Brutally Honest Oscar No. 1 Ballot: ‘Sentimental Value’ ‘Near-Perfect’, ‘I Didn’t Want Jessie Buckley [‘Hamnet] to Top 10 All the Time’

A member of the academy’s 719-person documentary branch, who has no connection to any of this year’s nominees and has been granted the cloak of anonymity in exchange for candor, speaks out. THR About her voice.

Best photo

I put Frankenstein At number 10 because I haven’t seen it, which is unfair, but I ran out of time and decided to check the box saying I’ve seen it so I can support other movies. F1 It wasn’t for me, I watched about 45 minutes of it, and didn’t need to watch any more. I’m a big fan of Yorgos Lanthimos, though BugoniaAlthough I admired his ambition and performance, it didn’t work for me. I liked it Train dreams I thought it was visually beautiful, but I was a little tired of the character’s point of view and didn’t find it particularly unique. Marty Supreme It was a great ride, but it ultimately felt like more of the same stuff we’ve seen from the Safdies, even if it’s just Josh. I was impressed Secret agentPerformance and design, but I wasn’t as captivated by the narrative as I wanted. Hamnet It was emotional and beautifully presented, but it was a bit exhausting – I didn’t want Jesse [Buckley] It turned 10 the whole time. for me, Battle after battle, Sinners and Emotional value They all deserve a better picture. I loved it One battlebut there were drawbacks — I heard from a lot of friends in the black community that they were upset by the character of Perfidia of Beverly Hills, and I really hear that. with SinnersI was leaning forward in my seat with my mouth open to watch the entire movie – it was ambitious, deep, provocative, and so much fun. But at the end of the day, I put up Emotional value Up because, to me, it was great, almost perfect, and it’s my kind of movie.

vote: (1) Emotional value(2) Sinners(3) Battle after battle(4) Hamnet(5) Secret agent(6) Marty Supreme(7) Train dreams(8) Bugonia(9) F1(10) Frankenstein

Best director

I found[[Emotional valueJoachim]Trier’s direction of his actors and his film design were superb – but I have to agree[[Sinners[Ryan]Coogler. The director is the master of all the crafts that go into the film, and Sinners It was so wonderfully done, such a big swing, so ambitious and so unique.

vote: ryan coogler, Sinners

Best Actor

[Timothée] Chalamet is great at Marty SupremeBut the character felt a bit redundant after Safdie’s previous films. Michael B. Jordan is unbelievable Sinners. Wagner Moura’s performance in Secret agent It is the main reason to watch this movie. I was very tempted to vote for Leo[DiCaprio[DiCaprioforOne battle]. But Ethan Hawke’s performance in… Blue moon Inspired, magnetic, almost magical.

vote: ethan hawke, Blue moon

Best Actress

Rose Byrne brought it all to fruition If I had legs I would kick you – I mean, the way the director chose to focus on her face, it was gorgeous, and it was a tour de force. But I felt that[[Emotional value‘s]Renate Reinsve gave the most stunning performance of the year. You just entered my heart.

vote: Renate Rensef, Emotional value

Best Supporting Actor
Sean Penn is incredible[in[inOne battle]As is usually the case. I love Stellan [Skarsgård] in Emotional valueAnd it’s also always very good. But for me, it was between Delroy[Lindo[LindoofSinners]and Benicio[DelTorofrom[DelToroofOne battle]and I went with Sensei because of the way I understand that Benicio helped craft that character. I’ve seen some interviews about how he brought to the PTA all these ideas about the apartment and other things, and how they worked together to build that character, which is the spiritual heart of the movie. I have friends to my left who felt it mocked activism, friends to my right who found it too celebratory, and I always point to Benicio’s character as perfect for this moment — someone with deep community connections who knows how to open doors and make things happen. I will never forget this performance.

vote: Benicio del Toro, Battle after battle

Best Supporting Actress

While I am a fan Battle after battleIt was difficult for me to understand the character of Teyana Taylor. Wunmi[MosakuV[MosakuinSinners]and Amy[MadianV[MadianinWeapons]amazing. Although I liked it Emotional valueI don’t think Elle Fanning had much to do. But Inga [Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Fanning’s costar] He gets my vote. The nuance that Inga and Renate Reinsve brought to this sibling relationship was amazing, and their bedroom scene is one of the best-performed of the year.

vote: Inga Ibsdotter Lillias, Emotional value

Best Adapted Screenplay

I liked it Train dreamsBut I saw the lack of a well-thought-out female point of view as a weakness. As an adaptation, Hamnet Unbelievable, but it seemed exhausting to me. I haven’t read the source material One battleand I understand that the film deviates greatly from it, but despite that, the characters are very compelling and the story is of the moment.

vote: Battle after battle

Best Original Screenplay

I liked it Blue moon The scenario, but without Ethan doing what he did to it, is less great. clearly, Sinners Strong in my book. But I went with it Emotional value Because of its fascinating exploration of family relationships.

vote: Emotional value

Best animation feature

When my kids were little, I used to be more prompt in this category, but now I’m not, so I don’t care.

vote: Abstain from voting

Best Documentary Film
Cut rocks It’s the kind of film that has been much celebrated in the documentary branch in recent years – it’s not very well made, doesn’t serve its central character and lacks gravitas. But I’m happy to report that the other four nominees are great. Alabama solution, Come and see me in the good light and The perfect neighborin particular, is very well crafted, feels urgent, and teaches us something about human nature. Any of those three could win and it would be fine for me. Alabama solution It’s a fantastic piece of journalism and I’m really glad that HBO backed it and that it’s getting the love it’s getting. Come and see me in the good light It changed the way I look at love and death, and I can see voting for it then The perfect neighbor He wasn’t in the race. but The perfect neighbor It left me stunned. An innovation in form, with amazing characters, it captured the American imagination when it was released. Jetta [Gandbhir, the director] A darling of the docs branch, she’s a good person, and she’s played the awards season game extremely well, positioning herself as a leader in the academy on the key issues of our time.

vote: The perfect neighbor

Best global feature
I’ve heard a lot of hype about It was just an accident That when I saw it I was a little disappointed, unfortunately – perhaps I was expecting something a little more intense. Sirat Very interesting, but not quite a complete meal like some others. Again, I loved it Secret agentThe lead performances, direction and style, but I wasn’t as drawn in from a narrative perspective as I was before Hind Rajab’s voice and Emotional value. Hind Rajab’s voice It is an imperfect film, but it is very compelling and urgent in this moment. But in the end, Emotional value It is one of the best films of the year. The filmmaking and shows were extraordinary. It reminded me of another of my favorite international films from a couple of years ago; Anatomy of a fallIn terms of exploring complex family relationships and female characters. It has it all.

vote: Emotional valueNorway

Best casting

All of the candidates were very well represented, but this is where I felt I could identify Marty Supreme. Those characters and faces in New York were great and one of my favorite things about this movie. They brought another layer of storytelling to it.

vote Marty Supreme

Best cinematography
Again, I did not see FrankensteinBut I saw the other four candidates, so I decided to vote. Marty Supremelike all of Safdie’s films, is exciting – they have an incredible visual style – but I’ve seen them before. Train dreams Beautiful. One battle It was incredibly shot, especially the chase scene. But I went with it Sinners. the [surreal] The sequence in the ballroom is one of the most memorable sequences of the year.

vote: Sinners

Best costume design

Although I did not see FrankensteinI feel like I know enough about marketing to know that his fashion isn’t the kind of thing that would appeal to me. from others, Sinners is the obvious choice – the costumes were a big part of telling the story, telling us who the characters were and weren’t.

vote: Sinners

Best movie editing
Marty Supreme It’s quite flashy in terms of editing, and while I thoroughly enjoyed it, again, I felt like I’d seen it before in other Safdie films that I liked better. Sinners and Emotional value They’re two of my favorite films of the year, but I’m not sure they deserve as much credit for their editing as the other stuff. with One battleYou can fasten your seat belt for 2 hours and 40 minutes or whatever breeze is near you. The pace is very impressive.

vote: Battle after battle

Best makeup and hairstyle
Unfortunately, I have to postpone this because I have only seen one of the five candidates.

vote: Abstain from voting

Best original score

I’m stopping this because I don’t have time to listen to the results multiple times and make an informed decision.

vote: Abstain from voting

Best original song

Same here as the result.

vote: Abstain from voting

Best production design

Without thinking: Sinners.

vote: Sinners

Best sound

Sound design in One battle It was great – it happened in so many different settings. but Sirat This is a truly special film that deserves some credit, and this is one of the craft areas in which it excels.

vote: Sirat

Best visual effects

It would be easy for me to vote for him SinnersBut I haven’t seen any of the other candidates, so I can’t do that.

vote: Abstain from voting

Best animated shorts

I ran out of time and couldn’t see the candidates.

vote: Abstain from voting

Best short documentary

I’m a little confused by the state of play in documentary shorts. It seems like no one is watching them and streamers are just buying them to try and get a piece of hardware. In general, the quality of the craft is not very high. None of these five stood out to me. But I voted for Geeta[alsoco-directedbyGandbir[Gandbhiralsoco-directedSatan is busy].

vote: Satan is busy

Best live action short film

Same short animation.

vote: Abstain from voting