But there was also the usual dull presenter banter, some truly rude moments of worthy winners played off (the ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ songwriting team even had the lights switched off on them, for which O’Brien apologized) and awkward insertions of politics, no matter how important the cause.
Overseeing the Oscars for the second time, comedian, writer and former late night host O’Brien proved he has what it takes to do this job.
His opening skit, dressed as Amy Madigan’s Aunt Gladys from ‘Weapons,’ chased through different other Oscar nominated movies by a bunch of kids, was a winner.
And if his opening monologue veered between pointed political jabs and some softballs that drew muted responses, it was still superior to other recent efforts. He was even able to smoothly deal with technical issues that plagued the ceremony, such as sound problems and cutting back to him unexpectedly.
Cementing its 2025 success, Warner Bros. enjoyed plenty of awards love this year, as Paul Thomas Anderson finally got his Oscar (six, in fact) for ‘One Battle After Another’ and ‘Sinners’ also took home plenty of trophies.
Talking of ‘Sinners’, Michael B. Jordan, whose Actor in a Leading Role ascension over waning prior favorite Timothée Chalamet (his ‘Marty Supreme’ went home empty handed) ended with Jordan on stage thanking those who had blazed a trail before him.
Elsewhere, ‘The Secret Agent’ sadly landed zero awards, but Netflix had a very good night, as ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ won two awards and ‘Frankenstein’ three, with the streaming service behind a variety of other triumphs.
Having actors –– particularly those with a film to promote or remember –– hand out awards has often led to some leaden banter, and this year was no exception. Even the star power of Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans couldn’t bring a lame bit to life, while one featuring Sigourney Weaver, Pedro Pascal and Grogu (pimping the upcoming ‘Star Wars’ movie) only really worked because of Weaver’s commitment (“Get away from him, you bitch!” she growled at nominee Kate Hudson, who had been cosying up to the critter in the audience).
Anna Wintour might not be everyone’s first choice for a co-presenter, but there she was, alongside ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’s Anne Hathaway in a moment that felt like Disney selling the sequel more than looking to celebrate the Costume Design or Hair and Makeup categories.
There was more mixed luck with reunions –– the ‘Bridesmaids’ cast brought their moment to life with true comic power while Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman just looked award handing out Best Picture and recalling ‘Moulin Rouge!’.
Three big things happened last night in terms of history. There was the first tie in 14 years (only the seventh in Oscar history) as ‘The Singers’ and ‘Two People Exchanging Saliva’ shared the Live-Action Short Film honors.
‘Sinners’ cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw became the first woman (and woman of color) to win her category, while the first ever Casting award was handed to ‘One Battle’s Cassandra Kulukundis. Long-favoured Actress winner Jessie Buckley, meanwhile, became the first Irish woman to take home her category for her work in ‘Hamnet’.
The annual remembrance for those in the industry was well handled and featured three major spotlights. First, Billy Crystal gave a moving speech about friend and collaborator Rob Reiner (who was murdered in his home last year alongside his wife, Michele), and was then joined by other cast members of Reiner movies.
Rachel McAdams took the stage to pay tribute to the likes of Diane Keaton and Catherine O’Hara, and then the big finish –– Barbra Streisand arrived to memorialize her ‘The Way we Were’ co-star and cinema icon Robert Redford, before singing for the first time in public (she had all but stopped due to stage fright issues and frustration) in years for a memorable finale to the segment.
‘One Battle After Another’ was the biggest winner of the night, with Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest taking Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Supporting Actor (for no-show Sean Penn), Editing and, handed out for the first time this year, Casting.
‘Sinners’ was also successful, as Michael B. Jordan nabbed the top male acting award out from ‘Marty Supreme’s Timothée Chalamet (who had been the favorite for a while, but whose momentum had slowed of late), while its director Ryan Coogler scored Adapted Screenplay, composer Ludwig Göransson landed Best Original Score and Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw made more history as the first woman to win her category at the Oscars.
Elsewhere, ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ continued its successful run with two awards (Animated Feature and Original Song for “Golden”), while ‘Weapons’Amy Madigan got a rapturous reception as she took Supporting Actress for her creepy, wild turn as Aunt Gladys.
While ‘One Battle After Another’ has been the presumed winner the entire awards season, having taken home Best Picture at every major award show including Critics Choice, Golden Globes, and BAFTA, ‘Sinners’ won Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the Actor Awards, building some momentum for the Ryan Coogler helmed film.
It’s also been assumed that Paul Thomas Anderson would finally receive Best Director from the Oscars, especially after winning Outstanding Directorial Achievement from the DGA, but don’t count out a surprise win from Coogler just yet.
Speaking of ‘Sinners’, although Timothée Chalamet won Best Actor for ‘Marty Supreme’ from Critic’s Choice and the Golden Globes, he failed to win at BAFTA, and lost to Michael B Jordan at the Actors Awards, which signals trouble for Chalamet’s Oscar run.
On the other hand, ‘Hamnet’s Jessie Buckley has had virtually no competition in her race to the Best Actress Oscar and after winning every other major award, I don’t think anything can stop her from taking home gold on Oscar night.
Best Supporting Actress seems like a two-way race between Golden Globe winner Teyana Taylor for ‘One Battle’ and Actor Awards winner Amy Madigan for ‘Weapons‘, however, ‘Sinners’ Wunmi Mosaku is still in the mix.
Finally, the Best Supporting Actor category is fairly wide open, with BAFTA and Actor Awards winner Sean Penn currently the frontrunner fighting off Golden Globe winner Stellan Skarsgård for ‘Sentimental Value’. But the Oscars love a surprise, so if ‘Sinners’ has a big night, Delroy Lindo could end up having a surprise win.
Below are our predictions for who will win Oscars on Sunday at the 98th Academy Awards. We are only breaking down our predictions for the six major categories, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress.
Leonardo Di Caprio as Bob Ferguson in ‘One Battle After Another.’ A Warner Bros. Pictures Release. Photo Credit: Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures.
Well, now we finally have a real race!
Since the start of this awards season it has seemed preordained that director Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘One Battle After Another’ would finally earn the filmmaker a long overdue win for Best Picture. The film has won almost every precursor needed to be the frontrunner, including wins at Critics Choice, Golden Globes, BAFTA, and the all important Producers Guild of America Awards.
However, don’t count ‘Sinners’ out just yet! After grabbing an Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture win at the Actor Awards, as well as Michael B. Jordan’s win for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role, the vampire epic now has real momentum.
It also did better at the box office than ‘One Battle’, which sometimes but not always is a factor. But keep in mind that Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the Actor Awards is basically a recognition of ensemble acting and not necessarily a film award. And while ‘One Battle’ was also in that category, I don’t buy into the narrative that ‘Sinners’ “beat” ‘One Battle’ for Best Picture at SAG.
It now seems like we have a two-way race but ‘Hamnet’ is still in the mix after winning a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Drama, and remember it was produced by Oscar favorite Steven Spielberg.
Keep in mind that the Academy uses a preferential ballot for Best Picture, meaning the winner isn’t simply the film with the most No. 1 votes. Instead, voters rank the nominees, and if no film receives more than 50% of the first-place votes, the movie with the fewest No. 1 votes is eliminated and its ballots are redistributed to the next highest-ranked film on those ballots. That process continues until one film crosses the 50% threshold. In other words, it’s not just about passion at the top — it’s about broad support.
The real question isn’t only who voters rank No. 1, but which film consistently appears in the No. 2 and No. 3 spots and can accumulate support as other contenders fall away. My guess is that many voters may not rank ‘Sinners’ first, but could place it second or third, giving it a plausible path in later rounds. Still, the safer bet remains ‘One Battle’, which feels more likely to build the majority coalition needed to win.
(L to R) Leonardo Di Caprio and Director/Writer/Producer Paul Thomas Anderson on the set of ‘One Battle After Another.’ A Warner Bros. Pictures Release. Photo Credit: Merrick Morton.
Just like the Best Picture race, since the start of this current awards season it has seemed like this was “Paul Thomas Anderson’s Year”, and that the ‘Boogie Nights’ director would finally win his long-awaited Best Director Oscar. With directorial wins at every other award show including Critics Choice, Golden Globes, BAFTA, and the all important Directors Guild Awards, it does look like Anderson will finally win Best Director at the Oscars.
But what about Ryan Coogler? While he has yet to win a director’s award this season, he is definitely Anderson’s biggest competition, especially now that the film is surging late. Typically, Best Picture and Best Director go hand in hand, but not always, and much like when Damien Chazelle won best director for ‘La La Land‘ but ‘Moonlight‘ went on to win Best Picture, we could see a similar spilt this year. But if we do, I think it is more likely that Anderson still wins Best Director, and the surprise win comes for ‘Sinners’ in Best Picture.
Let’s be honest, the Academy usually don’t get it right! They could be thinking that Coogler will return with another film in the near future, and want to finally reward Anderson now for ‘One Battle’ as well as his overall career, assuming that Coogler’s time will come sooner than later. While I would love to see an upset and have Coogler win, I would also like to see the Academy finally reward Anderson for his body of work, which I think will be the final result on Oscar night.
This is the race to really keep an eye on! The Oscars love a surprise, and if there is going to be a big surprise on Oscar night, it will be in this category.
Timothée Chalamet began the awards season with wins from Critics Choice and Golden Globes, making it look like he was a lock for a Best Actor win at the Oscars. But, when he lost the BAFTA to Robert Aramayo for ‘I Swear‘, who is not even in the Oscar race, it left the young actor’s Oscar chances vulnerable.
That brings us to Michael B. Jordan, who in my opinion gave the best performance of the year, and recently beat Chalamet at the all important Actor Awards. Historically, one Actor Award win is not enough to ensure an Oscar win, as demonstrated by Chalamet last year when he won Best Actor from SAG for ‘A Complete Unknown‘ but then lost the Oscar race to Adrien Brody for ‘The Brutalist‘. But Jordan has the surging momentum of ‘Sinners’ behind him and a lot of goodwill from Academy voters, while Chalamet seems to be cooling off and has fueled criticism for his unusual Oscar campaign style and recent comments on “ballet and opera.”
There is also a theory that Chalamet is really being rewarded for his performance last year in ‘A Complete Unknown’, when he should have won, and not his performance this year in ‘Marty Supreme’. The Academy tends to do that and often tries to make up for their past mistakes. For example, after not nominating Paul Giamatti for ‘Sideways‘, which he should have been nominated for, the following year he was nominated for ‘Cinderella Man‘. So, if Chalamet does win, it will be for playing Bob Dylan and not for playing Marty Mauser!
Also working against Chalamet is the fact that the Academy typically does not give young actors the Best Actor trophy. They love giving the Best Actress award to young actresses, examples including Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Lawrence, Emma Stone, and recently Mikey Madison. But, if Chalamet were to win, he would be just a few months shy of breaking Adrien Brody’s record as the youngest Best Actor recipient ever for his first win in ‘The Pianist‘. Jordan is just reaching his prime as an actor, and with a long body of work to his credit, voters could see him as a strong alternative, especially with his recent win and the ‘Sinners’ surging.
While Chalamet is statistically the frontrunner, I feel like there will be a big surprise on Oscar night and I’m betting on Jordan for the win.
There really is not much to say here. If there is any locked category this year, it is this one.
‘Hamnet’s Jessie Buckley is one win away from a “perfect award season’. After winning Best Actress at Critics Choice, Golden Globes, BAFTA, and the Actor Awards, she is almost guaranteed a win on Oscar night.
Does she have any competition? A little, but not much. Rose Byrne won a Golden Globe for ‘If I Had Legs I’d Kick You‘, but that’s because the Globes split the Best Actress race into two different categories, Drama and Musical or Comedy. So, Byrne did not compete in the same category as Buckley. When she has, she has lost to the ‘Hamnet’ star, and I see no reason that will not continue to take place.
Kate Hudson has been campaigning hard, but this is the only nomination ‘Song Sung Blue‘ received, and I don’t think that is enough to compete with Buckley and ‘Hamnet’, which received 8 overall nominations. ‘Sentimental Value’ does not seem to have the same momentum it did earlier in the season, leaving actress Renate Reinsve without a real path to the gold. And with two Oscars already on her shelf, Emma Stone’s nomination was more or less given just to round out the five nominees, not unlike some of Meryl Streep‘s past nominations.
The safe money is clearly on Jessie Buckley to win Best Actress, and at this point it would take a miracle for anyone else to beat her and win.
Delroy Lindo at the New York Premiere of ‘Sinners’. Photo: Warner Bros.
This is another very interesting category and one to keep an eye on for big surprises on Oscar night!
With no real frontrunner, Best Supporting Actor is wide-open and really anybody’s for the taking.
The season began with Benicio del Toro positioned as the frontrunner for ‘One Battle’, but the actor has yet to win for that performance, putting his chances of winning the Oscar in doubt.
His co-star, Sean Penn, could be considered a slight frontrunner after winning BAFTA and the Actor Award, but with two Oscars already to his name, I’m not sure the Academy is ready to hand him his third just yet. I also think that having both actors from ‘One Battle’ in the same category will split the vote, leaving them both empty handed on Oscar night.
Jacob Elordi received a surprise win for ‘Frankenstein‘ at the Critics Choice Awards, but the young actor was unable to capitalize on it and has yet to win a second award.
Veteran actor Stellan Skarsgård won the Golden Globe, but also was not able to capitalize with a second win, and with ‘Sentimental Value’s momentum cooling off, I’m not sure it will be enough to earn him the trophy.
Enter Delroy Lindo. Keep in mind that this is his first nomination this entire awards season, meaning that he has not had the opportunity to compete with his fellow nominees yet. It’s not unheard of for an actor to suddenly enter the Oscar race and win. Marcia Gay Harden successfully pulled that off when she won Best Supporting Actress for ‘Pollock‘ over Kate Hudson, the presumed frontrunner for ‘Almost Famous‘.
With ‘Sinners’ surging, Michael B. Jordan’s possible win, no real front runner in this category, and Lindo’s overall likability in the industry, I do think that he will pull off the win on Oscar night.
While its not as wide-open as Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress is really between two, maybe three actresses at this point.
Let’s just get this out of the way. Much like the two ‘One Battle’ actors in the Supporting Male category, I think ‘Sentimental Value’s Elle Fanning and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas will cancel each other out. Neither has won any major award this season, and with the film’s lack of momentum, I doubt either actress has a real shot to win.
While Wunmi Mosaku did win BAFTA, I’m not sure that will be enough to win an Oscar. ‘Sinners’ popularity could give her a boost, and if Lindo and Jordan fail to win, this could be where ‘Sinners’ gets an acting award. But since I do think Jordan and Lindo will be triumphant, I’m thinking this award will be given to someone else.
Teyana Taylor won a Golden Globe, and her film is the frontrunner for Best Picture. It would be odd for ‘One Battle’ to win Best Picture with no wins in the actor categories, so if it were to win an acting Oscar, it will be here. But Taylor has some real competition from veteran actress Amy Madigan.
The ‘Weapons’ actress began the season winning Critics Choice, but bounced around a bit before recently winning the all important Actor Award. That doesn’t make her the frontrunner, but puts her on par with Taylor. Working against Madigan is that she is ‘Weapons’ only nomination, but it’s not unheard of for an actor to win for a movie that received no other nominations. It happened when Kathy Bates won Best Actress for ‘Misery‘.
So while it’s a tight race, I think that Madigan’s long career and versatile body of work will in the end give her an edge over Taylor.
‘The Bride!’ is a lot. Maggie Gyllenhaal’s second directorial effort (which she also scripted) is wildly ambitious and far bigger than her first film, ‘The Lost Daughter,’ combining the genres of horror, film noir, comedy, and romance into essentially a anarchic punk reinvention of ‘The Bride of Frankenstein.’ But the Bride here, embodied by a magnetic Jessie Buckley, is no mute walk-on at the end: death and reanimation (or “reinvigoration,” as it’s called in the movie) changes her into a force of primal female power that no one – certainly not her monstrous mate – can control.
Buckley’s own primal energy and that of her co-star Christian Bae go a long way in ‘The Bride!’ but the film is not without considerable flaws. It’s almost too much at points, and its disparate tones, themes, and narrative strands take a long time to gel together, and then only fitfully. The movie takes a big, big swing – but doesn’t always connect.
The film opens with a ghostly version of ‘Frankenstein’ author Mary Shelley (Buckley) telling us from beyond the grave there’s more to the story of the Bride than we know (Shelley herself never brought the creature’s mate to life, unlike James Whale’s classic 1935 film). Next we meet Ida (also Buckley), a young woman in 1930s Chicago who, possessed inexplicably by Shelley’s spirit, is murdered by the gangsters she’s fallen in with.
At the same time, Frank (Christian Bale), Victor Frankenstein’s creation who’s been alive for more than a century and taken the name of his ‘father,’ approaches the eccentric, radical scientist Dr. Euphronious (Annette Bening) about making him a mate. They dig up Ida’s body and as a result of her ‘reinvigoration,’ she becomes the Bride, a fierce, impulsive, wildly sensual, and unfettered being with no memory of her past.
Before they even fully understand what’s happening, Frank and the Bride go on a killing spree that begins with two men who grope the Bride at a club and continues bloodily from there, as they are pursued across the country by two detectives (Peter Sarsgaard and Penélope Cruz). But the Bride also becomes a cult figure to women everywhere, who adopt her look and her willingness to tell men ‘no’ – or in her words, ‘I would prefer not to.’ Frank, who adores her, is the only man she trusts, even though he hides some truths about their past as well.
‘The Bride!’ begins at 100mph and doesn’t let up from there, although there are points where it feels long and one’s interest begins to fade. Part of it is the overwhelming nature of the movie: ‘The Bride!’ is a full-on assault on the senses, from Ida’s murder to the creation scene to her first night out as the Bride in a club, each of these scenes nearly exploding with stroboscopic energy. The tone shifts wildly as well, from dark comedy to full-on horror to road movie, and those shifts can be so jarring and abrupt that the result for the viewer is numbness. Matching those are the narrative strands that come and go, from the undercooked gangster subplot to the fuzzily sketched detectives, who don’t really earn the arcs they get.
On a tactile level, production designer Karen Murphy and costume designer Sandy Powell create immersive, detailed sets and outfits for the film, while cinematographer Lawrence Sher comes up with a series of searing images. The film is also surprisingly gory, with heads smashed in, tongues ripped out, and bullets ripping through flesh. Frank, a movie fanatic obsessed with film star Ronnie Reed (Jake Gyllenhaal), has visions in which he and the Bride perform dance numbers out of Reed’s movies (there are lots of other movie homages as well, a nice touch on Maggie Gyllenhaal’s part). All this only adds to the jumbled, chaotic vibe of the movie – the viewer is never really sure whether to take all this seriously or not, which ultimately undermines the film despite its sheer originality.
Following hot on the heels of her devastating work in ‘Hamnet,’ Jessie Buckley pivots here into an over-the-top performance that teeters on the edge of overbearing but keeps the viewer enthralled due to the actor’s sheer presence and power. She’s matched in that department by Christian Bale, whose heavy prosthetics recall the classic Boris Karloff look but who is just as raw as Buckley, creating a nuanced monster who’s as empathetic in his own way as Jacob Elordi’s take in 2025’s ‘Frankenstein.’ The two channel a ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ chemistry that often goes so far out there that they have a little trouble reeling it back in and making these characters seem real again.
Peter Sarsgaard (Maggie Gyllenhaal’s husband) and Penélope Cruz share a nice chemistry as well, and Cruz is especially vivacious. But one gets the feeling that they might be better off in their own movie where they have more space to explore their characters. The supporting MVP is Annette Bening, who brings compassion to an otherwise campier role and who, like the others, has her motivations scrambled by the sudden turns in tone and narrative.
There’s no question that Maggie Gyllenhaal gets an ‘A’ for effort here. Rebooting the Bride of Frankenstein as a woman freed of her past, experiencing true liberation for the first time, and mowing down those who try to corral that is the most radical take we’ve seen on the Frankenstein mythos in a long time, and that theme, the setting, and the stream-of-consciousness structure of the whole thing make it one of the most original films you’re likely to see in 2026.
But as with a few other films we’ve already seen this year, ‘The Bride!’ often feels like Gyllenhaal and her cast and crew are throwing everything at the wall and holding nothing back, hoping that in the end it looks more like art and less like … a mess on the wall. Like its monstrous leads, ‘The Bride!’ is made up of many parts stitched together and sparked into life by pure electricity – yet it’s that uncontrolled energy that also makes ‘The Bride!’ an unwieldly, exhausting experience.
A lonely Frankenstein’s monster (Christian Bale) travels to 1930s Chicago to ask pioneering scientist Dr. Euphronious (Annette Bening) to create a companion for him. The two revive a murdered young woman and The Bride (Jessie Buckley) is born. What ensues is beyond what either of them imagined: murder, possession, a radical cultural movement, and outlaw lovers in a wild and combustible romance.
(L to R) Leonardo Di Caprio and Director/Writer/Producer Paul Thomas Anderson on the set of ‘One Battle After Another.’ A Warner Bros. Pictures Release. Photo Credit: Merrick Morton.
It will start on January 22nd when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announce the Oscar nominees, with the 98th Oscars Ceremony scheduled for March 15th.
At this point, we do have a confirmed frontrunner in the Best Picture race with ‘One Battle After Another‘, but don’t count out ‘Hamnet‘ or ‘Sinners‘ just yet.
In the Best Actor race, Timothée Chalamet seems to be the frontrunner, but will have some competition from Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael B. Jordan and especially Wagner Moura, who recently won a Golden Globe. However, the academy might as well hand the Best Actress Oscar to Jessie Buckley right now, as she is about as solid a lock to win as you can have.
The Academy Awards will air live March 15th on ABC and Hulu.
Moviefone is making its Oscar nomination predictions for the major categories including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress, ahead of the nominee announcements on January 22nd.
(L to R) Leonardo Di Caprio and Director/Writer/Producer Paul Thomas Anderson on the set of ‘One Battle After Another.’ A Warner Bros. Pictures Release. Photo Credit: Merrick Morton.
Chelsea Handler hosts the 31st Annual Critics Choice Awards. Photo: CCA.
Preview:
Winners of the 31st Critics Choice Awards included ‘One Battle After Another’ and ‘Hamnet.’
‘Frankenstein’ and ‘Sinners’ also took home awards.
The ceremony was hosted by Chelsea Handler.
Though there were few surprises among the big winners at this year’s Critics Choice Awards, where ‘One Battle After Another’ took home a three big trophies (Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay), the ceremony was nevertheless still a lively, energetic affair, hosted once again by Chelsea Handler.
Following a monologue from Handler that took shots at Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav and paid loving tribute to Rob Reiner and Diane Keaton, it was on with the show.
(L to R) Leonardo Di Caprio and Director/Writer/Producer Paul Thomas Anderson on the set of ‘One Battle After Another.’ A Warner Bros. Pictures Release. Photo Credit: Merrick Morton.
Benicio del Toro as Sensei St. Carlos in ‘One Battle After Another.’ A Warner Bros. Pictures Release. Photo Credit: Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
Paul Thomas Anderson – ‘One Battle After Another’ – WINNER
Every frame of ‘Hamnet’ is beautifully designed and captured by director Chloe Zhao (‘Eternals’) and her team, rendering England during the life and times of William Shakespeare in both ethereal and grimy terms. Life is hard, but also mysterious, and those who still connect with the forces of nature are an increasingly rare breed – like Anne ‘Agnes’ Hathaway (Jessie Buckley), who becomes the Bard’s wife and is the true center of ‘Hamnet.’
Agnes, the daughter of an alleged ‘forest witch,’ is both luminously beautiful and slightly feral, which makes her all-intoxicating for Shakespeare himself (Paul Mescal). ‘Hamnet’ chronicles that passion, their deep love, and the creation of their family in poignantly simple terms – until tragedy rips at their very core. But that tragedy also manifests itself in a way that reverberates through history, and it’s only when that happens that ‘Hamnet’ wobbles, with the film not providing enough time for that aspect of the story to breathe and take root in the same way that its first part does.
A young William Shakespeare is drawn to the magnetic Agnes (pronounced ANN-yes) in 16th century Stratford, and after a quick courtship they’re going at it hot and heavy in a stable. That leaves Agnes pregnant with the first of their three children, initiating a marriage that is frowned upon by Shakespeare’s brutish father (David Wilmot) and stern mother (Emily Watson). But William, Agnes, and their children – Susanna, and the twins Judith and Hamnet – find happiness in their existence, even if William has to travel frequently to London to write and produce his plays.
It’s only when the unimaginable (at least for us; it was much more common then) hits the clan, resulting in the death of perhaps the most precocious family member, that the clan’s entire dynamic is in danger of disintegrating – particularly as a shattered Agnes begins to bitterly resent her husband for not being there for that child’s last moments, and for throwing himself into his work instead of sharing in her grief. But William has his own method for dealing with the loss and his unspeakable anguish – and it expresses itself through the creation of one of his greatest plays (at least according to this movie, and the Maggie O’Farrell novel it was based on; the truth, as with many aspects of the real Shakespeare’s life, remains elusive).
For its first two-thirds, ‘Hamnet’ builds a magnificent edifice of love, emotion, and empathy that borders on the mystical, primarily through the force of nature that is Jessie Buckley’s Agnes. Her love for William – and his reciprocation – is the core of the movie’s first act, with their endearing family life the center of its second. It all comes crashing down during an extended, agonizing sequence in which Agnes’ feral, soul-crushing response is a heartbreaking howl of loss that could reverberate through the soul of every parent.
After reaching that height of sorrow, Zhao doesn’t completely find a way to balance the scales, or at least give the rest of the narrative the weight it deserves. Agnes’ fury toward William doesn’t seem earned – even if he becomes a distant figure during the middle of the film — and her journey during the closing sequences, both physical as she travels to London to see what the hell her husband is doing there and psychological as she sees his latest play and realizes where it’s coming from, seems rushed. Where ‘Hamnet’ should reach a powerful crescendo of forgiveness and acceptance, it never quite brings down the house, leaving one feeling like something’s missing.
Whatever the flaws in narrative structure, there are none whatsoever in Jessie Buckley’s performance. She has been cited as the favorite to take home an Oscar this year and there’s no question about it. We meet Agnes curled at the base of a tree; she returns to that tree to give birth to her first child. The woman is connected to nature in ways both beautiful and enigmatic, and Buckley captures every aspect of her – her mystical nature, her undeniable charisma, her fierce love, and her excruciating grief – just right. It’s a powerhouse piece of work, and although it’s one of several delivered by women this year, it will be hard to top.
We were somewhat soured on Paul Mescal after his miscasting in ‘Gladiator II,’ but he’s returned to our good graces here. Mescal’s Shakespeare, while not nearly as present onscreen as Agnes, is nevertheless a complex presence, a man torn between his love for his family and the work that takes him away from them, both physically and mentally. Mescal’s portrayal here is soulful and empathetic, giving us a glimpse into the beating heart of one of literature’s greatest geniuses (there’s only one scene, in which he spouts some of his most famous lines while considering the end of his own life, that doesn’t ring true).
Attention must be paid as well to Emily Watson’s Mary Shakespeare, whose relationship with Agnes evolves from dour disapproval to love and understanding, and especially Jacobi Jupe as Hamnet Shakespeare, about whom we’ll say little but who also rips one’s heart out during several key scenes.
Chloe Zhao seems most comfortable as a director in exploring the human psyche, the depths of our emotion and empathy, and the intimacy of our connection to both other people and the world around us. Perhaps that’s why her sole attempt to date at spectacle, ‘Eternals,’ didn’t quite work, while films like ‘Nomadland’ are so powerful.
She re-centers herself here with ‘Hamnet,’ finding all the elements of her best work while adding a powerful message about the ways in which we process grief and how the creation of art can channel the deepest and most intense of human emotions. Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’ is not a recreation of events in the Bard’s life (which may or may not have happened as they do in this film), and neither is Chloe Zhao’s ‘Hamnet.’ But both take on a single, universal query: can art can provide empathy, understanding, and even healing? That is the question indeed.
William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and Anne ‘Agnes’ Hathaway (Jessie Buckley) marry and have three children, until the family is shattered by an unthinkable tragedy that leads to the writing of one of the Bard’s greatest plays.
Christian Bale in ‘The Bride!’ Photo: Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Instagram account.
Preview:
Maggie Gyllenhaal has offered a first look at Christian Bale and Jessie Buckley in ‘The Bride!’.
The new take on ‘Frankenstein’ is now in production.
Peter Sarsgaard, Annette Bening and Penélope Cruz co-star.
Much like fellow literary horror icon Dracula, Mary Shelley’s Dr. Frankenstein and the not-so-ethical doctor’s ill-fated creation are seemingly always the subject of adaptations for screens big and small.
The latest to try their hand at some fresh re-telling is Maggie Gyllenhaal, who proved she had great directorial chops to go along with her acting career when she made intense drama ‘The Lost Daughter’ in 2021 and it went on to score three Oscar nominations.
But ‘The Bride!’ (for that is the title her latest, exclamation point and all) should certainly prove to be something quite different from Gyllenhaal, and she’s now taken to Instagram to offer up first looks at stars Christian Bale and Jessie Buckley via the movie’s camera tests.
Here is the logline for the movie: A lonely Frankenstein (Bale) travels to 1930s Chicago to seek the aid of Dr. Euphronius in creating a companion for himself. The two reinvigorate a murdered young woman and the Bride (Buckley) is born. She is beyond what either of them intended, igniting a combustible romance, the attention of the police, and a wild and radical social movement.
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Who Else is in ‘The Bride!’?
Jessie Buckley in ‘The Bride!’ Photo: Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Instagram account.
From the looks of this, Bale is going the typically committed route (we’re sure that’s prosthetics, though he’d probably agree to die and get stitched back together in the service of his art given half the chance) and Buckley’s look is also striking.
It’s a seemingly refreshing version of the ‘Bride of Frankenstein’ story, written by the director and picked up for distribution by Warner Bros. And that title –– whether or not it keeps the exclamation point –– indicates a solid role for Buckley, who did such great work in ‘The Lost Daughter’.
What else is happening in the world of Frankenstein?
Guillermo del Toro poses backstage with the Oscar® for Animated Feature Film during the live ABC telecast of the 95th Oscars® at Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023.
As we noted at the start, the novel is one that is seemingly of endless fascination to creative types, who keep wanting to put their own spin on it. We can also expect a version from Guillermo del Toro, who has long wanted to tackle the story and has one in the works now for Netflix starring ‘Saltburn’s Jacob Elordi alongside Oscar Isaac, Mia Goth and Christoph Waltz.
When will ‘The Bride!’ be in theaters?
Warner Bros. has scheduled the movie to be released on October 3rd, 2025.
(L to R) Elsa Lanchester and Boris Karloff in director James Whale’s ‘Bride of Frankenstein’ (1935). Photo courtesy of TCM.
Other Movies Similar to ‘The Bride of Frankenstein:’
On limited release now before opening more widely in theaters on January 6th, ‘Women Talking’ represents fourth movie from actor and director Sarah Polley, and while it is certainly her stagiest effort, there are deep, dark and uncomfortable truths running through the script and an outstanding cast bringing those words to life.
‘Women Talking’ marks the second time that Polley has adapted someone else’s work, the first being 2006’s ‘Away from Her’. Here, she draws from Miriam Toews’ 2018 novel, itself written as a reaction to shocking true events that happened at the Manitoba Colony in Bolivia in 2011.
At the ultraconservative Mennonite community, girls and women woke up regularly to discover they had been sexually violated. The attacks were written off as “wild female imagination”, or else attributed to ghosts or the work of Satan.
In truth, a group of colony men had been spraying an animal anesthetic into neighboring houses at night, rendering everyone unconscious, and raping the women. The colony elders, deciding that the case was too difficult to handle themselves, called local police to take the perpetrators into custody.
The movie’s story unfolds shortly after the men have been taken away, with several of the remaining men heading into town to post bail for their fellows. A group of the colony’s women gather secretly to discuss what to do in the wake of the revelations. Their reactions run the gamut from fearful to furious, and the debate covers all manner of subjects, but is focused mainly on a vote as to whether they stay, fight or leave the community altogether.
None of the options are perfect––some argue that if they leave, their Mennonite religion (though the name is never mentioned) teaches that God won’t be able to find them and they’ll be denied their place in Heaven. Others are burning with the desire to exact revenge on the perpetrators. And some are concerned that leaving means the boys left behind will have no one to care for them and guide them into becoming more responsible men than some of those who have come before them.
Even if you haven’t read the book, the film’s title will leave you in no illusion as to what to expect. Though that might turn some off, expecting an exercise in dialogue and tone, the intellectual and spiritual fireworks between the main characters more than makes up for an assumed lack of forward movement.
This is, by its very nature, a painful and difficult film to watch––for women who will identify with the dilemmas, and for men who should gain further insight into the high wire than women everywhere must walk on a daily basis when confronted with terrible behavior towards them.
A film as dialogue driven as this one lives and dies on the quality and skill of its cast, and here, Polley’s latest has its greatest strength. An actor for years before she began to devote more of her time to directing, she has a real eye for talent and knows how to work with fellow performers.
For ‘Women Talking’, Polley (along with casting directors John Buchan and Jason Knight) have assembled an exemplary ensemble of actors of various ages and stages of their careers, one of the finest gathering of women on screen in many years.
While some, such as Mara, Foy and particularly McDormand, have been able to find roles that let them shine (with awards glory and nominations following), others are still breaking through, relegated to second string characters compared to their male counterparts. Even Foy, in movies such as ‘First Man’ had to make do with a less compelling wife role.
Here, there is no such restriction. The only real male character in the film is August (Ben Whishaw), whose family was excommunicated, but who has been allowed to return after securing an education in the outside world and teaching the boys (the young women are not considered worthy of lessons, even though the story is set in 2010).
Sweet-natured and thoughtful, he’s permitted to sit in so as to take the minutes of their meeting (one might argue that treating a secret gathering to decide urgent action like a council meeting to figure out a new pedestrian zone might seem unlikely, but the women are raised to be formal and all are detail-orientated.
Foy pulsates with anger as Salome, matched by Buckley’s Mariche, who is seen near the beginning attacking some of the men in custody with a scythe. She wants to see justice done––even if she must do it herself, but slowly starts to question her rage. Ivey as elder Agata, looks to remain calm, while McDormand’s Scarface Janz––who delivers monologues while rarely saying a word thanks to her expressions–– seethes and counsels.
The entire cast is, without exception, impressive, whether it is young victims wandering through fields, stunned at learning what really happened to them, to others giggling and scampering their way through the meeting, not really cognizant of the huge issues being debated. And, of course, the leads, feasting on Polley’s adaptation, render some of the best performances of the year.
There is a somewhat stage bound feeling to the whole affair, though the crackling interchanges between the women certainly help overcome the idea that this might have been better served as a play. Though the most significant action is a census taker driving through the community looking to count heads, the tone, by turns meditative and electric, is a feature, not a bug.
Polley is becoming a first-rate director, and here she truly has a cast to match. ‘Women Talking’ might be a tough watch, but it’s worth paying attention to.
