Oscars. 2018. Let’s do this. In my opinion 2017 was one of the best years for film in a long time. While there weren’t as many good films as in 2016, there was a higher concentration of great ones. I firmly believe that the year’s best films will be remembered for decades to come and it has probably been the hardest Oscars for me to predict since I started this blog. I’ll do my best though, we have a lot of ground to cover so let’s begin.
Best Picture
Who Will Win: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri
I really had a tough time predicting who would win Best Picture. In a lesser year, I feel like any one of the nominees could’ve taken home the top prize but if I had to make an educated guess, I’d go with Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri. I personally loved the film, I thought it had a great script, some amazing performances and the tonal shifting was handled expertly contrasting the humour with the drama and vice versa to heighten the emotional impact of the scenes. It took home the Golden Globe for Best Drama (which is usually a good sign) and it’s been racking up awards all over the place. I really think it could be anyone’s game, but my money’s on Three Billboards. I think if there’s an upset, it’ll probably be for Lady Bird as it has also been racking up the awards and in the midst of all the scandals that came to light in 2017, the Academy may be more inclined to award Best Picture to a female writer/director.
Who Should Win: The Shape of Water
Predicting who will win was hard but I had an even harder time deciding which of the Best Picture nominees I really wanted to win. Like I said, it was a great crop this year and my pick came down to three equally excellent choices: Call Me By Your Name, Three Billboards and The Shape of Water. While I probably slightly prefer Three Billboards overall, I had to go with The Shape of Water. On the surface, it’s a bizarre,and for some unsettling, romance film between a woman and fish man but it’s so much more than that. It’s a beautiful story about a woman who lives in silence finally finding her voice through an unlikely companion. It features stunning visuals, stellar acting and a strong emotional core. It’s a mesmerizing film that transports you to a world that’s new yet familiar. A dazzling work from Guillermo Del Toro, one of my favourite directors that is sadly, often overlooked by general audiences. While I think Del Toro’s true masterpiece is Pan’s Labyrinth (which incidentally, didn’t receive a Best Picture nomination when it came out) The Shape of Water is definitely his best film since and a remarkable film in its own right. It’s not entirely likely that this will take home top honours but I would love to see it happen.
Actor in a Leading Role
Who Will/Should Win: Daniel Day-Lewis for The Phantom Thread
I think the safe bet for Best Actor is definitely Daniel Day-Lewis for The Phantom Thread. This is (supposedly) his last film so it makes sense that the Academy would want to honour him one last time. I also agree with that assessment, while I didn’t love The Phantom Thread as much as some of the other films that were nominated this year, Day-Lewis’ performance was amazing and really held the whole film together. Honestly, if this is truly his last performance, it’s not a bad one to go out on. I think Gary Oldman is also a very likely choice since his performance in The Darkest Hour garnered him a ton of critical acclaim although he wouldn’t be my first choice.
Actress in a Leading Role
Who Will/Should Win: Frances McDormand for Three Billboards
This was a no-brainer. Frances McDormand’s performance as a mother desparate to get justice for her deceased daughter was without a doubt, the best performance I’ve seen in a film all year and other awards shows have taken notice. I think McDormand is a lock for the award although I’d be fine with just about anyone other than Meryl Streep taking home the award since her presence here feels more like an obligation than a recognition of actual talent.
Actor in a Supporting Role
Who Will/Should Win: Sam Rockwell for Three Billboards
Another no-brainer, Sam Rockwell is without a doubt the best choice for this award. Rockwell gave an excellent performance in Three Billboards with many noting that his character’s arc was one of the highlights of the film. I’d also have no issue with Woody Harrelson or Richard Jenkins taking home the award as they were both also excellent. It is a real shame to see Michael Shannon snubbed for this category though as he delivered one of the most memorable villain performances of the year in The Shape of Water.
Actress in a Supporting Role
Who Will/Should Win: Allison Janney for I, Tonya
As far as who I think will take home this award, it’s a toss-up between Allison Janney and Laurie Metcalf as both have garnered a lot of critical acclaim for their performances in I, Tonya and Lady Bird respectively. I’m going to lean more towards Janney for this one since she definitely gave the more showy performance as Tonya Harding’s alcoholic, abusive mother in I, Tonya and there’s nothing the Academy loves more than a story about overcoming adversity. I’d also personally pick Janney for the award since she did do a fantastic job and I am probably a little biased since I enjoyed I, Tonya a lot more than Lady Bird. I’d also be cool with Octavia Spencer taking this one as well because she also did an excellent job in The Shape of Water even if her role wasn’t as substantial as some of the other nominees.
Animated Feature Film
Who Will/Should Win: Coco
Not gonna waste much time with this one since Disney/Pixar movies always win Best Animated Feature and since Disney’s main studio didn’t have any contenders this year, Coco will absolutely take the prize. I feel like this category in particular is one that is just kind of tacked on and no one takes too seriously. For god’s sakes, The Boss Baby and Ferdinand are among the nominees this year, that’s how you know nobody gives a shit. The category falls into a very particular pattern, you have your Disney and/or Pixar movie, usually something from Dreamworks, some art movie nobody saw, a foreign film that nobody saw and if there’s room, they just throw whatever’s popular in the fifth slot. Anyways, rant over. I do think that Coco absolutely deserves to win Best Animated Feature, but it’s barely worth commenting on when you can predict the winner a year in advance just by looking at the release schedule.
Alright, the last group of categories are going to be pretty rapid-fire, so let’s get started.
Cinematography: Blade Runner 2049
No contest, this movie looks amazing thanks in no small part to the beautiful cinematography by Roger Deakins. Honestly, you could hang just about frame from this movie on your wall, it is that well shot.
Costume Design: The Phantom Thread
It’s a movie about a fashion designer, nuff said.
Directing: Guillermo Del Toro for The Shape of Water
As I mentioned before, The Shape of Water is one of the year’s most remarkable films thanks to the creative madman behind the camera, Guillermo Del Toro. He gets some excellent performances out of his actors and the way the whole movie fits together is thanks to his pursuit of his vision. His incredibly strange, very uncomfortable vision.
Film Editing: Baby Driver
Baby Driver is a perfect example of how film editing can bolster the overall quality of the film. The fast paced edits and perfect timing to the film’s soundtrack make Baby Driver an unforgettable experience that I feel future action films will have a hard time replicating.
Music (Original Score): Star Wars The Last Jedi
John Williams has composed some of the most memorable film soundtracks of all time and it’s good to see that he hasn’t lost his touch. Star Wars: The Last Jedi’s soundtrack was an excellent mix of both new and old from the master himself. No contest.
Music (Original Song): Remember Me from Coco
It’s one thing to create a good song to use in your film, it’s another thing entirely for the song to actually evolve as the film goes on to reflect the feelings of the characters. Remember Me from Coco first appears in the film as a big elaborate musical number but morphs as the film goes on into a deeply personal and heartwrenching goodbye from a father to his daughter and eventually, a desperate plea from a young boy to his eldery relative to remain with him and not slip into the darkness. It’s a beautiful song, one that will undoubtedly lead to at least a few tears shed even from the most emotionally distant of viewers.
Production Design: Blade Runner 2049
Did I mention earlier that this was a gorgeous film? In addition to the way it was shot, the film’s production design was absolutely stellar. The varied and imaginative sci-fi environments depicted in this film are unlike anything I’ve ever seen, it even trumps the original Blade Runner in this regard.
Visual Effects: War for the Planet of the Apes
Jesus, those apes look freaking real. War for the Planet of the Apes stands as a testament to just how far we’ve come with CGI. Not only do these apes look real, but motion capture has allowed for all of the emotion of the actor’s performance to come through in these computer generated models. A triumph in visual effects if I’ve ever seen one.
Writing (Adapted Screenplay): Call Me By Your Name
I have to give a shout out to this work of absolute art somewhere. Call Me By Your Name features some stunning cinematography, top-tier acting and of course, an excellent script from the legendary James Ivory. It’s thanks to Ivory’s script and the two phenomenal leads that the romance in Call Me By Your Name is so believable and resonates so strongly with its audience. It was a tough choice to pass this movie by in all the other categories but in the writing department, I couldn’t think of a better choice.
Writing (Original Screenplay): Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Finally, we come to best original screenplay. Again, I have to give some love to Three Billboards. Martin McDonagh has crafted a story that is pitch perfect. The tone ranges from wildly hilarious to heartbreakingly tragic to just very uncomfortable. If you haven’t watched this movie yet, I highly recommend watching it in a group since it’s a lot of fun to gauge everyone’s reactions to certain scenes and see the uncomfortable laughter start to slip out. As I mentioned earlier, the shifts in tone from dramatic to comedic really strengthen the emotions felt throughout the film; comedic moments feel laugh out loud hilarious while dramatic moments will bring you to the brink of tears and it all miraculously fits. It took three films to cement my love for Martin McDonagh as one of the great writer/directors but this film has made me a fan and I’m beyond excited to see what he does next.
That’s my list, I didn’t bother commenting on best foreign film or best documentary since I didn’t really sample any of the nominees this year. Will any of my predictions actually come true? Probably not, but we’ll just have to see tonight when the 90th Academy Awards finally airs.
