Oscars 2019: The battle for best picture

For the first time ever, a Netflix movie ‘Roma’ has a chance to win the Oscar Award in the Best Picture category. It won’t be easy.  On Sunday evening, at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, only one of these eight movies will be announced as the winner – ‘Roma’, ‘A Star is Born’, ‘The Favourite’, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘Black Panther’, ‘Green Book’, ‘Vice’ and ‘BlacKkKlansman’. In the movie, ‘Roma’, the director of Alfonso Cuarón, tells us an intimate story of a domestic worker in Mexico City in 1971, based on his own childhood. It’s natural outlook, its black and white magic, and its heart-tugging story makes it a top runner. 

If ‘Roma’ wins, it could also be for the first time ever, that an Oscar for best picture and best foreign language film would be going to the same film. But, the biopic ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ - which has nominations in five categories - is my favourite. And, while on favourites, I must say that ‘The Favourite’, according to my friends, seems to have a bigger chance. In ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, I had found Rami Malek’s acting as Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of the British Band ‘Queen’, praise-worthy. And with that terrific reconstruction of the Live Aid Concert, in the movie, I felt the movie will score well with the jury.

But, according to friends, ‘The Favourite’, made on the British Queen – the real queen from the 18th century, Queen Anne - has garnered a staggering ten nominations. And, simple logic should tell us that the movie must be good, on many counts. I have not watched the movie yet. But from the trailer of this stunning period drama, we can see that the sets, costumes, and acting skills, could make it a top contender. What can we say about ‘A Star Is Born’?  This American musical romantic drama film, with Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga playing the lead roles, has already won great acclaim.

And it could easily warm the hearts of the jury. It is sad that Bradley Cooper, the director – this was his directorial debut – did not receive an Oscar nomination. But it is good that Bradley Cooper, the actor, has received one. In fact, this would be his third nomination for the Best Actor Award; after ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ (2012) and ‘American Sniper’ (2014). Let’s hope he will be ‘third time lucky’, and finally win an Oscar for acting. Even though, not surprisingly, just a few days ago, he has already won a Grammy Award, for singing! His performance “Shallow” (with Lady Gaga), which was adjudged the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, is from the same movie: ‘A Star Is Born’. ‘Black Panther’ is a great movie too, but is unlikely to win an Oscar, according to some movie critics.

They say that a superhero movie with a mainly black cast will never win the big one. But, it is sure to take home at least a few awards, from the six nominations it has got. A film, figuratively speaking, is the soul of its director.  So, when a film gets nominated for ‘Best Picture’ but when its director does not get nominated for ‘Best Director’, it hurts the filmmakers. In 2013, when ‘Argo’ got nominated for ‘Best Picture’ while director Ben Affleck did not get nominated for the ‘Best Director’ category, actor Bradley Cooper had commented: “Ben Affleck got robbed.” Strangely, now, Bradley Cooper himself is in that situation. His movie ‘A Star Is Born’ is nominated, but his directorial effort has been snubbed. In 2013, ‘Argo’ had won. In 2019, let’s just hope Bradley Cooper won’t be robbed of his film, or of his acting.