Have you watched all of this year’s main Academy Award contenders yet? If not, you will be unable, sadly, to spend next Monday ranting authoritatively about how “Oscar” got it wrong this year. I don’t make the rules.
In the past it was often impossible for Irish viewers to see all the nominees before award night rolled around. A lag in release dates regularly turned the ceremony into a celebration of cinema that had yet to cross the Atlantic, lending a “congrats, I guess” distance between film fans here and Hollywood’s biggest night.
But that was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. All has changed thanks to the closing of the release-date gap, shorter theatrical windows (the period in which a film is exclusive to cinemas), a relatively late date for the Oscars itself (RTÉ will broadcast the ceremony live from 11pm, Irish time, next Sunday) and the now reliable presence of streamer-financed productions among the nominees.
This year the 10 films nominated for best picture are all accessible in this part of the world, either through streaming and rental platforms or via their big-screen showings. Three of the 10 – Frankenstein and Train Dreams on Netflix, and F1 on Apple TV – are included in the price of those subscription services, while Oscar catch-up seasons at various Irish cinemas help with many of the rest.
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If it feels easier than other years to watch this year’s batch of nominees, then that’s because Oscar love has been shared less widely than usual, with six films securing more than half of all nominations for the 98th Academy Awards.
Your local cinema listings will have full details of this week’s screenings. In the meantime, here’s a quick guide to how to get up to speed. (All prices are correct as of March 3rd.)
Best picture
Bugonia
Expect alien-adjacent weirdness and fun-poking at both conspiracists and corporate culture in this latest collaboration between the actor-producer Emma Stone, the Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos and Ireland’s Element Pictures. Its two Irish founders, Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe, are among the named nominees for best picture. Available to rent through Apple TV and Prime Video for €4.99. Screenings include Light House Cinema, Dublin, on Saturday, March 14th. Read Donald Clarke’s review of the film here
F1
Will everyone come around to the idea that Sonny (Brad Pitt) isn’t such a bad guy? The tension in this Apple-backed slab of unchallenging entertainment is all too bearable, frankly, but Irish actor Kerry Condon looks as if she’s having a gas old time as Kate, the Formula One team’s technical director, in Joseph Kosinski’s film, which must, by law, be described as high-octane. Available to stream on Apple TV. Screenings include Omniplex Limerick on Wednesday, March 11th, and Cineworld Dublin and Belfast on Saturday, March 14th. Read Donald Clarke’s review of the film here
Frankenstein
“I understood that I was nothing. A wretch. A blot. Not even of the same nature as man,” says Frankenstein’s monster (Jacob Elordi). We’ve all had mornings like that. This Guillermo del Toro adaptation of Mary Shelley’s story picked up nine Oscar nods. Its costumes are especially glorious, though the film feels almost as long as the time Elordi spent each day in the make-up chair. Available to stream on Netflix. Read Tara Brady’s review here
Hamnet
Jessie Buckley’s portrayal of Agnes Shakespeare’s grief after the death of her son has made her the runaway favourite for best actress. Chloé Zhao’s realisation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel earned eight nominations overall. The pair also compete together in the adapted-screenplay category, and Zhao is only the second woman (after Jane Campion) to be nominated for best director twice. Still showing in cinemas. Available to rent on Apple TV and Prime Video for €17.99 (or buy for €21.99). Read Donald Clarke’s review here
Marty Supreme
Table tennis is the unlikely backdrop to Josh Safdie’s 1950s-set caper about a young a**hole – as he is branded – called Marty Mauser, who is loosely based on a real person and played by serial Academy Award nominee Timothée Chalamet. The comedy-drama about the perils of trying to transform a minority sport into big business doubles as a cautionary tale about the dangers of ignoring the instructions of hotel staff. Don’t use the bath, Marty! Screenings include Cineworld Dublin and Belfast on Monday, March 9th, and Odeon Stillorgan on Tuesday, March 10th. Read Donald Clarke’s review here
One Battle After Another
It was one Bafta after another for Paul Thomas Anderson’s thriller in London recently – it won six, more than any other film. Showcasing the unique machismo of the ultraconservative elite to hilarious effect, this triumph of American cinema stars Leonardo DiCaprio and his excellent dressing gown. Among its 13 nominations are supporting actor and actress nods for Sean Penn and Teyana Taylor, who are both in contention to win. Available to rent on Apple TV and Prime Video for €4.99. Screenings include Omniplex Cork on Thursday, March 12th, and Vue Liffey Valley on Sunday, March 15th. Read Donald Clarke’s review here
The Secret Agent
Set during Brazil’s military dictatorship of the 1970s, Kleber Mendonça Filho’s film has been selling out screenings in Ireland thanks to the support of the Brazilian diaspora. Alas, there’s no space here to properly expand upon the merits of Wagner Moura, one of this year’s best-actor nominees. Let’s just say there’s much to admire about his performance as a widowed academic with a target on his back. Still showing in cinemas. Read Tara Brady’s review here
Sentimental Value
The second feature not in the English language to make the best-picture cut is Joachim Trier’s lovely Norwegian drama about a semi-estranged father (Stellan Skarsgard) reconnecting with his actor daughter (Renate Reinsve) while trying to make a film about her. Its four main cast members all received deserved acting nominations, though its casting directors did not. The appropriate phrase here is “go figure”. Streaming on Mubi (seven-day free trial). Available to buy on Apple TV and Prime Video for €16.99. Read Donald Clarke’s review here
Sinners
Who knew that the secret to collecting a record-smashing 16 Oscar nominations was to make a vampire horror musical set in 1930s Mississippi with an unexpected rendition of Rocky Road to Dublin? Ryan Coogler, that’s who. Realistically, it’s between Sinners and One Battle After Another for the top prize in Los Angeles, with Michael B Jordan closing in on Chalamet in the best-actor betting. Available to watch via Sky Cinema or a Now cinema membership, or to purchase via various digital platforms for €11.99. Screenings include the Stella Cinema, Rathmines, on Saturday, March 14th. Read Donald Clarke’s review here
Train Dreams
Netflix’s second horse in the best-picture race is also the second of two nominees in the category to showcase the talents of Kerry Condon. She makes a welcome appearance just as the loneliness of Robert (Joel Edgerton) is at its most acute in this quiet character study of an early 20th century logger and railroad worker in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The scenery in Clint Bentley’s film is stunning. Available on Netflix. Screenings include Cineworld Dublin and Belfast on Friday, March 13th. Read Tara Brady’s review here
Other nominees to catch
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
A brilliant performance by Rose Byrne anchors Mary Bronstein’s film about inequality between the sexes and the delusion-inducing stresses of parenthood. The Australian actor is Jessie Buckley’s biggest threat on the night, but that’s not saying much: her chances appear to have faded, though the quality of this deliciously furious film has not. Still showing in cinemas. Read Tara Brady’s review here
It Was Just an Accident
The Iranian director Jafar Panahi and his cast and crew bravely made this film in secret, without permission, in Iran. France’s nominated entry in the Academy Awards’ international-feature category, it depicts the lingering trauma suffered by people imprisoned under the repressive, torture-inflicting Iranian regime, yet it also features plenty of dark humour and a farcical edge. Streaming on Mubi. Available to buy on Apple TV and Prime Video for €11.99. Screenings include Light House Cinema, Dublin, on Wednesday, March 11th. Read Donald Clarke’s review here
Blue Moon
More local interest here, and not just because the cast of Richard Linklater’s charming, sad film includes Andrew Scott and Simon Delaney. This chamber piece, which dwells on the late-career bitterness of Broadway lyricist Lorenz Hart, was filmed at Ardmore Studios in Wicklow. It garnered two Oscar nominations: best original screenplay (for Robert Kaplow) and best actor (for Ethan Hawke). Available to rent on Apple TV and Prime Video for €4.99. Read Tara Brady’s review here
Retirement Plan
Nominated for best animated short, Retirement Plan was supported by Screen Ireland and RTÉ. Narrated by Domhnall Gleeson, it follows Ray, a man who fantasises about everything he would love to do when he is retired and finally has the time. John Kelly, its director and co-writer, and Andrew Freedman, one of its producers, are the named nominees behind this seven-minute short, which whizzes by with increasing poignancy, just like life itself. Available to watch on RTÉ Player; it will also be shown on RTÉ One on Saturday, March 14th
The 98th Academy Awards Ceremony is on RTÉ One at 11pm on Sunday, March 15th
