Many movie fans crowded around their televisions this past Sunday to tune into the 97th Academy Awards for a night that led to a lot of suspense and surprise in what may go down as the best Oscars of recent memory. If you did not have time to watch, here are the outcomes of the biggest awards of the year.
The first award of the night was Best Supporting Actor, presented by last year’s winner, Robert Downey Jr. This category represented one of the more obvious wins of the night as the award went to Kieren Culkin for “A Real Pain,” who has been picking up every award under the sun throughout the entirety of awards season.
Next came Animated Feature Film, an award that many thought would go to Dreamworks “The Wild Robot” or Disney’s “Inside Out 2” but instead, to the surprise of many went to the dialogue-less cat film “Flow”. This proved to be a historic win as it was the first Oscar given to a Latvian film.
Wicked was awarded its first Oscar of the night in Costume Design, beating out “A Complete Unknown,” “Conclave,” “Gladiator II” and “Nosferatu.”
Next were the writing categories, first of these being the Original Screenplay award, one of many categories that pushed viewers to the edge of their seats. Three of the five movies nominated here were also up for best picture, “Anora,” “The Brutalist,” and “The Substance.” No one was really sure who this award was going to but, ultimately, it was awarded to “Anora,” representing the first of four wins of the night for writer/director Sean Baker.
Adapted Screenplay was a much less suspenseful race as “Conclave” swiftly picked up its first and only win of the night.
Makeup and Hairstyling was next and was essentially a race between “Wicked” and “The Substance.” The ladder was the one that took home the award for its gross and gooey practical effects.
“Anora” and Sean Baker found their next award with Film Editing, yet another award that could have gone to a variety of places like “Conclave,” or “Wicked.”
The next award, Actress in a Supporting Role, was one of the few locks of the night. Though some thought Ariana Grande had a chance to snag it for her performance in “Wicked,” it was always going to be Zoe Saldaña’s award for “Emilia Pérez.”
Production Design gave “Wicked” its final award of the night for its beautiful recreation of the magical land of Oz.
Best Original Song gave “Emilia Pérez” its last award for “El Mal.” Though this award felt less important this year due to the lack of live performances of the nominees.
Documentary Feature Film went to the timely “No Other Land,” a doc about the destruction of Masafer Yatta by Israel’s occupation. Another historic win as the Oscar represents the first Palestinian film to take home an Academy Award.
“Dune: Part Two” won its two awards back to back, taking home Sound and Visual Effects. The sci-fi epic was a fan favorite of the year, and though it didn’t have much of a chance to take more statues home, it still disappointed many due to its lack of love.
The award for Cinematography went to Lol Crawley’s work on the massive “The Brutalist.” This was Crawley’s first Oscar nomination and win and was also the first award of the night for “The Brutalist.”
International Feature Film was a close race between Spain’s “I’m Still Here” and France’s “Emilia Pérez,” ultimately going to the former. This was “I’m Still Here’s” sole win of the night and most were happy to see the devastating film get the love it deserved.
The Brutalist picked up its second of three wins for its Original Score by Daniel Blumberg. This was the second score ever done by Blumberg and his first win, this win was well earned and many are excited to see where Blumberg goes next.
Finally came the time for the big four awards, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Picture. Unlike most years, there were no sure wins, creating a very exciting atmosphere around the climax of the show.
Actor in a Leading Role was the first of these major awards, and it was an intense race. Throughout award season, Adrien Brody and Timothée Chalamet have been trading accolades, Brody picked up the Golden Globe but Chalamet won the SAG. So, going into the Oscars it was still up in the air as to who was going to take home the coveted award.
The winner of Best Actor was Brody for his portrayal of architect László Toth in“The Brutalist.” This was Brody’s second nomination and second win, his first win being for “The Pianist” in 2003 an award that made Brody the youngest actor to ever win the award. Brody gave an emotional charged and massive seven minute speech, explain how much the award meant to him.
Directing was up next and was yet another award that garnered a lot of excitement, it was a pretty close race for Baker’s work on “Anora” and Brady Corbet’s on “The Brutalist.”
The winner of Best Directing was Baker, giving him his third win of the night. This year was also Baker’s first time being nominated for any Academy Awards as his other movies like “The Florida Project” and “Red Rocket” were basically shut out of the race in previous years.
Actress in a leading role was the final award before Best Picture and it was up-in-the-air as to who would take it home. Demi Moore was the favored pick for “The Substance,” a performance that had garnered a lot of attention towards the end of awards seasons leading to Moore grabbing the Golden Globe and SAG.
The winner of Best Actress, however, was Mikey Madison in “Anora.” A performance that arguably fell out of the race recently came back to take it home. At the young age of twenty-five, this was Madison’s first win and nomination,
Finally, it was time for the biggest award of the night: Best Picture. Could it be “The Brutalist,” which was the frontrunner throughout award season? Or maybe it would find its way to “Conclave,” another favorite to win.
The winner of Best Picture went to “Anora,” a film that was made on only six million dollars, representing an inspirational win for indie filmmakers everywhere. As a producer of the film Bake won yet another Oscar, making his total four for the night and making him the first person to win that many Academy Awards in one night for one movie.
Overall, the biggest winner of the night was “Anora” which garnered five awards, “The Brutalist” took home three awards and “Wicked,” “Dune: Part Two” and “Emilia Pérez” each received two.
