The Year So Far: Not-So-Mid Year Oscars
Before we dive into the highlights and lowlights of 2023 so far, allow us to begin with a disclaimer: we here at The Couch understand that over half a year has passed by now, and mid-August might be a strange time to do a status check on the pulse of the year. But between the happiness of summer dayz, big vacations, and big life changes, we got a little behind. So sue us! It may just about be the end of #hotgirlsummer, but it's not quite #thotumn, so I think a mid-year check in is still in order.
Besides, in case you haven't heard, actors and writers are now all striking, Boo. It may be a while yet before we get new television and movies-- and if that's what it takes, so be it! Pay them what they deserve!! All this to say, maybe this series can fill the little void between now and whenever these disputes are settled and the fall sports schedule really swings into full gear.
I ideally would like like to publish "midyear" pieces in, you know, the actual middle of the year. So, some time around late June or early July. This year-- much like last year -- life craziness rendered that impossible. However, for this piece in particular, the timing could not have worked out better. I watched an embarrassingly low number of movies this year before the summer months held a few major releases, and accordingly, more than doubled my intake.
The strike has caused studios to delay multiple big-name releases, and thus we might be in a bit of a movie lull for the next couple months. That said, film circles are still abuzz about many different November/December releases, so I don't expect my year-end list (nor the awards circuit) to necessarily look a whole lot like the films in this checkpoint article. Rather, for now, enjoy a brief, only partially-informed take on the state of movies thus far:
BEST PICTURE:
Oppenheimer
Anyone who listened to our Barbenheimer podcast last month won't be surprised by this selection, having heard how much I loved this movie. Oppenheimer had all the ingredients of a film I would absolutely eat up, and still managed to exceed my expectations, even if the film itself subverted some expectations-- and certainly marked a pretty radical departure from most of Christopher Nolan's previous filmography. If the first half or so of the movie was a well-written, marvelously-acted biopic, the second half kicks it up considerably, as the universal, political, and personal all coalesce tremendously, leaving us with a greater sense of the moral ambiguity of the titular man himself, as well as the dreadful impact of his invention.
Honorable Mention: Asteroid City
BEST DIRECTOR:
Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer
An oft-overlooked, but crucial facet of the Barbenheimer phenomenon's appeal was the directors involved: two of the most esteemed and appreciated directors in their generation of filmmakers, both with well-established online fanbases as well. Perhaps fittingly, both can be expected to be major players in the Best Director race this year. My vote, though, regardless of how much I like Greta Gerwig, goes to Oppenheimer here as well. Christopher Nolan's purist tendencies often elicit eyerolls across the casual film appreciator, and understandably so, but they proved wholly worthwhile in this film. Despite being perhaps the most straightforward and restrained story of his entire filmography, Oppenheimer is in many ways among his most grand movies to date, and lends credence to his cry to see movies in the theatres. It's often gorgeous to look at, its use of sound is phenomenal, and the more personal scenes between actors are each shot so intimately. It isn't a flawless film, perhaps, but it's hard to find many notes in Nolan's direction that I (or most) would dare nitpick.
Honorable Mention: Greta Gerwig, Barbie
BEST ACTRESS:
Abby Ryder Fortson, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
I was pleasantly surprised by how genuinely, unironically good the adaptation of Judy Blume's teen novel was, and Are You There God? could not have been a success without a star turn from its titular Margaret. It got that in the form of 15-year old Abby Ryder Fortson. So often child/teen actors, even the best of them, default to the Disney school of over-expressiveness or odd diction. Fortson, however, was much more in the vein of Elsie Fisher's terrific performance in Eighth Grade: you believe every word she's saying because she just looks and sounds like an everyday teenager. Her awkwardness was palpable and so humanizing, her earnest goodness making the protagonist an easy young girl to cheer for.
Honorable Mention: Margot Robbie, Barbie
BEST ACTOR:
Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer
This category is aided by the fact that hardly any other films I've seen this year have a standout actor; the likes of Air and Asteroid City, for example, have solid outputs from their leading men, but each film really hinges on its whole ensemble. But truth be told, I think the Academy Award might also just be Cillian Murphy's to lose. So often the understated actor has come in to deliver a quietly outstanding turn in a supporting role across his filmography, but suddenly thrust into the limelight by Nolan, he did more than hold his own in Oppenheimer, He was positively marvelous as the historical figure, demonstrating the genius, playfulness, anxiety, flirtation, and dedication of the complex man, so much of it in his expressive face and with slight cues from his body language. A win for Cillian would be a welcome change of pace, too; a Best Actor win that didn't just rely on heavy prosthetics, bombast and/or mental sickness, or a grueling physical transformation.
Honorable Mention: Chris Pine, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Viola Davis, Air
Air is a very good and very enjoyable movie, but its potential downfall would be the lack of the 'human element.' In other words, it's difficult to root for a bunch of middle-aged men who work to make loads of money for their massive company, who knew? Enter Viola Davis-- hand-picked by the real-life Michael Jordan to play his mother. Viola's Deloris Jordan represents the heart of the film. Her gentle, but rock-solid stoicism and staunch defense of her son reminds the audience the 'magic' of the Air Jordan deal wouldn't have been possible without the icon himself, and his family.
Honorable Mention: Scarlett Johansson, Asteroid City
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Ryan Gosling, Barbie
Twitter is abuzz about the Barbenheimer Best Supporting Actor race, but with all due respect to Robert Downey, Jr., who was terrific in Oppenheimer, this shouldn't be a race. Ryan Gosling is long overdue for an Oscar anyhow, but his Ken is note-perfect. The puppy-like eagerness to impress and be with Barbie, the childlike understanding of patriarchy and how it benefits him, the fragile masculinity on full display any time another man confronts him... each work so well because of how expertly Gosling conveys each. This movie might have been a wild change of direction for the oft-serious actor, but it's truly impossible to imagine anybody else in this role.
Honorable Mention: Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, Barbie
I don't actually know whether Barbie will be considered an original or adapted screenplay; there may be some existing Barbie 'canon' from which this is technically adapted. As far as I know, though, none exists, and Greta Gerwig's film is nothing if not wildly original. Similar to The Daniels' Original Screenplay win at the Oscars last year for Everything Everywhere All At Once, the magic of Gerwig and Noah Baumbach's screenplay isn't in clever or poetic dialogue necessarily, although there are memorable one-liners aplenty. Rather, it's in the wildly creative world-building, layered referential humor, and in Trojan-horsing a significant, emotional message amidst the wackiness.
Honorable Mention: Alex Convery, Air
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer
I do think Kelly Fremon Craig did a terrific job with a classic teen story, and I'm sure there will be other strong adapted screenplays in the months to come, but I have a hard time seeing anyone but Nolan holding this particular Oscar come next March. I admittedly haven't read Kai Bird's and Martin J. Sherwin's American Prometheus, but by all accounts Nolan's screenplay stays very true to the source material, and some clunky romantic dialogue aside, it's far and away the best-written script of any of his films. It's unclear how much this would translate to the Academy, but the way Cillian Murphy's script notes were written in the first person was a neat touch, and the dual 'Fusion' and 'Fission' timelines were equal parts clever and effective.
Honorable Mention: Kelly Fremon Craig, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
BEST ORIGINAL SONG:
Billie Eilish, "What Was I Made For?" (Barbie)
There will be hell to pay if the Best Original Song winner doesn't come from the Barbie soundtrack, I'd bet. It's a soundtrack jam-packed with bangers from some of the biggest names in music....and Ryan Gosling, who is certainly the crowd favorite to win this award for "I'm Just Ken." Gosling is great, and sells this musical number so well, and should it transpire, would make a delightful live performance at the Oscars. But on its own merits, the song isn't nearly quite as good as either radio hit from the pop princesses of recent years, Billie Eilish and Dua Lipa. Dua's "Dance The Night" is, as expected, an infectious disco-inspired tune, which I never get tired of hearing, but it's Billie's tear-jerking "What Was I Made For?" that gets at the heart of Barbie's message and drives the sentiment home for the audience.
Honorable Mention: Dua Lipa, "Dance The Night" (Barbie)
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