Oscars: The Case of Killers of the Flower Moon

As we do every year on this here blog, Oscar nominations lead to my Case Of series. What are they? Glad you asked. These are 35 posts covering the nominees for Picture, Director, and the four acting contests. For each one, I give you the case for the movie/director/actor winning and the case against it with a verdict tidying it up. It’s like a trial, but no one goes to prison.

It begins with the ten BP contenders and then alternates alphabetically between the hopefuls in the other five big races. I’ve already covered our first four pics with American Fiction, Anatomy of a Fall, Barbie, and The Holdovers. They are linked at the bottom of the post. Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon is up next for your consideration. Let’s get into it.

The Case for Killers of the Flower Moon:

Ranking third in number of nominations with 10 (behind Oppenheimer and Poor Things), Scorsese’s sprawling epic has earned BP mentions at BAFTA, Critics Choice, the Globes, and for its Ensemble at SAG. The other nominations are for Scorsese in Director, Actress (Lily Gladstone), Supporting Actor (Robert De Niro), Cinematography, Costume Design, Film Editing, Original Score, Original Song, and Production Design. The legendary filmmaker achieves his 10th movie up for the big prize with 2006’s The Departed being the sole victor. Perhaps voters will feel it’s time to honor his work again.

The Case Against Killers of the Flower Moon:

The precursors certainly haven’t treated this as any sort of career achievement prize. Oppenheimer took the highest honors at Critics Choice and the Globes. Additionally, Moon experienced some loud snubs with Leonardo DiCaprio in Actor and especially Adapted Screenplay.

The Verdict:

Once seen as a serious threat for the gold, Killers might be lucky to win anything. The best chance lies with Gladstone. Everything else is a long shot.

My Case Of posts will continue with Maestro…

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