And they’re off! The Oscars Race 2023

Arts & Entertainment Screen

Staff Writer
March 8, 2023

By MARTIN FABINYI

The list of the 95th Academy Award nominated films has become a race between the “art” film that did well at the box office (Everything Everywhere All At Once) and those that didn’t (All Quiet On The Western Front, The Banshees of Inisherin, Tar, The Fabelmans, Triangle Of Sadness and Women Talking).

The other contenders on the overstuffed list of titles, Avatar: The Way Of Water, Elvis and Top Gun: Maverick, have no doubt been chosen as worthy contenders, but won’t stand a chance against the onslaught of hot dogs and severed fingers, trench warfare, projectile vomiting and toxic power behaviour.

Everything, Everywhere, all at once, film still

The Banshees Of Inisherin was an early contender for Best Picture, but all the money this year is on the mind-bending Everything, Everywhere All At Once. While lack of box office success hasn’t always hindered a Best Picture win (e.g. The Hurt Locker (2009), Nomadland 2021), this year the grosses for art films other than Everywhere have been pretty severe, despite the PR campaigns that swept late night talk shows and round-table discussions.

The race for Best Actor is a narrow contest between the remarkable performance by Colin Farrell in Banshees, and the grotesque hulk of Brendan Fraser in The Whale. While it’s obvious to any cinemagoer that Colin Farrell should win, the Academy voters love nothing more than a disfigured, or prosthetic-disguised try-hard (think Nicole Kidman winning for The Nose in The Hours (2003), or Joaquin Phoenix in Joker (2019 among many others).

Again, the Best Actress Award sees only two contenders enter the ring this year. Duking it out with extraordinary performances are Cate Blanchett as the poisonous conductor in Tar, and Michelle Yeoh’s wide-eyed wonder in Everywhere. It’s great to see Ana de Armas on the nominees list for her sensitive portrayal as Marilyn Monroe in the reviled Andrew Dominik’s Blonde, but this year the money is on Cate or Michelle.

The Actor In A Supporting Role should either be Brendan Gleeson or the riveting Barry Keoghan in Banshees, but the probable winner for acting and diversity will be Ke Huy Quasn for Everything.

The Best Supporting Actress award would seem to be Kerry Condon’s for the taking, but a late contender and SAG Award winner Jamie Lee Curtis will bring home the hot dogs.

The directors most likely to take home the little gold man are the two Daniels Kwan and Scheinart for Everything, Everywhere All At Once. All the other nominated directors produced a range of intriguing, very not-Hollywood fare, but there’s an overwhelming wave of support and enthusiasm for the little film that could.

So, the latest reports predict:

Best Picture: Everything, Everywhere, All At Once

Best Directors: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinar (Everything)

Best Actor: Brendan Fraser (The Whale)

Best Actress: Michelle Yeo (Everything)

Best Supporting Actor: Ke Huy Quasn (Everything)

Best Supporting Actress: Jamie Lee Curtis (Everything)