Award Adjustments: Who Deserved the 2025 Oscar Awards?
Luka Oatman || STAFF WRITER
Since Oscar season has passed, it is time to look back and admire some of the best cinematic productions from this past year. Though the nominated films each have their own strengths, only a few emerged victorious, boasting highly sought-after awards to recognize their excellence. Of the winners for the 23 categories, I disagreed with several. Here are my top picks from this year’s selection.
Best picture: I am firmly convinced that The Substance should have received this year’s award for best picture. The cast of this film was not only convincing in their individual roles but worked together flawlessly. The actors harbored a strong sense of togetherness, and their connections felt authentic. Furthermore, The Substance’s camera crew challenged themselves with unique, difficult shots. The viewer frequently sees through the eyes of the leading roles, including views of actors through mirrors. The camera work for these scenes was thoroughly impressive and added to the overall intricacy of the movie. In terms of writing, The Substance tackled difficult themes, challenging the concept of unattainable beauty through satire. Through this outlandish, dramatic story, the film’s writers made an indirect commentary on the impossible definition of beauty in Hollywood, and did so seamlessly. This movie was perfect in nearly every aspect and, in my opinion, was deserving of best picture.
Performance by an actor in a leading role: In Sing Sing, Colman Domingo created a complex character, Divine G. I believe that Domingo deserved the Oscar for Best Leading Actor for his astounding performance of optimism. Throughout the film we see Domingo maintain a consistently well developed character as he navigates through the endeavors of a small group of inmates producing plays. I found it amazing to see how Divine G finds a sense of self through the group of players, and it is easy to appreciate the effort and dedication to the role that was made by Domingo. His choices within the character are clearly thoughtful and purposeful, making it clear to me that he should possess this award.
Performance by an actress in a leading role: Although each of the nominees for this category performed wonderfully in their own aspects, one actress was truly outstanding in comparison to the rest. Demi Moore was incredible as Elisabeth Sparkle in The Substance, showcasing a true comprehension of the character’s emotional conflicts. As the film progresses, it remains evident that Moore put a lot of effort into understanding how her character would react to each of the difficulties she is faced with. It truly felt as though she were deeply connected with the role throughout the movie, which is a difficult feat to accomplish, especially while handling a display of such emotional maturity as her role required. While I watched The Substance, I never doubted the authenticity of Moore’s performance as she embodied the dismay of her character, growing steadily more tired and losing sanity, up until the very last moment of the film. Her performance as Elisabeth Sparkle was spectacular, and she is beyond deserving of this award.
Cinematography: Of the nominated movies for the Best Cinematography award, Emilia Pérez was the most memorable for me. Although the film is facing some backlash for its recent win of the Golden Globe award for Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy), some backlash which I can not say I disagree with, it was recorded and edited in such a way that I was able to look past my discontent with the musical score and recognize its unique style. Emilia Pérez frequently included distinctive camera angles, all of which were connected and displayed in such a way that their creative excellence was evident throughout. The film and editing crews of this movie obviously dedicated a lot of effort to ensuring each scene was shot from a new perspective, working seamlessly with the set designers and choreographers to perfectly capture and utilise each individual detail. Emilia Pérez stood out amongst the films selected for this award, the majority of which were filmed and edited in a fairly standard, familiar style. Emilia Pérez should undoubtedly be applauded for its creative and abstract style.
Music (Original Score): Renowned for its original Broadway musical form, Wicked hails at the top of my list for overall musical achievement. The film’s soundtrack included key elements from the original adaptation while still featuring unique changes and creative liberties. This is to the credit of the actors, actresses, musical directors, and composers who contributed to the film. In comparison to the other movies that were nominated for this award, Wicked’s score was unique, emotionally compelling, and vocally impressive. Additionally, the songs were lyrically creative, involving select words from the fictional language in the land of Oz, such as “disgusticified,” “scandalocious,” and “hideoteous.” Wicked’s musical team did not fail to consistently amaze me with their orchestration. They are “clandestinedly” deserving of this award for their “thrillifying” score.
Music (Original Song): Coming from The Six Triple Eight, “The Journey” does an incredible job recounting the film’s events. Following the true story of women of color who fought in World War II, the movie includes scenes that are emotionally burdensome and anxiety-inducing. “The Journey,” performed by H.E.R., includes minor piano chords that occasionally resolve to a major progression, perfectly resembling the somber and uncertain times experienced by the women in the 6888 Battalion. The song’s lyrics are complex, telling of “the times [they] thought [they’d] never make it through,” and how those times were “part of the plan, the journey.” The composition of the song invoked a strong sense of sorrow and perfectly complemented the story captured by the film. Its placement at the end is phenomenally powerful, helping summarize the events of the movie. With its continuous melodic and lyrical excellence, “The Journey” exceeded my expectations and was undoubtedly my favorite of the songs nominated for this award.
Performance by an actor in a supporting role: Anora’s Yura Borisov stole the show with his role of Igor. Borisov played the part with ease, and his presence was overall quite enjoyable. His character was very memorable and believable, and although the character was relatively simple, he stood out amongst the chaos of the movie. His role, an inexpressive henchman hired to find the son of a Russian oligarch, was played expertly and helped ground some of the more overwhelming scenes. However, when necessary, he was able to contribute to the overall disorder of the production. For example, his execution of fight choreography was thoroughly impressive, moving quickly and demonstrating a believable altercation. Borisov was incredible as Igor, and holds his spot as my favorite of the nominees for this award.
Performance by an actress in a supporting role: With her performance as Rita Mora Castro in Emilia Pérez, Zoe Saldaña took me by surprise. Castro is a lawyer who is kidnapped and hired to aid a criminal in transitioning from male to female. As she is jostled between a life of luxury and the complications of organizing the sex change, her emotions rapidly change. I was stunned by the ability of Saladaña to make such quick shifts in sentiment, carrying an effortless accuracy with the character’s display. It was truly amazing to see how Saldaña’s body language adjusted scene by scene to fit the character’s environment. Displaying emotion is something that many actors and actresses spend years attempting to perfect, and Saldaña seems to have reached that point of perfection, qualifying her for the award.
image credits: Vogue
