Oscars 2023: The Big Techies

With the Oscars fast approaching, we’re digging into the various feature categories. Yesterday, we looked at some odds and ends; today, we’re moving on to “the big techies.” What makes these below-the-line categories more significant than yesterday’s grouping? My random and arbitrary opinion, that’s what. In fact, I’d like to congratulate Best Costume Design on graduating from the minor leagues and making its first ever appearance in this batch; the promotion was long overdue, given that roughly 80% of my Twitter account these days is just screenshots of actresses in beautiful dresses.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

NOMINEES
El Conde—Edward Lachman
Killers of the Flower Moon—Rodrigo Prieto
Maestro—Matthew Libatique
Oppenheimer—Hoyte van Hoytema
Poor Things—Robbie Ryan

WILL WIN
There isn’t really a Dune this year—a masterfully crafted blockbuster that’s poised to sweep the technical fields. (Seriously, Dune won six Oscars. Six! That’s two more than No Country for Old Men!) But Oppenheimer comes pretty close; sure, it’s a talky movie, but it also has one huge set piece, plus it toggles between color and black-and-white with élan. Given that there’s no muscular actioner competing against it, it should be on solid ground.

SHOULD WIN
Good group here, even if there’s minimal overlap with my own ballot. When it isn’t busy agitating for its own significance, Maestro provides some gorgeous classical luster. El Conde is downright beautiful for stretches, though I likely would have admired it more had I not been seething at the screenplay. (As it happens, Oppenheimer, Maestro, and El Conde all deploy black-and-white—to varying purposes, but to equally satisfying effect.) Prieto’s work for Killers of the Flower Moon isn’t showy, but it’s thoughtfully scaled to the material’s tone. Yet the same is true of Poor Things, which possesses a vibrant playfulness (iris shots! fish-eye lenses!) that only enhances the movie’s joie de vivre. It’s perfectly calibrated and indecently grand.

MOVIEMANIFESTO’S BALLOT
Extraction 2—Greg Baldi
John Wick: Chapter 4—Dan Laustsen
Poor Things—Robbie Ryan
Saltburn—Linus Sandgren
The Zone of Interest—Lukasz Zal

Extraction 2 delivers the action sequence of the year, and somebody had to hold the camera for it. John Wick 4 is even more impressive on a volume basis, and it delivers painterly colors and alluring lighting along with fluid motion. Saltburn’s narrative may be obnoxious, but its images are arresting throughout. The Zone of Interest is a work of monumental control, and its careful framing contributes to its unholy power.

MovieManifesto’s winner: John Wick: Chapter 4—Dan Laustsen.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

NOMINEES
Barbie—Jacqueline Durran
Killers of the Flower Moon—Jacqueline West
Napoleon—David Crossman, Janty Yates
Oppenheimer—Ellen Mirojnick
Poor Things—Holly Waddington

WILL WIN
This is the first of two categories that’s basically a toss-up between Barbie and Poor Things. Barbie is likely more colorful on a pure pixel-by-pixel basis, but Poor Things’ outfits are more ornate, plus they have that classical Victorian London feel. I’ll take the period fantasy over the contemporary fantasy.

SHOULD WIN
I’ll do the same with my own vote as well, though it hurts me to vote against this coat.

MOVIEMANIFESTO’S BALLOT
Barbie—Jacqueline Durran
Emily—Michael O’Connor
M3gan—Daniel Cruden
Polite Society—P.C. Williams
Poor Things—Holly Waddington

Emily is more than just an assemblage of magnificent frocks, but it certainly has plenty of those. M3gan deserves credit for creating an instantly recognizable villain that’s destined to be parodied for years to come. Polite Society pulls off the rare trick of supplying outlandish costumes in a contemporary picture.

MovieManifesto’s winner: Poor Things—Holly Waddington.

BEST FILM EDITING

NOMINEES
Anatomy of a Fall—Laurent Sénéchal
The Holdovers—Kevin Tent
Killers of the Flower Moon—Thelma Schoonmaker
Oppenheimer—Jennifer Lame
Poor Things—Yorgos Mavropsaridis

WILL WIN
Oppenheimer. This will not be close.

SHOULD WIN
And for good reason. I’ve grown frustrated with this category in recent years, as it tends to mimic the Best Picture field rather than highlight more distinctive works. But the editing in Oppenheimer really is marvelous, and the intricate dovetailing of its timelines is crucial to the movie’s success.

MOVIEMANIFESTO’S BALLOT
Emily—Sam Sneade
How to Blow Up a Pipeline—Daniel Garber
The Iron Claw—Matthew Hannam
The Killer—Kirk Baxter
Oppenheimer—Jennifer Lame

Starting to think the Academy failed to appreciate Emily’s craft. How to Blow Up a Pipeline never stood a chance here, but its nervy cutting helps it build momentum. The Iron Claw compresses decades of real-life tragedy into a powerful and absorbing story. The Killer must have seemed like a stupid movie on the page, but it sizzles on screen, and much of that lies in its propulsive editing.

MovieManifesto’s winner: Oppenheimer—Jennifer Lame.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

NOMINEES
American Fiction—Laura Karpman
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny—John Williams
Killers of the Flower Moon—Robbie Robertson
Oppenheimer—Ludwig Göransson
Poor Things—Jerskin Fendrix

WILL WIN
OK, maybe I should retract my earlier comment about how Oppenheimer isn’t going to clean up in the craft categories, because this is another one where it’s already in the bag.

SHOULD WIN
Not my favorite quintet here. But Oppenheimer is at least a worthy winner, as Göransson’s Zimmer-esque swells contribute to the movie’s perpetual electricity.

MOVIEMANIFESTO’S BALLOT
The Creator—Hans Zimmer
The Killer—Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
May December—Marcelo Zarvos
Oppenheimer—Ludwig Göransson
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse—Daniel Pemberton

Speaking of Zimmer, The Creator’s music is loud, and all the better for it. The Killer’s score is far more angular, but it has a sinewy feel that slips into your bones. Zarvos’ work for May December is presumably ineligible here given that it repurposed Michel Legrand’s music for The Go-Betweens, but I couldn’t care less; it’s too damn gorgeous to be ignored. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is a non-stop thrill ride.

MovieManifesto’s winner: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse—Daniel Pemberton.

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

NOMINEES
Barbie—Sarah Greenwood
Killers of the Flower Moon—Jack Fisk
Napoleon—Arthur Max
Oppenheimer—Ruth De Jong
Poor Things—Shona Heath, James Price

WILL WIN
This is the second of two races that pits Barbie versus Poor Things. And frankly, my logic is the same as it was for Best Costume Design: I suspect the Academy will lean toward the period-specific stylings of Poor Things over the fantastical invention of Barbie.

SHOULD WIN
But not I! As much as I adore Poor Things, the design of Barbie really is a triumph. Long live the mojo dojo casa house.

MOVIEMANIFESTO’S BALLOT
Asteroid City—Adam Stockhausen
Barbie—Sarah Greenwood
The Creator—James Clyne
Oppenheimer—Ruth De Jong
Poor Things—Shona Heath, James Price

The sets for Asteroid City belong in a museum. The Creator may be a stupid movie, but damn if it doesn’t look like a billion bucks. Beyond that, pretty respectable showing here from the Academy.

MovieManifesto’s winner: Asteroid City—Adam Stockhausen.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

NOMINEES
The Creator
Godzilla Minus One
Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3
Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning, Part One
Napoleon

WILL WIN
Tough one here! This appears to be a coin flip between The Creator and Godzilla Minus One, two very different movies with contrasting strengths. The Creator is more showy, which is a weird thing to say given that it’s competing against a freaking Godzilla flick. Godzilla Minus One is better overall, and it’s earned some acclaim for what it achieved on a relatively modest budget (which also speaks to some issues with the Japanese labor market, but that’s another story). Do voters care about that stuff? It’s hard to say, but in the end I’m sensing they’ll be drawn by the siren song of that inimitable metallic roar. Godzilla Minus One takes it.

SHOULD WIN
I admire the sharpness of Godzilla Minus One’s effects, but in my view, The Creator is operating on a different level. It delivers on a huge scale—that roaming space weapon made my eyes bulge—but it also offers elegance, lightly shaping its androids in ways that are both impressive and invisible. Oscar-worthy stuff, that.

SHOULD BE HERE
Speaking of androids that were creepily convincing:

MovieManifesto’s winner: The Creator.

Coming tomorrow: the supporting actors.