Welcome to my official 2022 Oscar slate! One of these days I'll be getting paid for this and will actually get it done BEFORE the real awards, but for now I've finally seen enough of last year's films to hand out my own personal awards. I hope you enjoy, and maybe discover some new additions to your watchlist!
Best Non-English Language Film
Decision to Leave
- The Quiet Girl - All Quiet on the Western Front -
- Argentina 1985 - Saint Omer -
Coming from South Korea, Park Chan-wook's gripping mystery-romance spins a twisting tale of intrigue using some truly marvelous feats of technical movie-making. There were multiple shots throughout that left me stumped trying to figure out just how they pulled it off. And that's without getting into the seamlessly subtle VFX work that brings the misty seaside urban setting to life. The Hitchcock influences that frequently guide Park's work are definitely visible, but he makes this case of obsession, exhaustion and murder wholly his own. Park Hae-il and Tang Wei make the perfect muses for him here, with Tang particularly revelatory as an enigmatic femme fatale. A heart-breaking mystery that will pull you in until the very end, 'Decision to Leave' stands out at the top of this year's international submissions.
Best Animated Feature
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
- Marcel the Shell With Shoes On - Turning Red -
- My Father’s Dragon - Puss in Boots: The Last Wish -
Del Toro's passion for animation shines through in every hand-crafted inch of this meticulously imagined stop-motion production. Taking an iconic fairy tale (one currently drowning in (mostly awful) adaptations) and reimagining it as a grim yet hopeful story of defying fascism and facing down the fears of mortality, all while maintaining the familiar core of the story we all know is a daunting task, one that its hard to imagine working in the hands of anyone but del Toro. Pinocchio will make you laugh, cry and ponder the mysteries of what it really means to be alive. In an era where animation is far too often treated as a shallow medium not fit for "real stories," it is truly refreshing to watch something made with such visible love and respect for both the artform and the audience.
Runners-Up: The Sea Beast, Wendell and Wild
Best VFX
Avatar: The Way of Water
- Nope - Black Panther: Wakanda Forever -
- Everything Everywhere All At Once - The Batman -
From the moment the release date was confirmed, there was really no question as to who would be winning Best VFX of 2022. There's really not much to say here - it's Avatar. The breathtaking digital world James Cameron's team has created here is marvelous, crafting iconic visuals and seamlessly integrating the physical elements of the production. This crew truly understands how to apply the nuts and bolts of traditional filmmaking to a largely digital environment, and it lets them operate on a level that really has no equal.
Runners-Up: Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, All Quiet on the Western Front, Decision to Leave, Top Gun: Maverick
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
The Batman
- The Whale - X - The Woman King -
- All Quiet on the Western Front -
This was a big year for transformative prosthetics. But while the Academy favored the work with the most cumulative mass (and, as usual, totally ignored the Horror genre’s consistently incredible work in this category), it was The Batman that succeeded at the highest level for me, rendering Colin Farrell completely unrecognizable as The Penguin. A wholly natural design, it never LOOKS like a prosthetic, while also never drawing attention to the man behind the “mask.” A full disappearance into the transformation for the team headed by Naomi Donne, Mike Marino and Mike Fontaine. The rest of the more traditional designs used on the other denizens of Gotham were exceptional as well, icing on the cake for the most impressive Hair and Makeup of the year.
Runners-Up: Elvis, Everything Everywhere All At Once, The Northman,
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Best Costumes
Ruth Carter (Wakanda Forever)
- Shirley Kurata (EEAAO) - Linda Muir (The Northman)
- Gersha Phillips (The Woman King) - Eimer Ní Mhaoldomhnaigh (Banshees) -
This proved the hardest pick of the year for me. Shirley Kurata populated the multiverse of Everything Everywhere All At Once with brilliantly creative designs flashing across the screen in the blink of an eye, while Ruth Carter expanded on the Oscar-winning world of fashion she created for the first Black Panther with a whole new slate of breathtakingly gorgeous looks. In the end, I went with Carter. The wardrobe for Wakanda Forever expands with a sprawling number of new looks that feel fresh while staying true to the world established in the first movie, while adding in a whole new civilization's worth of designs for Namor and his people - a fascinating blend of the aquatic with ancient Mesoamerican inspiration. Carter's breadth of imagination, vibrantly jumping off the screen, once again earns her the gold.
The Pack: Jenny Eagan (Glass Onion), Catherine Martin (Elvis),
Quita Alfred (Women Talking), Marci Rodgers (Till),
Best Production Design
Babylon
- All Quiet on the Western Front - The Northman -
- The Banshees of Inisherin - Black Panther: Wakanda Forever -
Babylon was a movie that aimed big and didn't quite hit the mark. But when it did hit - it HIT. And its biggest hit was Production Design. Bringing to life a moment of time in the history of Hollywood synonymous with grandeur and excess was a large task, and the result is every bit as epic as the iconic classics the film sought to emulate. Production Designer Florencia Martin and Set Decorator Anthony Carlino led their respective teams in bringing to life out-of-control mansion parties and sprawling film sets charting decades worth of technological advancement. Even if the film's narrative sometimes stumbled, its created world is always a fully immersive moment of time, each scene exploding with the controlled chaos of an industry in the making.
Runners-Up: Bones and All, Elvis, Glass Onion, After Yang
Best Sound
Nope
- Top Gun: Maverick - TÁR - Elvis -
- Avatar: The Way of Water -
The nightmarish soundscape of “Jean Jacket” sticks with the viewer long after the credits have faded to black on Jordan Peele’s epic horror-adventure. Such a wholly alien presence requires a deeply creative team to imagine its sound, and this crew, led by Sound Designer Johnnie Burn, concocted a truly terrifying audio footprint for the mysterious monster to make its mark even when its presence is visibly obscured. What they've concocted is an unmistakably unique terror that will leave you looking suspiciously at any cloud sticking in the same spot for too long.
Runners-Up: The Northman, Bones and All, Decision to Leave, The Batman
Best Editing
Paul Rogers (Everything Everywhere All At Once)
- Eddie Hamilton (Maverick) - Matt Villa & Jonathan Redmond (Elvis) -
- Kim Sang-bum (Decision to Leave) - Terilyn Shropshire (The Woman King) -
The manic chaos of infinite possibilities explodes in the multiversal clash central to Everything Everywhere All At Once. Orchestrating that madness into the singular storyline we see on screen is Paul Rogers. While his flashiest work comes in the frantic montages of alternate worlds - and those moments are incredible, creating some of the most memorable visuals of the movie - he also excels in the quieter moments and delivers some fight-scene cuts that are truly at the top of the game. His work here threads a careful line of connective tissue into the wild footage, making the whole feature feel united as one.
Runners-Up: Blair McClendon (Aftersun), Mikkel Nielson (Banshees of Inisherin), Kristina Hetherington (The Wonder), Monika Willi (TÁR)
Best Original Song
‘Naatu Naatu’ by M. M. Keeravani & Chandrabose (RRR)
- ‘This Is A Life’ by David Byrne, Ryan Lott & Mitski (EEAAO) -
- ‘Ciao Papa’ by Alexandre Desplat, Roeben Katz, and GDT (GDT’s Pinocchio) -
- ‘Hold My Hand’ by BloodPop & Lady Gaga (Top Gun: Maverick) -
- ‘(You Made It Feel Like) Home’ by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (Bones and All) -
While I didn’t love RRR the way so many did, there’s no denying the infectious energy of its show-stopping musical number, ‘Naatu Naatu.’ Even separated from the vigorous choreography of the movie scene, it's an epic song that transcends the boundaries of genre and language to make its message unmistakable. Overflowing with passion, these lively beats and lyrics will make anyone want to stand up and dance, even if they don't have any idea what's going on.
Runners-Up: ‘Carolina’ by Taylor Swift (Where the Crawdads Sing), ‘Lift Your Wings’ by The Danna Brothers (My Father’s Dragon), ‘Lift Me Up’ by Ryan Coogler, Ludwig Göransson, Rihanna & Tems (Wakanda Forever)
Best Original Score
Justin Hurwitz (Babylon)
- Alexandre Desplat (Pinocchio) - Michael Giaccino (The Batman) -
- Hildur Guðnadóttir (Women Talking) - Michael Abels (Nope) -
There was something bleakly comic about the Academy using the Babylon score in every single ad they ran for the ceremony, then passing it over for the generic Zimmer-mimicking “bwah bwah BWAH” score from All Quiet on the Western Front. Needless to say, it’s Justin Hurwitz’ work that will be best remembered. An epic wall of sound to match the frantic energy of Damian Chazelle’s madcap ode to Old Hollywood, Babylon’s score roars to high crescendos that get stuck in the head for days, but also captures the soft moments of its doomed lovers’ intimate themes. It's a diverse, full-bodied score that, if only to be blown away by it, is more than enough to justify a trip to Babylon.
Runners-Up: Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch (Living), Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross (Bones and All), Carter Burwell (Banshees), Aska Matsumiya & Ryuichi Sakamoto (After Yang)
Best Adapted Screenplay
Sarah Polley (Women Talking)
- Kazuo Ishiguro (Living) - David Kajganich (Bones and All) -
- Kogonada (After Yang) - Rian Johnson (Glass Onion) -
Miriam Toews’ novel ‘Women Talking’ is far from easy material to translate into a compelling screenplay, seemingly much better suited for a stage drama than the local cinema. As the title says, it is, ultimately “just” a bunch of women (and one man) sitting in a barn and talking. But Sarah Polley excels at bringing this story to life in a way that, while maintaining the claustrophobic isolation required of the text, never leaves the viewer yearning for the world outside what is allotted to these characters. Polley's taut dialogue and well-placed diversions keep the 1 hr. 44 mins. clipping along at a tense pace, weaving the complicated feelings and faith of each character in a way to draw you in, hanging on every word, and - most importantly - not taking any shortcuts to an easy and clean moral solution.
Runners-Up: Guillermo del Toro & Patrick McHale (Pinocchio), Colm Bairéad (The Quiet Girl), Sebastián Lelio & Emma Donoghue & Alice Birch (The Wonder), Rebecca Lenkiewicz (She Said)
Best Original Screenplay
Martin McDonagh (The Banshees of Inisherin)
- Jordan Peele (Nope) - Charlotte Wells (Aftersun) -
- The Daniels (EEAAO) - Sarah DeLappe (Bodies Bodies Bodies) -
Rarely have I ever felt so personally attacked by a screenplay. But The Banshees of Inisherin tapped directly into the core of my social anxiety, playing into the great nightmare of "What if a friend doesn't actually like me?" It's such a simple conflict, yet in Martin McDonagh's hand becomes the most relentless drama of the year. It's a deeply layered script, with a narrative that contains multitudes - many of them very, very bleak. But the film never becomes too much to handle, because it is also very, very funny. McDonagh introduces humor in a way that highlights the absurdity of the situation while never undermining the very real emotions at play. Like his acclaimed plays, this script contains fresh depth to be explored on each new viewing, and is sure to be examined for years to come.
Runners-Up: Park Chan-wook & Jeong Seo-kyung (Decision to Leave), Otessa Moshfegh (Causeway), Steven Spielberg & Tony Kushner (The Fabelmans), Alice Diop, Amrita David & Marie NDiaye (Saint Omer)
Best Cinematography
Claudio Miranda (Top Gun: Maverick)
- Kim Ji-yong (Decision to Leave) - Jamie D. Ramsay (Living) -
- James Friend (All Quiet on the Western Front) - Hoyte van Hoytema (Nope) -
In the Academy's most shocking snub of the year, Claudio Miranda was left without even a nomination, when in truth he deserved to win it all. The heart-pounding cinematic magic of Top Gun: Maverick simply would not work without a cinematographer daring and innovative enough to follow Tom Cruise into the sky, strapping cameras to fighter jets to record the jaw-dropping practical action of the blockbuster hit. And more than merely capturing it all on film, which is impressive enough, Miranda managed to make the whole thing look incredibly pretty. It took a true master of the craft to take a crazy pitch and turn it into one of the most exciting and visually thrilling blockbusters of the modern age. Miranda met the challenge, and flew straight past the danger zone.
Runners-Up: Ben Davis (Banshees), Greig Fraser (Batman), Natasha Braier (She Said), Janusz Kamiński (Fabelmans), Kate McCullough (Quiet Girl)
Best Supporting Actor
Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All At Once)
- Brian Tyree Henry (Causeway) - Albrecht Schuch (All Quiet On The Western Front) -
- Barry Keoghan (Banshees of Inisherin) - Brendan Gleeson (Banshees of Inisherin) -
Few awards season storylines have been more satisfying than watching Ke Huy Quan sweep nearly every single award in his category. As the infinite iterations of Waymond Wang, Quan brings a deep sincerity to a role that could have easily devolved into gauche naivety. His sentimental and inspirational speeches are so memorable because we buy that he really does believe in what he’s saying. Whether as an action hero, a millionaire, a doting husband and father, etc... - that authenticity is the baseline for each version of Waymond we meet. It’s great to have Quan back on the big screen and I’m thrilled he has an Oscar. Hopefully this is just the start of the rejuvenated career he deserves.
Runners-Up: Mark Rylance (Bones and All), Paul Dano (The Fabelmans), Zach Grenier (She Said), Steven Yeun (Nope), Andrew Bennett (Quiet Girl)
Best Supporting Actress
Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin)
- Stephanie Hsu (EEAAO) - Claire Foy (Women Talking) -
- Hong Chau (The Whale) - Keke Palmer (Nope) -
Amidst the petty, rapidly escalating madness of McDonagh's dark comedy, Siobhán Súilleabháin is the one character who seems to have any sense left, and she's brought to pitch-perfect life by the writer's longtime collaborator Kerry Condon. Siobhán is a character burdened by being the most reasonable person on the whole island - torn between yearning for a better life and love for her brother and their quiet country home. Condon sells these complicated feelings through empathetic pleas and subtle body language that put the internal conflict on display for we the audience to witness. She conveys just as much with a silent look as with her masterful delivery of Siobhán's biting, exasperated dialogue.
Runners-Up: Guslagie Malanda (Saint Omer), Jessie Buckley (Women Talking), Kila Lord Cassidy (The Wonder), Aimee Lou Wood (Living), Carey Mulligan (She Said)
Best Actor
Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin)
- Brendan Fraser (The Whale) - Austin Butler (Elvis) -
- Paul Mescal (Aftersun) - Bill Nighy (Living) -
This is, I think, the first time I’ve ever had an acting slate line up perfectly with the five contenders the Academy actually selected, but these five performances all stood out as the absolute best. Choosing the final winner was one of the toughest calls of the season, though, between Farrell and Fraser. In the end, I went with Colin Farrell's hilarious and heartbreaking turn as Pádraic Súilleabháin. McDonagh is one of the few directors to really tap into the brilliant character actor behind Farrell's leading man looks. There is so much humor and pathos dueling inside Pádraic's character, and Farrell makes both aspects feel sincerely believable coming from the same man, taking a role that could have been diminished into a pathetic figure but rather elevating his defiant simplicity into a brilliantly complex tragic hero. Perhaps I'm biased, as Pádraic is so relatable, but while I love Brendan Fraser, and am happy he has an Oscar, in my book Farrell delivered the best acting of the year.
Runners-Up: Park Hae-il (Decision to Leave), Felix Kammerer (All Quiet On The Western Front), Diego Calva (Babylon), Timothée Chalamet (Bones and All)
Best Actress
Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All At Once)
- Cate Blanchett (TÁR) - Danielle Deadwyler (Till) -
- Taylor Russell (Bones and All) - Tang Wei (Decision to Leave) -
Leading the pack in Lead Actress is Michelle Yeoh's titanic performance as the anchor to the unpredictable madness of Everything Everywhere All At Once. We see the multiverse unfold through the eyes of Evelyn Wang, and while the glimpses of her alternate selves display brilliant different takes by Yeoh, it's her performance as "Evelyn Prime" that the movie hinges on. A complex woman struggling to hold together her relationships, Evelyn is a flawed wife and mother. On paper, there's plenty that could turn off the audience to her character. But Yeoh finds the nuances that make each success and mistake feel authentic and relentlessly human, that we understand why she makes each choice. We not only want to see her grow and succeed, we believe it when it happens. Amidst the wild fight scenes, raccoons, mech suits and hot dog fingers, she embodies the raw human emotion that makes the film resonate so strongly.
The Pack: Jennifer Lawrence (Causeway), Margot Robbie (Babylon), Viola Davis (The Woman King), Florence Pugh (The Wonder)
Best Director
Park Chan-wook (Decision to Leave)
- Charlotte Wells (Aftersun) - The Daniels (EEAAO) -
- Sarah Polley (Women Talking) - Jordan Peele (Nope) -
With films like ‘Oldboy’ and ‘The Handmaiden,’ Park Chan-wook has spent the last two decades establishing himself as a titan in Korean cinema. However, even in a post-’Parasite’ landscape, his work has yet to receive recognition from the Academy. But with ‘Decision to Leave,’ he has delivered the most technically impressive film of the year. It is an intense work of tight directorial vision - coordinating big, flashy kinetic sequences with the same care as the small, intimate dramatic moments at the heart of the film. It may tread in familiar territory for such erotic mysteries, but Park never lets it feel tired or old hat. Through evocative blocking, innovative use of technology and a sharp eye for compelling visuals, Park crafted one of the most gripping thrillers of recent memory. It’s well past time he gets his gold.
Runners-Up: Luca Guadagino (Bones and All), Steven Spielberg (The Fabelmans), Martin McDonagh (Banshees), Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick)
Best Picture
Everything Everywhere All At Once
- Aftersun - The Banshees of Inisherin - Nope -
- Decision to Leave - Women Talking - Top Gun: Maverick -
- Bones and All - The Fabelmans - Living -
It is an all-too rare but incredibly satisfying feeling to be able to nod in approval and agree with the Academy as they award Best Picture. But The Daniels' brilliant multiverse family epic 'Everything Everywhere All At Once' defied all odds to overcome industry prejudices and take home the gold. It's a zany, unfiltered creative whirlwind, but one that never forgets that the need for humanity that grounds even the most fantastical of tales in emotions we can relate to. The film is so good at what it does that even when it dips its toes into the more low-brow humor that would turn me off in a lesser picture, it all flows so naturally that my engagement was never jarred. It is a loud, confident narrative vision, united in its audacity across all fronts - script, direction, acting, effects and crafts all creating worlds-within-worlds; a nesting doll of gonzo showmanship that contains at its heart the most arrestingly human story of the year.
Runners-Up: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, TÁR, All Quiet on the Western Front
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