I agree with the Gold Derby experts’ latest consensus, that “Oppenheimer,” “Killers of the Flower Moon” and “Poor Things” are the frontrunners in the Best Picture race.
The narrative that’s been all the buzz of late is that it’s going to be a fight between “Oppenheimer” and “Killers of the Flower Moon.” That’s probably what you’ve been reading as well— pundits are desperately trying to make this happen.
Wouldn’t it be something if it came down to Christopher Nolan and Martin Scorsese’s 3+ hour epics? Question for our readers: if you had to choose between both of their films, which would you have winning Best Picture?
I don’t believe “Killers of the Flower Moon” will win Best Picture. Maybe Scorsese gets Best Director, but Nolan does have the better narrative. The problem for ‘Killers’ is that it has its fair share of detractors and that 3.5 hour runtime has been the cause of much-heated debate.
Then again, “Oppenheimer” isn’t a walk in the park either. The last section of the film, primarily focused on Robert J. Oppenheimer’s battle with Senator Strauss, didn’t win everyone over. I’ve even spoken to a few Oscar voters who believe the film was massively overpraised amidst the ‘Barbenheimer’ phenomenon this past summer.
Of course, Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things” is going to be a major player in a slew of categories. It’s the best reviewed movie of the year and has some real passionate fans backing it up. “Poor Things,” which I’ll be posting a review of next week, is basically a much more deranged and artful version of Gerwig’s “Barbie.”
So, we have those three titles as the main frontrunners, but don’t be surprised if another film comes out of nowhere to dethrone them. The one I would be keeping an eye on is Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers” — an absolute crowdpleaser, set during Christmas, that will feel like cozy comfort viewing, for many voters, this holiday season.
It’ll also take some more convincing for me to include “The Color Purple” into my predictions. It still hasn’t screened yet and the latest trailer wasn’t that impressive — test reactions were fairly positive, but with attendees citing that the supporting players outshine lead actress Fantasia Barrino.
The rest of the “experts” list is fairly predictable and has all of the contenders, so it’s looking like a fairly easy season to predict. From #4-10 you have “Barbie,” “The Holdovers,” “Maestro,” “Past Lives,” “The Color Purple,” “American Fiction” and “Anatomy of a Fall.”
I like how “The Zone of Interest” has fallen out of the top 10, because I’ve been saying ever since May that Jonathan Glazer’s film is absolutely not an Oscar movie. It’s for acquired tastes. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan, but its austere, stone-cold arthouse style is going to be a very hard sell for Academy voters.
Also outside the top 10 (#11-15) are “Across the Spider-Verse,” “Saltburn,” “Air,” “Napoleon,” “Rustin,” “All of Us Strangers,” “Origin,” and “The Boys in the Boat.”
Still left to be screened are next month’s Ridley Scott-directed “Napoleon” and Blitz Bazawule’s “The Color Purple,” which comes out in December. Unless one of these titles two makes a dent in the Oscar race, then we most likely are going to have a three-way race for Picture and Director between Nolan, Scorsese and Lanthimos.
