Oscar nominations 2025: Uncomfortably numb

Edwin Arnaudin: After multiple necessary delays caused by the LA wildfires, the Academy Award nominations are here and...I don't think I've ever been as numb to a batch of finalists.

That's not to say great films aren't represented. The Brutalist, Conclave, and The Substance are included in the top categories and multiple exciting smaller films made the cut, but there's not much spark or disruption to this list, which feels very safe overall. What's your take?

James Rosario: I couldn't agree more. I'm not sure there are any surprises in the whole bunch, which is a disappointment. In a time when the Academy should be making bolder choices, they've clearly played it safe (at least for their intended audience) by going with box-office and "buzz-worthy" favorites. I'm sure they think they're being edgy, but for that you'd also have to have at least a semblance of unpredictability, which they don't.

It almost feels like the Academy only saw about a dozen movies all year and just divvied out nominations where applicable. As per usual (for me anyway), the best titles on this year's list fall under the International Feature category, with The Seed of the Sacred Fig and The Girl With the Needle being two of my favorite films of 2024.

Did they get that category right? And if not, what's missing?

Edwin: International Feature is always so tricky since only the country's official nomination is eligible. So when India doesn't put forth a gem like All We Imagine as Light, it doesn't stand a chance.

I need to catch up with both titles you mentioned, plus surprise Best Picture nominee I'm Still Here to be a category completist. (I'm rooting for Flow, especially since I fear it will lose Animated Feature to the confoundedly popular The Wild Robot.) And I haven't seen a single Documentary Feature nominee. All the doc screeners we got during awards voting sounded so bleak that I avoided them, but perhaps this is where the year's true discoveries lie.

Happy as I am for all the Brutalist and Conclave love, they feel like pretty safe picks next to The Substance. Here's a Hollywood satire from a French female writer/director with levels of body horror that would make David Cronenberg blush, and it's up for Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, Makeup, and Actress, which I think could be won by a very deserving Demi Moore.

Was there anything else that got you that amped?

James: Movies like The Substance rarely get nominations outside of make-up or visual effects, so I'm glad to see it in so many categories. If it winds up winning a few, hopefully that will usher in a new era of Hollywood recognizing horror as a respectable art form, but I have my doubts they're willing to make that jump quite yet.

The Brutalist and Conclave may be predictable choices, but they're both pretty damned good. As of right now (this opinion may change with time), I'm predicting The Brutalist to run away with most of the categories it's nominated in, especially Adrien Brody for Actor in a Leading Role. When Brody decides to turn it on, there's no stopping him.

As far as the rest of the Best Picture nominees go, I think most are a bit overrated (some more than others), although I haven't seen I'm Still Here yet either. Nickel Boys tells a good story but hinges on gimmicked cinematography, while A Complete Unknown, while decent, is predictable entertainment industry self-congratulation. And I have no idea what Dune: Part Two is doing there.

Edwin: I'm with you on Nickel Boys, whose transcendent critical reception eludes me, and the love for Dune: Part Two, a huge fall-off in quality after a strong Part One that deserves an MTV Movie Award for Longest Stare but little else.

James: This leaves Emilia Pérez and Anora. The former is clearly breaking barriers with its cast, but I found the story lacking the punch to back it up. I reasonably enjoyed the latter, but director Sean Baker's style is something I find increasingly grating.

Emilia Pérez. (PAGE 114 - WHY NOT PRODUCTIONS - PATHÉ FILMS - FRANCE 2 CINÉMA)

Edwin: You forgot Wicked, which is something I wish I could do. Its inclusion is as predictable and disheartening as A Complete Unknown, whose popularity proves that viewers want to be spoon fed non-challenging nostalgia. Three acting nominations, plus direction and writing is ridiculous. It barely warrants consideration for Sound.

I like Emilia Pérez a lot but not to the tune of 13 nominations, which feels politically driven and a way for Hollywood to congratulate itself on being progressive. And where to begin with Anora? Sean Baker is a fraud and a poverty tourist who's yet to make a good movie, but watch him win Original Screenplay.

James: I think I'm most excited about the Actor in a Supporting Role category, though. I think I'm rooting for Edward Norton (he was my favorite part of A Complete Unknown, playing an always-smiling Pete Seeger), but there's a lot of talent in there. Who did you like?

Edwin: I wish I shared your enthusiasm. Norton and Anora's Yura Borisov have no business being here, and while I like Jeremy Strong, his Roy Cohn in The Apprentice adds little depth to a figure who's been more compellingly explored in other projects. Strong's Succession co-star Kieran Culkin is quite good in A Real Pain (albeit a bit too much in his wheelhouse), which leaves Guy Pearce's strong turn in The Brutalist as my default favorite.

Other than rooting for The Substance, Conclave, and The Brutalist in all of their nominated categories, I'm most intrigued by Best Actor. Brody probably deserves it, but since he already has a win in this category, I'd prefer to see Ralph Fiennes finally get his flowers. For a while, I thought he and Conclave had a shot at sweeping the big prizes, but that energy seems to have subsided, especially with Edward Berger not up for Best Director.

Any other head-nodding nominations for you before we get to some more head-shaking, particularly over who's not included?

James: If anyone wins Actress in a Supporting Role EXCEPT Isabella Rossellini [for Conclave], I'll eat my hat. (I think I say that about at least one category every year.) First off, she's due. Second, no one else on the list did very compelling work that couldn't have been done just as well by "insert actor name here."

I think cinematography is a toss-up. If you take out Maria (why is it even there?), I could see any of the others pick up the win. I think The Brutalist will ultimately win, but I wouldn't hate Nosferatu taking it home either.

Now to the snubs.

I was a big fan of Kinds of Kindness and The Bikeriders, neither of which gained a single nomination. I thought Ken Loach's The Old Oak might pick up a directing nod, especially considering it's his (alleged) final film. I also thought Daniel Craig was a shoo-in for Best Actor, but alas.

Who were you looking forward to seeing that didn't make the cut?

Edwin: Some Bikeriders and Old Oak love would have been nice, but I fear those films are too quiet to attract Academy attention. And I guess the same goes for Mike Leigh’s excellent Hard Truths, which seemed destined to earn Marianne Jean-Baptiste a well-deserved Best Actress slot.

Civil War is my top feature of 2024, and while at minimum Kirsten Dunst and the sound team should be included, zero nominations stings even if it's a predictable outcome.

However, I did not expect Luca Guadagnino's mammoth year to go ignored. In addition to Craig's mesmerizing performance in Queer, Challengers getting snubbed is unforgivable. Justin Kuritzkes' screenplay is plenty deserving, the three lead performances by Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O’Connor should be up for awards, and the editing might be the best of the year. But Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' score is an all-timer and "Compress/Repress" fuckin' rips. You're telling me Wicked's score and a song from a Tyler Perry movie are more deserving? Please.

Challengers (MGM/Amazon)

I was also mystified by Kinds of Kindness getting nothing one year after the multiple triumphs of writer/director Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things, and Furiosa likewise getting the cold shoulder less than a decade after the slightly inferior Mad Max: Fury Road was up for seemingly everything except acting prizes. Voters are so fickle!

But I really think the Academy did itself a disservice by not nominating Juror #2 for anything. Clint Eastwood's film is already enjoying what will be a long life of home viewing and is the kind of thought-provoking populist movie that all political persuasions can get behind. We have Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav's ignorant stonewalling to thank for this missed opportunity at a semblance of unity when commonalities are needed most.

James: Civil War should easily be up for visual effects as well.

I don't think I loved Challengers as much as you, but the editing was certainly fantastic. I might even go so far as to agree with you that it might be the best cut job of the year.

When it comes to Juror #2, on the other hand, I have to wholeheartedly disagree with you. It should have been good, but some of the dialogue was so cringe-worthy that I released audible groans on more than one occasion. Sorry not sorry it was left out in the cold.

But Furiosa? Hell, I'd give George Miller a directing nod on top of everything because that guy knows how to make a movie. On one hand, more directors should be aping his high-tension, whacked-out style. But on the other hand, they'd probably just foul it up and embarrass themselves, so why bother? When he puts his mind to an action sequence, there's no one in the business who can do it better.

I guess now we'll have to scope the documentary, live-action, and animated shorts, categories that seem to be producing diminishing returns each year.

Edwin: No Wes Anderson short in the bunch this year, though. But we'll have reports on all three categories before long.

Uninspiring as the choices are this year, we at least have an exciting host in Conan O'Brien, so there's that to look forward to. Anything else you hope to see on March 2?

James: Maybe Conan slapping someone. Other than that, I just hope it's not too cringe and it stays within its allotted time slot. Not much to ask, but we all know how this shit goes.

(The Substance photo courtesy of MUBI)