97th Academy Awards Results and Review

Written by Andreas Babiolakis

Our list of all of the 97th Academy Awards winners will be after our review of the ceremony, if you wish to skip ahead. This is a live article that will be updated in real time.

Review

Much was riding on the 97th Academy Awards. The fires that shook up Southern California remains on all of the minds of Los Angeles natives. This awards season has been arguably the most toxic of all time; from all of the Emilia Pérez backlash (including star Karla Sofía Gascón’s parade of awful tweets) and the use of artificial intelligence in numerous nominated films (from The Brutalist to Dune: Part Two), to the deep-digging of dirt on many other nominees (very few names were left unscathed), there was a much-needed call for positivity amidst political miasma, a nation and industry divided, and an entertainment form whose future is teetering on the brink of obscurity. Could the adored television personality Conan O’Brien be the burst of laughs and joy that this ceremony needed?

A montage kicked off with Judy Garland’s Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz clicking her iconic ruby shoes and declaring “There’s no place like home” before we cut to many films that explore and celebrate Hollywood, Los Angeles, and California, from Mulholland Drive (by the late David Lynch) and La La Land; it concludes with a quote by Michelle Yeoh from Everything Everywhere All at Once: “Of all the places I could be, I’d only want to be here with you.” Shortly after, we cut to Oscar nominee Ariana Grande singing the iconic Oz anthem “Over the Rainbow”, wearing a dazzling, sparkling ruby dress to mirror Dorothy’s slippers (the parallel is clear, given Grande’s association with the nominated musical Wicked). Of course, it would only make sense for her co-star Cynthia Erivo to appear, who sang Diana Ross’ “Home” from, of course, The Wiz (which, much like Wicked, is very much a sister film to The Wizard of Oz). Erivo and Grande then shared a duet that could only be “Defying Gravity” from their film: a song that takes on a different meaning when applied to the sensitive aura that the Dolby Theatre was feeling this fateful, anticipated evening of filmic celebration. Between all three songs and the opening montage, this was a gorgeous and heartfelt opening to serenade a healing community, industry, and state.

Of course, it was back to business right afterward, as a funny sketch where a producer is chasing after O’Brien segues into a gruesome shot of the host coming out of Demi Moore’s body courtesy of The Substance; he dives back into her back’s orifice to try and find his missing shoe. He is welcomed to the Dolby Theatre with the announcement that he is nothing more than a four time Oscar viewer; his lack of provenance here is commented upon by O’Brien himself, who begs the audience to “sit down” when they were already sitting, a clear joke about the uproarious standing ovation that the Oz-themed opening earned. He then stated that A Complete Unknown, A Real Pain, and Nosferatu weren’t nominated films, but, rather what he was called on the red carpet; his self deprecation knows no bounds. “I didn’t want The Brutalist to end,” O’Brien stated before retorting that fortunately, “it didn’t”. Of course, O’Brien also had to dig into some more obvious and controversial topics, including stating that Anora only has three more f-words than Karla Sofía Gascón’s publicist after her Twitter tirades; he then clarified that, should Gascón angrily tweet about the evening, that his name is “Jimmy Kimmel”; Gascón seemed to take the jab quite well. This joke alone seemed to dissipate some of the tension in the room, and Conan kept going.

”Bob Dylan wanted to be here tonight, but not that badly,” O’Brien joked about A Complete Unknown, before diving into another Timothée Chalamet project, Dune: Part Two, clarifying that the reason why smartphones were banned on set was because too many cast members had to Google everything about Dune in order to make it make sense. Before the show continued, O’Brien stated some “house rules”: speeches that run too long will not be cut by music but, rather, a shot of Conclave star John Lithgow’s disappointed face (which could prove to be effective). Should winners not leave, O’Brien threatened to show old headshots, including some examples (like The Brutalist star Guy Pearce, who O’Brien joked used to be in Guns N’Roses), before using Chalamet as another punchline: his headshot was an ultrasound image. O’Brien sacrificed himself with an awkward child image of himself, before asking if Lithgow approved (judging by his disappointed face, he did not). Then there was a dress code rule, where O’Brien proceeded to throw out Adam Sandler, who was dressed in basketball shorts and a neon-blue hoodie; Sandler offered to host some celebrity basketball nearby.

Finally, O’Brien went into the real elephant in the room: how phony an awards show may be in the face of the L.A. fires. O’Brien spotlighted the many types of crew members who are integral to making motion pictures, and that this evening is important to honouring them and not just the beautiful stars who get championed the most. He admitted that the Oscars are a “seemingly absurd ritual” but that it has a special place in the world because of how it can benefit the film industry and the millions of workers in it (a QR code popped up so viewers can donate to help wildfire relief efforts); as to not end on a somber and too-serious note, O’Brien wailed a tune called “Why Would I Waste Time” to, as you guessed it, waste more time, as a sandworm played “Chopsticks” on the piano and Deadpool — who, as O’Brien admitted, wasn’t even nominated — pranced around.

The first win was one of the most obvious predictions made true: Kieran Culkin winning for Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain. Culkin used the opportunity to not only shout out his Succession co-star who was nominated alongside him (for The Apprentice), he also brought up his wife who allegedly promised that they could conceive a third child after Culkin won an Emmy for the aforementioned HBO classic series; she also shook hands with Culkin that they could have a fourth kid should he win an Oscar (Culkin used this opportunity to hilariously bring up that it’s time to get cracking on that new offspring). Naturally, some of his speech was censored because Culkin is one to go off on beautifully foul-mouthed rants (he didn’t disappoint).

Shortly after that, Zoe Saldaña — one of the most successful superstars of all time, considering box office bankability — won her first Oscar for the highly-polarizing film Emilia Pérez; her teary eyed speech — one full of heaps of gratitude and years of hard work that built up to this very moment — honoured her Dominican heritage and her immigration to the United States to best represent her family. Emilia Pérez — nominated for a whopping thirteen Oscars — wound up only winning two awards total (the other for Best Original Song for the track “El Mal”).

Anora made major ground early on with an expected Best Original Screenplay win — up against the other potential Best Picture hopeful, Conclave, and its Best Adapted Screenplay award. However, this Best Picture tell-tale sign wound up coming from the Best Film Editing award, and Anora beat out Conclave, setting the stage for the rest of the night. Sean Baker both wrote and edited Anora, so he won twice in the first hour of the evening. This would only predict Baker winning a total four Oscars, another for Best Director (over the previously slated name, Brady Corbet for The Brutalist), and another for — spoiler alert — the big prize: Best Picture (as a producer). Additionally, that wasn’t all for the independent film. There’d be no Anora without, well, Anora, and that means that Mikey Madison went home with one of the biggest twists of the night: the Best Actress win over the highly-predicted Demi Moore for The Substance; the latter film did win for Best Makeup and Hairstyling, naturally.

It wasn’t all bad news for The Brutalist, which did go on to win Best Actor for Adrien Brody (over Timothée Chalamet and A Complete Unknown; the Bob Dylan biopic went home empty handed alongside another Best Picture nominee, Nickel Boys); The Brutalist also won for Best Original Score and Best Cinematography. I’m Still Here clinched the Best International Feature Film award over Emilia Pérez, but it won nothing else otherwise (however, its win is still quite an achievement, given that it was one of the last nominees to be released and had to play catch-up with most of the other nominated films, mainly Emilia Pérez which cleaned up every International category until tonight). Dune: Part Two and Wicked (part one, technically) won two awards apiece, Best Sound and Best Visual Effects for the former, and Best Costume Design and Best Production Design for the latter. No Other Land won Best Documentary Feature film, which was highly expected. What was a bit more of a surprise was that the Latvian, dialogue-free film, Flow, won Best Animated Feature Film over The Wild Robot: a welcome win nonetheless, and one that shows support for daring features.

O’Brien was mostly electrifying and kept the laughs coming all night, including a dark quip about how Anora is about an American who actually stands up to a Russian with power (an obvious jab I don’t feel like explaining). However, he saved some of his darkest jokes for some of the fire department captains who helped put out the very fires that were on the minds of all attendees and viewers of these Oscars. However, I don’t mean that they were the butt of O’Brien’s jokes, but, rather, they got to deliver them: a fun opportunity for real heroes to be named, spotlighted, and cherished (they were great at their comedic delivery as well). With the sandworm returning (this time to play a harp), a suit change (a blue tux to contrast his signature orange hair), and many back-from-the-break jokes (including a feud with the ceremony’s narrator, the one and only Nick Offerman), O’Brien did quite a strong job these Oscars under much pressure and expectation. He simply is a natural, and I hope he gets invited back.

There was a focus on celebrating both film and the people who make it happen all night. Various categories, like Best Costume Design and Best Cinematography, had cast members of their respective films honour those who helped make their films, stories, characters, and settings come to life. Categories like Best Original Song had the nominees themselves talk about their work and how they came up with their ideas. Then, there were other ways that the craft of filmmaking were honoured, like a visual gag with Ben Stiller where his rising platform was stuck and he struggled to get out of the ditch in the stage, or June Squibb and Scarlett Johanson presenting an award as “Bill Skarsgard” and “Andy Serkis”, in prosthetics and motion capture, respectively. There was a hint of appreciation for film throughout the evening, from the way awards were presented to the comedy that tied everything together. With glowing tributes to fallen titans, like Queen Latifah belting out a Quincy Jones number or friend Morgan Freeman honouring the late Gene Hackman, those we have lost were also clearly present as a theme of the evening (Isabella Rosellini inviting Laura Dern feels like an unattended David Lynch homage as well); how Michelle Trachtenberg was forgotten in the In Memorium is a little puzzling, however.

Overall, the evening was mostly a success. There were expected winners with some pleasant curveballs; I’d argue that there weren’t any egregious winners tonight. During a time where the Academy could have played it safe and commonplace by its own standards (Conclave), it instead went daring, inspired, and invigorating. An independent film about a sex worker’s day from hell won five Academy Awards. An indie director who produced, directed, wrote, and edited a film was championed. In a time where indie cinema is a dying art, the Academy chose to honour the very craft of filmmaking. That isn’t to say that the beautifully conceived Conclave wouldn’t have celebrated the height of making motion pictures either (its sets, costumes, and performances are spectacular), but seeing a bare-bones director who started off by making films with a smartphone make it all the way to the top is something special. It means something: the Academy isn’t ready for dreamers to quit their visions. During a time of uncertainty, despair, and grief within Los Angeles, the film industry, the nation, and on a global scale, the Oscars was full of life, love, and visceral magic. Without any major flubs, setbacks, or controversies, I’d call the 97th Academy Awards a good evening of unity, glamour, and a cherishing of all things film.

Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson 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.

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