next to “Poor Things” and “Oppenheimer;” however, unlike years past, there aren't any films that don't belong in this category.
Kyle: The Academy is probably licking their chops to award something like “Oppenheimer.” Their recent trend of giving the top prize to quirky, indie hits may come to an end. “Oppenheimer” is not only a success at the box office but it’s critically revered. And they’re no strangers to awarding box office hits; examples include “Titanic” and “Return of the King.” This is probably “Oppenheimer’s” to lose, but watch out for “The Holdovers.” If it wins for best actor, supporting actress, and original screenplay, all of which it’s either a frontrunner for or has a strong chance to win, don’t be surprised if it is awarded the top prize of the night.
This was a very good year for movies. Post-covid, cinema has been in a precarious position. Streaming was on the rise, TikTok decreasing attention spans, and the general lack of well-made movies was making the 2020s shape up for a dark age for cinephiles. However, 2023 proved to everyone that audiences can still be gripped by 3-hour epics and catchy pop hits as well.