There are surprisingly few glaring omissions in this year’s Oscar Nominations!
The nominations for the 95th Academy Awards are here! Overall, it’s a good batch, with only a few glaring omissions. Let’s break it down. And watch the Academy Awards on Sunday, March 12, 2023 at 8:00 PM ET.
BEST PICTURE
All Quiet on the Western Front
Avatar: The Way of Water
The Banshees of Inisherin
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Fabelmans
Tár
Top Gun: Maverick
Triangle of Sadness
Women Talking
Wow! Okay. 2022 was a year of so many incredible movies, so it was always going to be hard to pick ten titles to stuff in here. The homecoming theme of 2022’s movies is “storytelling,” and this sample of films does reflect that. This list has two literary adaptations (All Quiet on the Western Front and Women Talking) that are both about leaving records of the human power to destroy as well as fight, and two sequels (Avatar: The Way of Water and Top Gun: Maverick), proving that the Academy realizes we like returning to stories and characters and witnessing their continued adventures.
I’m so glad that the inventive, innovative Everything Everywhere All at Once is being celebrated as much as it is. There are so many great, no-brainer choices on this list (Everything Everywhere All at Once, Tár, The Fabelmans) along with some surprising ones. Personally, I didn’t expect to see Germany’s All Quiet on the Western Front on here (or SWEEPING the categories as much as it did), because it didn’t have much of a US campaign. And I also didn’t expect to see Ruben Östlund’s explosive (cough… expulsive) satire Triangle of Sadness on this list either, in part because it is so edgy and crass; the best of last year’s “eat the rich,” movies, this might be the academies attempt to seem “with it.” The Academy isn’t usually good at representing international films in this category, and the omissions of Park Chan-wook’s Decision to Leave and S. S. Rajamouli’s breakout Telugu-language epic RRR, while not surprising, are certainly disappointing.
But on the other hand, I’m so happy to see that the best picture category is including well-made movies that exist for the sake of experiment, pleasure, fun, and feeling. I really wasn’t sure Elvis, a glittering, three-hour sensory overload arguing that the manager of one of the twentieth century’s most influential musicians was straight-up Mephistopheles, was going to be on here. And I wasn’t confident about Top Gun: Maverick, a nonstop adrenaline rush of a film with unbelievable (practical!) special effects feels like a perfect “pure cinema” demonstration to accompany a movie like The Fabelmans, which is about movies having the power to make you feel.
Todd Field’s Tár was the best movie this year about “accountability,” though it’s certainly less direct than Sarah Polley’s Women Talking, but I’m relieved that they’re both on there. Polley’s film is the only woman-directed nominee, and it’s a true ensemble film, which is a great variation in a year of very protagonist-driven narratives.
In a year of many “memoir” films, The Fabelmans is the only one to make it onto the list. I would really have liked to see Charlotte Wells’s gorgeous and heartbreaking debut Aftersun on here, as well as James Gray’s arresting Armageddon Time. And, of course, Terence Davies’s Benediction. My heart goes out to Benediction.
BEST DIRECTOR
Ruben Östlund, Triangle of Sadness
Todd Field, Tár
Dan Kwan & Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin
Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans
This is a solid, very predictable group. I’m personally sad we’re not seeing Jordan Peele for Nope, James Gray for Armageddon Time or Park Chan Wook for Decision to Leave. I’m kind of aghast that we’re not seeing Sarah Polley for Women Talking , especially because some of its directorial choices (the “Daydream Believer” interlude, for example) are some of the best of the year.
BEST ACTOR
Austin Butler, Elvis
Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin
Brendan Fraser, The Whale
Paul Mescal, Aftersun
Bill Nighy, Living
All fantastic picks, though I’m sad we’re not seeing Daniel Kaluuya for Nope. The Oscars should have seven slots for the acting categories, but I’ll die on that hill later.
BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, Tár
Ana de Armas, Blonde
Andrea Riseborough, To Leslie
Michelle Williams, The Fabelmans
Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Andrea Riseborough’s team’s intense PR campaign to get her nominated for the very little-known To Leslie really, really worked. I’m really baffled at the exclusion of Danielle Deadwyler, for Till, who delivered a powerhouse performance. I’m also surprised that Viola Davis wasn’t nominated for The Woman King. I disagree with the nomination of Ana de Armas for Blonde, so I’d have swapped her for Deadwyler in a heartbeat. I know Rebecca Hall for Resurrection was a long shot, but I was hoping that her impressive, gigantic monologue might get recognized anyway.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Brendan Gleeson, The Banshees of Inisherin
Brian Tyree Henry, Causeway
Judd Hirsch, The Fabelmans
Barry Keoghan, The Banshees of Inisherin
Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once
I am so, so glad to see Ke Huy Quan on this list. I want him to win the Oscar more than I want literally anything else. I’m also delighted to see Barry Keoghan recognized for his beautiful performance in Banshees, and Judd Hirsch for his tiny scene-stealing role in The Fabelmans. I’m surprised at Brian Tyree Henry’s nomination, but delighted; apparently, his performance in Causeway is the best part. (I will say that I’m sad we’re not seeing Anthony Hopkins nominated for Armageddon Time.)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Hong Chau, The Whale
Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin
Jamie Lee Curtis, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Stephanie Hsu, Everything Everywhere All at Once
The great Hong Chau (who has a history of giving incredible performances in mediocre movies) is getting her due, and I love seeing both Stephanie Hsu and Jamie Lee Curtis nominated for Everything Everywhere All at Once. (Can you imagine how she and her BFF Michelle Yeoh are celebrating right now?) And I’m so glad that the great Angela Bassett is nominated, for probably the best performance in any Marvel film. The only thing is, I’m very sad not to see Lashaha Lynch nominated for The Woman King! She steals that movie, and that’s hard to do! I’m surpised not to see either Jessie Buckley or Claire Foy for Women Talking. I’m not surprised that Samantha Morton wasn’t nominated for She Said, but I do maintain that her five or so minutes contained one of the best performances of the year.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Todd Field, Tár
Tony Kushner & Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans
Dan Kwan & Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin
Ruben Östlund, Triangle of Sadness
Maybe the most predictable category, aside from Best Actor, but I’m not mad at it.
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
All Quiet on the Western Front, by Edward Berger, Ian Stokell & Lesley Paterson
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, by Rian Johnson
Living, by Kazuo Ishiguro
Top Gun: Maverick, Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer, Christopher McQuarrie, Peter Craig, Justin Marks
Women Talking, by Sarah Polley
We are witnessing Nobel Laureate Kazuo Ishiguro’s first Academy Award nomination, people! That’s worth celebrating.
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
All Quiet on the Western Front (Germany)
Argentina, 1985 (Argentina)
Close (Belgium)
EO (Poland)
The Quiet Girl (Ireland)
I’m braying like a donkey with joy for EO, and I am so happy to see the Irish film The Quiet Girl, based on Claire Keegan’s beautiful novella Foster, on here as well. Again, I’m mad at the lack of RRR, but to be clear, that omission isn’t the Academy’s fault… India didn’t submit it for consideration.
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Marcel the Shell With Shoes On
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
The Sea Beast
Turning Red
MARCEL!!!!!! MARCEL IS HERE!!!!!! This is a very, very good category but I’m happiest about MARCEL.
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
All That Breathes
Fire of Love
A House Made of Splinters
Navalny
In a year of phenomenal documentaries, this roundup has two that people might actually have seen: All the Beauty and the Bloodshed and Fire of Love.
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Volker Bertelmann, All Quiet on the Western Front
Carter Burwell, The Banshees of Inisherin
Justin Hurwitz, Babylon
Son Lux, Everything Everywhere All at Once
John Williams, The Fabelmans
I’m flabbergasted that Hildur Guðnadóttir was not nominated for Women Talking OR Tár. I’d trade Justin Hurwitz’s score for Babylon for one of those. But let’s pour one out for the great John Williams, who at age 90 is the oldest Oscar nominee in history! More nonagenarian Oscar nominees in the future, please!
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Ryan Coogler, Ludwig Göransson, Rihanna, & Tems, “Lift Me Up,” Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Lady Gaga & Michael “BloodPop,” “Hold My Hand,” Top Gun: Maverick
M. M. Keeravani & Chandrabose, “Naatu Naatu,” RRR
Diane Warren, “Applause,” Tell It Like a Woman
Ryan Lott, David Byrne, & Mitski, “This Is a Life,’ Everything Everywhere All at Once
These are all great choices, yes, but I’m very very sad LCD Soundsystem was not nominated for their song “New Body Rumba,” made for Noah Baumbach’s White Noise! It would have been a miracle if “Cautionary Tale” fromThree Thousand Years of Longing were nominated, but I’ll let that go. Hopefully RRR‘s “Naatu Naatu” is going to take the prize.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
James Friend, All Quiet on the Western Front
Roger Deakins, Empire of Light
Darius Khondji, Bardo
Mandy Walker, Elvis
Florian Hoffmeister, Tár
What an *interesting* selection of movies. Roger Deakins puts the light in Empire of Light—maybe that movie’s only interesting part. It’s a pleasant surprise to see Darius Khondji’s work recognized for Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Bardo. But where, again, is Decision to Leave???? Justice for Ji-yong Kim!!!!!
BEST EDITING
Eddie Hamilton, Top Gun: Maverick
Mikkel E.G. Nielsen, The Banshees of Inisherin
Paul Rogers, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Jonathan Redmond & Matt Villa, Elvis
Monika Willi, Tár
I have no complaints. I mean, would I have LOVED it if Elísabet Ronaldsdóttir was nominated for Bullet Train? Absolutely.
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Christian M. Goldbeck and Ernestine Hipper, All Quiet on the Western Front
Catherine Martin, Karen Murphy, and Beverley Dunn, Elvis
Florencia Martin, Babylon
Dylan Cole, Ben Procter, and Vanessa Cole, Avatar: The Way of Water
Rick Carter and Karen O’Hara, The Fabelmans
These are all very worthy nominations. I was secretly hoping Ti West’s Pearl might squeak in, but what can you do?
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Jenny Beavan, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris
Ruth Carter, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Catherine Martin, Elvis
Mary Zophres, Babylon
Shirley Kurata, Everything Everywhere All at Once
As happy as I am that Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris and Elvis were nominated, I’m dismayed not to see Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery and Corsage on here.
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
All Quiet on the Western Front
The Batman
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Elvis
The Whale
Lend me an ear (man): even though it made the shortlist in this category, we all know the Academy was not going to nominate David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future. Still is there any film more deserving?
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
All Quiet on the Western Front
Avatar: The Way of Water
The Batman
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Top Gun: Maverick
My god, what a stacked category!! The plane stunts of Top Gun: Maverick! The gorgeous world-creation of Avatar: The Way of Water! The whole city of Gotham getting flooded in The Batman!
BEST SOUND
All Quiet on the Western Front
Avatar: The Way of Water
The Batman
Elvis
Top Gun: Maverick
Not to use this space to make predictions instead of “react to nominations,” but I feel like it’s between Top Gun: Maverick and All Quiet on the Western Front in this category? Right?
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
“The Elephant Whisperers,”
Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga
“Haulout
,” Evgenia Arbugaeva and Maxim Arbugaev
“How Do You Measure a Year?
,” Jay Rosenblatt
“The Martha Mitchell Effect,”
Anne Alvergue and Beth Levison
“Stranger at the Gate
,” Joshua Seftel and Conall Jones
One of the best things The New Yorker magazine has done is publish short films on their website. And five of those films have been nominated for Oscars, total, with two in this category! Evgenia Arbugaeva and Maxim Arbugaev’s “Haulout,” and Joshua Seftel’s “Stranger at the Gate” are available to watch on the on The New Yorker website!
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT
“An Irish Goodbye”
“Ivalu”
“Le Pupille”
“Night Ride”
“The Red Suitcase”
I haven’t seen most of the short films, yet. But I will. And the good news is, they are more accessible than ever! You can watch Eirik Tveiten’s “Night Ride” on The New Yorker website! Right now!
BEST ANIMATED SHORT
“The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse”
“The Flying Sailor
“Ice Merchants”
“My Year of Dicks”
“An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It”
The animated shorts this year are especially wonderful, but I am extra delighted to see Charlie Mackesy and Peter Baynton’s “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse,” based on Mackesy’s gorgeous children’s book of the same name, make it onto this list. And, as I’ve just said two times before, you can find João Gonzalez’s “Ice Merchants” and Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby’s “The Flying Sailor” on The New Yorker website!
Let Oscar season officially begin!
