Another year, another highfalutin awards season (we love it really) culminating in an Academy Awards ceremony blighted by controversy. Despite the perceived change in acceptance and diversity — 2015 welcomed same-sex marriage legalisation, for instance — Hollywood, it seems, is struggling to keep up. Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs declared a plan to usher in urgent change, though chances are the Oscars’ lack of diversity is a consequence of a grander Hollywood problem as opposed to the definitive headache.
I digress. We have what we have and, in fairness, this year’s nominee crop is a good one. On a personal level, I enjoyed all of the films up for Best Picture, some pretty significantly. The women are top of the acting class having smashed their male counterparts to performing pieces, and in a Streep-less year too. Only one of the five directors up for a statuette has been nominated before, and Rocky Balboa’s back after a 40-year break. Alright, let’s get on with it.
I’ve watched more of the crop than ever before this time around, but as circumstance would have it I still have a few blind spots. The categories below the break host films I haven’t seen for various reasons (mainly the UK release schedule — disappointingly, many of the foreign language nominees are not yet out over here), however I’ve still made a prediction in those categories, for the sake of completion if nothing else.
Click links for reviews.
Best Picture
— Will win: The Revenant
— Should win: Mad Max: Fury Road
— Should’ve been nominated: Girlhood, Sicario, Straight Outta Compton
The Revenant, Spotlight and The Big Short have been jostling for the number one spot throughout this awards season, with each film taking home at least one main prize (critics have favoured Spotlight and producers The Big Short). The Revenant, meanwhile, seems to have cleared the pack following its victories at the Golden Globes and BAFTAs, though this one could still go any way. It should go to either Mad Max: Fury Road for its sublime achievement against all odds, or to Room for its sheer emotional devastation.
Best Director
Lenny Abrahamson (Room)
Alejandro González Iñárritu (The Revenant)
Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)
Adam McKay (The Big Short)
George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)
— Will win: Alejandro González Iñárritu (The Revenant)
— Should win: George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)
— Should’ve been nominated: Steven Spielberg (Bridge of Spies)
Iñárritu has all of the momentum as well the admiration of the Academy, who rewarded him last year with Best Director and Picture wins over Richard Linklater and Boyhood (grrr). And with no clear, solitary challenger, it looks like a similar scenario will play out again this year. George Miller could be in the running though, and he should be given his stunning all-round effort on Mad Max: Fury Road. The Aussie has a significantly better chance of winning in this category than the one above.
Best Actor
Bryan Cranston (Trumbo)
Matt Damon (The Martian)
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)
Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)
Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl)
— Will win: Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)
— Should win: Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)
— Should’ve been nominated: Jacob Tremblay (Room), Jason Mitchell (Straight Outta Compton)
Okay. It is not his best performance; there are times it mightn’t even be a performance. He should have won for one of The Aviator, Django Unchained or The Wolf of Wall Street. And sure, the end-of-days narrative peddled throughout his campaign has jumped from barely-worth-considering to head-rollingly-cliché. But of the five fighting for Best Actor, nobody is better than Leonardo DiCaprio. Fassbender comes close as Steve Jobs, but that’s it. The Academy will see this as righting a wrong — it’s DiCaprio’s year.
Best Actress
Cate Blanchett (Carol)
Brie Larson (Room)
Jennifer Lawrence (Joy)
Charlotte Rampling (45 Years)
Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)
— Will win: Brie Larson (Room)
— Should win: Brie Larson (Room)
— Should’ve been nominated: Emily Blunt (Sicario)
Jennifer Lawrence elevates Joy far beyond the limits set by its messy underbelly, and Blanchett and Rampling both offer subtle, powerful performances. But this one, rightly, will go to either Brie Larson or Saoirse Ronan. It’ll almost certainly be the former given her numerous wins on the circuit — Larson’s showing in Room is probably the best of the year, pained and hopeful in equal measure — though a victory for the wonderful-in-Brooklyn Ronan would be just as pleasing.
Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale (The Big Short)
Tom Hardy (The Revenant)
Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight)
Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies)
Sylvester Stallone (Creed)
— Will win: Sylvester Stallone (Creed)
— Should win: Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies)
— Should’ve been nominated: Benicio Del Toro (Sicario)
Though Rylance entered the season as the likely winner here, Stallone seems to have gained increasing momentum since his win at the Golden Globes. I think Tom Hardy’s performance has been undervalued, and Ruffalo too is terrific in Spotlight. Come to think of it, this is probably a stronger category than it has perhaps been given credit for. The award could go to Stallone or Rylance. I’d be happy with either.
Best Supporting Actress
Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight)
Rooney Mara (Carol)
Rachel McAdams (Spotlight)
Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)
Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)
— Will win: Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)
— Should win: Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight)
— Should’ve been nominated: Fiona Glascott (Brooklyn)
Competitiveness is key in the Best Supporting Actress section, arguably the toughest of the bunch to call. Jennifer Jason Leigh is a massive outsider here despite her maniacal excellence in The Hateful Eight, and McAdams’ chances are even lower (though she is great too). Winslet is back in the race following her BAFTA win and her grounded performance in Steve Jobs would be worthy most other years. Rooney Mara is the lead in Carol, she’s in the wrong category. I’ll go for Vikander, who steals the show in The Danish Girl.
Best Adapted Screenplay
The Big Short (Adam McKay, Charles Randolph)
Brooklyn (Nick Hornby)
Carol (Phyllis Nagy)
The Martian (Drew Goddard)
Room (Emma Donoghue)
— Will win: The Big Short (Adam McKay, Charles Randolph)
— Should win: Room (Emma Donoghue)
— Should’ve been nominated: Steve Jobs (Aaron Sorkin)
When I sat down to watch Room, one of the last things on my mind was Emma Donoghue’s screenplay. Not because I expected little from the novelist-turned-screenwriter, but because the buzz surrounding the film had mainly been for its two central performances and Lenny Abrahamson’s deft direction. But Donoghue’s adaptation of her own work is careful and stunning, truly. The Big Short will probably win here given its wit and snap (some very good wit and snap too), but it’d be nice to see Donoghue take the trophy.
Best Original Screenplay
Bridge of Spies (Matt Charman, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen)
Ex Machina (Alex Garland)
Inside Out (Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley, Ronnie del Carmen)
Spotlight (Tom McCarthy, Josh Singer)
Straight Outta Compton (Jonathan Herman, Andrea Berloff, S. Leigh Savidge, Alan Wenkus)
— Will win: Spotlight (Tom McCarthy, Josh Singer)
— Should win: Ex Machina (Alex Garland)
— Should’ve been nominated: The Hateful Eight (Quentin Tarantino)
Any of the above could conceivably win with justification: the Coens’ sly influence over Bridge of Spies is noticeable and welcome; Inside Out thrives upon words carefully constructed and beautifully relayed; McCarthy and Singer’s steely determination to shine a light upon good reporting works because their script allows it; and the seemingly written-by-committee Straight Outta Compton fizzes with authenticity. But I’m rooting for Alex Garland’s Ex Machina screenplay, a smashingly construed, tense, and insightful piece of writing.
Best Documentary — Feature
Amy
Cartel Land
The Look of Silence
What Happened, Miss Simone?
Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom
— Will win: The Look of Silence
— Should win: The Look of Silence
— Should’ve been nominated: N/A
Joshua Oppenheimer’s shocking Act of Killing should have won in 2014. Amy and Cartel Land are probably the more obvious choices facing the Academy, but I’m going to put my (perhaps misguided) faith in voters to pick Oppenheimer’s Act of Killing follow-up, the less striking but still wholly compelling and defiantly brave Look of Silence.
Best Cinematography
Carol
The Hateful Eight
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Sicario
— Will win: The Revenant
— Should win: Sicario
— Should’ve been nominated: Slow West
Roger Deakins is long overdue Oscar-shaped recognition having received 13 nominations with no return, and Sicario should be the conduit for that eventuality. This is another strong category; any of the five could win with justification — Robert Richardson captures the claustrophobic egomania of Minnie’s Haberdashery, John Seale the muscular aplomb of a post-apocalyptic desert-scape, and Ed Lachman the crackling romance of 1950s New York. Emmanuel Lubezki looks destined to claim the award for the third year running though, which would be a cinematography record.
Best Visual Effects
Ex Machina
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
— Will win: Star Wars: The Force Awakens
— Should win: Mad Max: Fury Road
— Should’ve been nominated: The Walk
Much has been made of George Miller’s desire to be as practical on set as possible, and when the result is as good as Mad Max: Fury Road, that desire ought to be rewarded. A word too for the visual effects team on Ex Machina, whose budget would have been significantly lower than those of their category compatriots, yet whose end product is futuristic, uncanny, and effortlessly employed.
Best Film Editing
The Big Short
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Spotlight
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
— Will win: The Big Short
— Should win: Spotlight
— Should’ve been nominated: Straight Outta Compton
Mark Kermode talks about the key to a great editing job being its undetectability. You should be so wrapped up in the content that cuts should play naturally, and to an extent that is a fair assessment. I would challenge his assertion when it comes to The Big Short though, a film which is so furiously edited by Hank Corwin you are supposed to take notice (this rapidness fits the crazed culture of Wall Street). Having said that, I’m pulling for Tom McArdle’s considered work in Spotlight.
Best Production Design
Bridge of Spies
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
— Will win: Mad Max: Fury Road
— Should win: Bridge of Spies
— Should’ve been nominated: The Hateful Eight
One of the most endearing and successful things about Bridge of Spies is how the film pits an internally bubbling United States against an externally fractured East Germany. Much of that has to do with the Cold War climate drawn up by the production design team: you feel the domestic, retro anxieties of the US, and then you really feel the frostiness of Germany. Plus, Mark Rylance tinkering with magnificently integrated espionage devices? Come on.
Best Costume Design
Carol
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
— Will win: Carol
— Should win: Carol
— Should’ve been nominated: Crimson Peak
Sandy Powell is up against herself here, though her chances for Carol probably carry more weight than her chances for Cinderella. Unlike the production design in The Danish Girl, the film’s costume design is interminably fitting: at times bombastic, at times reserved, always representative of the time period. Having said that, I really like Powell’s work in Carol and Jenny Beavan’s efforts in Mad Max: Fury Road, so a win for either of those would suit me.
Best Original Score
Bridge of Spies
Carol
The Hateful Eight
Sicario
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
— Will win: The Hateful Eight
— Should win: Bridge of Spies
— Should’ve been nominated: Macbeth
Since it’s his first western score since the 1980s (not to mention the first original score in a Tarantino flick), chances are Ennio Morricone will take home the bacon here. Jóhann Jóhannsson’s piercing, unsettling Sicario sound is a real masterstroke and would justify a win, though my favourite of the five is Thomas Newman’s score for Bridge of Spies. It flirts tremendously between Saving Private Ryan’s brassy grandness and a number of beautiful, touching piano melodies.
Best Original Song
“Earned It” (Fifty Shades of Grey)
“Manta Ray” (Racing Extinction)
“Simple Song #3” (Youth)
“Til It Happens to You” (The Hunting Ground)
“Writing’s on the Wall” (Spectre)
— Will win: “Til It Happens to You” (The Hunting Ground)
— Should win: “Manta Ray” (Racing Extinction)
— Should’ve been nominated: N/A
I quite like “Manta Ray”, but y’know, it’s Gaga and the Oscars.
Best Sound Editing
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Sicario
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
— Will win: Sicario
— Should win: Sicario
— Should’ve been nominated: Everest
As mentioned above, Jóhann Jóhannsson’s score in Sicario is a beauty, though it is complemented and enhanced by some gritty, punchy sound editing (I’m reliably informed editing refers to the seeking out or creation of various sound recordings, such as gunfire or general dialogue, whereas mixing involves finding the correct combination of all sound elements within a film).
Best Sound Mixing
Bridge of Spies
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
— Will win: Mad Max: Fury Road
— Should win: Bridge of Spies
— Should’ve been nominated: Sicario
I’m surprised Sicario hasn’t been nominated again in this category. Given mixing incorporates all sound elements, I feel compelled to root for Bridge of Spies.
Best Animated Feature Film
Anomalisa
Boy & the World
Inside Out
Shaun the Sheep Movie
When Marnie Was There
— Will win: Inside Out
Best Foreign Language Film
A War (Denmark)
Embrace of the Serpent (Columbia)
Mustang (France)
Son of Saul (Hungary)
Theeb (Jordan)
— Will win: Son of Saul (Hungary)
Best Documentary — Short Subject
A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness
Body Team 12
Chau, Beyond the Lines
Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah
Last Day of Freedom
— Will win: Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah
Best Live Action Short Film
Ave Maria
Day One
Everything Will Be Okay
Shok
Stutterer
— Will win: Day One
Best Animated Short Film
Bear Story
Prologue
Sanjay’s Super Team
We Can’t Live Without Cosmos
World of Tomorrow
— Will win: World of Tomorrow
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
— Will win: Mad Max: Fury Road
Images credit: ScreenScoop, Variety
Consumed By Film 
I just wrote my Oscar prediction post yesterday and I’m still baffled how little recognition people are giving Star Wars in the technicals department. I know Mad Max was good an’ all but The Force Awakens smashed it in my opinion. We agree on a lot of the other categories though so we’ll just have to wait and see if our preds hold up tonight. I’d quite like to see a few upsets
Ex Machina’s only gone a shocked us all!
Well I’ll be, really thought this would go Star Wars or Mad Max but Ex Machina deserved something
Agreed! Smashing film, looks sublime too.
Some good choices here Adam! Agree with you on a few things too! Would love to see Miller take home the directing nod!
He didn’t, but at least Spotlight nabbed Best Picture over The Revenant! And Leo!
Wow you predicted Vikander’s win, impressive! I really thought it’d go to Winslet. Well, I posted my recap from last night, it turns out I did predict 11/16 categories right, so not bad. But I wish George Miller won Best Director 😦
Thanks! 11/16 is good going, there were a few shocks. Ah me too — Miller’s work in Fury Road is incredible and deserved more recognition.