Written and Edited by Ethan Jones and Amelia Evans
From the multiverse-hopping madness of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse to the explosively pink Barbenheimer supernova that swept through cinemas for months on end, 2023 was a stellar year for film. And on Sunday evening this week, the Oscars will finally be held to honour what an exceptional year it was. Oppenheimer is currently predicted to be the big film to beat, but will Christopher Nolan’s latest epic continue its domineering streak by adding yet another trophy to its cabinet, or will something else – something pink, perhaps? – knock it off its pedestal? Only time will tell for the Academy Awards, but right now we have the results of something far more important – the films and television that won the hearts and minds of the Warwick Film and Television Studies Department in Reel Talk’s Annual Alternative Oscars.
Best Film
WINNER: Killers of the Flower Moon – 8 total votes (4 staff, 4 students)
Oppenheimer – 6 total votes (2 staff, 4 students)
Anatomy of a Fall – 5 total votes (all students)
The Holdovers – 4 total votes (2 staff, 2 students)
The Zone of Interest – 4 total votes (3 staff, 1 student)
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – 4 total votes (1 staff, 3 students)
Past Lives – 4 total votes (1 staff, 3 students)
Poor Things – 4 total votes (all students)
Narrowly beating Oppenheimer, the odds-on favourite, to secure the top prize, Martin Scorsese’s staggering epic Killers of the Flower Moon has been determined as Reel Talk’s film of the year. Regrettably, it does not seem poised to win too many “actual” Oscars come Sunday night, although that doesn’t diminish the film’s place as one of Scorsese’s many (many, many) masterworks. Anatomy of a Fall finished in third place, just behind Oppenheimer, with five total votes, all of which came from students, while five films tied each other with four votes apiece. The Holdovers, The Zone of Interest, Past Lives and Poor Things are all nominees in the official Academy Awards, while Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – equal parts one of the year’s most critically acclaimed and commercially successful releases – was regrettably snubbed in all but Best Animated Feature, although it is quite likely to at least take home the win there. This was certainly not the extent of films nominated for Best Film, however, as everything from Emerald Fennell’s hotly controversial Saltburn to Best Documentary-favourite 20 Days in Mariupol was championed by our community in some form or another, including one-off votes for Asteroid City, Godzilla Minus One, Showing Up and, much to my own delight, They Cloned Tyrone.
Best TV
WINNER: The Last of Us – 5 total votes (1 staff, 4 students)
The Bear – 4 total votes (2 staff, 2 students)
Succession – 4 total votes (1 staff, 3 students)
Gen V – 3 total votes (all students)
Beef – 3 total votes (2 staff, 1 student)
Doctor Who – 3 total votes (1 staff, 2 students)
Although the votes were tight, there is a definitive winner for this year’s TV: The Last of Us! The video game adaptation won the hearts of both gamers and non-gamers alike, particularly with episode three, “Long, Long Time”, which was highly praised by critics and fans. If you haven’t yet seen the series, it is a post-apocalyptic drama following Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) as they navigate through a zombie infested USA. The Bear and Succession came in second place this year with four votes each. Both shows are comedy dramas which follow main characters called Jeremy in real life. If you like dysfunctional families, complex portrayals of grief, and shows that will make your blood pressure boil, we highly recommend! Finally, in third place, we have three winners to share that title: Gen V, Beef, and the Doctor Who 60th Anniversary specials.
Best Director
WINNER: Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer – 6 total votes (2 staff, 4 students)
Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon – 3 total votes (1 staff, 2 students)
Chad Stahelski, John Wick: Chapter Four – 3 total votes (2 staff, 1 students)
Jonathan Glazer, The Zone of Interest – 3 total votes (2 staff, 1 students)
Justine Triet, Anatomy of a Fall – 3 total votes (1 staff, 2 students)
Despite falling just short of the Best Picture prize, Christopher Nolan and Oppenheimer handily won our award for Best Director, with Nolan himself likely the favourite to win in the official Oscars. His filmmaking pedigree and knack for cinematic spectacle has been well-documented for over two decades, with Oppenheimer being, for many, his magnum opus: a technically note-perfect epic that in many ways feels like the most quintessentially “Nolan” film to date. Meanwhile, four filmmakers are tied for second place: Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Glazer and Justine Triet all made our shortlist and the actual Academy’s, while Chad Stahelski’s stupendous work on John Wick: Chapter Four, a gloriously maximalist master class in action filmmaking, was rightfully added back into the conversation by our voters. Yorgos Lanthimos, likewise, clocked in with two votes, while a plethora of worthy voices each garnered one vote each: Greta Gerwig, regrettably snubbed by the Academy; Ari Aster, whose latest effort Beau is Afraid is nothing if not singular; Raine Allen Miller and Celine Song were each nominated for their wonderful directorial debuts Rye Lane and Past Lives respectively.
Best Screenplay
WINNER: Past Lives – 5 total votes (1 staff, 4 students)
May December – 4 total votes (2 staff, 2 students)
Anatomy of a Fall – 3 total votes (all students)
Barbie – 3 total votes (all staff)
The Holdovers – 3 total votes (2 staff, 1 student)
This year’s Best Screenplay goes to Celine Song’s Past Lives. The film was hugely popular with students who gave it four votes. The semi-autobiographical screenplay shows two friends as they grow up together and look back upon their lives. The film has also been recognised by the Academy with two nominations in Best Picture and Original Screenplay. Following closely behind with four votes, equally spread across students and staff, is May December. Written by Samy Burch, the film is loosely based on the Mary Kay Letourneau scandal in which an adult woman and a thirteen-year-old child entered into a long-term relationship. The horrific nature of the film has been polarising as some are eager to discuss its dubious ethics. In third place, Anatomy of a Fall, Barbie, and The Holdovers were all tied. Anatomy of a Fall, co–written by director Justine Triet and Arthur Harari, was particularly popular with students this year. However, Barbie gets the title exclusively from staff, co-written by power couple Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach. The Holdovers by David Hemingson, meanwhile, got recognition from both students and staff, clocking in at three votes.
Best Actress
WINNER: Emma Stone, Poor Things – 8 total votes (3 staff, 5 students)
Sandra Huller, The Zone of Interest and Anatomy of a Fall – 7 total votes (2 staff, 5 students)
Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon – 2 total votes (1 staff, 1 student)
In an unusual case of the Alternative Oscars actually aligning with the Academy, all of our top three winners have been nominated for Best Actress at the Academy Awards. Emma Stone wins not only Best Actress here, but was also the most voted nominee across every category. She wowed audiences this year with her performance of Bella Baxter in Poor Things and has been nominated for Best Actress at the Academy Awards, already winning both the BAFTA for Best Actress in a Leading Role and, now, Warwick’s own Alternative Oscar! Following in close second, Sandra Hüller leads the way with a total of seven votes between staff and students. 2023 was a great year for the actress, starring in both The Zone of Interest and Anatomy of a Fall. While Hüller received one vote for The Zone of Interest and four for Anatomy of a Fall, she also received another two votes just for being herself! Though we can’t officially claim these votes for either film, her performance in Anatomy of a Fall was nonetheless the definite winner. In third place, Lily Gladstone takes the win for their performance as Mollie Kyle in Killers of the Flower Moon. While they have already won the Golden Globe for Best Actress, they are also nominated for their first Academy Award and, alongside Stone, have a very good chance to win.
Best Actor
WINNERS: Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers and Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer – 7 total votes each (Giamatti: 5 staff, 2 students; Murphy: all students)
Andrew Scott, All of Us Strangers – 4 total votes (all students)
Glenn Howerton, Blackberry – 3 total votes (1 staff, 2 students)
Barry Keoghan, Saltburn – 2 total votes (1 staff, 1 student)
Paul Giamatti and Cillian Murphy, the dynamic duo that has been quietly warring all Awards Season for the coveted Oscar trophy, tied in first place at our Alternative Oscars with seven votes apiece, which almost completely split the students and staff: Giamatti was favoured by the staff with five votes compared to the students’ two, whereas Murphy exclusively won votes amongst the student body. Regardless, my personal choice, Andrew Scott, arrived in a well-deserved second place with four total votes, while the scene-stealing Glenn Howerton, the only supporting role to accumulate multiple votes in this category, arrived in third. Barry Keoghan, meanwhile, earned two votes for his undeniably bold turn in Saltburn, although the various nominees with one vote each were all incredibly worthy as well: Robert Downey Jr’s incredibly precise and nuanced turn in Oppenheimer; Joaquin Phoenix’s variously eccentric dual-turns as both Beau and Napoleon Bonaparte; the unparalleled work of Snoop the Dog in Anatomy of a Fall, who may have been snubbed from the actual Oscars but was nonetheless goodest boi of the entire year.
Worst
LOSERS: Maestro and Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey – 2 total votes (Maestro: all staff; Winnie the Pooh: all students)
Other Nominees, with one vote each: The Exorcist: Believer, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Old Dads, Priscilla, My Big Fat Green Wedding 3, Five Nights at Freddy’s, Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania
This year, we had a wide range of nominees for the ‘Worst’ that 2023 had to offer, although there was a slight pattern to the madness! In joint first place, with two votes each, are Bradley Cooper’s Maestro and Rhys Frake-Waterfield’s much-anticipated (and maligned) Winnie-the-Pooh Blood and Honey. Despite its sequel being scheduled for cinemas later this month, and a rumoured shared universe already in development, the film has been near unanimously panned by everyone who laid eyes on it. Described as “nightmare fuel” and nominated five times by the infamous Golden Raspberry Awards, Reel Talk says you can miss this one, folks! While everyone seems to be in agreement for Blood and Honey, however, Maestro has divided its audiences with praise and criticism in equal measure. Despite Carey Mulligan’s performance as Felicia Montealegre being highly praised, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein, especially regarding his use of prosthetics. Lastly, there appears to be a pattern of anti-Saltburn and anti-Oppenheimer opinions amongst students with nominees for Saltburn, Jacob Elordi, Cillian Murphy, and poor Albert Einstein. Maybe it’s a certain bathtub scene that puts you off, or maybe you find Einstein’s silly little hats a tad too distracting. Whatever the reason, you’re certainly not alone.
Most Snubbed
WINNERS: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse & May December – 4 votes each (ATSV: 1 staff, 3 students; MD: 3 staff, 1 student)
Ferrari – 2 total votes (all staff)
All of Us Strangers – 2 total votes (1 staff, 1 student)
Blackberry – 2 total votes (all students)
Once again, the staff and students were split with what to award Most Snubbed, deciding on May December and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse respectively. Both films were crucially nominated for one award each, although they could both reasonably compete elsewhere – most notably, Spider-Verse was snubbed for Best Original Score while Charles Melton’s supporting performance in May December achieved near unanimous acclaim – and in any other year would be competing to lose to Oppenheimer for Best Picture. All of Us Strangers, Blackberry and Michael Mann’s Ferrari were all tied with two votes apiece in second place, with the latter’s technical craftsmanship, in particular, seeming like a lock for a number of categories (not to mention, of course, Penelope Cruz’s tremendous supporting performance). Some other highlights include the shocking omission of Strange Way of Life from Best Live-Action Short, the barbaric snub of Theatre Camp for Best Original Song, and the unexplainable absences of both Charlotte Regan’s Scrapper and Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla across the board. There are, of course, only a finite number of potential nominees, although the Academy can always do better.
While there has been a lot of alignment between our choices and the Academy’s, our selections have found that 2023 was yet another great year for film and television. Like us, we’re sure you’re eagerly awaiting the Oscars with bated breath to see if Emma Stone wins Best Actress, Past Lives snatches Best Original Screenplay, and who is officially, finally, definitively, declared the winner of the Barbenheimer.
Thank you to everyone who participated in this Alternative Oscars, and we’ll see you on the other side!
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