Best Picture Oscar Rankings (2024)
Wow. What an incredibly strong year for film. I’ve been privileged enough to have seen a lot of cinema over the past 12 months, but equally feel like I’m still trying to catch up. There’s so much good stuff out there, and not enough hours in the day to see it all. (I’ve still not seen All of us Strangers)Anyhoo, I love a list and I’ve ranked the Oscar Best Picture 10. Just for fun, purely my own thoughts etc. Enjoy!
- Barbie
I’ve been a Greta Gerwig stan for a while now (main thanks to my pal Vicky Teinaki for that), so I had a hunch that Barbie would be fun. But I don’t think anyone had any idea just how much of a game changer this movie would be. It was one half of the most exciting cinema experience in years (I wrote about Barbenheimer here). Margot Robbie cemented herself as a major power player in film by stating that this movie would make a billion dollars and it did. So yes it’s madness that Robbie and Gerwig weren’t recognised in their respective categories. On the plus side, it’s been reported that Ryan Gosling will sing I’m Just Ken with a chorus of 65 (!) Kens. I cannot wait.
2. Past lives
I’ve previously written here about this absolutely gorgeous film. It’s now on Netflix in the UK. I urge you to check it out.
3. Poor things
First things first. Being Scottish (and from just outside of Glasgow), it would be very remiss of me not to mention the controversy around this adaption. Poor Things is adapted from a Glaswegian novel, written by Alasdair Gray, who was lauded for some of Scotland’s most important fiction. The film version of Poor Things has been stripped completely of it’s Glaswegian-ness, and for that, attention should be paid. You can read all about it here.
But taken on it’s own merits, I really loved this film. I love a bit of weirdness and it had it in spades. Emma Stone’s performance is bonkers, Mark Ruffallo is clearly having the time of his life, and the steam punk design is just gorgeous. Lily Gladstone will win Best Actress and deservedly so, but if Emma Stone wins for Poor Things, I won’t be mad.
4. Anatomy of a fall
Sandra Hüller is this season’s MVP, appearing in not only Anatomy of a fall, but also Zone of Interest. Anatomy of a fall follows a woman who is accused of murder when her husband his found dead, with their blind son as the only witness. It’s only right that Hüller has been recognised in the Best Actress category. It’s got an absolutely cracking screenplay and can be rented from Amazon Prime in the UK.
5. The Holdovers
I’ve previously written about The Holdovers in my film round up of 2023. Cillian Murphy is the currently favourite for Best Actor and deservedly so, but man I wish we lived in an alternate universe where it was Paul Giamatti’s year. He’s surely at the point now where he’s due an award not just for this film, but for an impressive body of work. What a moment it would be if he won.
6. American Fiction
Jeffrey Wright absolutely nails it here. He plays a frustrated author who writes a satire of Black fiction, only to find to his horror that it becomes his most successful work to date. Like many people, I first saw Jeffery Wright in the HBO’s Angels In America. I’m so chuffed that he’s been recognised for his work this oscar season.
7. Killers of the Flower Moon
Lily Gladstone has been smashing award season and no wonder — she is the emotional heart of this film. I found Killers of the Flower Moon to be a really fascinating story about a series of murders in the Osage community. The cast includes usual Scorsese collaborators De Niro and DiCaprio, but it’s also fun to see an ensemble cast featuring amongst others, John Lithgow, Jessie Plemons, and Brendan Fraser.
8. Oppenheimer
I know, I know. This is going to be Best Picture and is at the top of many folks list. It was a great film with many technical achievements, but it’s just not stayed with me as much as some of the other films on this list. Christopher Nolan will win Best Director and it’s an award that is long overdue.
9. Zone of Interest
Yeah….I expected this to be higher too. Zone of Interest follows the family of Nazi commander Rudolf Hoss and his family, who live in the ‘zone of interest’ ie just beside the Auschwitz concentration camp. I really wanted to like it, but personally I found it to be quite slow going. What is fascinating is watching Hoss’s wife and children go about their daily business, while we know what horrors are evolving over the garden wall. The latter scenes of the film are certainly worth discussion too.
10. Maestro
Oh Bradley. I really feel for you mate. You want an Oscar and people take the piss for you for being so obvious about it, despite the fact that you’re not the only one who wants a gold statuette. But mate, this ain’t it. My main bugbear with Maestro is that it starts in the wrong place. I wanted to see how Leonard Bernstein becomes Leonard Bernstein, but it starts when he’s already successful. It’s frustrating to me that we don’t get to see that career progression. I think that would have been quite an interesting story to see. The fantasy sequences were good, but overall, this film just didn’t work for me.
And thats it! Good luck to all the nominees, see you next Oscar season!