Tag: A Prophet

Oscars: The Case of Jacques Audiard for Emilia Pérez

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 began with the ten Best Picture contenders and now alternates alphabetically between the hopefuls in the other five races. The BP nominee posts are up and they’re readily available for your perusing pleasure. Today is our next entry in Best Director and that’s Jacques Audiard for Emilia Pérez. If you missed my posts covering Sean Baker from Anora and Brady Corbet for The Brutalist, they’re linked at the bottom.

Previous Directing Oscar Nominations:

None

The Case for Jacques Audiard:

While his 2009 drama A Prophet was up for International Feature Film a decade and a half ago, his behind the camera work for Pérez marks his first BP nominee and inaugural directing nod. The Jury prize winner from Cannes has yielded him directorial mentions at DGA, the Golden Globes, BAFTA, and Critics Choice.

The Case Against Jacques Audiard:

DGA went to Sean Baker for Anora while the Globe and BAFTA was bestowed to The Brutalist‘s Brady Corbet. For Critics Choice, it was Jon M. Chu in Wicked (he didn’t make the Academy’s quintet). The controversy swirling around lead actress Karla Sofia Gascón’s past social media posts likely hurt the film in any race that’s not Supporting Actress where Zoe Saldaña is still favored.

The Verdict:

Audiard was somewhat of a long shot before the bad press. He’s more so now.

My Case Of posts will continue with the fourth hopeful in Best Actress and that’s Demi Moore in The Substance…

Oscars: The Case of Sean Baker for Anora
Oscars: The Case of Brady Corbet for The Brutalist

Oscar Predictions: Emilia Pérez

Emilia Pérez seems to be both a genre mashup and a Cannes highlight for many thus far. From Jacques Audiard, whose 2009 effort A Prophet took the Grand Prix in the French Riviera and scored a Foreign Language Feature nom at the Oscars, his latest mixes music, crime, and comedy. Karla Sofia Gascón is a drug cartel leader undergoing gender reassignment surgery. Zoe Saldaña is the lawyer providing assistance with Selena Gomez as Gascón’s spouse. Édgar Ramirez also costars.

Audiard is a familiar presence at Cannes. In addition to his aforementioned work from 15 years ago, 2015’s Dheepan won the Palme d’Or. The screening for Emilia has provided some of the fest’s most enthusiastic reaction in its first few days. Called audacious and crowd-pleasing, the RT score is 80% (based on a handful of write-ups).

If Mexico submits this as their choice for International Feature Film (and I suspect they will), the chances to make that final five is high. It could nab more noms than that. Some of it will come down to category placement and that seems uncertain at the moment.

Early word-of-mouth would suggest that Saldaña might be campaigned for in lead Actress with Gascón in supporting. My previous prediction posts had that dynamic switched. This will be altered when I update projections later today. I strongly suspect Gascón will be in my estimated quintet with Saldaña as a possibility in Actress (I’m toying with putting her in my five but she might be just on the outside looking in).

I also believe this could mark Audiard’s first crossover into Best Picture and that could include a nod for the filmmaker himself. While other Cannes titles have hurt their possibilities upon their screenings, it seems like Pérez could be up on the upswing. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…

Oscar Watch: The Sisters Brothers

Two notable Westerns have had their debuts an ocean away at Venice and Oscar attention could be questionable for both. The first is The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, the latest effort from the Coen Brothers. Today brings us The Sisters Brothers, The first English language project from acclaimed French filmmaker Jacques Audiard (whose titles include A Prophet and Rust and Bone).

Said to be a violent romp with comedic touches, the cast includes John C. Reilly, Joaquin Phoenix, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Riz Ahmed. The performance getting the most attention is Reilly’s. Could the Academy honor the venerable actor 16 years after his sole nod in Supporting Actor for Chicago? Like any other nominations in the major categories, it’s likely a long shot. Even though Venice reviews have been pretty sturdy, I just don’t envision this as a player for Oscar voters.

Two exceptions could be Cinematography and the Original Score from Alexandre Desplat, an Academy favorite who’s won twice already for The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Shape of Water.

Bottom line: despite solid buzz, don’t expect that to translate to significant awards chatter for The Sisters Brothers.

The film opens stateside on September 21. My Oscar Watch posts will continue…