A night full of glittering awards, the Oscars 2024 is set to honor a new wave of deserving winners across a remarkably competitive year for film. Set for March 10, the night will reveal the anticipated winners for elusive awards that acknowledge cinema’s most extraordinary contributions this year.
Best Picture
The Best Picture award, widely considered the most prestigious accolade, honors the premier film of the year. This year’s nominees include critically acclaimed feature films, such as “Oppenheimer,” “Barbie,” and “Poor Things.” Oppenheimer should win for its differences in black and white and color cinematography and realistic depiction of mankind’s cruelest creation of the atomic bomb, taking creative liberties with monochromatic perspectives.
The screenplay adapts “American Prometheus,” a Pulitzer-prize- winning biography written in 2005 deeply rooted in histories of nuclear war and atomic bombs. Many movies attempt to adapt history accurately, yet “Oppenheimer” does it so well by imitating the fashion of the time period, actor appearances, and character conflicts conveyed as J. Robert Oppenheimer did in 1945.
Best Actress
In the race for Best Actress come nominees such as Emma Stone in “Poor Things,” Lily Gladstone in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” and Carey Mulligan in “Maestro.” While Stone and Gladstone are this year’s leading contenders, Stone fares slightly higher.
Playing the child-like Bella Baxter in “Poor Things,” she successfully conveys the gothic and the twisted fairy tale through her acting skills, such as utilizing eye contact for the famous ballroom scene and changing her words in different tones as the mindset of Bella Baxter changes, comprehensively demonstrating Baxter’s childish yet powerful spirit.
Best Actor
The award for Best Actor is competitive this year, including Bradley Cooper in “Maestro,” Cillian Murphy in “Oppenheimer,” and Paul Giamatti in “The Holdovers.” Though the nominees are all notable for their performances, Cillian Murphy is the front-runner.
Murphy portrays J. Robert Oppenheimer over three decades by intensely gazing at the people that he wants to work with, as if he is trying to welcome them into his world. This brings unique depth into his acting beyond his script. He employs silence and inner turmoil to his advantage, drawing focus to simple gestures and facial expressions and closing his eyes when he is emotionally disturbed with opening his eyes wide open when discussing the atomic bomb as if he can imagine it happening.
The Academy Awards has its criteria changing every year, and thus, regardless of box office successes and popularity, this year’s Oscars is expected to be a spectacular night.
