Last Minute FYCs from Team Experience
Friday, January 12, 2024 at 8:01PM by Nathaniel R
Rachel McAdams in "Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret."
Oscar nomination voting began yesterday morning and will continue through Tuesday, January 16th at 5 PM. Word has it that the bulk of Academy members vote early in the time frame. For those holdouts who are still thinking about their ballots and screening a couple more films just to be sure, we asked members of Team Experience to share what they hope will be considered...
Rachel McAdams is always excellent. Whether it's a terrible rom-com or sci-fi drivel, she knows how to elevate the material. But what happens when the material is already great? In Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret., McAdams takes what should be a stock parent and imbues her with such warmth, life, and humanity, she almost pulls too much focus. It's her best performance in a film with material that is worth her talents. It might be a stacked Supporting Actress Year, but she shouldn't be denied. - Ben Miller
I was ready for this season to go by without any love for Rachel McAdams in Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret. Instead, pockets of support have shown up in some surprising places. When I was at AFI Fest, I heard this movie brought up more than anything at the festival. I'm glad it has received as much attention as it has, but if you haven't tracked it down - this is subtle, empathetic work that's the best we've seen from her since Regina George. The movie is also one of the best of the year, and her warmth is one of the reasons I'll be coming back to it in the future. - Eurocheese
"Past Lives" from A24
Two words: Past Lives. Two others: Greta Lee. Neither the Best Picture nor the Best Actress are complete or can compete without ’em, Oscar voters (ditto Teo Yoo in Best Actor and Celine Song in Best Director & Best Original Screenplay—each exquisite).
Wavering between making some costume or international film recommendations, I'll go with world cinema. The Oscar lineup is dominated by European titles every season, but it needn't be so. Among this year's shortlisted submissions, it's safe to say Academy members will check out the flicks pushed by Neon and Netflix, so they don't need any help. Of the remaining possibilities, I'll bat for Mexico's TÓTEM and Moroccos' THE MOTHER OF ALL LIES, two tremendously bold works that seek to portray and examine complicated family dynamics. The Mexican drama moved me beyond words, so aching in its observations you can't help but feel invested in the characters' reckoning with a loss that hasn't yet come. On the other hand, the Moroccan documentary considers the historical past, weaving a family's tragedy with national politics, all while playing with meta-cinematic devices and a Rithy Pahn-esque device. Please, AMPAS, give these films a chance. - Cláudio Alves
"All Of Us Strangers"
Dear Academy, please watch All of Us Strangers. You'll find that Andrew Scott is giving the best performance by any lead actor this year, acting filled with so much raw pain, measured control, and bristling immediacy that you'll feel good about voting for him twenty years from now. Feel free to make room for Jamie Bell and Claire Foy while you're at it! Please also watch Society of the Snow and vote for it in a bunch of tech categories, because it's astonishingly well-made and uses technical effects for drama, and should really be in the Best Picture and Best Director races. And finally, be generous with May December. Portman and Moore are doing very sophisticated stuff here, much more dimensional than most other acting this year, and Melton supports with the distaff heart and soul portion. Plus you've fucked Todd Haynes for too long now...get him in that Best Director line-up! - Eric Blume
If there were any justice, ALL OF US STRANGERS would be a major contender in all categories. Andrew Haigh's latest film is an emotional wrecking ball, devastating anything in its path. Its dreamlike quality lulls you into a state of hypnosis, thanks to the cool, muted hues of cinematographer Jamie Ramsay and the nimble editing tricks of Jonathan Alberts. It seems like the movie is in sixth or seventh place in Best Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay. Andrew Scott is terrific in the film. Each scene finds him tearing down his character's high emotional walls, as he opens himself up to love for the first time. I hope voters check the film out and it becomes a surprise nominee in any category, but specifically those two.
It's incredibly heartening to see FOUR DAUGHTERS make the shortlist for Best Documentary Feature and Best International Feature, as it's one of the most daring and inventive films of the year. The way it uses the form of Documentary to tell the central family's story is fully unique and engrossing, as if Day for Night were mixed with high family melodrama. In re-enacting the events that led to two of her daughters leaving home, our lead Olfa Hamrouni gets to share hindsight and perspective. It's a fascinating watch that's not just emotionally involving, but also features a fair degree of personality and spunk.
There's no better performance in the Supporting Actress category than Rachel McAdams in ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT'S ME, MARGARET. My heart breaks in one of the early scenes where Barbara (McAdams) has to explain to her daughter why she doesn't talk to her parents anymore. From the onset of the question, you see McAdams face sink - she's been preparing for this conversation for years. The words and stifled sniffs all feel controlled, but the hurt she feels still punctuates the conversation. This informs so much of the rest of the movie, as Barbara enthusiastically overcommits herself to school projects in an attempt to reinforce the love she has for her daughter. The beauty in McAdams performance is that she never oversells it. She's an emotional rock for her family, even though inside she crumbles more and more with each passing day. It's a beautiful performance that would be my winner on my personal ballot. - Christopher James
Scarlett Johansson in "Asteroid City"
Each year it's painful to watch critics and precursor groups join in lockstep in narrowing things down for the Academy rather than really engaging in conversation about ideas of "Best". Annual Opinion That I'm So Committed to It Feels Like a Fact: There are more then five worthy achievements in any given category so the idea that we shrink down to like six options everywhere by this point each year is ludicrous.
My personal pick for most egregiously overlooked actor this season is Scarlett Johansson in Asteroid City. Year after year she proves incredibly versatile and skilled at navigating / elevating the demands of genre, story, and auteur sensibility. Oscar's acting branch have always struggled in recognizing the worth of stylization, usually reducing ideas of quality to 'realism' but Johansson is inspired and deft in every moment of this presentational worky. Lesser actors in Wes Anderson's filmography can sometimes over-cartoon themselves to fit into his box of crayons, but Scarlett's Mitch Campbell, like all of the best characters/performances in his filmography, conveys three dimensional humanity within his delightfully flat dioramic world. She's funny, sure, but also works the undertow of this movie star's depression and the specificity of her sexual curiousities. I have no hopes whatsover that she might surprise on Oscar nomination morning but it would be fun if at least the costuming, music ("Dear Alien Who Art in Heaven"), or production design branches would notice the film!
Two more quick recs: Robot Dreams is immensely charming and brilliant, too, but its profile is painfully low in Best Animated Feature. Academy members will hopefully surprise us (and delight themselves) by watching it. Finally, I'm hardly alone in feeling that Past Lives is a miracle but it's smaller scale than Oscar often goes for so I can't resist one last plug: See it. Love it. Vote for it. - Nathaniel R
Flora and Son is John Carney’s latest film and certainly deserves consideration. Two of its songs made the shortlist but the rest of the movie is equally worthy of praise. Eve Hewson leads a terrific cast in yet another musical winner from Carney. -Abe Friedtanzer
Your turn, readers, what are your last minute FYCs?
Reader Comments (18)
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse for Best Picture
Yes, McAdams would be a great nominee.
Foster
McAdams
Moore
Pike
Randolph
Alt: Cruz
I'm with Mark and rooting/hoping hard for Past Lives. It should be getting nominated in Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Screenplay, Editing, and Song (it made the shortlist for song and I really hope it is a surprise nom!)
Add me to the chorus of people hoping for a Rachel McAdams nomination!!! I love that she's been singled out by several critics groups and wish that would secure her place in the Best Supporting Actress list. The scene where she has to explain to Margaret why she doesn't speak to her parents is devastating. Speaking of which, Kelly Fremon Craig should be more secure in Adapted Screenplay than she currently is (I would vote for it over all five of the predicted contenders... even though I love Oppenheimer, I feel its directing is stronger than the writing).
Though I would also be very happy if Scarlett Johansson somehow pulled off a nomination for Asteroid City (I'm sad that movie hasn't caught on as much among the Wes Anderson fanbase, I found it delightful, and I also think Jason Schwartzman should be in conversation for Best Actor... thenagain, they have never nominated a Wes Anderson performance, not even Gene Hackman or Ralph Fiennes).
I also appreciate the shoutout for Tótem. I've yet to see All of Us Strangers, but I'm sure I'll join you all in rooting for it.
As for Past Lives, my plea would be for John Magaro in Best Supporting Actor. After my recent re-watch, I feel he's that movie's secret weapon. It's such a heartbreaking performance of a man watching what he thinks might be the end of his marriage, yet trying everything he can not to incite it.
If cinema gave you Scorsese and Miyazaki in the same year there's nothing more to ask.
I hope that Scorsese will take the screenplay statue at the big night if they want to go absolutely with Nolan for best picture and director.
Really hoping that “Meet in the Middle” from FLORA AND SON gets a nom in Best Original Song.
And that voters also catch the underseen DREAMIN’ WILD and see how wonderful Walton Goggins is in it for the Best Supporting Actor category.
Disenchanted with the performances of the present accepted contenders for the leading actress prize, I hope that voters will remember Julia Louis-Dreyfus in You Hurt My Feelings from last Spring. In beautifully modulated work, Louis-Dreyfus underplays a raft of emotions including doubt, disappointment, and distrust. Every moment feels truthful and well earned.
My No Guts No Glory picks in each acting category and one or two others
Make Up Evil Dead Rise the best horror of the year
Sound The Outwaters the most disturbing film I saw in 2023 and the sound was a big part of it.
Supp Actress Sigourney Weaver Master Gardner sly subtle and unknowable.
Supp Actor Ben Whishaw and John Magaro,both very touching and uncliched.
Actor Teo Yoo better then some of those leading the charge and his own leading lady
Actress Michelle Williams Showing Up or Teyana Taylor polar opposites but both fantastic.
Score May December over the top in the right way.
Picture Are You There God It's Me Margrert I didn't have a better time with a film than with this one.
"Past Lives," "All of us Strangers," "May December," and "American Fiction" deserve all the love.
Andrew Scott gives the most moving performance of any actor in any film this year. I do worry that "mainstream" Oscar voters won't like the movie, and even if they watch it, he'll miss. I wish they had released the film more widely a little earlier. Paul Mescal should certainly be nominated for Supporting.
Greta Lee is so wonderful in Past Lives. If only she were a bigger name, she'd make the cut.
Much as I love American Fiction, I wouldn't nominate Sterling Brown, but Jeffrey Wright's controlled, wry performance should be near the top of anyone's list.
All three leads (even if they're fraud-nominated in Supporting) in May December are just perfect.
My partner and I both loathed Poor Things. We both wanted to leave midway through, but thought the other was enjoying it. We're with Manhohla Dargis here! Nominate it for Production Design and move on.
I may be the only person on the planet who found Barbie to be a disjointed, shallow mess. Maybe I'm just no fun?
Finally, I've been annoyed for months at Martin Scorsese. If Lily Gladstone loses, it's his fault. She does more with five seconds of silence than Emma Stone does with 15 minutes of histrionics. Scorsese takes the most interesting part/performer in the film, sends her to bed to die for three hours, robs her of agency, and focuses on Leo (a 48 year old paunchy dweeb playing a 24 year old -- so miscast).
Colman Domingo nominated. In his bravura performance, he exhibits a quality so rarely seen onscreen: a persevering everyday joy.
And if Manohla Dargis of the NYT can chose this actor for her own personal list of best performances, so can I: Keanu Reeves in John Wick 4.
@dtsf: I love your list (although I do love Barbie).
@mrRipley: I love your list too, especially Sigourney Weaver (although I still love Rustin).
And sign me up for the Rachel McAdams appreciation.
George P - Love that call on "Meet in the Middle." I'm actually predicting it as an Oscar morning surprise. How can you hear that and not vote for it?
Keeping it to the acting categories, my FYCs:
Actress: Greta Lee for Past Lives
Actor: Zac Efron for The Iron Claw
Supporting Actress: Rosamund Pike in Saltburn, Scarlett Johannsen for Asteroid City, and in a perfect world Kerry O'Malley for The Killer
Supporting Actor: none of these will happen, but Casey Affleck for Oppenheimer, Jacob Elordi for Saltburn, and Milo Machado Graner for Anatomy of a Fall
I guess I'll be the lone crusader for these performances:
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor in Origin
Jessica Chastain in Memory
Peter Sarsgaard in Memory
Franz Rogowski in Passages
Noah Galvin in Theater Camp
Kelly Reilly in A Haunting in Venice
Cara Jade Myers in Killers of the Flower Moon
Gael Garcia Bernal in Cassandro
Penelope Cruz in Ferrari
Frank Zappa,
I've been rooting for Chastain and Sarsgaard since the beginning.
A little reminder:
Dream wishes ≠ Predicted Snubs/Surprises ≠ FYC.
So, SERIOUS FYC (considering not locks, long shots, sure):
* Jessica Chastain, Memory
* Peter Sarsgaard, Memory
* Jamie Bell, All of Us Strangers
* Paul Mescal, All of Us Strangers
* Claire Foy, All of Us Strangers
* Franz Rogowski, Passages
* Rachel MacAdams, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
* John Magaro, Past Lives
* Milo Machado Graner, Anatomy of a Fall
* Tilda Swinton, The Killer
All great, including many in the comments, but I'm saving all my "needs to get nominated" energy on just one person: ANDREW SCOTT. He's SO close and it would be SUCH a deserved and wonderful nomination for a movie that probably should have had an easy lock on 4 acting nominations.
These actors on the cusp/bubble line that really need a push:
Greta Lee
Andrew Scott
Rachel McAdams
Charles Melton
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