The 92nd Academy Awards- The Oscars- Best Picture
The annual Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, are coming up again for the 92nd time. Off course, as always, there is plenty of competition for each category. The category I will be discussing now is the best picture category, and the films that have been nominated for it.
First of all we have Ford v. Ferrari, a biopic about the men who worked to create a car that could stand up to Enzo Ferrari’s race cars. Auto designer Carroll Shelby and race car driver Ken Miles aimed to beat Ferrari with a high-performance race car for the Ford Motor Company at the 1966 Le Mans endurance Grand Prix.
Next on the list of nominees, we have The Irishman, which sees World War II vet Frank Sheeran reflecting on his life as a hustler and mob hitman. The movie also shows him working alongside many notorious figures, including Jimmy Hoffa, the subject of one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in American history.
Up next, we have the dramedy that it Jojo Rabbit, a Taika Waititi film. The movie shows us the life of a lonely German boy being turned upside down when he discovers his single mother is hiding a young Jewish girl in their attic. The movie is set to the backdrop of WWII and, aided only by his idiotic imaginary friend Adolf Hitler, Jojo must confront his blind nationalism.
One of the biggest contenders for this year has to be Joker. We see a young man longing to be a stand-up comic, but finds the joke is always on him. Set to the backdrop of Gotham’s fractured society, we see the comedian making one bad decision after another, bringing about a chain reaction of escalating events. Joaquin Phoenix was praised heavily for his part in the film, and it definitely makes Joker one of the top films.
Releasing at the tail end of 2019, the movie Little Women has made its way onto the nomination list. It is a historical period drama and it is the seventh film adaptation of the 1868 novel of the same name by Louisa May Alcott. Little Women tells the story of burgeoning author Jo March looks back on her and her three sisters’ Massachusetts childhoods and the events and relationships that helped shape them as adults in the 1860’s.
Following that is, Marriage Story, a film that shows us a young creative couple and their son navigating the tricky waters of bicoastal separation and impending divorce. It is a film that blatantly shows us how difficult real life can be sometimes. This gives it its place on the list of nominees for best picture.
Another film which released at the end of the year that made its way onto the best picture list was 1917. 1917 depicts two British soldiers being sent on a dangerous mission to stop an attack by the British 7th Division that will result in a massacre by the Germans during WWI. Their assignment takes on extra urgency as one of the young soldiers’ brothers is fighting in that Division.
Also among the nominees is Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood, Quentin Tarantino’s 9th film. It tells the story of aging TV star Rick Dalton and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth. In Los Angeles in 1969, they struggle to make their way around an industry and a city they hardly recognize anymore.
The final nominee for best picture for the 92nd Academy Awards is Parasite. Parasite shows the newly formed symbiotic relationship between the wealthy Park family and the destitute Kim clan being threatened by greed, class discrimination and a mysterious interloper.
All of these films were nominated to receive the award for best picture of the year. My pick for which one it should be is definitely Joker, but I don’t make the decisions. We’ll just have to wait and find out exactly which one has managed to make the cut on Sunday, February 9, 2020.