what to watch: a guide to the 2025 academy awards

the good, the bad and the "huh?"

Say what you will about the Oscars, but people in my life are never as interested in my work as a film journalist as they are during this season. Awards Season is when everyone starts wondering what they should be watching and making sure they go to the cinema to catch some of the most talked about contenders. Like literary awards, despite the big hitters or the big winners, it also helps to bring some less-heard about filmmakers to the forefront.

Moira Rose: an icon

This has been a strange awards season, to say the least. From perhaps the biggest crash-out we’ve ever seen from a Best Actress frontrunner to unexpected nominations and online drama surrounding what feels like half of the Best Picture nominees. And while, as per every year, I don’t agree with all nominations, there are some gems and interesting choices in the list.

So if you’ve been wondering what to watch and what to skip before the March 2 ceremony, here’s a guide to the good, the bad and the huh. We’ll start by looking at Best Picture nominees, covering most nominations then, and then go into some other categories with films that aren’t listed in Best Picture. Finally, I’ll list some films from last year that weren’t nominated and I think you should be running to watch.

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Best Picture

Anora

ALSO NOMINATED FOR: ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE, ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE, DIRECTING, FILM EDITING AND ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY.

★★★★★

A film that’s half fairy tale, half melancholic comedy, I’ve been in the Anora fan club since I first watched it and I’m not about to give up my membership card. We follow Ani, a stripper in New York City, as she falls into a client relationship with the immature son of Russian oligarchs. When the client side merges into her real life, the fun and exciting allure of his money turns into something else entirely.

Mikey Madison’s performance as Ani is breathtaking, a career-best that leaves us wanting to see what else she can do. Yura Borisov, Madison’s fellow nominee, plays a Russian muscle-for-hire with almost no dialogue in one of the softest male performances I’ve seen recently. A combination of fun and heartbreak, Ani will stick with me for years to come.

State in the race: I would say it’s the current favourite for Original Screenplay and has a really good chance for Best Picture, having won the DGA (Director’s Guild), PGA (Producers Guild), WGA (Writers Guild) and Critics’ Choice Award. Sean Baker also a favourite for Best Director and Mikey Madison is not completely out of the Actress in a Leading Role race after her BAFTA win, so fingers crossed!

The Brutalist

ALSO NOMINATED FOR: ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE, ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE, ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE, CINEMATOGRAPHY, DIRECTING, FILM EDITING, ORIGINAL SCORE, PRODUCTION DESIGN, ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

★★★★

Possibly the most visually impressive film on this list, Brady Corbet is clearly not pulling any punches in his ambitions. You might use this opportunity to tell me about the AI-enhancement of aspects in this film, but I genuinely don’t have a problem with how it was used in this case (and I believe with AI and the arts, we will have to move towards judging case-by-case).

An epic about the rise and fall of the American Dream, we look at the life of fictional Brutalist architect László Tóth as he escapes Nazi persecution and settles down in the USA. Split into two 100 minute halves with a 15 minute interval, the experience of watching this in cinemas was certainly worth it, even if for the initial sequence (one of the best openings I’ve ever seen). However, the second half falters a little in Corbet’s attempt to fit a bit too much into the narrative and offering very little pay-off with his final scene. With such a clear message, it was sadly muddled by an overwhelm of information that could have been fed through in the previous 190 minutes.

State in the race: although still in second in contention for a Best Picture win, I’d be surprised. Its strongest category seems to be an almost secured win for Adrien Brody in Actor in a Leading Role. Brady Corbet has a good shot at Best Director if he manages to beat Sean Baker.

A Complete Unknown

ALSO NOMINATED FOR: ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE, ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE, ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE, COSTUME DESIGN, DIRECTING, SOUND, ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

★★

I really wish James Mangold knew what he was trying to say with this one because the potential was there, it was just wasted on another generic biopic. I will say the music is wonderful, of course, and unlike a lot of musician biopics, Mangold actually lets us hear it. The music lives and breathes, with much of the screen time dedicated to performance. I really did leave the cinema thinking about how utterly wonderful music is… but not thinking about much else.

Timotheé Chalamet, as per usual, surprised me. Just when I thought maybe he’d found the role that wasn’t for him in Bob Dylan, his performance is fantastic. He confirms his ability to suck the viewer into his light. Perhaps it’s the performances make the film as watchable as it is, and the reason I do recommend catching it when it’s out on streaming. However, I’ve become quite demanding of my biopics as stories that need to have a vision and real things to say, A Complete Unknown just doesn’t have that.

State in the race: despite multiple nominations, there’s always one film with little to no chance of winning any.

Conclave

ALSO NOMINATED FOR: ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE, ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE, FILM EDITING, MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE), PRODUCTION DESIGN, WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)

★★★★★
The more time passes since first watching it, the more I like Conclave. Very few films manage to be both tonally and thematically perfect for its time while criticising the systems it’s representing in such nuance, and be so loved at the same time. What a feat from Edward Berger. I think its secret is in not taking itself too seriously, Conclave knows what it’s doing and it’s confident with it — the comedic timing that doesn’t feel like comedy, the gossip sessions thinly veiled as very-Vatican-serious-conversations, the third act twist… it’s delicious.

It’s being sold as Mean Girls in the Vatican because it is. Also… dare I say the best Mexican representation this Awards Season?

State in the race: very good chances for this one in most categories except for acting, after its BAFTA win there’s speculation about whether it can take Best Picture. Again, I’d be surprised. They probably do have Writing in the bag, though.

Dune: Part Two

ALSO NOMINATED FOR: CINEMATOGRAPHY, PRODUCTION DESIGN, SOUND, VISUAL EFFECTS

★★★★

I won’t give a synopsis of this because it would spoil Dune: Part One (if you haven’t seen it yet). I think what Denis Villeneuve is doing with these films is nothing short of magic, and it’s a travesty that he’s not nominated for Best Director. It’s the closest I’ve come in a cinema to feeling the same way it felt to watching the original Lord of the Rings trilogy. It’s epic, it’s well written and executed and it takes itself seriously as a piece of art. Unlike many current blockbusters, it doesn’t feel like it’s thinking too hard about the money it will make in that it’s always putting service to the story first.

State in the race: good shot at the technical categories, probably not huge chances anywhere else.

Emilia Pérez

ALSO NOMINATED FOR: ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE, ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE, CINEMATOGRAPHY, DIRECTING, FILM EDITING, INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM, MAKE UP AND HAIRSTYLING, MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE), MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG), SOUND, WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)

I refuse to give this film a star, or more air. Here are my thoughts. If the world was just, this racist mess would lose every category.

I'm Still Here

ALSO NOMINATED FOR: ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE, INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM

★★★★

I love nearly everything Walter Salles did with this story about the Paiva family during Brazil’s military dictatorship in 1964. Unconventionally, the first 30 minutes are almost devoid of conflict — just beautiful shots of family life and the happiness of the mundane. Salles grew up with the Paivas, saying they gave him glimmers of hope during the dictatorship years, and the love he has for them comes through in droves.

It’s a beautiful film about the power of memories, the resilience of family and motherhood and the importance of historic justice. Stunning.

State in the race: if the world is right and Emilia Perez haters are listened to, this could win International Feature Film. It would certainly deserve it. Fernanda Torres would also be a more than worthy winner of Actress in a Leading Role, but it’s not likely with Mikey Madison and Demi Moore in the running.

Nickel Boys

ALSO NOMINATED FOR: WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)

★★★

Following a boy who gets sent to Nickel Boys academy, a racially segregated correctional school, and the traumas of living somewhere where their lives are not only devalued, but actively threatened, this film is important even if it didn’t always work for me. It’s shot entirely in first-person perspective and I appreciate RaMell Ross’s risk-taking, but it’s a device that falls short on multiple occasions. Sometimes, instead of eliciting the empathy it’s built for, it feels more like a video-game, leaving us unable to connect with the emotional traumas.

However, I think it’s important for these kinds of films to be nominated. Films that genuinely take risks and believe in them, that don’t shy away from unconventionality. I’m really happy this is in the running.

State in the race: not looking likely in either category for this one, still a feat just to be nominated!

The Substance

ALSO NOMINATED FOR: ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE, DIRECTING, MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING, WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)

★★

Giving The Substance two stars in the current climate feels a bit like sacrilege but it just didn’t work for me. I do have to say I’m very happy that a gory horror has gotten as much attention as this has, and it will hopefully be a precedent for genre films to be taken more seriously. However, maybe some of us have got too wrapped up in that and forgotten the film is a little bit murky in its message, to say the least.

If you haven’t seen it yet, The Substance follows a has-been celebrity who gets offered the chance to recover her youth. Literally, she can take The Substance and switch bodies to a younger, fitter version of herself for a week at a time. But things go awry when she obviously gets addicted to her youth. The obvious message is an anti-surgery, anti-beauty standards, feminist message. And it almost does it, but it gets a lost in its style… quite literally style-over-substance. The dialogue is clunky and feels like a first draft of “Here is the message said in a very obvious way so we don’t have to explain any more”, the third act is a writing mess that ends up feeling more like we’re blaming women for the beauty industry and ageism.

People have let that all pass because it’s a horror, but if we’re going to argue genre film is important and can hold big ideas, then we need to meet it at that level. And idea-wise it just did not work for me.

State in the race: Demi Moore looking very likely to win Actress in a Leading Role and while I personally prefer Mikey Madison’s quiet performance in Anora, it’d be a lie to say Moore isn’t incredible.

Wicked: Part One

ALSO NOMINATED FOR: ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE, ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE, COSTUME DESIGN, FILM EDITING, MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING, MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE), PRODUCTION DESIGN, SOUND, VISUAL EFFECTS

★★★★

I’m not sure I have to describe the plot of Wicked for anyone but long story short, it’s the musical adaptation to Gregory Maguire’s prequel of The Wizard of Oz. We follow Elphaba, a witch who was born green, and Galinda, the popular girl at Elphaba’s new school, as the two girls find unlikely friendship in tumultuous political climate.

I didn’t go to the cinema with much expectation, having enjoyed the musical in theatres and not holding a lot of hope for a film adaptation. But it surprised me, I genuinely think Wicked is a solid film. It’s fun where it needs to be, it carries its message through, the performances are stunning from both Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, the sets are very impressive, the musical aspects are on point. I had a great time.

State in the race: This will likely take some technical categories and have a good shot in Makeup and Production Design.

LIKELIEST TO WIN BEST PICTURE: ANORA
RUNNERS UP: CONCLAVE AND THE BRUTALIST

Actor in a Leading Role

Already reviewed above:

• Adrien Brody for The Brutalist

• Timothée Chalamet for A Complete Unknown

• Ralph Fiennes for Conclave

Sing Sing

NOMINATED ACTOR: COLMAN DOMINGO
ALSO NOMINATED FOR: MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG), WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)

★★★★★

Sing Sing made me fall back in love with filmmaking. I think it’s a near-perfect show of what the art form can and should be. Following the theatre programme of Sing Sing correctional facility, a maximum-security prison in the state of New York, we watch the inmates put together a performance made up of all of their mixed up imaginations. Colman Domingo’s performance is a gift, and honestly the rest of the cast is also stunning. So many moments in this film will stay with me forever. Sobbed through the credits.

The Apprentice

NOMINATED ACTOR: SEBASTIAN STAN

ALSO NOMINATED FOR: ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

★★★

The only reason this is three and not four stars is because I’m not sure it’s different enough from other films in the last few years to stun me, but it’s a solid film with a clear aim. It understands what the story is, and doesn’t deviate in order to give us a full Trump biopic. It’s also not at all cartoon-ish, which is in part thanks to the story-telling, in part thanks to Sebastian Stan’s tone-perfect performance as a man we’ve all seen more than enough of.

LIKELIEST TO WIN: ADRIEN BRODY
RUNNERS UP: SEBASTIAN STAN (HIGHLY UNLIKELY)

Actor in a Supporting Role

Already reviewed above:

• Guy Pearce for The Brutalist

• Edward Norton for A Complete Unknown

• Yura Borisov for Anora

• Jeremy Strong for The Apprentice

A Real Pain

NOMINATED: KIERAN CULKIN

ALSO NOMINATED FOR: WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)

★★★★

The simplicity of this film caused me to not be as impressed by it on first watch, but it has stuck with me enough to change my mind. It’s a bit of a road movie telling the story of two cousins going on a “Holocaust tour” in Poland in an attempt to reconnect with the past of their recently deceased grandmother. There’s something really special about Jesse Eisenberg’s writing here, and the way he was able to build character while allowing Kieran Culkin to bring valuable touches to his own.

It’s a film about collective trauma and how our individual lives can survive the small pains we inherit.

State in the race: Culkin has this one in the bag, and Jesse Eisenberg has been taking some writing awards in the second half of the season so don’t be surprised if he wins this one!

LIKELIEST TO WIN: KIERAN CULKIN
RUNNERS UP: EDWARD NORTON (would be very surprised)

Animated Feature Film

Just a quick note to say the Animation category this year is probably the strongest it has been in years. I genuinely believe every single one of these films has worthy, beautiful storytelling and would recommend getting through all of them.

Flow

ALSO NOMINATED FOR: INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM

★★★★★

We follow a solitary cat as a biblical-level flood devastates his home and, jumping on a boat, finds refuge with other species running from the floods: a capybara, a bird, a labrador and a lemur. The film’s sound design is stunning — with only animal noises as dialogue. I’ve thought about this film nearly every day since watching it. It completely enchanted me.

A tale of found family and support, of finding our tribes and learning to trust and how small acts of love make a life.

Inside Out 2

★★★

I marginally prefer the first Inside Out but this is a lovely follow up. It’s hard to argue with the magic of the storytelling here and I think both this one and the first are must-watches for parents and children alike. Inevitably, as we follow our main character Riley through her teenage years and her emotions become more adult, some things hit close to home. Perhaps my favourite thing about this one is the sympathetic views it takes towards anxiety and the ways in which we learn to protect ourselves, those lessons will genuinely stay with me for a long time.

The Wild Robot

ALSO NOMINATED FOR: MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE), SOUND

★★★★★

In an unnamed future, a service robot gets stranded on an island and has to adapt to its surroundings — which eventually and through a series of unfortunate incidents ends up meaning becoming an adoptive mother to a baby gosling. Similarly to Flow, this is a story of found family. A definite tear-jerker (more than once if you’re anything like me) that re-defines how we think about belonging, prejudice, perseverance and the right of choosing how to live.

Memoir of a Snail

★★★★

Grace is a lonely, weird girl who loves reading romance and is obsessed with snails (to the point of wanting to believe she is one). She has a heart of gold and empathy to last lifetimes, but when her dad dies, her life and confidence unravels in heartbreaking ways. Definitely not a children’s film (a misconception of animation), this stop-motion is a hard-hitting analysis of cycles of violence, desperation, family and, perhaps most of all, learning to love ourselves and understanding what it means to love others.

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

★★★

Wallace and Gromit are back with another romp of a film. The best, most ridiculous and strangely cool villain in Feathers McGraw makes for a delightful watch. And Gromit is, as usual, way too good and intelligent for anything Wallace has to offer. Catching subtle references to the biggest British films of the last few years is also quite fun. However, deep down, this film is a poignant criticism of our incoming dependence on AI and the dangers of allowing ourselves to be sucked into a world without humanity. It’s not lost that if any animation is going to try that, it’s stop-motion artists who would be best at telling it.

LIKELIEST TO WIN: THE WILD ROBOT
RUNNERS UP: FLOW

Cinematography

Already reviewed above:

• The Brutalist

• Dune: Part Two

• Emilia Pérez

Maria

NOMINATED DP: ED LACHMAN

★★★★

In Pablo Larraín’s final film in his trilogy of Important Women (each following an iconic woman of the 20th century who marked our culture, the first two being Jackie about Jackie Kennedy and Spencer about Lady Di), he focuses on opera singer Maria Callas. Larraín’s biopics have something most other new ones do not: he has something to say. He doesn’t adhere to the strict facts or try to show us a whole life, he takes a pivotal moment and delves into what each woman’s psychology would’ve looked like.

With Maria, he’s far from sensationalising a Prima Donna’s life, he creates the circumstances that led to her death and shapes a narrative that is as beautiful as it is sympathetic. Angelina Jolie delivers a stunning performance (she should be with the nominees but I digress), and the cinematography nod is definitely well deserved.

Nosferatu

NOMINATED DP: JARIN BLASCHKE
ALSO NOMINATED FOR: MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING, PRODUCTION DESIGN, COSTUME DESIGN

★★★★★

I’m glad this is nominated for something because I get to ramble about it a little! Nosferatu, a remake of the 1922 Murnau film, follows Ellen, a woman who is haunted by an ancient vampire, and her husband, who tries to save her. It’s, in my mind, a story about a woman followed by the shame of her deepest desires within a traditional and close-minded society, which actually makes it a fascinating watch today.

I love the way Robert Eggers approaches filmmaking. There is something that feels like craft in his films, where you can tell how much care he took in every aspect - from air-tight scripting to beautiful visuals to actor work. Suffice to say Eggers and his cinematographer, Blaschke, have created custom lenses to shoot both The Lighthouse (2019) and this, making the colouring and filtering look entirely unique. Gothic horror at its very psychological best.

Costume Design

Already reviewed above

• A Complete Unknown

• Conclave

• Nosferatu

• Wicked: Part One

Gladiator II

COSTUME DESIGNERS: JANTY YATES AND DAVE CROSSMAN

★★★

I enjoyed this follow up to Gladiator more than I thought I would, although it left me wishing the talent and money could’ve been used for original IP. I surprisingly felt this film shone most when dealing with emotional scenes and faltered in its action sequences. Is it as iconic as the first? Likely not. But it’s a good romp of a time and I disagree with the small consensus of Mescal being unable to carry a big budget film. I personally love the nuance indie actors bring through to action-packed dramas.

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Extra: what you should watch that isn’t nominated

A section for some of the best films I watched last year that didn’t make it into awards season due to Hollywood politics (ie. coming out too early, not being big enough, not campaigning, etc).

La Chimera

A stunning magical realism tale about a British archeologist in Italy who has made a career out of digging up graves for valuables. Alice Rohrwacher created a gorgeous feast for the eyes and the heart.

Challengers

It’s unbelievable that this wasn’t even nominated for Best Score, but I still love the risks Luca Guadagnino took with this one. Impressively, the sexiest tennis film with the least sex involved (leave it to Guadagnino to build sexual tension).

Queer

Another Guadagnino and, to me, one that will mark his legacy. Adapted from William S. Burroughs’s novel, it captures all the feeling of the Beat generation while bringing it forward with nods to its Latin American settings. It’s Lynchean in approach, has some of the best needle drops of the decade and is generally a pretty solid study on what it means for your deepest obsession being simply to be loved.

La Cocina

If a film tackles the fall of American Dream, I’m there. We find ourselves in the chaotic kitchen of a Times Square restaurant, where most of the chefs and hospitality workers are undocumented immigrants. Ruizpalacios’s directing takes the cake for me, with sequences that are as soaked in tension as they are in meaning. Far from giving us answers, it leaves us questioning if, within the chaos of the American Dream, one can actually find a dignified exit.

Love Lies Bleeding

A film about what we do for love. Following an ever-brilliant Kristen Stewart and a revelation in Katy O'Brian as two lovers who make about a million wrong decisions, it’s fun and ridiculous and, again, shows us what a director who isn’t afraid of risks can do. Rose Glass is going to continue to surprise us, and I can’t wait to see what’s next in her career.

Hard Truths

I would genuinely think it’d be a miss if Marianne Jean-Baptiste didn’t win for Lead Actress, the fact that she’s not even nominated? A crime. Her work in Hard Truths, a film that follows a depressed, angry-at-life woman as she finds her compassion, is the most stunning acting I’ve seen in years. She’s comedic but heartbreaking, subtle but captivating. If you get the chance, please watch this. It will hit you like a ton of bricks, but it’ll be worth it.

Bird

Andrea Arnold representing the lives of working class British families and infusing them with the magic of belief and love? Yeah, it will be good. Another stunning delivery from her.

PS: I’m aware there are some missing categories here, and it’s likely because I couldn’t access screeners or had time to watch all films nominated in that category - namely Best International Feature, Documentary and all Short Film nominees. When and if I can watch these before March 3rd, I’ll be updating this post.