Last night, the 90th Academy Awards ceremony took place in Los Angeles. The evening was hosted by US comedian and talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, and the expectations were high for a year filled with truly great films and truly terrible real-life events, particularly surrounding the Film industry. This was the first Oscars since the emergence of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements.
This Oscars ceremony is also the first since the film business has had a chance to respond to the election of US President Donald Trump. In the past year, we’ve seen films like “The Post,” which celebrates the free press that Trump likes to insult and put down, and “Coco,” which celebrates the country of Mexico that Trump likes to insult and put down, and “Darkest Hour,” which celebrates a competent and beloved historical world leader.
Guillermo del Toro’s fantasy Cold War romance “The Shape of Water” had by far the most nominations of the year with thirteen, while Christopher Nolan’s WWII epic “Dunkirk” came in second place with eight, and Martin McDonagh’s brilliant, topical black comedy “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” in third place with seven. The latter was the first to take home a gong, with Sam Rockwell receiving the Best Supporting Actor award.
Best Picture race was won by ‘The Shape of Water’
Facing stiff competition from some of the greatest films in recent memory, this year’s Best Picture winner was “The Shape of Water.” It was unsurprising, since that was the film that got the most nominations and therefore the one that the Academy voters enjoyed the most across the board.
This is the same way it usually goes – the film with the most nominations, especially if they’re in both the creative and technical categories, takes home the gold.
The nominees for the Oscar for Best Director were quite varied and diverse. There was Christopher Nolan, the beloved Brit director who should’ve already won by now, Jordan Peele, a rare African-American nominee (just the fourth of all time), Greta Gerwig, a rare female nominee, “Boogie Nights” and “Magnolia” legend Paul Thomas Anderson, and the Hispanic visionary Guillermo del Toro.
In the end, the winner of the award was del Toro for helming Best Picture winner “The Shape of Water.”
The acting categories were a hotly anticipated bunch at this year’s Oscars. There were a heck of a lot of talented actors nominated who delivered fierce and powerful performances in some of the greatest films of the past year.
The first acting winner announced was Rockwell, and then Allison Janney, who won Best Supporting Actress for her role alongside Margot Robbie in the figure skating biopic “I, Tonya.” Best Actor went to Gary Oldman, who has finally won after years of being underrated as one of the greatest actors of all time, and Best Actress went to Frances McDormand, who was equally deserving.
Social issues movies won in the writing categories
As for the screenwriting awards, the Best Original Screenplay trophy went to Jordan Peele for his brilliant and unique take on race in America in “Get Out,” while Best Adapted Screenplay went to “Call Me By Your Name,” the gay romance film, so they were both issues movies.
And as for the music-based awards, the Oscar for Best Original Score went to “The Shape of Water,” while Best Original Song went to the beautiful “Remember Me” from “Coco.”
And speaking of which, Pixar’s beautifully touching “Coco” won Best Animated Feature, so no surprises there. The Chilean film “A Fantastic Woman” won the award for Best Foreign Language Film. Critically acclaimed sequel “Blade Runner 2049” won Best Visual Effects for its richly detailed spectacles, while the mathematically timed and structured “Dunkirk” won Best Film Editing.
