Oscars 2024: Here’s Who Won, From Oppenheimer To Poor Things
At last, the Oscars finally came to town last night- and it looks like the 2024 ceremony will be one long remembered. Celebrating the best films of 2023 (and there were a lot!), it gave us plenty of memorable moments- not least the showstopper of I’m Just Ken performed by Ryan Gosling, which might be the most bombastic and enjoyable Oscars song performance in history. Meanwhile, the big winner of the night was Oppenheimer, with other films like The Zone of Interest, The Holdovers, and of course Barbie pocketing awards. Here are some of the biggest winners, and where to stream them:
Oppenheimer
It was predicted to win big- and it did. Oppenheimer nabbed seven Oscar statues, including Best Actor for Cillian Murphy, Best Supporting Actor for Robert Downey Jr, Best Director for Christopher Nolan, and the top prize of Best Picture. It tells the story of nuclear scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Murphy), recruited by Col. Leslie Groves (Matt Damon) during WWII to work on the Manhattan Project to produce the first atomic bomb while dealing with his marriage to Kitty Oppenheimer (Emily Blunt) and affair with Jean Tatlock (Florence Pugh) His actions and political connections are later investigated by politician Lewis Strauss (Downey Jr), who’s intent on ostracising the scientist from public life. Christopher Nolan’s award-winning epic biopic is currently streaming on Amazon Prime and Apple TV.
Barbie
Barbie won at the box office last year, and as predicted it won Best Original Song for What Was I Made For?, performed by Billie Eilish. The comedy tells the story of the world’s most famous toy doll having a sudden existential crisis, and ending up hopping into the real world. Accompanied by a scene-stealing Ken (Ryan Gosling), Barbie goes on a journey about themes ranging from feminism and body image to philosophy and death, but all with plenty of colour and humour making it one of the must-watch films of 2023. If you’re one of those who haven’t watched it yet but made your mind up to give it a go after Gosling’s all-singing, all-dancing turn at the ceremony, then you can find it on streaming on Amazon Prime and Apple TV.
The Holdovers
The story of an unlikely trio of people who are cooped up in a school after Christmas break, The Holdovers scooped Best Supporting Actress for Da’Vine Joy Randolph. Teacher Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti) is struggling to keep his pupils focused on their schoolwork, and his often uncompromising methods don’t do much to help. When he’s given the unappealing job of looking after the students left at the boarding school over the holidays, he tries to impart knowledge to one of the kids, Angus (Dominic Sessa), who’s unenthused and more interested in having fun. Both of them must learn to live with each other, accompanied by school cook Mary (Randolph), who is grieving the loss of her son. All three put in winning performances that’ll stay with you- The Holdovers is still in cinemas and you can also stream on Amazon Prime.
Anatomy of a Fall
French legal thriller Anatomy of a Fall won the Palme d’Or last year at the Cannes Film Festival, and at the Oscars grabbed Best Original Screenplay. It tells a gripping story of a woman on trial for supposedly killing her husband. Actress Sandra Hüller plays Sandra Voyter, a novelist staying with her family in their idyllic chalet in France. She’s forced to postpone an interview because her husband is playing music too loudly, and before we know it her son Samuel returns back from a walk to discover his father dead. What follows is an investigation and trial, with Sandra insistent that she was not the cause of her husband’s death, but evidence seems to point to otherwise. Did she do it?- the legal drama is available to stream now if you want to find out on Apple TV.
American Fiction
The Best Adapted Screenplay winner stars Jeffery Wright in this comedy-drama which focuses on Monk Ellison (Wright), a gifted writer who gets critical praise for his books, but they don’t sell well. Frustrated, Monk decides to write a book that deliberately plays up to stereotypes about African-American stories in literature, feeling that this will allow him to vent his annoyances. However, it ends up doing considerably better than his previous work, particularly with critics and becomes a bestseller. But Monk, exasperated, becomes even more frustrated than before. It also stars Tracee Ellis Ross, Issa Rae, and Sterling K Brown, and you can watch it in cinemas, with a streaming release later this year.
Poor Things
Poor Things nabbed several technical awards like Costume Design and Makeup, and Emma Stone landed the coveted title of Best Actress. Definitely the weirdest and quirkiest film on the Best Picture nominee list, it’s directed by Yorgos Lanthimos (The Favourite) and follows Bella Baxter (Stone), a woman brought back to life by an eccentric scientist (Willem Dafoe). Now having a child-like mind, Bella decides to go out into the world and explore, finding out more about other people and herself. Fascinated with relationships and sex, Bella meets the charismatic Duncan (Mark Ruffalo) and a cast of other characters in a whimsical fantastical world based on Victorian London. Stylistically unique and critically lauded, Poor Things is available to see in cinemas and on streaming on Disney+.
The Zone of Interest
One of the most emotionally harrowing films of 2023, The Zone of Interest was something of a dark horse in the Oscars race, and it won both Best International Feature and Best Sound. It takes place during the Second World War amid the Holocaust, about a Nazi commandant living his life in a house next to the Auschwitz camp. Christian Friedel plays Rudolf Höss, in charge of the camp and responsible for what happens there, while Anatomy of a Fall star Sandra Hüller plays his wife Hedwig, as they both strive to live a dream life, despite their surroundings. They live with their children, and raise them only metres away from the perimeter of the concentration camp. It’s best to go in knowing as little else as possible, and the film is an intense watch, but like Schindler’s List it’ll stay with you- it’s currently out in cinemas and available for early streaming on Curzon and Apple TV.
The Boy and The Heron
The winner of Best Animated Feature, The Boy and the Heron is set to be the final film from Hayao Miyazaki, beloved co-founder of Studio Ghibli and the mind behind films like Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Ponyo. Like many of Miyazaki’s films, it has big themes about life and death and mixes the real with the fantastical. The titular boy is Mahito Maki, who lost his mother in a fire during WWII, and later meets a mysterious and peculiar grey heron. The heron leads him into a fantasy world, and tells Mahito that his mother is still alive, and that together they can search for her. With typically incredible animation, the English dub features the voice talents of Robert Pattinson as the Heron, alongside Gemma Chan, Christian Bale, Mark Hamill and Florence Pugh. The film has yet to receive a streaming date but is currently still playing in cinemas.