Head of the class
How did ‘1917’ become the Oscar frontrunner for Best Picture?
Sliding in at the very last minute with a December release, Sam Mendes’s “1917” has become the Oscar frontrunner for Best Picture, less than three weeks before the ceremony.
How, you might be wondering, with the likes of Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) and Martin Scorsese (The Irishman) having films in the running, and with Joker having received the most nominations?
One big reason is the Academy loves a production schtick, whether it’s a prosthetic nose or over-the-top CGI.
In 1917 ’s case, the film appears as one long tracking shot — an especially impressive feat considering it follows a pair of soldiers as they race in real time to deliver a message to their men before they walk into a deadly ambush during World War I.
Another early signifier of a film’s Oscar success is how many guild awards it wins.
For example, eight of the last 10 winners of the Producers
Guild Award have gone on to win Best Picture; “1917” scored the PGA just a week ago. Last year’s winner, Green Book , took a similar route.
It’s so-called surprise victory wasn’t all that shocking to anyone paying attention, as it had also won the PGA just weeks before.
“1917” also picked up the Golden Globes for Best Drama and Best Director just as Oscar voting was opening.
Films released in December tend to carry timelier buzz, and with 10 nominations, it’s undeniable that “1917” has become the one to beat; momentum is everything during awards season.
There are, however, a few things working against it: The film did not get a nomination for editing, because, of course, it’s been made to look as though it’s one take.
That reason itself makes this point irrelevant, but then there’s also the fact that Birdman , which was also created to appear as though it was shot in one take, did not get an editing nomination and it went on to win Best Picture in 2014.
The movie also has no nominations for acting, which is rare for a Best Picture frontrunner. But, yet again, it’s been done before, with Slumdog Millionaire and Braveheart, among others.
But these are the Oscars, and surprises do happen, whether good or bad or incredibly messy. Bong Joonho’s thriller Parasite, which has been beloved by critics and audiences, could make for a delightfully unexpected win. Unfortunately and rather ridiculously, as a foreign-language film, it’s a step behind.
Only a handful of international films have ever been nominated for Best Picture, and if Parasite were to win, it would be the first.
Then again, there was last year’s Roma , which had as much praise and hype riding around it as Parasite , but ultimately lost the gold.
As another counterpoint, though, Parasite did win at the American Cinema Editors Awards and Screen Actors Guild Awards recently, and if Moonlight’s win over La La Land just two years ago is anything to go by, there’s always room for a smaller film to steal the race.