Nominees: The Blue Caftan, Past Lives, Afire, Anatomy of a Fall, The Zone of Interest, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, All of Us Strangers, The Taste of Things
Oscars pick: Oppehnheimer
Nominees: American Fiction, Anatomy of a Fall, Barbie, The Holdovers, Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro, Past Lives, Poor Things, The Zone of Interest
Best Actress: Sandra Hüller, Anatomy of a Fall
Best Actor: Andrew Scott, All of Us Strangers
Supporting Actress: Claire Foy, All of Us Strangers
Nominees: American Fiction, Anatomy of a Fall, Barbie, The Holdovers, Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro, Past Lives, Poor Things, The Zone of Interest
The Blue Caftan is another moving, tender tale from Moroccan filmmaker Maryam Touzan, this beautiful film put tears in my eyes and shows humanity at its finest. The quietly disturbing Zone of Interest (which was a shoo-in for Best Sound Design) on the other hand, shows us humanity at its worst, with Poor Things, my top film among my top 3, laying somewhere in between.
This feminist Frankenstein traces the character arc of our protagonist from childlike innocent, to her sexual, then social awakening and finally her discovery of self and her purpose in this world. The movie is strikingly imaginative - intelligent and wise, but not overbearing - dark, but not hopeless. There's hilarious black humor, tender, truthful moments, and delightful twists and turns, especially in witnessing the lothario, played by Mark Ruffalo, come undone. He's not the rogue he thinks he is, and is actually pretty conventional, when mixing with those in polite society. Speaking of which...
Early on it made me think of Luis Buñuel's L'Age d'Or, the notion of having to suppressing our urges was very Buñuelian (though Bella doesn't suppress a lot, she says and does what she will), and the look of its bright unreality echoed Fellini (the scenes at sea brough to mind the arrival of the Rex in Amarcord, as well as the visuals in the film, And the Ship Sailed On) - and I loved this quality in the film.
As with The Favourite, the director is joined by screenwriter Tony McNamara, who has brought constancy in theme and storytelling to Lanthimos' films, the contradictions I found in his earlier works has been erased with McNamara at his side.
The acting is sublime - Stone deserves all her accolades (also, best dance since Wednesday's), and Dafoe (with his stories about his father) is at top form, but all of them are stand outs (Ramy Youssef was such a likeable sweetheart) - and how delightful to see the great Hanna Schygulla in a small role.
🎭Acting - Stone or Hüller or... Rosy McEwen, who became the wildcard in this category, I really like what she brought to Blue Jean, playing this person whose living this divided life - outgoing with one, suppressed with the other. Emma and Sandra gave very different, but equally absorbing performances; and each were the primary on-screen forces in their respective films. I'm rather drawn to subtle or naturalized acting, and while Hüller had explosive moments, she was mostly reserved, and a marvel on a purely technical level, the way she threw in these accents that added so much fullness and nuance to the character. But that's no knock-on Stone, who was spot on for what was required in her role (I get why the LA critics called it a tie between the two, it's apples and oranges, why not take both). Gladstone? I liked her, but I saw her as support (which is where I nominated her).
As for others I admired - Margot Robbie (Barbie), DeCaprio & De Niro (KotFM), Michelle Williams (Showing Up), Madeleine Yuna Voyles (The Creator), Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer), Vivian Oparah & David Jonsson (Rye Lane), Saleh Bakri (The Blue Caftan), Alma Poysti (Fallen Leaves), Sterling K. Brown (American Fiction), Riz Ahmed (Fingernails), Jamie Foxx (The Burial), Julianne Moore (May December), Michael A. Goorjian (Amerikatsi), Gael Garcia Bernal (Cassandro), Jessica Chastain (Memory), Daniela Marín Navarro (I Have Electric Dreams), Thomasin McKenzie (Eileen)
Honorable Mentions:
Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Shayda * Kaitlyn Dever, No One Will Save You * Natalie Portman, May December * Eliza Scanlen, The Starling Girl * Emma Stone, Poor Things * Lubna Azabal, The Blue Caftan * Jessie Buckey, Fingernails * Cailee Spaeny, Priscilla * Leonie Benesch, The Teachers Lounge * Greta Lee, Past Lives * Rosy McEwen, Blue Jean
Honorable Mentions:
Teo Yoo, Past Lives * Paul Giamatti & Dominic Sessa, The Holdovers * Franz Rogowski, Passages * Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer * Arieh Worthalter, The Goldman Case * Sōya Kurokawa, Monster * Thomas Schubert, Afire * Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction * Mads Mikkelsen, The Promised Land * Koji Yakusho, Perfect Days
I also liked Rosmund Pike, Saltburn and Da'Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers
Supporting Actor: Ben Whishaw, Passages
Also, Charles Melton, May December
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