The dream is over (or at least deferred until Bafta). Rich Peppiatt’s Kneecap, fictionalised biopic of the West Belfast rap trio, has failed to secure an Oscar nomination in either best international picture or best original song.
The two stars of Ali Abassi’s The Apprentice, co-produced by Irish company Tailored Film, did, however, score in the acting categories. Sebastian Stan, who plays Donald Trump in the gritty study of the recently inaugurated US President’s early days, lands opposite the likes of Timothée Chalamet and Ralph Fiennes in the lead actor race. Jeremy Strong, reptilian as lawyer Roy Cohn, competes in best supporting actor.
“We’re really proud of this Irish film,” Julianne Forde, producer of The Apprentice, told The Irish Times. “It’s an Irish, Danish and Canadian co-production ... We’re really happy for Jeremy Strong and Sebastian Stan on their Oscar nominations. And it’s a great day for Ireland.”
Nick Emerson, from Belfast, is mentioned in the editing race for his work on Edward Berger’s papal thriller Conclave.
There was domestic disappointment in best live action short, with neither Clodagh nor Room Taken, Irish titles on the shortlist, making the final five.
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The failure of Kneecap to score in best international picture does count as a genuine upset. Best song, for which they were also shortlisted, was more of a stretch. Winner of an audience prize at the Sundance Film Festival a year ago, the raucous comedy has been performing better than expected at the current awards season. Two weeks ago, Peppiatt’s variation on Hard Day’s Night scored a stunning six nominations at the British Academy of Film and Television awards (Bafta). It was not just the home team expecting a mention. The Hollywood Reporter, Variety and IndieWire all predicted the film to land a nomination.
The Kneecap squad can, at least, console themselves with the knowledge that the final five is a strong line-up. In a rare occurrence, two of the nominated films, Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Pérez from France and Walter Salles’s I’m Still Here from Brazil, also secured nominations for best picture. Emilia Pérez, topping this year’s chart with 13 mentions, becomes the most nominated film in a language other than English. It will surely become the first French submission to win this award (formerly best foreign language film) since the largely forgotten Indochine in 1992.
Emilia Pérez, a musical concerning a Mexican drug lord who undergoes gender transition, has, despite its success here, generated some controversy for its depiction of transgender people. Earlier this week it received not a single nomination at the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (Glaad) media awards. There will be much muttering online, but Emilia Pérez remains a huge hit with awards voters, also topping the nominations at Bafta. Karla Sofía Gascón, the film’s star, becomes the first openly transgender person to earn an Oscar acting nomination. She will face strong competition in the best actress race from Mikey Madison in Sean Baker’s screwball Anora and Demi Moore in Coralie Fargeat’s squelchy horror satire The Substance.
There were few enormous surprises in the high-profile races. Just a few weeks ago, Angelina Jolie looked a dead cert for role as Maria Callas in Pablo Larraín’s Maria and Moore seemed an outsider for The Substance. But Jolie’s failure to secure a nomination at the Screen Actors Guild or even a longlisting from Bafta confirmed voters were cold on the movie. In contrast, after a win and a barnstorming speech at the Golden Globes, Moore, rarely an awards contender in her 40-year career, looked to be unstoppable for a nomination. Sure enough Moore was in and Jolie was out. Fargeat also securing a mention in best director and The Substance competing in best picture completes a most unlikely rise for a gross-out flick. Thierry Frémaux, director of the Cannes film festival, can congratulate himself on, against the odds, picking Fargeat’s shocker for a competition spot last May. Such a film could never have performed so well here without that ecstatic response on La Croisette. Fernando Torres, who stars as wife of a former congressman “disappeared” in 1970s Brazil, in I’m Still Here looks to be the beneficiary of Jolie’s decline. She is mentioned in best actress and the film scores that surprise place in best picture.
Who else can feel aggrieved? Selena Gomez would have hoped to compete against her Emilia Pérez costar Zoë Saldaña in best supporting actress, but lost out to the likes of Ariana Grande for Wicked and Isabella Rossellini for Conclave. Saldaña is strong favourite for what is, in reality, a co-lead performance.
Once much fancied, Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II proved a near complete splat, landing only in costume design. Having scored in few precursors, Paul Mescal will have known that his chances of a second best actor nomination were slim, but Denzel Washington, an Oscar favourite, still seemed competitive in best supporting actor. In the event, Jeremy Strong looks to have taken the last spot there. He will almost certainly lose out to a fellow alumnus of the TV show Succession. Kieran Culkin, up for the serious comedy A Real Pain, has won everywhere so far and looks set to complete his triumphant ascent at the Oscars on March 3rd. Saoirse Ronan, who would once have hoped for a shot in best actress for The Outrun and best supporting actress for Blitz, slipped out of contention as neither film (for different reasons) registered with many awards bodies.
Despite its record haul of nominations, Emilia Pérez is tipped by few to take best picture. Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist, epic tale of a renegade architect in postwar America, scored 10 nominations and looks like current marginal favourite in a volatile race. Serious contenders among the 10 nominees also include Jon M Chu’s musical Wicked, also with 10 nominations, Baker’s Palme d’Or-winning Anora, with six nominations, and – an old-school Oscar film – Edward Berger’s Conclave. Wicked and Conclave did, however, miss out on a directing nomination – unlike James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown. That meat-and-potatoes Bob Dylan biopic, with eight mentions, could well come up on the inside rail.
It remains to be seen if Donald Trump will react to a nomination for Stan’s unfavourable portrayal in The Apprentice. “We never expect anything from The White House,” Ruth Treacy, also a producer on The Apprentice, told The Irish Times. “But we’re always open to feedback on the film.”
