Best Director: Ranking Every Oscar Nominee
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
Only two categories left. Best Picture is around the corner, and that means we have to go through the nominated directors associated with these films. Often considered the second biggest award of the night, Best Director is a really big deal when it comes to the larger perspective of the ceremony. Usually (not always) the winning director’s associated film will go on to win Best Picture, but we’ve seen separate films win time and time again (last year alone, Jane Campion won for The Power of the Dog, but CODA won the top prize). Nonetheless, this is usually a very tight race, and this year is no different. We’ve got five — scratch that, six — filmmakers that have left their mark on 2022. Let’s see how they resonated with the Academy. Here are your nominees.
Biggest Snub: Aftersun-Charlotte Wells
Of course I’m going to elect Charlotte Wells, whose debut, Aftersun, was my favourite film of last year. This film is resplendent, nostalgic, and bittersweet. Wells toys around with memory and time so effortlessly in a way that a cinematic master would, and yet this is her first feature. So much of Aftersun’s success is indebted to how brilliant Wells is as a director already. I can imagine another filmmaker making something far more drab with the exact same subject matter. Not Wells, who has already made a name for herself.
5. The Fabelmans-Steven Spielberg
I think Steven Spielberg displays some of his finest work in years here (outside of the technical marvels of West Side Story, I feel like The Fabelmans is his strongest film as a director in a very long time). I had to place somebody last, and it wasn’t easy. For me, Spielberg is great, but we also expect exactly what we get with The Fabelmans. I feel like we got something new from the other directors that were nominated, but there’s nothing wrong with Spielberg being dependable as always with his latest feature. The Fabelmans is tender, not overly sappy, inspiring, emotional, and incredibly personal for Spielberg. It’s a success all around.
4. Triangle of Sadness-Ruben Östlund
I really, really, really want to place Ruben Östlund higher on this list. I am a huge fan of his, and I think he has so many terrific ideas in Triangle of Sadness. However, I have to be fair and unbiased, and I cannot ignore how I feel like this film grinds itself to a snails pace at times; this makes moments of discomfort and torture feel especially sadistic, when we focus on the miseries of others for long periods of time. Ignoring these, Östlund has such a fascinating way of approaching postmodern cinema, forcing us to distance ourselves from his works and view them from the outside. While this approach doesn’t work quite as well with Triangle of Sadness, it’s strong enough to still make this scathing satire one of the most talked about features of the year. If you’re new to his films, I cannot recommend Force Majeure and The Square enough.
3. The Banshees of Inisherin-Martin McDonagh
I love what Martin McDonagh pulled off as a director with The Banshees of Inisherin, especially since this feels like his greatest achievement as an artist. Why is he kind of low on this list? I feel like McDonagh still shines more as a writer than a director here, and so much of The Banshees of Inisherin and its success is thanks to his script. Again, McDonagh rightfully deserves to be nominated for this poetically bittersweet tragi-comedy, especially with how he channels Ingmar Bergman and Robert Bresson and their depictions of existential depression. McDonagh is great at blending moods and tones, and The Banshees of Inisherin is his best example so far.
2. Everything Everywhere All at Once-Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
Outside of the acting, the best thing about Everything Everywhere All at Once is how it is directed. Think about it. Who else could make a film this batshit insane, this silly, this profound, this beautiful, this strange, and this familiar all at the same time? The Daniels, of course. I don’t know if every film they will make from here on out will be a slam dunk, but Everything Everywhere All at Once is a tremendously directed film, and there’s no denying this. Whether this ends up being lighting in a bottle or not, this film is a major flex by two filmmakers that may actually be more aware of what they’re doing than we may have initially thought.
Cameron Geiser’s review of Everything Everywhere All at Once
1. Tár-Todd Field
Tár is my favourite film nominated here, but this goes beyond that. What Todd Field achieves with this film is completely unmatched, in my opinion. One of the best directed films of the last few years, Tár is a masterclass lesson on pacing, on tone, on development, on character, on both maximalism and on minimalism. Field clearly studied under Stanley Kubrick (he starred in Eyes Wide Shut) because he exhibits the late auteur’s patient, scrutinizing style that wrings out so much purpose and meaning from each and every moment. For me there is no competition. This should be Todd Field’s Oscar.
Who I want to win: Gee. I wonder. Todd Field.
Who I think will win: It won’t be Todd Field. Let’s be real. So this could go to one of three nominees:
-If the Academy wants to go safe and honour one of their pals, this will be Steven Spielberg’s third win.
-If The Banshees of Inisherin wins Best Picture and not for its screenplay, Martin McDonagh will win here. If it does win for its screenplay and is slated to win Best Picture, McDonagh may nor may not win here; it’s not certain.
-If Everything Everywhere All at Once is due to win Best Picture, the Daniels can win here.
Realistically, I think the Daniels have the highest odds of winning, especially after their Directors Guild of America win. They will most likely win regardless of whether or not Everything Everywhere All at Once is due to win Best Picture.
Tune in tomorrow for our final Academy Award category: Best Picture. We’re almost at the finish line!
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Toronto Metropolitan University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.