It’s the biggest night in Hollywood — the night when new stars are born and established greats cement their legacies.
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are considered the highest honour in the film industry. Aspiring actors everywhere dream of hearing their name called for Best Actor or Best Actress, stepping onto the stage to hold the iconic statuette, and trying to thank everyone who helped them achieve their dream — all in the span of about a minute.
For Adrien Brody, however, even a minute wasn’t nearly enough. The American actor delivered a speech lasting five minutes and 36 seconds — making it the longest in Oscar history — after winning his second Academy Award. Despite the orchestra’s repeated attempts to play him off, he interrupted, saying, “please turn the music off. I’ve done this before. This is not my first rodeo.”
His speech received widespread criticism. Johnny Oleksinski of the New York Post described it as “insufferable — and yet another eye-roll moment for the actor,” referencing Brody’s first Oscar win in 2003 for The Pianist, when he famously kissed presenter Halle Berry without consent. He then shushed the orchestra by saying, “cut it out, cut it out. I get one shot at this!”
While Brody’s speech was a major talking point of the night, it was one of the few moments that seemed to unite rather than divide audiences. Although there weren’t many major upsets, the results still sparked debate.
The night’s biggest winner was Anora, directed by Sean Baker, which took home five awards, including Best Picture. The film follows Anora, or “Ani,” (Mikey Madison) a Russian American escort living in New York who marries Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn), the spoiled son of a Russian oligarch, after a chance meeting — much to his family’s disapproval.
Anora’s win was not without controversy. The film was met with some backlash for its depiction of sex workers, with some real-life sex workers finding it to merely be a rehashing of the “sex worker needs saving” trope. Others praised it for portraying Ani and other escorts in a positive light, avoiding the usual “sleazy” stereotypes.
Further controversy surrounded the involvement of Russian actors, including Eydelshteyn and Best Supporting Actor nominee Yura Borisov.
Articles published in the New York Times and the Telegraph pointed out that Eydelshteyn and Borisov had not publicly condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and NSS magazine published an article with the title, “Does Anora have to do with Russian politics?”
Madison’s Best Actress win was one of the night’s biggest surprises, as the 25-year-old triumphed over Hollywood veteran Demi Moore. Moore, 62, had been considered a frontrunner for her role in the horror film The Substance, in which she plays an aging actress who takes a mysterious substance to regain her youth in hopes of reviving her career.
According to the New York Times, Madison’s win, while not seen as undeserving, was declared by fans on social media platforms to prove the point that The Substance made — that Hollywood is obsessed with young women and their perceived greater beauty, putting older actresses at an inherent disadvantage once they are seen as “past their prime.” One X user, Paolo Uggetti, posted, “Demi Moore losing to Mikey Madison is basically the plot of The Substance.”
Age and experience were also key talking points in the Best Actor category. Adrien Brody defeated Timothée Chalamet, denying the Dune: Part Two star the chance to become the youngest Best Actor winner in Oscar history. That record, coincidentally, still belongs to Brody, who won in 2003 at age 29.
Like with the Best Actress category, it was pointed out many times in the public discussion leading up to the awards that performers of a certain age have a disadvantage in the category, but in this case, it is younger men that face an upward climb. Older actors are perceived as having “paid their dues,” while younger actors need to “wait their turn.”
During the Oscars campaign, Chalamet’s viral Screen Actors Guild awards speech, in which he declared, “I’m really in pursuit of greatness. I know people don’t usually talk like that, but I want to be one of the greats,” was met with mixed reception. Many accused him of being arrogant. One may wonder — would he have faced the same backlash had he been older?
Another notable moment of the night came when No Other Land won Best Documentary Feature. The documentary was produced by a joint Palestinian-Israeli activist collective consisting of Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, and focuses on life in the West Bank under Israeli military occupation.
While the documentary received critical acclaim, reactions were divided. Israeli officials called it “sabotage of the state of Israel,” while the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) stated, “Palestinians do not need validation, legitimation or permission from Israelis to narrate our history, our present, our experiences, our dreams and our resistance.”
One of the biggest surprises of the night was the fate of Emilia Pérez. Despite leading with 13 nominations, the film won just two awards: Best Supporting Actress for Zoe Saldaña and Best Original Song for “El Mal.”
Despite a positive critical reception, Emilia Pérez was panned by the public for its portrayals of Mexican culture and transgender individuals. Its hopes of becoming an Oscars darling were all but dashed following controversies surrounding lead actress Karla Sofía Gascón, after numerous racist posts were discovered on her social media platforms.
Chances are these debates will never be resolved. Unlike sports such as running and swimming, there is no measurable objective to determine a winner in film. These continued debates demonstrate the subjectivity of all artworks — what performs well with one audience may not perform well with another. Such is the nature of the film industry, and at the end of the day — art is art.
