Hollywood’s Most Dramatic Night: 2022 Oscar’s Review

It was the slap heard ‘round the world. In case you’ve been living under a rock recently, Will Smith made the front page of every news outlet at the 2022 Academy Award Ceremony when he went on stage and slapped comedian Chris Rock after Rock had made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith– specifically about her bald head, a result of the autoimmune disorder alopecia. While the last thing anyone needs is another person's opinion on the incident, I will say this: there are many people calling it “the Oscar’s ugliest moment,” the Academy themselves made a statement saying they do not condone violence, and Will Smith has even resigined from the Academy. However, naming the slap as the “ugliest moment in Oscar history” is blatenting disregarding the Academy’s deeply troubling and problematic history. Particularly in 1973 when John Wayne had to be physically restrained by six security guards while he attempted to get on stage and assault Native American actress Sacheen Littlefeather, along with the fact that known abusers like Harvey Weinstein, Roman Polanski, Woody Allen, and Kevin Spacey have all received Oscars along with no repercussions from the Academy for their actions. 

Of course, while the Chris Rock and Will Smith incident has become the main focus of the evening, it was still the Oscars which means film nerds everywhere were waiting not so patiently with their predictions to see if the outcomes of the awards. I personally had a 66% success rate with my predictions. 

Overall, this year’s winners were generally unsurprising. CODA, directed by Sian Heder, took home the prize for Best Picture, a safe and predictable choice. A film with plentiful representation and an inspiring message, it makes sense that the Academy awarded it with the highest honor. Do I think it was the best picture, artistically, technically, or in terms of story? No, but I am neither angry nor surprised by the choice. Deaf representation is incredibly important and I hope that CODA being so highly acclaimed opens doors for representation of all kinds of groups to be recognized in Hollywood. 

Actor in a Leading Role, as we all knew it would, even the nominees, went to Will Smith mere minutes after he slapped Chris Rock. Anyone who paid attention to the awards season this year saw this coming, with Smith winning both the BAFTA and Golden Globe for Best Actor, both of which are generally strong indicators of who will win the coveted prize. While Will Smith was fantastic in King Richard and I do believe the Academy made the correct choice with him, I would have loved to see Andrew Garfield win for his nuanced and uncannily accurate portrayal of Jonathon Larson in Tick…Tick…Boom!. While Tick…Tick…Boom! did not get nearly enough love on the awards circuit, it would have been great to see Garfield win after hearing all the role meant to him after the death of his mother. 

Jessica Chastian took home the prize for Actress in a Leading Role for her incredible performance in The Eyes of Tammy Faye as Tammy Faye. In my opinion, though the most deserved award of the evening, this one was also the most surprising as no one had really been able to gain a strong sense of a frontrunner in the race for Best Actress. Any of the women, particularly Kristen Stewart, would have been a phenomenal choice, but Chastain undoubtedly went through the most significant transformation to play Tammy Faye and delivered a captivating and extraordinary performance, undoubtedly earning her the accolade. 

Both Best Actor and Best Actress in a Supporting Role had clear standouts, both of whom won. Troy Kotsur who played the father in CODA and West Side Story’s Ariana DeBose each took home the prize, appeasing critics and fans alike. DeBose’s performance demonstrated her abilities as a triple threat in her masterful singing, dancing, and acting as Speilburg’s Anita and Kotsur powerfully communicated the love and concern of a father in CODA and became the second deaf actor to win an Oscar. 

Dune had a huge night, winning six out of the ten awards it was nominated for: Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, Best Production Design, Best Sound, and Best Visual Effects. One of the best films made this year, this sweep was extremely well deserved in my opinion. The only thing that strikes me as odd about Dune’s triumphs was the fact that neither director Denis Villeneuve nor lead Timothée Chalamet were nominated in their categories. It almost feels like the Academy thinks the film made itself. 

Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast rightfully won Best Original Screenplay and CODA’s Siân Heder picked up Best Adapted Screenplay. Encanto, to no one’s surprise, won for Animated Feature Film, no doubt delighting every parent who has, against their will, memorized the words to “We Don’t Talk About Bruno.” Best International Feature Film went to Drive My Car from Japan, an excellent choice, though there was certainly an argument for the award being given to Norway’s The Worst Person in the World. Jenny Beavan got the prize of Costume Design for her incredible and intricate work on Cruella. 

A cause of major contvesory was the Academy’s decision to cut categories from the live telecast, and instead announce them beforehand. This decision  was made because of the decreased viewership of the show of last year, but many in and out of the industry were deeply disappointed by the lack of respect it demonstrates. Among the eight categories removed were Best Original Score, Film Editing, Production Design, Makeup and Hairstyling, sound, documentary short subject, live action short film and animated short film. Summer of Soul triumphed in Best Feature Documentary while The Queen of Basketball got Best Documentary (Short Subject). In a well-deserved win, Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram and Justin Raleigh won Makeup and Hairstyling for their work on The Eyes of Tammy Faye in which they were relied on to transform Jessica Chastain into Tammy Faye throughout the many decades the film spans for. Live Action Short Film and Animated Short Film went to The Long Goodbye and The Windshield Wiper respectively. The rest of course, went to Dune.

From Will Smith's altercation with Chris Rock, to CODA’s historic win, to Timothée Chalamet showing up sans shirt, this year's Oscars was certainly one for the books. It is more than likely that this year's massive newsworthy event will fuel higher ratings than usual for next year and I truly hope the Academy takes the initiative to bring back all categories to airtime, not just the ones they deem as more important.

by ELIORA ABRAMSON