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Ranking 2024 Best Picture Nominees

2024 was a very good year for the Academy Awards, especially when it comes to the eventual winners. As for Best Picture, this was a pretty good slate that does feature some typical Oscar-bait in the form of overlong, stuffy period pieces and plotless biopics, but they did nominate some of the best movies of the year as well with three of these films being on my personal top ten list for the year. It’s a somewhat diverse slate with big-budget and indie fare and some international representation as well.

My Ranking of the Nominees:

10. A Complete Unknown

A Complete Unknown easily gets the last spot on this list for being one of the most boring movies of 2024 (or non-movie I should say). Yes, the bulk of this film is just Bob Dylan singing and everybody else swooning over him and that’s pretty much it. We do not get to learn anything about him or the people that he was surrounded with. Timothee Chalamet is undoubtedly a great actor, but this is by far his worst performance to date and it’s not his fault as he was given nothing to work with. I am getting sick and tired of these music biopics that are just made to garner awards and to boost the egos of the musicians depicted. Not every single celebrity deserves a biographical film treatment, which is something that Hollywood refuses to learn. The fact that this movie got nominated proves that the Academy still has a long way to go as they are still not immune to these lazy films that were only made to appeal to the voters.

9. The Brutalist

The Brutalist is the biggest Oscar-bait picture that I’ve seen in quite a while. Everything about this movie felt carefully orchestrated to illicit the biggest possible response from awards bodies, which sadly worked. The artificiality on display was overbearing, which left me feeling cold throughout. The technical aspects are undeniably strong – the cinematography is excellent, the production design is very good and the score is fantastic. But the screenplay is quite mediocre and this is yet another one of those movies about Jewish suffering and the immigrant experience. Another issue is Adrien Brody’s character, who was very uninteresting. Watching this needlessly overlong and painfully self-important movie I did not feel admiration, but only immense boredom and emptiness. Thankfully, it lost the Oscar.

8. Emilia Perez

Emilia Perez is not a great movie and it has many issues. It should be criticized, but not for the things that perpetual online activists accused the film of being, but for just being so damn messy. This was a wild swing for Jacques Audiard that worked in its kinetic energy and solid acting performances, but it did not work tonally and structurally. I respect it for its originality, but sadly the musical and crime genres do not mash together well at all. The film is unpredictable, but I didn’t love where it went toward the end. It has been a big Oscar contender for months, which was odd as most people besides the awards bodies didn’t love it.

7. Nickel Boys

Clearly the tenth movie to get into the BP lineup and the one that most people forget about, Nickel Boys was shot in first-person perspective and I immensely appreciated it for basically inventing an entirely new cinematic language. It can be a polarizing film due to its lack of character development and the feeling that we do not quite get to meet the two protagonists due to these technical limitations that the director imposed on the project. Still, I respected this movie a whole lot for actually doing something unique and mostly managing to execute it properly. The plot is standard and so is the characterization. Its cinematography, however, is the biggest reason to see it, especially the staggering minute details that managed to spring from this perspective choice.

6. Conclave

Conclave is a thriller set at the Vatican and populated by strong acting performances across the board, opulent costumes and superb sets. It’s the type of movie that the Academy used to love back in the day, and sure enough in a different era it would have gone home with a BP win under its belt. As for me, I find it to be solid, but deeply flawed. I respected the technical aspects and I found Fiennes and Rossellini to be terrific. The first half is genuinely riveting in dialogue and suspense. But the second half turned into a full-blown liberal manifesto, one that was extremely lazily written, unsophisticated and plain silly. That laughably trashy and ridiculous twist ending was not just unnecessary and preposterous, but it ruined what could have been a great film.

5. Dune: Part Two

The first ‘Dune’ movie was one of my favorite films of its respective year, but I was always going to be disappointed a bit with the second installment. This is because I didn’t love the ending to the book itself. And in the movie as well the ending felt rushed, undercooked and a big letdown in both plot and characterization. I also dislike the choice to leave it open for a sequel that is surely not going to be great. With that being said, Dune: Part Two still has impressive audio-visuals that are worthy of the biggest screen possible. The action scenes were so well handled and exciting. And the first half is genuinely entertaining and superbly executed across the board. It’s a flawed, but very good sequel that easily gets the fifth spot on this list.

4. The Substance

Cronenberg and Carpenter made some very disgusting movies during their heyday, but even they could have never made a film quite like The Substance, which is as extreme and as over-the-top as body horror can get. Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley both delivered splendid work here, the VFX are quite remarkable and the score is disturbing. This movie counters ageism in a very effective and brutally direct way. It functioned as this very grotesque, modern take on a cautionary tale about the dangers of pursuing youth before turning into a wonderfully campy and crazy third act that will be polarizing to many viewers, but I simply loved it. It’s a slightly plotted, but very interesting film and it was great seeing the Academy finally recognize genre fare like this.

3. Wicked

In spite of all odds stacked against it, Wicked turned out to be one of the best stage adaptations ever. This is such a phenomenal production from a technical standpoint – the costumes are colorful and lively, the production design is mesmerizing and the cinematography is strong – but the movie also features a wonderfully adapted screenplay full of powerful themes and lovely references to the original source material. Cynthia Erivo delivered such a soulful performance and Ariana Grande stole the entire movie with her surprisingly strong comedic timing. The ending is also genuinely emotionally powerful and grandiose. Wicked was an utter delight and one of my absolute favorite movies of the year and I am so glad that this type of film managed to get nominated for BP.

2. Anora

Sean Baker is by far one of the greatest directors working today and Anora is one of his best films. This is his funniest movie so far. It’s surprisingly such a strong comedy that made me laugh out loud multiple times, especially in its chaotic and unhinged second act. But then it pulls the rug beneath you, making you feel quite emotional during its absolutely perfect, bittersweet ending. Baker’s firm grasp of superb characterization, grounded dialogue and a terrific treatment of its diverse themes that range from society’s treatment of sex work to the recklessness and impulsiveness of youth made this such a rich cinematic text. Mikey Madison was exceptional in such a layered role while Yura Borisov was also fantastic as the heart and soul of the film. Anora is undoubtedly one of the best films of the year and easily the greatest Best Picture winner of the 21^st century so far.

1. I’m Still Here

And the number one spot goes to this wonderful Brazilian drama that I didn’t expect to love as much as I did. Films that focus on story, characters and emotions instead of technical aspects and preachiness are rare these days, I’m Still Here felt like an instant classic that is universal and timeless in its appeal. It’s almost impossible to not feel something watching this very moving tale of family perseverance and defiance. Fernanda Torres delivered a phenomenally rich and nuanced turn in the main role of Eunice Paiva and what a role this is. The film’s first half is filled with such warm and positive vibes that are perfectly contrasted with the eventual grief and turmoil that would define the second half. Beautifully directed and wonderfully written, the movie also features a genuinely touching ending that made me tear up. This is undeniably one of the best films of 2024 and it was wonderful that the Academy included it among the nominees.

Films That Should Have Been Nominated:

Nosferatu – Nosferatu did get some nominations in the crafts categories, but once again the Academy snubbed Robert Eggers, who continues to deliver stellar film after film. This is one of his most accomplished audio-visual achievements, but also a superb adaptation all-around with a very interesting, unique ending.

Hard Truths – Hard Truths is an expectedly strong Mike Leigh film in terms of dialogue, emotional resonance and character work. It features an instantly memorable protagonist in the form of the ever-angry Pansy, who was brilliantly performed by Marianne Jean-Baptiste. The movie balanced the comedic with the dramatic tone quite deftly. It was sadly snubbed.

Challengers – Challengers is one of the most purely entertaining movies of the year, a film that also features kinetic editing and excellent cinematography. It has a very interesting central relationship that could have been better explored, but was still intriguing. The acting performances are strong across the board and it’s such a stylish, fun flick.