HEY, THAT’S KIND OF LIKE ...
The best picture nominees tell tales from history books and from imagination, from the angry to the hopeful, with coming-of-age scenarios, horror hybrids and dives into World War II. But which has the right formula to take home Oscar gold? In a way, each of them. Let’s take a look at them in the light of history. Academy Award history, that is. Here are this year’s nine nominees, compared to past Oscar winners similar in nature.
‘DARKEST HOUR’ ‘THE KING’S SPEECH’
Movies about great men in times of crisis are always popular, from the winning “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962) to “Patton” (1970). But “The King’s Speech” (2010) is a particular match, not just for the overlapping time frame and characters but also for the reliance on soaring oration to galvanize a nation.
‘DUNKIRK’ ‘ALL QUIET WESTERN FRONT’ ON THE
Movies about great countries in times of war are likewise perennial awards bait, going all the way back to “All Quiet on the Western Front” (1929/1930). That film addressed a different era, but it strove for a realistic and harrowing account of war — for its time, a radical move — much like Christopher Nolan’s immersive story.
‘CALL ME BY YOUR NAME’ ‘OUT OF AFRICA’
Here’s a coming-of-age story that we don’t see every year, or any year. The only previous Oscar-winning film with an openly gay love story (we’re looking at you, “Lawrence of Arabia”) is last year’s victor, “Moonlight,” whose hard-fought tale is about as far from the easy languor of “Call Me’s” Italian countryside as possible. So we have to strike out a bit, to 1985’s “Out of Africa,” for an exotic locale, a romance as surprising and adventurous as the characters involved, and heartbreak that feels endless and beautiful.
‘GET OUT’ | TAKE YOUR PICK
Writer-director Jordan Peele’s film defies neat classification, so a mash-up is called for. The last time a horror movie won was “The Silence of the Lambs” (1991). In our book, Bradley Whitford’s paterfamilias is no less repugnant than Anthony Hopkins’ Hannibal. For the clear-eyed stare-down of racism in a small town, add 1967’s “In the Heat of the Night.” The examination of slavery may have been more explicit in “12 Years a Slave” (2013), but “Get Out’s” body-snatching offers a terrifying metaphor of its lasting toll.