Last year, I wrote an article for Obiter Dicta about my now thirteen-year tradition of watching and ranking all of the films nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars. As previously explained, in 2023, I actively avoided watching films that received praise from critics or the film community at large. After the Academy releases the nomination list, I begin a month-long film binge to catch up on a year’s worth of context. Once again, I will preface by stating that I do not consider myself a film connoisseur. I am simply a person who enjoys watching films and keeping up my silly little Letterboxd account for fun. With that disclaimer, here are my as short as can be, somewhat spoiler-free reviews and rankings of the films nominated for Best Picture.
10. Maestro (Netflix)
What do you call a musical without anyone singing … a danceical? At the bottom of the list is Maestro, a biographical romantic drama based on the life and works of American composer Leonard Bernstein. It is a shame that the film had to follow in the footsteps of last year’s astounding Best Picture nominee, Tár, as I constantly found myself comparing the two. For a biographical film supposedly focused on Bernstein (played by Bradley Cooper), it moved too quickly through his life and merely highlighted the early parts of his career. In reality, a large portion of the film is centred around his wife, Felicia Montealegre (played by Carey Mulligan), who steals the show. Honestly, the storyline should have been written from her perspective rather than that of a third person. I found myself wanting to know more about her than I did Bernstein, which is disappointing given the intent of the plot. With seven nominations total, I expected Maestro to go home with something, but definitely not Best Picture.
9. The Holdovers (Focus Features)
With all the excitement around this film, I was… waiting for something—anything of emotional substance—to move me. Ultimately, I left the theatre disappointed. Set in the early 70s, the film is a heartwarming coming-of-age story about Angus Tully (played by Dominic Sessa, marking his film debut), who is forced to spend Christmas Break with his boarding school teacher Paul Hunham (played by Paul Giamatti). Tagging along with the duo is Mary Lamb (played by Da’Vine Joy Randolph), the school’s cafeteria manager who is grieving her first Christmas without her son, who was killed in the Vietnam War. The film brings a type of nostalgia that seems to be missing from modern-day pictures; I think that is why so many people were drawn to it. With five nominations, Giamatti and Randolph are on the radar as predicted winners for Actor in a Leading Role and Actress in a Supporting Role, respectively.
8. Barbie (Warner Bros.)
What was undoubtedly the movie of the year, Barbie broke box offices left, right, and centre. Barbie and Ken (played by Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling) leave the matriarchy that is Barbieland only to discover the patriarchy that is the real world. This prompts Ken to turn the Barbie dream house into his Mojo Dojo Casa House. With the help of Gloria (played by America Ferrera) and her daughter Sasha (played by Ariana Greenblatt), Barbie is able to holistically restore Barbieland before joining the real world as a human, Barbara Handler. While I understand that the majority of viewers were upset about Greta Gerwig’s Director nomination snub along with Margot Robbie for Actress in a Leading Role, although it might seem counterintuitive, the Academy Awards are not about popularity. Yes, Barbie was a more than successful film, but that does not mean it deserves all the Oscars nominations for every category. What it does deserve: it was rightly nominated for including Adapted Screenplay, Production Design, Costume Design, and two Original Song nominations. With eight nominations across the board, I would hardly call that a snub.
7. American Fiction (MGM)
This film should be much lower on my ranking list; in reality, the order is more accurately depicted, with Barbie in seventh place, American Fiction in eighth, followed by The Holdovers, and so on. That said, I am willing to forgive the film’s many faults purely based on how much it made me laugh. In short, Jeffery Wright stars as Thelonious “Monk,” an African-American writer cosplaying as a “more Black” writer who is “Blacker” than him to gain mainstream publishing companies’ attention. Once the humour is removed, the writing reveals itself to be a subpar storyline with hardly any meaningful character development. I am incredibly disappointed in Sterling K. Brown’s character, Clifford “Cliff” Ellison; my heart ached as it yearned to get more from his arch. As for Wright, his performance will not secure the win for Actor in a Leading Role. Near the mid-end of the film, Monk starts to give me, for lack of better words, the “ick” in regards to how he treats others. I was also not fond of the ending; it felt like the knockoff version of Inception. My last note is that Issa Rae and Tracee Ellis Ross deserved more screen time. Based on the 2001 novel Erasure by Percival Everett, American Fiction is nominated for Writing (Adapted Screenplay) and four other nominations, including Best Picture.
6. Poor Things (Searchlight Pictures)
What do you get when you put the brain of a child into the body of an adult? Well, it’s Emma Stone as Bella Baxter in Poor Things. I watched this film in the theatre with my friend Shawn as soon as the Oscar nominations came out, and I have not stopped thinking about it since. Part of my endless contemplation is based on my inability to determine if I loved it or hated it. When the film stands alone without its more significant discourse of feminism, I enjoyed it. When it is contextualized within the greater debate of feminism, sexuality, consent, and patriarchy, I hated it. In my personal opinion, if you want to have these meaningful conversations, then this is the wrong film to pair them with. If someone wants to make a silly film about sexuality, adventure, and self-discovery, then let it be that. Once the discussion becomes anything more, then you have lost me. Ultimately, the more films I watched, the higher Poor Things climbed my list. Its ability to never lose my attention and constantly wonder what would happen next won me over. With 11 nominations total, I would be pleased to see it win both the Costume Design and Makeup & Hairstyling categories.
5. Anatomy of A Fall (Neon)
At this point on my list, I am more than content with anything in my top five winning Best Picture, including the French legal drama Anatomy of A Fall. What a breakout year for Sandra Hüller (also staring in Zone of Interest), who plays German novelist Sandra Voyte. On trial for the murder of her husband, Sandra attempts to convince the court her husband’s death fall must have been accidental. Accompanying her testimony is her visually impaired son, Daniel (played by Milo Machado-Graner), who recounts the conversations that occurred between his parents leading up to his father’s suspicions death. Anatomy of a Fall is what Marriage Story wanted to be but could not; the French will always do it better. There is something so simple but complex about this film; for example, the film takes place in the present day, with the majority of scenes shot in the courtroom and at the family’s mountain chalet where the incident occurred. There are two settings and one perspective, yet through the dialogue, it feels as if we, the audience, experienced an entire lifetime with the family—their moments of joy and sadness, infidelity, and anger, yet we never witness them. That said, the law student in me questions if this is what the French legal system is actually like. I have some serious follow-up questions. With five nominations against some big competition, if not Past Lives, I would love to see this film win Writing (Original Screenplay).
4. Oppenheimer (Universal Pictures)
The films ranked fourth, third, and second, on my list are all interchangeable in their placements depending on what one looks for when considering a good film. On paper, one of them is bound to take home the coveted award of Best Picture. From the casting, cinematography, editing, directing, and scores—these films have it all.
Bring in the sheets, Kitty! With an astounding 13 nominations, Oppenheimer is predicted to sweep this year’s Oscars. Directed by Christopher Nolan, the biographical thriller is based on the biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer titled American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. Known as the “father of the atomic bomb” for his role in the Manhattan Project and the development of nuclear weapons, the film recounts Oppenheimer’s study of physics and involvement in war and politics. Going back and forth between the past and present, contrasted by senses of black and white and colour, Oppenheimer is confronted with recounting the moral implications of his actions during a private hearing before a Personnel Security Board. With a runtime of 180 minutes, it is almost impossible to recount the film in such a short paragraph; at one point, I thought the film had finished, only to realize there was still an hour left. Contrary to popular opinion, I believe The Zone of Interest and Killers of the Flower Moon will give Oppenheimer a run for its money in the more technical categories of Cinematography, Directing, Film Editing, Music (Original Score), and Sound. But again, if Oppenheimer wins, I will not be upset.
3. The Zone of Interest (A24)
The Zone of Interest was the last Best Picture film I watched, and once again, A24 did not disappoint. Loosely based on Martin Amis’s novel, the historical drama portrays the familial events of Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss (played by Christian Friedel) and is directed by Jonathan Glazer. The film commences with two minutes of pure darkness; for a moment, I thought something was wrong, and the theatre had issues projecting the movie on the screen. After the darkness, the audience is greeted by the Höss family enjoying a beautiful sunny day at the river. Hedwig Höss (played by Sandra Hüller) deems herself the ‘Queen of Auschwitz’ as their immaculate family home shares a wall with what is historically known as the largest of the Nazi concentration camps and extermination centres. Shot on location, the most eerie aspect of the film is that we never see Auschwitz or the atrocious taking place; we only hear them in the near distance. For that alone, The Zone of Interest has secured the Oscar for its Sound nomination. Those sounds of the camp— the screaming, cries, and gunshots, will haunt you even after you have left the theatre or turned off your television. I encourage folks to read Glazer’s interview with The Guardian, as he describes the 10-year process of creating this film and offers intimate details about its production. He truly deserves the win for Directing. With five nominations total, The Zone of Interest will definitely take home the Oscar for International Film Feature, that is, if The Teachers’ Lounge does not make a surprise (but also deserved) win.
2. Killers of the Flower Moon (Apple Original Films/Paramount Pictures)
I love films for so many reasons, but their specialty lies in their innate ability to highlight stories and real-life experiences. Films allow us to become aware of things we otherwise would not learn independently. Moreover, they provide us with the chance to further educate ourselves on the wrongdoings of the past to more accurately understand our complicated present. Based on a non-fiction book by David Grann that investigates the murders of many Osage people in Oklahoma in the 1920s, Killers of the Flower Moon provides a narrative of the events through the eyes of Leonardo DiCaprio, who depicts Ernest Burkhart. As a war veteran returning home from World War I, he moves to Osage County, Oklahoma, to live with his brother Byron and their uncle, William King Hale (played by Robert De Niro). Indigenous to the Great Plains, the Osage, were displaced from their land by the United States Government and were forcibly moved from modern-day Kansas into Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) during the 1800s as part of the Indian Removal Act. In the early 1900s, oil was discovered on their land, resulting in many Osage people becoming wealthy.
Mollie Burkhart (played by Lily Gladstone) and her sisters are of the wealthy Osage, with headrights to the valuable land. Mollie marries Ernest, and the film recounts the various murders of Mollie’s family and community, with the participation of Ernest and his uncle occurring behind her back. What is now known as the Osage Indian murders, the film’s storyline reveals how white men married Osage women to secure access to their headrights and inherit their wealth upon their deaths. Gladstone is the first Native American nominated for Actress in a Leading Role. I say give her all the flowers for that, plus her captivating performance. She also notes in an interview with The Guardian that there were people from nearly 230 tribes represented on the film set. Despite the potential to delve deep into this tragedy’s history, I will always find it difficult to fully get on board with a film that recounts such horrors from the perspective of the oppressor. For that reason, I rank the film second on my list and give it 4.5/5 stars. Had it been told from Mollie’s perspective, it would undoubtedly be number one. With 10 nominations total, I hope the film is also recognized for its Music (Original Score) and Cinematography nominations. Lastly, give De Niro his award right now for Actor in a Supporting Role—he plays evil a little too well, and that is becoming increasingly suspicious.
1. Past Lives (A24)
This film will not win Best Picture, but in my heart, it has a special spot for first place with this year’s nominations. I am not always a fan of romantic drama, but there is something deeply intimate about a film in which two people who are so in love and interconnected yet hardly physically connect themselves. In Past Lives, Na Young “Nora” and Hae Sung (played by Greta Lee and Teo Yoo, respectively) experience an intense connection spanning over twenty-four years. The epitome of “what if,” the film begins with the pair as twelve-year-old classmates. After Na Young’s family emigrates from South Korea to Toronto, she changes her name to Nora, and the two lose contact. Twelve years later, with the help of Facebook, Nora and Hae Sung reconnect, and it turns out he spent years trying to find her. The two begin what is essentially a long-distance “situationship” as Nora attends college in New York City and Hae Sung still lives in South Korea. The distance becomes too much for Nora, and the two part ways again. Another twelve years pass when Nora, now married to her husband Arthur (played by John Magaro), finally meets Hae Sung in person after twenty-four years as he travels to New York for vacation. For Arthur, this visit prompts him to watch someone who is his world feel that way about someone else, questioning the origins of their love. Nora is faced with wondering, “what if” she retuned to South Korea. Hae Sung reconciles that maybe they were something more in a past life. I think I enjoyed this film because we are not given the ending we desire. Unlike most romantic dramas, Past Lives is honest, authentic, and emotionally raw— it is the feeling of 8000 layers of “inyeon.”
And there you have it, my 2024 Best Picture Ranking. Overall, it was a great year for diversity in film; three films nominated for Best Picture which are not in majority English, a first for Indigenous representation, two Black nominees for Actor in a Leading Role (one of whom is also queer), two Black women nominated for Actress in a Supporting Role, and a film that made the world run out of the colour pink.
A quick wrap-up of who I am rooting for, minus a few categories:
Best Picture – Past Lives or Killers of the Flower Moon
Director – Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest)
Actor in a Leading Role – Colman Domingo (Rustin)
Actress in a Leading Role – Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon)
Actor in a Supporting Role – Robert De Niro (Killers of the Flower Moon)
Actress in a Supporting Role – Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple)
Original Screenplay – Celine Song (Past Lives) or Justine Triet & Arthur Harari (Anatomy of A Fall)
Adapted Screenplay – Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest) or Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer)
Animated Feature Film – The Boy and the Heron
Production Design – Sarah Greenwood & Katie Spencer (Barbie)
Cinematography – Rodrigo Prieto (Killers of the Flower Moon) or Hoyte van Hoytema (Oppenheimer)
Costume Design – Holly Waddington (Poor Things)
Film Editing – Yorgos Mavropsaridis (Poor Things) or Jennifer Lame (Oppenheimer)
Makeup and Hairstyling – Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier & Josh Weston (Poor Things)
Sound – Tarn Willers & Johnnie Burn (The Zone of Interest) Original Song – “I’m Just Ken” by Mark Ronson & Andrew Wyatt (Barbie)