Brutally Honest Oscar Ballot #1: ‘Sentimental Value’ “Nearly Perfect,” “Didn’t Want [‘Hamnet’s] Jessie Buckley Turned Up to a 10 the Entire Time”

A female member of the Academy’s 719-person documentary branch who has no connection to any of this year’s nominees, granted a cloak of anonymity in return for candor, speaks with THR about her ballot. James Steinberg Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment A female member of the Academy’s 719-person documentary branch who has no connection to any of this year’s nominees, granted a cloak of anonymity in return for candor, speaks with THR about her ballot. Best picture I put Frankenstein at number 10 because I haven’t seen it, which is unfair, but I ran out of time and decided to check the box indicating that I had so that I could support other films. F1 was not for me — I watched about 45 minutes of it, and I didn’t need to watch more. I’m a huge fan of Yorgos Lanthimos, but Bugonia, while I admired its ambition and performances, did not work for me. I liked Train Dreams and thought it was visually beautiful, but I grew a little tired of the character’s point of view and didn’t find it especially unique. Marty Supreme was a great ride, but it ultimately felt like more of the same stuff we’ve seen from the Safdies, even if this one was just Josh. I admired The Secret Agent’s performances and design, but was not as captivated by the narrative as I wanted to be. Hamnet was emotional and beautifully rendered, but a bit overwrought — I didn’t want Jessie [Buckley] turned up to a 10 the entire time. To me, One Battle After Another, Sinners and Sentimental Value are all best picture-worthy. I loved One Battle, but there were flaws — I heard from a lot of friends in the Black community that they were troubled by the character Perfidia Beverly Hills, and I really hear that. With Sinners, I was leaning forward in my seat with my mouth open for the entire movie — it was so ambitious, profound, provocative and entertaining. But at the end of the day, I put Sentimental Value on top because it was, to me, exquisite, nearly perfect, and my kind of movie. Related Stories Movies Maggie Gyllenhaal Loved Those 'The Bride!' Test Screenings: "The Fantasy of It Being Some Horrible Thing Is Inaccurate" Movies Maggie Gyllenhaal on How She Crafted Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale's Looks in 'The Bride!' VOTE: (1) Sentimental Value, (2) Sinners, (3) One Battle After Another, (4) Hamnet, (5) The Secret Agent, (6) Marty Supreme, (7) Train Dreams, (8) Bugonia, (9) F1, (10) Frankenstein Best director I found [Sentimental Value’s Joachim] Trier’s direction of his actors and design of his film to be outstanding — but I have to go with [Sinners’ Ryan] Coogler. The director is the conductor of all of the crafts that go into a movie, and Sinners was so gorgeously conducted, such a big swing, so ambitious and so unique. VOTE: Ryan Coogler, Sinners Best actor [Timothée] Chalamet is great in Marty Supreme, but the character felt a bit redundant after the prior Safdie films. Michael B. Jordan is incredible in Sinners. Wagner Moura’s performance in The Secret Agent is the main reason to watch that movie. I was very tempted to vote for Leo [DiCaprio for One Battle]. But Ethan Hawke’s performance in Blue Moon is inspired, magnetic, almost magical. VOTE: Ethan Hawke, Blue Moon Best actress Rose Byrne brought everything to If I Had Legs I’d Kick You — I mean, with the way the filmmaker chose to focus on her face, she was mesmerizing, and it was a tour de force. But I felt that [Sentimental Value’s] Renate Reinsve gave the most stunning performance of the year. She just got into my heart. VOTE: Renate Reinsve, Sentimental Value Best supporting actorSean Penn is incredible [in One Battle], as he usually is. I love Stellan [Skarsgård] in Sentimental Value, who is also always so good. But for me, it was between Delroy [Lindo of Sinners] and Benicio [Del Toro of One Battle], and I went with the Sensei because of the way in which I understand Benicio helped to craft that character. I saw some interviews about how he brought to PTA all of these ideas about the apartment and other things, and how they really worked together to build that character, who is the spiritual heart of the film. I have friends to my left who felt it made fun of activism, and friends to my right who found it to be too celebratory, and I would always point to Benicio’s character as an ideal for this moment — someone with deep community ties who knows how to open doors and make things happen. I’ll never forget that performance. VOTE: Benicio del Toro, One Battle After Another Best supporting actress While I’m a fan of One Battle After Another, Teyana Taylor’s character was tough for me to swallow. Wunmi [Mosaku, in Sinners] and Amy [Madian, in Weapons] are great. Though I loved Sentimental Value, I don’t think Elle Fanning had much to do. But Inga [Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Fanning’s cost