Human Lens #147: Best Picture Nominees Ranked

I rank the 2024 Best Picture Nominees and give my final prediction.

This article is pretty straightforward but stay tuned to the end to see my prediction for the award tonight.

10. American Fiction

There’s nothing inherently bad or great about American Fiction, it’s just fine. While its directorial style and pacing are obviously from a first time feature director, its story captured the attention of awards voters, leading to the greatest of award nominations. Unfortunately for American Fiction, the film never grabs the attention of the viewers emotions, failing to balance whether it wants to be a comedy or a depressing drama. Cord Jefferson’s comedic screenplay about the hypocrisy and madness behind the entertainment industry’s manipulation and base definition of the black experience just seems to keep winning, and no one dislikes it. The screenplay is snappy and at times emotional, drawing you in and leaving you with a decent portrait for the people it’s exploring. Plus, unlike the next film on my list, you can see what Cord Jefferson was going for when he pieced this together.

9. Maestro

Bradley Cooper shocked the world when her delivered a visually pleasing and emotionally arresting remake of A Star is Born in 2018. It took five years, but we finally got a followup with Cooper in the directors chair. Maestro is supposed to be a biopic about one of the greatest composers of all time, Leonard Bernstein, but by the time the credits roll you probably won’t know much more about him than when the film began. Cooper challenges himself to deliver scenes that delve into the mind of this person. While those conversations are, at times, fascinating, the collective whole feels like it’s missing something. Carey Mulligan fully embraces her chance to shine in an award contender once again as Bernstein’s wife, Felicia Montealegre, far outshining Cooper’s strangely bait-ridden performance that’s main praise comes from him learning how to conduct.

8. Barbie

The internet’s comedic darling being this low on my list will probably draw some ire, but I’m going to lean into it and say Barbie is lucky enough to even be among these other films. Its jokes either fall flat or go overlong and it personally felt like a harder balancing act was being made than with American Fiction. The incredible production design, costumes, and full acceptance that they were making something goofy is special though, and the discussion around Barbie’s place in modern feminine culture was a shocker. Plus, having grown up in a house where my sister played with Barbies all time time, I could tell they were succeeding in references and toy recreations to bring nostalgia to their target audience. I’ve staunchly stated since its release that it wasn’t for me, but being caught up in the cultural zeitgeist was fun, and Barbie is way better than many other movies that have become trendy in the past.

7. Anatomy of a Fall

Anatomy of a Fall has many major nominations tonight; including Best Picture, Director, Actress, and Adapted Screenplay — and it deserves all that praise. What Justine Triet and Arthur Harari have done with the screenplay is unbelievable in the fact that there was no original source before it. It is so rare to find a court drama with this much detail and research that wasn’t already done in a novel beforehand. On top of that, it allows the viewer to decide for themselves what they believe in, making it a great portrait into the legal system and creating a great conversation long after the credits roll. Despite its lengthy runtime, Anatomy of a Fall breezes by as the viewer begs for more information. It’s only personal downfall, and the only reason it’s not way higher on this list, is that there’s never a resoundingly shocking moment that will stick with you well after the film ends. Everything is delivered the way you want, it’s just not sticky enough.

6. The Holdovers

Despite its characters being an amalgamation of the most depressed and broken people you can think of, The Holdovers feels like a warm hug. Opening with retro title cards for the production’s studios, the film feels like the storytelling and pacing of old, featuring heavy dialogue and elite performances during the unbeatable Christmas time setting. Paul Giamatti and Da’Vine Joy Randolph are a special kind of glue that’s just amazing to behold, capturing the attention of the audience with each word and emotional choice they make. But it’s the young newcomer Dominic Sessa who’s the underrated and most important piece of the film, as all the emotional weight of the three must be ushered through him, as most of the film is through his perspective. Not a lot of films put this much attention into characterization anymore, where none of the expository dialogue feels forced. Storytelling at its finest.

5. Poor Things

From the opening moments of Poor Things, you know you’re watching something really strange. This sci-fi coming of age story where a baby’s brain has been placed in the head of its dead mother is a disturbing concept on paper, but the film’s director, Yorgos Lanthimos, is the master of telling unconventional stories like this one. What follows may be the lone adult-centric coming of age story ever told, with raucous and raunchy humor and explorations that make for the funniest and most disturbing movie I’ve seen in years. While overlong, incredibly odd, and supremely niche, no one can deny its originality and resolute messaging. I mentioned the stickiness of movies early and this one definitely has it, and it’s all thanks to Emma Stone’s vulnerability to deliver one of the best performances of her career.

4. Killers of the Flower Moon

David Grann’s novel of the same name is my favorite read of the past decade, so Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of it was highly anticipated for me. While Scorsese’s film changes the structure of the novel, it still delivers in showcasing the pure evil that masterminded this shockingly true story. For a mystery that’s nearly a century old, it hosts haunting parallels to our world today, so why has this timelessly important tale of greed, racism, and evil been swept under history’s great rug? Is it simply because our country’s pride and nationalism refuses to face the mistakes that have occurred in our great nation? The worst acts in history have all been because of ignorance and lack of respect towards everyone. Killers of the Flower Moon is a reminder to stand up for yourself, the ones you love, and your neighbors. All the people of this community failed each other, but that doesn’t mean we should continue doing so.

3. The Zone of Interest

While the synopsis for The Zone of Interest makes it sound as if the Höss family will undergo a period of guilt ridden second-guessing for their position, what the audience actually gets is a feature length film of what evil’s peak looks like. This family has no regard for others, living in their own little bubble, somehow ignoring the contrast between their illustrious estate and the sounds of violence and torture over the simple concrete wall that separates them from the atrocities they’ve accepted and produced. It’s a hard watch, yet it’s a stark contrast to the media that audiences are craving lately which is what makes it so alluring. As the news gets harder and harder to stomach outside of the theater, audiences look for an escape of uplifting stories where people are less cruel to one another. This film has no happy ending, and it’s not interested in showing you the good guys of this story.

2. Past Lives

Making a debut feature this great is usually impossible — I mean look at the criticisms I had for American Fiction earlier — but it seems to be more common as more and more storytellers are given the platform to tell their stories. When Celine Song went out one night, sitting at a bar between her husband and her childhood sweetheart, the basis for Past Lives was formed. The film is about destiny, culture, and how defining happiness is way harder than opening a dictionary. Nora leaves her childhood crush, Hae Sung, when she immigrates to North America with her family. After a series of reconnections through social media that reinvigorate those childhood feelings, they finally reunite in person. Past Lives explores the societal disdain of loneliness and every culture’s obsession with destiny, clouding what we should really be defining as happiness. It makes you wonder if every path taken and decision made in your life was done for the wrong reasons. It’s a story so well made, you’ll want to write a story about your own life, thinking it’s as cinematic as this one.

1. Oppenheimer

While intoxicatingly overwhelming upon first watch, Christopher Nolan’s latest experience becomes more and more stunning with each rewatch.  Chronicling the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer is no small feat, making its first person screenplay and cinematic approach as essential as it is original.  Cillian Murphy delivers a career defining portrayal of this complicated man, helped along the way by what’s arguably the best supporting cast ever.  As science, politics, and competitive aspirations come to a head, there’s a ton of surprises that those who don’t know anything about this man’s story other than the big bomb of it all will be enraptured by.  Its precise filmmaking in all departments, timely warnings, and societal impact make for an emotional experience unlike any other.  Not only was Oppenheimer an incredible box office success, screaming at Hollywood for more original stories like this, but it’s, in this writer’s opinion, the best film of the year. The final hour alone will make your heart race with cinematic glee.

Final Verdict:

Will Win: Oppenheimer

Spoiler: Killers of the Flower Moon

In a weaker field than previous years and an awards cycle to remember, this award is Oppenheimer’s to lose. Killers of the Flower Moon is equal in Oppenheimer’s messaging of preventing the past from repeating itself, but Oppenheimer is so far ahead of all these other films in the betting odds that any of the other nine contenders would be one of the greatest Oscar spoilers ever.