‘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.
(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.
As a whole, it was a fairly run-of-the-mill awards ceremony – some tearful speeches, a sprinkling of politics, jokes about Leonardo DiCaprio’s dating life – but got the job done.
Glaser returned to host again, offering a few fun skits (a parody of the Nicole Kidman AMC ad targeting podcasts, and a mash-up for ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ and ‘Marty Supreme’ with a Fran Drescher cameo.
Yes, some of the jokes were entirely predictable, but there were some pointed jabs at CBS News (“see BS News”) and the Epstein Files.
And overall, Glaser kept the show moving (it eventually ended roughly 10 minutes late).
There were a lot of expected winners, including several trophies for ‘One Battle After Another,’ ‘Sinners’ and the latest for ‘Marty Supreme’s Timothée Chalamet.
But the surprises were more fun –– ‘Hamnet’ scooped the Motion Picture – Drama award, while ‘The Secret Agent’ nabbed Non-English Language Film and a more unexpected (if entirely deserved) Actor trophy for star Wagner Moura.
A lot of the TV awards for drama and comedy were similar to other shows such as the Emmys, with ‘The Pitt,’‘The Studio’ and ‘Adolescence’ all winning more hardware for their trophy cabinets.
Awards shows are usually a mix of humble and heartfelt, and ‘One Battle’s Teyana Taylor certainly got that in early with her tearful acceptance moment.
Outside of acceptance speeches, Judd Apatow killed it presenting Best Director, nodding to Nikki Glaser’s history babysitting his daughters and his “quiet boycott” of the awards after ‘Trainwreck’ lost to ‘The Martian’ in the comedy category a decade ago.
Wanda Sykes was also on top form as she presented the Stand-Up category, swiping at Bill Maher and particularly Ricky Gervais, whose award she accepted “on behalf of God and trans people.”
And Snoop Dogg was… Snoop Dogg, handing out the first Podcast award, which was won by Amy Poehler for ‘Good Hang.’
There was much praise for Macaulay Culkin, who was presenting Best Screenplay, and scored a standing ovation as he took the stage.
Julia Roberts hyped up her own stint on stage Presenting Best Motion Picture Comedy, while poor George Clooney had to note that he did not get the same reaction presenting drama, a fact reiterated by pal Don Cheadle, who showed up to gently rib him.
From director Eric Lin, in a race against time, an ailing woman (Lucy Liu) discovers her teenage son’s (Lawrence Shou) violent obsessions and must go to great lengths to protect him, and possibly others, in this portrait of a Chinese American family. Inspired by true events.
Sydney Sweeney in ‘Christy’. Photo: Black Bear Pictures.
From director David Michôd, Christy Martin (Sydney Sweeney) never imagined life beyond her small-town roots in West Virginia—until she discovered a knack for punching people. Fueled by grit, raw determination, and an unshakable desire to win, she charges into the world of boxing under the guidance of her trainer and manager-turned-husband, Jim (Ben Foster). But while Christy flaunts a fiery persona in the ring, her toughest battles unfold outside it—confronting family, identity, and a relationship that just might become life-or-death.
(L to R) Stellan Skarsgård and Elle Fanning in ‘Sentimental Value’. Photo: Kasper Tuxen Andersen.
From director Joachim Trier, sisters Nora (Renate Reinsve) and Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) reunite with their estranged father, the charismatic Gustav (Stellan Skarsgård), a once-renowned director who offers stage actress Nora a role in what he hopes will be his comeback film. When Nora turns it down, she soon discovers he has given her part to an eager young Hollywood star (Elle Fanning).
(L to R) Channing Tatum and Kirsten Dunst star in Paramount Pictures’ ‘Roofman’.
From director Derek Cianfrance, a former Army Ranger and struggling father (Channing Tatum) turns to robbing McDonald’s restaurants by cutting holes in their roofs, earning him the nickname ‘Roofman’. After escaping prison, he secretly lives inside a Toys “R” Us for six months, surviving undetected while planning his next move. But when he falls for a divorced mom (Kristen Dunst) drawn to his undeniable charm, his double life begins to unravel, setting off a compelling and suspenseful game of cat and mouse as his past closes in.
From director Yorgos Lanthimos, two conspiracy obsessed young (Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis) men kidnap the high-powered CEO (Emma Stone) of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth.
From director Osgood Perkins, when twin brothers (both played by Theo James) find a mysterious wind-up monkey, a series of outrageous deaths tear their family apart. Twenty-five years later, the monkey begins a new killing spree forcing the estranged brothers to confront the cursed toy.
Denzel Washington in ‘Highest 2 Lowest’. Photo Credit: David Lee.
From director Spike Lee, when a titan music mogul (Denzel Washington), widely known as having the “best ears in the business”, is targeted with a ransom plot, he is jammed up in a life-or-death moral dilemma.
(L to R) Dacre Montgomery as Richard ‘Dick’ Hall and Bill Skarsgård as Tony Kiritsis in ‘Dead Man’s Wire’. Photo: Row K Entertainment
From director Gus Van Sant, set in 1977 and based on a true story, Tony Kiritsis (Bill Skarsgård), a former real estate developer puts a dead man’s switch on himself and the mortgage banker (Dacre Montgomery) who did him wrong, demanding $5 million and a personal apology.
Directed by Dan Trachtenberg, cast out from his clan, a young Predator (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) finds an unlikely ally in a damaged android (Elle Fanning) and embarks on a treacherous journey in search of the ultimate adversary.
From director Rian Johnson, when young priest Jud Duplenticy (Josh O’Connor) is sent to assist charismatic firebrand Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin), it’s clear that all is not well in the pews. After a sudden and seemingly impossible murder rocks the town, the lack of an obvious suspect prompts local police chief Geraldine Scott (Mila Kunis) to join forces with renowned detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) to unravel a mystery that defies all logic.
From director Bradley Cooper, as their marriage quietly unravels, Alex (Will Arnett) faces middle age and an impending divorce, seeking new purpose in the New York comedy scene while Tess (Laura Dern) confronts the sacrifices she made for their family—forcing them to navigate co-parenting, identity, and whether love can take a new form.
From director James Cameron, in the wake of the devastating war against the RDA and the loss of their eldest son, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) face a new threat on Pandora: the Ash People, a violent and power-hungry Na’vi tribe led by the ruthless Varang (Oona Chaplin). Jake’s family must fight for their survival and the future of Pandora in a conflict that pushes them to their emotional and physical limits.
From director James Gunn, Superman (David Corenswet), a journalist in Metropolis, embarks on a journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent.
From director Guillermo del Toro, Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac), a brilliant but egotistical scientist, brings a creature (Jacob Elordi) to life in a monstrous experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation.
From director Edward Berger, amid the glittering casinos of Macau, a gambler (Colin Farrell) running from his past — and his debts — becomes fascinated by an enigmatic woman at the baccarat table.
From director Ari Aster, in May of 2020, a standoff between a small-town sheriff (Joaquin Phenix) and mayor (Pedro Pascal) sparks a powder keg as neighbor is pitted against neighbor in Eddington, New Mexico.
From director Darren Aronofsky, burned-out ex-baseball player Hank Thompson (Austin Butler) unexpectedly finds himself embroiled in a dangerous struggle for survival amidst the criminal underbelly of late 1990s New York City, forced to navigate a treacherous underworld he never imagined.
From director Noah Baumbach, famous movie actor Jay Kelly (George Clooney) embarks on a journey of self-discovery, confronting both his past and present, accompanied by his devoted manager, Ron (Adam Sandler).
From director Steven Soderbergh, ‘Black Bag’ is a gripping spy drama about legendary intelligence agents George Woodhouse (Michael Fassbender) and his beloved wife Kathryn (Cate Blanchett). When she is suspected of betraying the nation, George faces the ultimate test – loyalty to his marriage or his country.
From director Joseph Kosinski, racing legend Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) is coaxed out of retirement to lead a struggling Formula 1 team—and mentor a young hotshot driver (Damson Idris), while chasing one more chance at glory.
From director Zach Cregger, when all but one child (Cary Christopher) from the same class mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time, a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance.
From director Josh Safdie, in 1950s New York, Marty Mauser, (Timothée Chalamet) a young man with a dream no one respects, goes to hell and back in pursuit of greatness.
From director Ryan Coogler, trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers (Michael B. Jordan) return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.
Leonardo Di Caprio as Bob Ferguson in ‘One Battle After Another.’ A Warner Bros. Pictures Release. Photo Credit: Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures.
From director Paul Thomas Anderson, washed-up revolutionary Bob (Leonardo DiCaprio) exists in a state of stoned paranoia, surviving off-grid with his spirited, self-reliant daughter, Willa (Chase Infiniti). When his evil nemesis (Sean Penn) resurfaces after 16 years and she goes missing, the former radical scrambles to find her, father and daughter both battling the consequences of his past.
The Golden Globes will take place on December 8th.
Despite lots of changes behind the scenes and some serious PR airbrushing, the Golden Globes never quite retained their luster. Still, they’re a big stop on the awards circuit and the nominations were announced today by Marlon Wayans and Skye P. Marshall during a press conference held at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles.
And on the TV front, ‘The White Lotus’ and this year’s big small screen sensation, the one-shot drama ‘Adolescence’ have the most nominations for their side of the awards.
Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture
(L to R) Teyana Taylor as Perfidia and Sean Penn as Col. Steven J. Lockjaw in ‘One Battle After Another.’ A Warner Bros. Pictures Release. Photo Credit: Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
Paul Thomas Anderson, ‘One Battle After Another’ Ryan Coogler, ‘Sinners’
Guillermo del Toro, ‘Frankenstein’ Jafar Panahi, ‘It Was Just an Accident’ Joachim Trier, ‘Sentimental Value’
Paul Thomas Anderson, ‘One Battle After Another’ Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie, ‘Marty Supreme’
Ryan Coogler, ‘Sinners’
Jafar Panahi, ‘It Was Just an Accident’ Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier, ‘Sentimental Value’ Chloé Zhao, Maggie O’Farrell, ‘Hamnet’
Cynthia Erivo is Elphaba in ‘Wicked For Good’, directed by Jon M. Chu.
“Dream as One”, ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’
“Golden”, ‘KPop Demon Hunters’
“I Lied to You”, ‘Sinners’
“No Place Like Home”, ‘Wicked: For Good’
“The Girl in the Bubble”, ‘Wicked: For Good’
“Train Dreams”, ‘Train Dreams’
The 31st Annual Critics Choice Film Awards Nominations have been announced.
‘Sinners’ leads the pack with 17 nominations.
The ceremony will air on E! and the USA Network in January.
After turning its box office fortunes around (and er, just being purchased), Warner Bros. is also seeing some awards success this year, with the likes of ‘Sinners’ and ‘One Battle After Another’ nabbing nominations and taking home trophies.
Also up for awards this year are the likes of ‘Hamnet’, ‘Marty Supreme’ and ‘Wicked: For Good,’ which have all also been getting attention during the current awards season.
(L to R) Renate Reinsve and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas in ‘Sentimental Value’. Photo: Kasper Tuxen Andersen.
Easily one of the best films of the year, ‘Sentimental Value’ is Joachim Trier’s follow-up to 2021’s ‘The Worst Person in the World,’ a character study disguised as a bittersweet rom-com. ‘Sentimental Value’ is also bittersweet, but it’s no romantic comedy: instead, it dissects the complicated relationship between a narcissistic but aging filmmaker and his two daughters in the wake of their mother’s death.
‘Sentimental Value’ gets at some universal truths about all families, parents, and children, and presents each of its four main characters in nuanced shades, letting us see them at their best and not so finest. While the film might be too casually paced and narratively loose for some, this is ultimately a rich, engrossing, deeply moving tale of what happens when family becomes fodder for art, and everything that spins out of that.
Story and Direction
(L to R) Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas and Elle Fanning in ‘Sentimental Value’. Photo: Kasper Tuxen Andersen.
Gustav Borg (Stellan Skarsgård) is a once highly-regarded filmmaker whose best years are behind him and who hasn’t been able to get a film financed for 15 years. He returns to his family home in Oslo, Norway for the funeral of his ex-wife, where he attempts to reconnect with his two daughters, actor Nora (Renate Reinsve) and her sister Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) who has a more stable job as a historian and a husband and child.
But Gustav is also after more than just re-establishing the tattered relationship he has with the two daughters he left behind: he has written a new film – apparently an incredible script – and wants Nora to star in it. However, she wants nothing to do with the film or her father. Thanks to a fortuitous meeting, he instead enlists a young American star named Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning). With Rachel attached, Netflix comes calling – but something about the entire project feels off.
Renate Reinsve in ‘Sentimental Value’. Photo: Kasper Tuxen Andersen.
Through a string of beautifully composed scenes, Joachim Trier (working from a script he co-wrote with Eskil Vogt) slowly peels back the layers of each of these characters, revealing the multi-dimensional people at the heart of a very intimate story about how the compulsion to create art can be both healing and disruptive. We find out that Gustav’s script is about his mother, who survived Nazi atrocities only to take her own life in the very home in which he wants to film – a personal expression of anguish he’s held all these years. But the screenplay is also about his daughters, and as we find out more about them, we learn that this family has been shattered in multiple ways.
All this is eloquently and elegantly shot in gorgeous Oslo, with the Borg house at the center of the story both a place of stability and a ghost from the past. With warmth, some sly humor (mostly poking fun at the movie business), and a story that lays bare some raw emotions while not providing easy solutions, ‘Sentimental Value’ is an engrossing drama that makes one want to spend more time with the Borg family.
Cast and Performances
(L to R) Stellan Skarsgård and Renate Reinsve in ‘Sentimental Value’. Photo: Christian Belgaux.
All four leads in this film are impeccable, starting with the great Renate Reinsve and the global treasure that is Stellan Skarsgård. Coming off ‘The Worst Person in the World’ and last year’s ‘A Different Man,’ Reinsve once again displays her ability to make the work of acting literally invisible, while fully inhabiting the character she portrays. Nora is complicated and troubled – she is an exceptional actress but has extreme anxiety attacks before going onstage – and unable to get everything in her life lined up, but also possessed of charm, wit, and an underlying darkness that is hinted at but perceptible.
As for Skarsgård, this may be the Swedish veteran’s masterpiece: Gustav is also charming, talented, and witty, but possessed of a high self-regard, a condescension toward others, and an almost childish temper. A scene in which he visits his one-time cinematographer, only to realize that the man might be too old to work anymore, is acting perfection: just with the subtle expression on his face, Skarsgård shows us both Gustav’s disappointment and fear – he’s seeing his own potential future. And underneath his still-cocky surface lies a deep grief – which he is unable to express without a camera. This is brilliant, Oscar-worthy stuff all the way.
Credit also to Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas as the practical sister from whom Nora is somewhat estranged as well, but who still has a deep love for both sibling and parent, and Elle Fanning (having a heck of a fall with this and ‘Predator: Badlands’), whose Rachel Kemp exhibits depth and sensitivity that, in a lesser film, would be replaced by a simple Hollywood brat.
Final Thoughts
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas in ‘Sentimental Value’. Photo: Kasper Tuxen Andersen.
Joachim Trier keeps mining everyday human relationships for maximum complexity while presenting his stories with an easygoing clarity that’s hard to not enjoy. ‘Sentimental Value’ continues that tradition, and while it’s ironically not sentimental at all, it’s still deeply moving in its understanding of how grief and sadness can be both fodder for great art and fuel for slow self-destruction.
‘Sentimental Value’ receives a score of 95 out of 100.
‘Sentimental Value’ opens in theaters on November 7th.
What is the plot of ‘Sentimental Value’?
The fractured relationship between an acclaimed director and his two estranged daughters becomes even more complicated when he decides to make a personal film about their family history.
