A month ago, we covered award season buzz and nominations on the podcast. Last week, you cast your votes in a few of the Academy Awards categories!

Well, with the ceremony last Sunday evening, the official results are in. Here’s a side-by-side of the FilmSoc poll results compared to the real thing, plus commentary by Pihla Pekkarinen.

Best Picture

FilmSoc Pick: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Official Result: The Shape of Water

These two films were firm favourites to snag this year’s Best Picture title, competing neck in neck during the awards season. Three Billboards had been in the lead, grabbing the BAFTA, Golden Globe and Satellite Award, so it was our favourite to win – but The Shape of Water came through and nabbed the biggest title of the year. The two films are so different, however, that it really comes down to personal taste (or maybe some controversy?). They also did similarly at the box office.

Best Director

FilmSoc Pick: Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water)

Official Result: Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water)

The Shape of Water was the fully thought out, cohesive, beautifully executed work of a visionary. Every single element, from the score to the cast to the production design to the cinematography is meticulously crafted under del Toro’s watchful eye. And while would have been nice to have Greta Gerwig help to diversify the Best Director winner list from 99% to 98% male, or witness Jordan Peele become the first black director to win the award, del Toro’s victory is undoubtedly deserved. And, we should take a moment to appreciate the fact that, thanks to del Toro, the current decade has been the first in which white directors have been the MINORITY in this category (3 out of 8 wins).

Leading Actress

FilmSoc Pick: Frances McDormand (Three Billboards)

Official Result: Frances McDormand (Three Billboards)

I can confidently say, staying up until 5am watching the Oscars was worth it just to experience McDormand’s speech in real time. The moment when all female nominees in the hall stood (“Meryl, if you do it, everybody else will”) was inspiring and empowering, but also highlighted how much work there is still left to do. The gender proportion of male and female nominees was nowhere near equal. McDormand’s encouragement to adopt the “inclusion rider” clause in filmmaking contracts was a reminder of the hope that someday the Awards could reflect today’s diverse America.

Leading Actor

FilmSoc Pick: Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour)

Official Result: Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour)

Oldman is one of the most established faces of British cinema, and he won his Oscar in a film about British history playing a British wartime hero (or villain, however you see it). Even his speech, asking his mother to “put the kettle on”, was so quintessentially British one couldn’t help but laugh. It felt cathartic to see Oldman get his Oscar after years of hard work in the industry.

Supporting Actor

FilmSoc Pick: Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards)

Official Result: Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards)

Rockwell’s performance in Three Billboards was received with universal acclaim, so this win came as no surprise. It is also worth noting that this category was the only nomination for one of the more “experimental” big films of 2017, The Florida Project. Many saw this Oscars snub as a surprise, whereas others viewed it as another demonstration of the overwhelming hesitation by the Academy to reward more radical or controversial filmmaking. Other similar snubs this year include The Killing of a Sacred Deer and mother!.

Supporting Actress

FilmSoc Pick: Allison Janney (I, Tonya)

Official Result: Allison Janney (I, Tonya)

Janney’s turn as Tonya’s off-kilter mother (a role written specifically for her) earned her not only the Oscar, but also the Golden Globe, the SAG, the BAFTA, and the Critics’ Choice awards for Best Supporting Actress. This win has pretty much been in the bag since the release of the film. Her Oscar was dedicated to her brother, who lost his battle with addiction and mental illness.

Original Screenplay

FilmSoc Pick: Get Out (Jordan Peele)

Official Result: Get Out (Jordan Peele)

The Academy may have seen rewarding Get Out the coveted Best Picture and Best Director titles as too much of a risk, but Peele’s win is nevertheless historic. Peele is the first black man to win an Original Screenplay Oscar, and not just with any story, with a story that is about racism in today’s America. With such a major win on his first feature, it will be thrilling to see where his directing and writing careers take him next.

Adapted Screenplay

FilmSoc Pick: Call Me By Your Name (James Ivory)

Official Result: Call Me By Your Name (James Ivory)

This was the only win for one of the most successful independent films of the year. James Ivory became the oldest competitive Oscar winner at age 89. Recently, Guadagnino has been dropping hints about a sequel to this awards hit, set against the backdrop of the 1990s AIDS crisis.

Animated Feature

FilmSoc Pick: Coco (Lee Unkrich, Darla K. Anderson)

Official Result: Coco (Lee Unkrich, Darla K. Anderson)

The Boss Baby is now an Oscar-nominated film. Slim pickings for the Academy in 2018. Though disappointed that Loving Vincent flew under the radar this awards season, Coco was a clear favourite and once more, a predictable but deserving winner.

Cinematography

FilmSoc Pick: Blade Runner 2049 (Roger Deakins)

Official Result: Blade Runner 2049 (Roger Deakins)

With a track record of a staggering fourteen nominations, Deakins’ first win couldn’t be sweeter. It’s been a long time coming. Blade Runner 2049 is some of his best work, with a mix of breathtaking long shots and thrilling action sequences, and overall one of the most beautiful films of 2017. This year also saw the first female cinematography nominee, Rachel Morrison for Mudbound.

Production Design

FilmSoc Pick: The Shape of Water (Paul D. Austerberry, Jeffrey A. Melvin, Shane Vieau)

Official Result: The Shape of Water (Paul D. Austerberry, Jeffrey A. Melvin, Shane Vieau)

There was really no contest for this award. Every single set in The Shape of Water was thought out down to the most minute detail, and the designers’ and dressers’ work here is nothing less than extraordinary.

Original Score

FilmSoc Pick: Phantom Thread (Jonny Greenwood)

Official Result: The Shape of Water (Alexandre Desplat)

Desplat’s score for The Shape of Water is ethereal, haunting, hopeful – everything you would want from a score. The use of wind instruments over the ever-so-popular strings is wonderfully refreshing. However, I can’t help but yearn to know what Jonny Greenwood’s Oscar speech would have been. Maybe next year.

Original Song

FilmSoc Pick: ‘Mystery of Love’ from Call Me By Your Name (Sufjan Stevens)

Official Result: ‘Remember Me’ from Coco (Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez)

The category of Best Original Song is probably the least adventurous in the whole ceremony – and that is saying something. Oscars aren’t exactly known for stepping outside the box. “Remember Me” is  exactly the kind of song the award usually commemorates. There is nothing wrong with it, but it’s not particularly memorable, either. But who knows, maybe Kendrick will be in the running next year for his turn in Black Panther.

OTHER CATEGORIES

Documentary Feature

Icarus (Bryan Fogel, Dan Cogan)

This was the first Academy Award win for Netflix, who are quickly becoming a big name in film distribution. This is a major benchmark in the shift from traditional cinema-centered distribution into streaming. Mudbound, another Netflix feature, received four nominations this year but won none. With a target of 80 new films to be released in 2018, this is a major step forward for Netflix in becoming a recognisable force not only at the box office, but also on the red carpet.

Foreign Language Film

A Fantastic Woman (Chile: Sebastián Lelio)

A favourite to win, A Fantastic Woman is a daring film about the struggles of a transgender woman inspired by the film’s lead actress, Daniela Vega. This film was the first feature to win an Oscar with an openly transgender lead and main character, and Vega was also the first openly transgender person to present on the stage at the Academy Awards. Check out our writer Diego on the Curzon podcast with the director!

Makeup and Hairstyling

Darkest Hour (Kazuhiro Tsuji, David Malinowski, Lucy Sibbick)

Gary Oldman mentioned in an interview with Vanity Fair that he wore the makeup for Winston Churchill 61 times, spending over 200 hours total in a makeup chair being transformed into the spitting image of the World War II PM. Impressive, to say the least.

Costume Design

Phantom Thread (Mark Bridges)

A film about a dressmaker which doesn’t win the Oscar for Costume Design? Unlikely. Special shoutout goes to Jacqueline Durran, though, for two nominations in one season for Beauty and the Beast and Darkest Hour!

Film Editing

Dunkirk (Lee Smith)

Sound Editing

Dunkirk (Mark Weingarten, Gregg Landaker, Gary A. Rizzo)

Sound Mixing

Dunkirk (Alex Gibson, Richard King)

Dunkirk scooping up three out of the four major technical awards towards the beginning of the night likely proved disappointing to any Nolanphiles watching – rule of thumb being that usually winning technical awards means missing out on the Big Five. Baby Driver was unfortunately overlooked in these categories, disappointing to many of us at Film Soc.

Visual Effects

Blade Runner 2049 (John Nelson, Paul Lambert, Richard R. Hoover, Gerd Nefzer)

Documentary Short Subject

Heaven Is a Traffic Jam on the 405 (Frank Stiefel)

This short centers around Mindy Alper, a heavily mentally ill artist who channels their emotions into passionate art and sculpture. After a successful festival run, it was another favourite to win.

Live Action Short

The Silent Child (Rachel Shenton, Chris Overton)

In one of the most moving moments of the night, Rachel Shenton signed her speech for her 6-year-old star’s benefit, and thanked the Academy for bringing a story of disability to a “mainstream audience”. Among his thanks, Chris Overton mentioned the supporters of their IndieGogo campaign, an inspiring moment for low-budget filmmakers. (Speaking of, one of our very own affiliate projects, Jenny, is still looking for funding! Campaign is open for 5 more days at: indiegogo.com/projects/jenny-music-film)

Animated Short

Dear Basketball (Glen Keane, Kobe Bryant)

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Can we all please revel in the fact that not only are we now living in a world where Suicide Squad is an Oscar winner, we are also living in a time where Kobe Bryant is one too. Who’s next?

Overall, there were no big surprises; the Academy, as usual, played it safe. However, these Oscars were the most diverse we have ever had, with women, people of colour, and stories about LGBTQ+ and disabled people being brought to the forefront for the first time. Unlike at other awards ceremonies this season, there was no official #MeToo dress code, but the movement’s presence was nevertheless palpable. Not for the first time, the minorities in the film industry have raised their voices to say “enough” – but for the first time, they are being listened to.

Check out our pre-Oscars awards seasons discussion + Oscar nominations podcast episodes!

Pihla Pekkarinen reviews a few Netflix titles from the past year.

Netflix has recently set a target of releasing eighty new original films in 2018. That’s eight-zero. And 2017 wasn’t far behind that, with over fifty new dramas, comedies, and documentaries released into the world branded with the unmistakable red logo. Which is great for those of us who sometimes cannot be bothered to get out of our pyjamas and go pay twenty-eight pounds for a movie ticket (London, anyone?). If you feel the same, and are looking for some tips on what to watch next, here are my thoughts on seven of the films that came out this year. Enjoy a bag of microwave popcorn from the comfort of your bed and make the most of your Netflix subscription!

Worth Watching

I Don’t Feel At Home In This World Anymore

Macon Blair has hit the ground running with his directing debut, I Don’t Feel At Home In This World Anymore. The film tells the story of an average woman turned James Bond after uncooperative authorities refuse to help her solve the robbery of her house. And it does it in a completely original way. The pair of protagonists (played by Melanie Lynskey and Elijah Wood) are oddball hermits who are more and more lovable with every passing minute, and their reactions to being thrown in the midst of professional criminalism are so poignantly real that you can’t help but laugh. Indeed, this film might masquerade as a crime film but it’s a comedy through and through, from the absurdist violence provoking inappropriate laughter to the familiar attempts by the central characters to emulate what they have seen in spy films and failing miserably. The costume designer and hair and make-up artists have managed to create exceptionally average characters and even unattractive characters, which only makes me love them more. I Don’t Feel At Home In This World Anymore is, despite its unnecessarily long name, absolutely my favourite Netflix Original film of this year.

Okja

Imagine Babe, but set in rural South Korea. With Cruella de Vil chasing after the sympathetic pig. Oh, and the pig is the size of an elephant. Then you have Okja, a new film about an environmentalist corporation breeding intelligent super-pigs for sustainable meat production. Okja is a classic tale told with a fresh perspective and a skilled manner, and there is a lot to like. The child actress Ahn Seo-hyun playing Mija, caretaker of the titular superpig, is phenomenal, as are the rest of the cast. The animation of Okja is precise and realistic, and the cinematography in general is balanced and beautiful. And while the story seems simplistic, good vs. evil, the black-and-white tonalities split into rainbows of gray as we are made to appreciate the antagonist’s motivations and exposed to the naïveté of the freedom fighters. If you are one to cry at movies, this one will turn on the waterworks.

To Each Their Own

Little Evil

I am the first person to admit my knowledge of horror films is pretty much equal to my knowledge of pharmaceutical engineering: that is, next to none. From what I have understood after further explanation, Little Evil is meant as a caricature of a horror film, poking fun at all the classic tropes and motifs of classic horror. As someone with no knowledge of the genre, what I saw was a poorly-executed, hardly frightening, half-hearted attempt at a scary film. I didn’t really have patience for Gary (Adam Scott) which made it difficult to root for the “good guys”, and was overall mostly bored. Looking back on it. I recognize that the gruff voice and countenance of the devil-child Lucas and the absurd scenes with the cult are meant to be funny references to genre-specific imagery, but I completely missed them the first time around. So, for someone who has a) watched a fair bit of horror and b) would be amused by a self-mocking comedy within that genre, this film may provoke the same positive reaction I had to I Don’t Feel At Home In This World Anymore. Then again, I wouldn’t know.

The Incredible Jessica James

We have seen this film many a time before. The Incredible Jessica James is basically textbook: struggling artist in New York meets rich businessman, they overcome their differences and fall in love. Cue a lot of shots of the New York skyline accompanied by funky music, romantic two-shot strolls in Central Park and a phone call with an extroverted best friend from their respective bedrooms. However, this film is clearly from 2017: instead of a damsel in distress just waiting to be saved by the relationship of a lifetime, the protagonist is a six-foot badass black woman with piercings and an attitude. Jessica James dominates this film and its central relationship from start to finish, and is at times cocky enough to be annoying, which is wonderfully refreshing from a female protagonist. And while, yes, her best friend is nothing more than the usual bubbly, eternally single, always-there-for-you shell of a character, at least she’s a lesbian. That’s something, right?

To The Bone

Aside from Thirteen Reasons Why, To The Bone is probably the most controversial release from Netflix in 2017. It has been widely criticised for its glamorisation of eating disorders and the lack of cast diversity. In terms of its filmic value, it has been called “impressively accessible” (Hollywood Reporter) as well as “insipid and uninsightful” (The Guardian). Personally, I lean toward the latter camp. To The Bone claims to be revolutionary, a film which takes eating disorders and looks at them like no movie has ever done before. The result is a film saturated with stereotype, from excessive amounts of kohl eyeliner and an absent father to a supposedly unconventional therapist who comes off as condescending and power-hungry. The beginning is uncomfortable, the ending is bizarre, and the middle is a lighthearted young adult novel turned to pictures. However, Collins embodies the angry twenty-year-old character written for her to a T, and her relationships with her sister and the friends she makes at the recovery home do provoke some sympathy. And given the mixed reception for the film, you may find something more in it than I did – but the cynic in me can’t seriously applaud any movie with people dancing in a rain room just because they’re alive.

Don’t Bother

The Discovery

Premise: interesting. Execution: not so much. The Discovery, a film about the struggling son of a man who proved the existence of an afterlife, starts off tolerable, but quickly disintegrates into an overly dramatic, highly predictable cliché of a film. Beginning with the title all the way to the credits, screenplay is cringeworthy, and the lack of chemistry between the actors is striking. This film doesn’t shock, tickle, or move a single nerve. And while the philosophical questions posed at the beginning of the film are promising – if the proof of an afterlife caused millions of deaths, are they justified and should the man behind the discovery feel responsible? – there is no significant attempt to answer them. Overall, this film just feels like a poor man’s attempt at Inception or Matrix, so save your time and watch those instead.

The Meyerowitz Stories

The Meyerowitz Stories, a film centered around the interactions of a dysfunctional family, was, in a word, Groundhog Day-esque. Every time the screen cut to black and I sighed with relief that the film was finally over, it just kept going. It is tough to summarize what the movie is about, because it really isn’t about anything. It jumps around absurdly from scene to scene with no apparent connection between them, introducing new characters just to toss them to the side five minutes later, and the central characters who do remain are so unbelievably infuriating I wanted to bury myself in the ground. The choppy cuts felt as though I was supposed to respect them for their artyness (I didn’t), and I think I was supposed to read something into the ever-recurring shots of characters running places (I didn’t). There are some glimmers of hope: Sandler is remarkably less awful in this film than in his others, and Adam Driver’s brief appearance provides the only point at which I am able to laugh with the film, not at it, but these things are not enough to save the film from being a catastrophic trainwreck. I suppose it should be noted that other critics – professional ones, who know what they’re talking about – have hailed the film, calling it “flat-out brilliant” (Rolling Stone) and the best ever release from Netflix. I tried to see their point of view, I really did, but I could not escape the gnawing feeling that accompanied me throughout the film: all things considered, I’d rather be in Philadelphia.