The big winners of the night were Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” about the making — and political fallout — of the atomic bomb, and “Poor Things,” Yorgos Lanthimos’ fantastical and outré odyssey of a woman on a journey through the world to find herself.
Both films picked up several craft awards as well as acting prizes, though “Oppenheimer” walked away with the Academy’s top honors, for best director and best picture. Adapted from the book “American Prometheus” by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, the bombastic cinematic experience stars Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer, and follows his life as a young student and professor, through the development of the atomic bomb, and the Senate hearings years later stripping him of his security clearance. Robert Downey Jr. won best supporting actor for his performance as Lewis Strauss, and Murphy won best actor. The film also won for best editing for Jennifer Lame, best cinematography for Hoyte van Hoytema, and best score for Ludwig Goransson. Stream “Oppenheimer” on Peacock or rent it on other digital platforms.
“Poor Things” started the night with a run of craft awards, taking home the Oscars for best costumes, makeup and hairstyling, and production design for the artisans who crafted the inventive, colorful and heightened Victorian world of the film. At the end of the night, Emma Stone’s win for best actress was a surprise upset over Lily Gladstone in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” though the race was neck-and-neck, as the two actresses traded top prizes back and forth all season. “Poor Things” is available to stream on Hulu, or for purchase on other digital platforms.
The incredible “Killers of the Flower Moon” may have gone home empty-handed, despite 10 nominations, but the film is a monumental achievement by an American master, Martin Scorsese. Gladstone, Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro (also nominated for supporting actor) do jaw-dropping work in this film that reckons with the genocide of indigenous people in the United States and the ways in which we tell those stories. It finds the 80-year-old Scorsese making films just as vibrant and vital as anything he did in his youth. Stream it on Apple TV+ or purchase it on other digital platforms.
Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest,” which was also nominated for best director and best picture, won the best international film and best sound Oscars. This piercing Holocaust drama imagines the domestic life of Rudolph Hoess, the commandant of Auschwitz, and his wife, Hedwig, and their children. The sound design of the film, by Johnnie Burn, creates the dramatic dissonance between their home life and the atrocities of the Holocaust happening just on the other side of the wall. Purchase “The Zone of Interest” on all digital platforms (it is not yet available to rent).
Partnered writing team Justine Triet and Arthur Harari won the award for best original screenplay for their “Anatomy of a Fall,” which Triet directed. The French film stars German actress Sandra Hüller as a woman accused of murdering her husband, and the courtroom drama that ensues is an exploration of partnership, jealousy, gender roles, and the ethics of creative professionalism. It’s a fascinating dissertation on these topics wrapped up in a dishy “Snapped”-style narrative. Rent “Anatomy of a Fall” on all digital platforms.
First-time feature writer/director Cord Jefferson won the adapted screenplay award for his literary satire “American Fiction,” based on Percival Everett’s book “Erasure.” Jeffrey Wright and Sterling K. Brown were also nominated for their performances, and the film was nominated for best picture and best score. Jefferson’s speech became one of the big moments of the night, as he implored Hollywood to greenlight more mid-budget features instead of expensive blockbusters. Stream “American Fiction” on MGM+ or rent it on other digital platforms.
In more big moments of the night, “Barbie” won best song — “What Was I Made For?” — for Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell, and Ryan Gosling rocked the Dolby Theater with a cavalcade of Kens for an “I’m Just Ken” performance. Stream “Barbie” on Max.
Finally, the powerful documentary “20 Days in Mariupol” won best documentary — the first Ukrainian film to win an Oscar — with director Mstyslav Chernov delivering an impassioned, grief-filled speech about the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Stream it on PBS Frontline or rent it on all platforms.
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(Katie Walsh is the Tribune News Service film critic and co-host of the “Miami Nice” podcast.)
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