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| Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All At Once |
The nominations for the 95th Academy Awards were everything, everywhere, all at once. Literally.
Right off the bat (or, should I say, multiverse?), the A24-distributed genre-bender picked up the most nominations this year with eleven, including many firsts for its four main stars: martial arts legend Michelle Yeoh (Best Actress), former scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis (Best Supporting Actress), former Goonie Ke Yu Quan (Best Supporting Actor), and breakout star Stephanie Hsu (Best Supporting Actress). The filmmaking duo Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (a.k.a. Daniels) picked up muliple accolades for directing (the first time the Academy recognized two filmmakers for the same movie in this category, since Joel & Ethan Coen back in 2011), for their original screenplay, and as co-producers (along with Jonathan Wang). The film was also recognized for its editing, costume design, original song, and Son Lux's score. I am bummed that the film's visual effects weren't nominated, because the small crew they reportedly had--and what they pulled off--was extremely impressive.
Trailing behind are two other highly-acclaimed entries. First, the obvious. Martin McDonagh's dark dramedy The Banshees of Inisherin picked up nine nominations including Best Picture, and acting nods for Colin Farrell (Best Actor), Kerry Condon (Best Supporting Actress), Brendan Gleeson and Barry Keoghan (Best Supporting Actors). McDonagh's directing and original screenplay, along with Carter Burwell's score and Mikell E.G. Nielsen's film editing, were also recognized.
Tying with Banshees, surprisingly, is the Netflix-produced, German war-thriller All Quiet On the Western Front. In a first since Parasite in 2020, Edward Berger's harrowing historical drama was nominated as both Best International Feature and as Best Picture. The film also picked up nominations for Berger's adapted screenplay (shared with Lesley Paterson and Ian Stockell), production design, sound, makeup and hairstyling, visual effects, and Volker Bertelmann's gripping score. This marks another historical moment in the Academy's history, in which two different adaptions of a novel have been nominated in different years. (In this film's case, there's also the famous 1930 screen version.)
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| Felix Kammerer in All Quiet on the Western Front |
Other surprises in this year's roster include many other first-timers, specifically in dramas. Paul Mescal, for his leading role in Aftersun. Andrea Riseborough, for her leading role in To Leslie. Brian Tyree Henry, for his supporting role in Causeway. Bill Nighy, for his leading role in Living (also nominated for Kazuo Ishiguro's adapted screenplay). And Ana de Armas, for her leading role in Blonde (a rare occasion where an NC-17-rated film is recognized by the Academy).
Angela Bassett's supporting-but-commanding role in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever marks a first for a Marvel movie, and the first comic-book-based performance since Joaquin Phoenix's win for DC's Joker three years prior. Wakanda Forever also picked up accolades for makeup and hairstyling, visual effects, Ruth E. Carter's costume design, and its song, "Lift Me Up" (written by singer Rihanna, director Ryan Coogler, composer Ludwig Gorannson, and music artist-producer Tems). DC's The Batman picked up three nominations of its own, including sound, visual effects, and makeup and hairstyling (if only for Colin Farrell's unrecognizable turn as the Penguin).
Longtime film producer Jerry Bruckheimer earned his first-ever nomination for the record-breaking Top Gun: Maverick, which was also recognized for its editing, sound, original song (Lady Gaga and BloodPop's "Hold My Hand"), visual effects, and even its adapted screenplay. Co-producer and star Tom Cruise received his first nomination in over two decades (the last being Magnolia in 2000). More importantly, Maverick's accolades this year stand as proof that blockbuster entertainment can qualify as art and cinema.
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| (l-r) Austin Butler in Elvis, Cate Blanchett in Tar, and Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick |
And then there's Ruben Östlund's satire Triangle of Sadness. Described by Next Best Picture as "a brilliantly scathing takedown of the wealthy and the beautiful," this Palme d'Or-winning black comedy--and possibly one of the year's most divisive entries--earned nominations for Best Picture, and for Östlund's directing and original screenplay.
Not surprisingly, Baz Lurhmann's operatic biopic Elvis gave the Australian auteur his first nomination since Moulin Rouge in 2001. Elvis also picked up nominations for Austin Butler's committed lead performance, as well as co-producer Catherine Martin's production and costume designs, Best Picture, cinematography, film editing, sound, and makeup and hairstyling. Brendan Fraser's comeback role in The Whale, along with the film's makeup and hairstyling, was also a no-brainer (co-star Hong Chau received a surprise nomination for her supporting-but-equally-layered role), as was Cate Blanchet's leading role in Tar, which also picked up nominations for Best Picture, cinematography, film editing, and Todd Field's direction and original screenplay. Damien Chazelle's three-hour period musical-drama Babylon was nominated for production design, costume design, and Justin Hurwitz's score.
And let's not forget the cutting-edge visual effects for Avatar: The Way of Water (also nominated for sound, production design, and Best Picture--a first for producers James Cameron and Jon Landau since the original back in 2010). Steven Spielberg ties with the Daniels and McDonagh for three major awards, for co-writing (with Tony Kushner), co-producing (with Kushner and Kristie Macoska Krieger), and directing the semi-autobiographical The Fabelmans, which was also recognized for Rick Carter and Karen O'Hara's production design, John Williams' original score, Michelle Williams' radiant leading role, and Judd Hirsch's brief-but-memorable supporting role.
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| (l-r) Viola Davis in The Woman King, Ram Charan Teja in RRR, and Paul Mescal in Aftersun |
And we have to mention a few snubs. Jordan Peele's superb sci-fi/horror/western Nope got exactly that from the Academy. (It could've at least been commended for Keke Palmer's dynamic lead performance and Hoyte Van Hoytema's IMAX cinematography.). Some of my favorite performances of the year, like Danielle Detweiller in Till, John Boyega in Breaking, and Janelle Monae in Glass Onion, represent actors and actresses fully-committed and truthful to their craft. (Rian Johnson's sequel to his 2019 murder mystery Knives Out did get acknowledged for its screenplay.)
Others will likely be upset that the Indian blockbuster RRR didn't get more recognized (except for Original Song). The trifecta of Mexican filmmakers that is Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Guillermo del Toro, and Alfonso Cuarón, each received sole nominations for their respective 2022 work (Iñárritu's Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths for Best Cinematography, del Toro's Pinocchio as Best Animated Feature, and Alfonso Cuarón's Le Pupille as Live-Action Short), but Iñárritu himself wasn't nominated. In addition, del Toro's film should've been recognized in other categories since the film arguably transcends its stop-motion medium; the same goes for A24's charming Marcel the Shell With Shoes On (also nominated, and one of my favorite films of 2022).
Perhaps the biggest upset is the lack of female representation in the Best Director race, particularly Sarah Polley (Women Talking), Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Woman King), and Charlotte Wells (Aftersun), who each delivered impressive work in 2022. Polley's adapted screenplay, at least, got some recognition. In spite of these disappointments, this has to be one of the most diverse and eclectic set of nominations in the Academy's history. Until Sunday, March 12, stay plugged in, because anything, anywhere, can happen. And yes, all at once.
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