Anora has been tipped to win Best Picture (Image: United International Pictures/Neon)
The 97th Academy Awards ceremony gets underway later tonight (March 2) at the Dolby Theatre in (12:00am GMT, March 3) and it’s the final award of the night that has got people talking.
The Best Picture category sees 10 nominees go head-to-head for the coveted prize, which last year was scooped by Oppenheimer, which famously pipped Barbie to a number of awards. This year, the category is as strong as ever, with Anora, The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown, Conclave and Dune: Part Two all competing.
The remainder of the nominees for the category are: Emilia Perez, I’m Still Here, Nickel Boys, The Substance and of course, Wicked. Anora appears to be the frontrunner – the bookmakers’ and film buffs’ favourite to win.
magazine also tips the movie, with expert Radhika Seth commenting: “Of the 10 films in contention, RaMell Ross’ epic and intimate Nickel Boys would be the worthiest victor in my eyes, but sadly it has absolutely no chance of winning. This race is now primarily between Conclave, which scooped the top honors at the BAFTAs and SAGs, and feels like a centrist, consensus pick, and Anora.”
Seth added: “Conclave could easily upset, but this currently feels like Anora’s to lose.” Anora stars Mikey Madison as Ani, a young Brooklyn woman who has the chance of living a Cinderella life after marrying the son of an oligarch. However, as news of the relationship reaches , her fairytale is threatened with annulment.
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On , meanwhile, one film fan claimed they “must be missing something” amid the hype around Sean Baker’s rom-com.
“This sub [subreddit] seems to love Anora, I keep seeing it on people’s top 5 of the year, best overall of the year, etc,” their post began. “I love Sean Baker’s previous movies. But I was so disappointed that Anora felt like more of a overly drawn-out comedy sketch with a few notes of drama.
“We never really dive into who Anora is, what she wants – it all felt so shallow. Things happen, but what was the point? Often movies with no point are character studies. I was hoping it would be similar to these just vibes/character studies that Baker has done before, but it was missing any depth or complexity or surprise. I was so let down.”
The user closed: “I wanna know genuinely – why do you love it? How is it making the top of peoples’ list?” As you’d expect, opinions were split, though one person who enjoyed the film explained: “I really think Mikey Madison’s charisma really pulled the whole thing together. I also really enjoyed the three acts feeling so distinct, Act 1 is the fantasy of the romance, Act 2 is this high octane dramedy, and Act 3 is sitting with the aftermath. The structure felt very much like it was enforcing how whirlwind romances that end badly feel.”
A second user agreed, saying: “100% this. I loved that the movie could take me with Ani’s high highs and low lows. As much as I think a full-blown out character study film of her, I think this movie said just enough with a very well-crafted structure. It reminded me of EEAAO with the three acts. Those whirlwind stories usually hit the most too. I loved the way it ended. The rawness of the silence. Such an enjoyable combination of a movie.”
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And a third person expressed what they loved about the production, writing: “I love it because it pulls emotions of happiness, suspense, sadness all in one movie. It made me laugh a lot and it made me tear up at the end. Very few movies have that capability with me. I find Bakers transitions to be very well done causing the film to be very immersive and smooth.”
On the other side of the argument, however, some dismissed the movie as “not funny at all”. One person noted: “I cannot find any comedy in this film. I perhaps chuckled once or twice but people are calling this a full on comedy, and to me it’s like categorizing The Bear as a comedy. There are funny moments, but if this is meant to be a comedy, it’s lost on me.”
A second slammed: “I don’t understand the hype at all. I ended up giving it 3 stars, and might give it another chance. After all the intimacy coordinator stuff, and the general weirdness of Sean Baker and his presence on social media, it soured on me even more.”
Whilst a third agreed: “I don’t get it either. Not because I think it needs to be anything more than it is – it’s a fun mediocre comedy and that’s fine – but I don’t understand the acclaim at all. And quite frankly, I don’t have any desire to know any more about the characters that what we were already shown on screen.”
UK viewers can watch The Oscars on ITV and ITVX from 22:30 GMT.