The 98th annual Oscar season is finally upon us, ready to recognize the best films and performances of the year. As we approach the ceremony I decided to watch all the movies nominated for Best Picture and rank them in relation to one another and as a movie itself. Without digressing any further, let’s get into the ranking!
10) F1
This film really didn’t do anything exceptionally–with two small exceptions–which really let me down. The plot seemed so contrived, despite the plethora of fascinating possibilities for where the story could have gone. It seemed as if the film found it necessary to always pick the safest option possible,that being Brad Pitt’s character, Sonny Hayes, is completely infallible, despite his cocky exterior. This really took me out of the picture overall, as I always knew that the protagonist would be right no matter what, destroying any stakes the film set up. While the story was remarkably ordinary, I did find quite a large enjoyment from the score, with Hans Zimmer providing an excellent score as always, and the cinematography of the film. Overall this was my least favourite watch of the Oscars season–primarily due to its length runtime–and will be giving the film an overall score of a 4/10.
9) Bugonia
If this film were just the first two acts, I really think I would have greatly enjoyed it, sadly the third act does exist, and throws the theme of the movie into pandemonium. The entirety of the first two acts of the picture serve to build up Teddy and Don as characters, how they became this extreme and then their eventual plot to abduct a CEO of a defence company, whose name is Michelle. This part of the film is phenomenal–in my opinion–with it setting up commentary on online echo chambers breeding extremism and polarization, whilst commenting on wider wealth disparity in a rather obtuse–yet effective–manner. Yet, the third act comes along, and ruins much of the thematic sense of the film, with Teddy and Don being proven right in their conspiracies. For me this threw the theming of the film into disarray, with nearly the entirety of the commentary provided with the first two acts being completely reversed, with Michelle, the defence CEO, being proven to be an alien, and then proceeding to kill the entire human race. The final stretch of the film, really proved to sour me on the entirety of the picture– despite the phenomenal performances from Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons–with the theming being confused at best. Overall I would likely give this film a 5/10.
8) The Secret Agent
I can really see why people love this film, sadly for me the pace was slightly too glacial for my liking. I really adored the setting of the film, 1970s Brazil, and the deep historical roots of the film’s themes–with it addressing the rise of despotic rule in Brazil, and the subsequent effects of it. All of these aspects I loved, and are explored to great avail in the beginning and end of the film, sadly the second act failed–at least for me–to live up to my expectations, with the pace of the film slowing considerably, which really took be out of the picture being painted throughout the film. Besides this one issue, I greatly enjoyed the film, and found pretty much all the performances to be spectacular–like how they find actors who are polyglots, that’s actually insane. Overall I really did enjoy the film, sadly the second act didn’t live up my expectations, as such I will score the film a 7.5/10.
7) Hamnet
As a pretty big Shakespearean literature fan, I came in having rather elevated expectations of this film, which I’m glad to report all of which were met. I really enjoyed this picture, it didn’t “breeze by” forsay, but it felt its length, never really overstaying its welcome and keeping the film at a respectful pace. By far the best thing about the film is the cast, I don’t think there really is a single bad performance throughout the movie. Personally for me the standout was clearly Jessie Buckley, who possibly gave the most Oscar-worthy performance I’ve seen this year—if she doesn’t win the Oscar for Best Actress, I would plainly be bewildered. She completely disappeared into the role of Agnes, really internalizing her struggles in such a human way, providing such a powerful emotional core to the overall film. Whilst I did enjoy much of this film, I do have some issues with its direction. Throughout the picture no shot really surprised me with inventive framing or due to it providing a new fascinating perspective, as someone who always has an eye out for cinematography, this really disappointed me with how standard every shot seemed. Despite this fact, I still greatly enjoyed this film overall and would personally score it as an 8/10.
6) Marty Supreme
I think the only word that can accurately describe this film is electric. Every scene simply felt so incredibly vivid, there was never a dull moment. Whenever I thought I knew what was coming next, Marty throws everything away on the whim of the mere possibility of greatness and just continues to dig a deeper hole for himself. I think the thing that really makes this movie work is that the entire cast is so incredibly unlikeable. In doing so the movie can’t just harp on the audience to “root for the good guy;” rather, it must create stakes so insanely high to maintain the audience’s attention, an ability which this film held in multitudes. Also the cinematography within the film constantly stunned me, with some scenes being designed so elaborately that I simply could not fathom how the directors were able to actually take the shot While not entirely my type of film, I still found myself greatly enjoying it, so much so that I would score it as a 8.5/10.
5) Frankenstein
As my first Del Toro film, I was pleasantly surprised by this film. The ambience of this film is simply a masterclass of the film medium, and truly revealed to me the simple importance of set design in storytelling. Accordingly, the costumes were beautiful, with them being a mix of classic styles, overall aiding to solidify the film further into its given time period. I also found the story to be really excellent as well; however, wishing they stuck a little closer to the source material at times. Along with this every performance really stunned me, with Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi obtaining this fascinating chemistry as Victor Frankenstein and “The Creature” respectively. While some lines of dialogue did make me roll my eyes—like did they really need to have the “I am the monster” line?—overall I did enjoy the scripting of the picture, however obtuse it can appear at times. While not my front-runner for best picture, I still really loved this film and would personally score it a 9.5/10.
4) Sinners
This film simply stunned me. What really stood out to me was the poignant metaphor of assimilation throughout the picture–a topic seldom associated with vampires, that surprisingly fits in perfectly. This metaphor reveals the core rhetoric of the film, with it critiquing the process of assimilation and how it slowly saps all the collective culture of those who it reaches, and exploring this theme through the classic trope of vampires—specifically the ones you have to invite into your house, only making the metaphor evermore poignant. Along with this fascinating core theme, nearly every aspect of the film is similarly great, the ensemble cast makes for incredible scenes where characters so flawlessly bounce off one another. Also the way music is so seamlessly integrated into the film was simply amazing to say the least, with the “I Lied to You” scene being one of my favorites of the entire year. Overall, this movie is a must watch, and as such easily earns the score of a 10/10.
3) Train Dreams
Whilst watching I couldn’t help but think of Looking For Alaska, this inert anthropogenic dissatisfaction with the entropy of simply being human. Robert’s search for meaning after the death of the only ones close to him perfectly reflects Pudge’s search for the true culprit behind Alaska’s death. Neither willing to accept the inherent nature of life, that randomness is ubiquitous, and that some things simply happen unprompted. While I love the message behind the film, the cinematography similarly was beautiful, every shot exudes an infectious nostalgia for a long bygone time, creating some of the most memorable shots of the year, which will live in my conscience for years to come. It’s hard for me to perfectly encapsulate my thoughts for this film, but I can surely say that it is well worth a watch. This film continues to stick with me today, in ways I really would have never expected going in, earning it the score of a 10/10.
2) One Battle After Another
This film is likely the most poignant of the entire year, and I wouldn’t change a thing about it. I adored the core message of resistance behind the film, this idea that no matter what people will always resist authoritarianism and keep fighting no matter what. Also the cinematography completely stunned me, the way each shot so seamlessly connected to the background score was phenomenal. The direction of Paul Thomas Anderson really allowed this film to masterfully connect realistic themes of rising authoritarianism and fantastic comedic elements, a feat I think nearly any other director would heavily struggle with. The cast was similarly phenomenal, with Chase Infiniti giving one of my favorite performances of the year and Benicio del Toro providing a comedic backbone for the film itself. This film was simply phenomenal, and would be my personal prediction–but not pick—to win Best Picture, nearly entirely flawless, this film very easily earns a 10/10.
1) Sentimental Value
This movie surprisingly really struck me, as a person who’s gone through similar struggles, the writing never felt contrived or ham-fisted, it always felt so human. I kept finding myself reflecting upon Nora and Agnes’ childhood house throughout the film, this place of great sorrow, which they can never quite escape. I adored the metaphor of their childhood house throughout the film, with its slow descent into the humus of the wider Earth, splitting slowly in the process, reflecting the Borg’s family continued splintering as the family slowly drifted apart. The cinematography only serves to deepen this feeling of isolation, with the film, with these long droning shots only serving to exacerbate this sense of loneliness provided within the film. I don’t think I’ll ever quite forget this film, it really connected with me in ways I would’ve never have expected going in. This has actually become one of my favorite films of all time, and would easily rank it as a 10/10.
