Independent Films Win Big at 97th Academy Awards

Last night, at a recently fire-brushed Los Angeles, the 97th Academy Awards ceremony celebrated last year’s best films and performances, and it was a surprisingly pleasant affair. The speeches were mostly non-political, Conan O’Brien hosted with his typical style of light comic absurdity, and many films took home trophies, with no one picture running the table as “Oppenheimer” did last year.The only clear winner was “Anora” — a low-budget “dramedy” about a young erotic dancer who marries the son of a Russian oligarch, only for things to go violently wrong. It’s writer, editor, and director, Sean Baker, took home the awards for Best Director, Best Editing, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Picture, marking the first time since Walt Disney that a director has won four competitive awards in one night; and his star, Mikey Madison, took home Best Actress for her role as the film’s titular erotic dancer, beating out other front-runner Demi Moore for her turn in the surreal French feminist body-horror film, “The Substance”.Sean Baker, winner of the Best Picture, Best Directing, Best Film Editing, and Best Original Screenplay for “Anora,” poses in the press room. Mike Coppola/Getty ImagesAnora had been an early Oscars race favorite, back last year when it seemed like the 97th Awards could be a rather dull affair. As the race heated up, attention drifted to ambitious upstarts like “The Brutalist,” “Emilia Pérez,” and “A Complete Unknown,” but the craft of “Anora” continued to hold sway with Academy members, and a general love for the film brought it over the finish line. Setting aside the COVID-affected box office of 2020 and 2021, “Anora” is now the lowest-grossing Best Picture winner, bringing in $15.6 million at the American box-office.Aside from “Anora,” the winners came from a diverse spread. “The Brutalist” won three awards: Best Actor for Adrien Brody, along with Original Score and Cinematography. “Dune: Part Two” won two Oscars — Sound and Visual Effects — as did “Wicked” — Costume Design and Production Design. So, too, did the troubled transgender gangster musical “Emilia Pérez,” winning Best Supporting Actress for Zoe Saldana, along with Original Song.Kieran Culkin won Best Supporting Actor for his role in Jesse Eisenberg’s “A Real Pain” — about two Jewish cousins traveling across Poland on a Holocaust tour, adapted from a story first published in Tablet — and he also won the informal award for “best speech of the night.”In other single-award winners: “The Substance” won Makeup and Hairstyling, “I’m Still Here” won Best International Film, “Flow” won Best Animated Film, “Conclave” won Adapted Screenplay, and the Palestinian documentary “No Other Land” won Documentary Feature.Adrien Brody, winner of the Best Actor award for “The Brutalist,” Mikey Madison, winner of the Best Actress award for “Anora,” Zoe Saldana winner of the Best Actress in a Supporting Role award for “Emilia Pérez,” and Kieran Culkin winner of the Best Actor in a Supporting Role for “A Real Pain,” pose in the press room. Maya Dehlin Spach/Getty ImagesIts directors, Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham, made an unsurprisingly political speech, but the night otherwise largely left political spats at the door. Daryl Hannah said “Slava Ukraini” on stage, host Conan O’Brien made a light dig at the President — saying of “Anora”‘s win streak that “I guess Americans are excited to see somebody finally stand up to a powerful Russian” — and various persons noted that they were the first of their identity category to win that prize, but the political fervor of the first Trump administration was nowhere to be seen.This was a celebration of movies and the city that makes them, opening with a montage of films celebrating Los Angeles. Halfway through the show, Conan brought Los Angeles firefighters to the stage, who received the only full-house standing ovation of the night.Conan’s hosting was light, self-deprecating, and maintained his signature style of absurdly silly humor, with jokes about Amazon package theft, Netflix price hikes, Adam Sandler’s dress sense, and Kendrick Lamar’s recent rap beef with Drake. He opened with a quite shocking bit, playing on “The Substance,” arriving at the show through a wound in Demi Moore’s back — only to have to go back into the wound in search of his missing shoe — and his monologue ended with an excessive, ridiculous musical number about not wasting time. He may only have been credited as a “four-time Oscar viewer,” but his monologue was genuinely funny in a way few opening Oscar monologues are — particularly compared to his less talented late-night peers, like Jimmy Kimmel.There were great guest presenters, too, with the highlight being Ben Stiller’s arrival for Production Design, and the ceremony continued the lovely format from years past, where presenters celebrate the work of each nominee before announcing the winner.In an attempt to draw in more young viewers — and hit online virality — the Academy has tried to turn the Oscars awards show into a spectacle, with grand musical numbers à la the Grammys. This worked wonderfully last year, when “Barbie” took home a single prize but stole the night’s on-stage moments, but last night’s show was less successful in this regard.It started strong, with an opening triplet of songs performed by the Wicked co-stars: Ariana Grande opening with “Somewhere Over The Rainbow,” Cynthia Erivo following with “Home” from “The Wiz,” and then the two coming together to perform “Wicked”‘s iconic “Defying Gravity,” which was superb. However, later in the show, there was an extensive musical tribute to Bond, with Lisa of BLACKPINK performing “Live and Let Die,” Doja Cat covering “Diamonds Are Forever,” and Raye singing a rendition of “Skyfall.” All three women are talented vocalists, but none of these songs quite worked.These performances came amid a tribute to the work of Barbara Broccoli, who cared for the Bond franchise for decades, until she sold creative control to Amazon only a few weeks ago. It was a touching celebration for a legendary producer, though ultimately one that Amazon was probably not that happy with, given that it felt like an in-memoriam for Britain’s famous spy.Ultimately, there were few shocks or mistakes in the awards wins last night. The only major mistakes were awarding Wicked best production design and best costume over far more impressive, lower-budget films like “Nosferatu” and “The Brutalist;” and the night’s biggest surprise was the small Latvian film, “Flow,” beating out favorite, “The Wild Robot,” for Best Animated Feature.Zoe Saldana’s win for Best Supporting Actress was expected, though unfair, given that she was in a leading role, with more than an hour of screentime in “Emilia Pérez.” A fairer awards show would have given the statue to Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez in “A Complete Unknown” or Felicity Jones for her work in “The Brutalist;” but the Academy is an election, not a meritocracy.I had hoped Timothée Chalamet would win for his outstanding portrayal of a young Bob Dylan in “A Complete Unknown,” but Adrien Brody more than deserved the statue for his delicate, powerful lead performance in “The Brutalist.” And though Mubi put a lot of energy behind Demi Moore, getting her a deserved nomination for “The Substance,” Mikey Madison ultimately pulled ahead for her superb, naturalistic performance as the titular Anora. The Academy has an allergy to horror films, even those with incredible central female performances, and it’s a triumph that Moore overcame that to be in the top-two slot for that category.

Independent Films Win Big at 97th Academy Awards

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