There's just over a week to go until the Academy Awards 2016 and it is one of the most exciting ceremonies in years with some of the biggest categories still wide open - except for Best Actor. It already looks like Leonardo DiCaprio is finally going to get his hands on cinema's biggest prizes for his stunning performance in The Revenant.
The Revenant
However, it is going to be a dogfight in most of the other categories and Best Picture is just one that really could be very interesting on the night. There are eight films in the running this year as The Big Short, Bridge of Spies, Brooklyn, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian, The Revenant, Room, and Spotlight are all set to go head to head.
While all of these movies are terrific and you could make a very strong case for all of them to win, it looks like it is going to be between frontier film The Revenant and hard-hitting journalism movie Spotlight; two films that have been sharing the spoils during the awards season so far. But which movie is going to come out on top at the biggest ceremony of them all?
The Revenant
The Revenant has been one of the most talked about movies of 2016 and it is always exciting when an Alejandro G. Iñárritu movie is on the mix as he has a habit of making such extraordinary movies. It was twelve months ago when triumphed with Best Director and Best Picture for Birdman and he could well go on to do a fantastic double double next weekend.
The Revenant is based on the book of the same name by Michael Punke, which was inspired by the experiences of frontiersman Hugh Glass in the 1820's in North America. Iñárritu has teamed up with Mark L. Smith to pen the film's screenplay as well as being back in the director's chair.
Starring DiCaprio in the central role of Glass, The Revenant is an immersive and visceral cinematic experience capturing one man's epic adventure of survival and the extraordinary power of the human spirit. In an expedition of the uncharted American wilderness, legendary explorer Hugh Glass (DiCaprio) is brutally attacked by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team.
In a quest to survive, Glass endures unimaginable grief as well as the betrayal of his confidant John Fitzgerald (Hardy). Guided by sheer will and the love of his family, Glass must navigate a vicious winter in a relentless pursuit to live and find redemption. DiCaprio is joined on the cast list by Tom Hardy - also Oscar nominated for his performance - Domhnall Gleeson, and Will Poulter.
The Revenant has already picked up Best Picture at the Golden Globes and at the Baftas in recent weeks and is probably the favourite going into the final stretch of the Best Picture race 2016. It has the most Oscar nominations with twelve nods and could well walk away with the most gongs on the night.
The Revenant is already one of the most acclaimed films of the year and many Oscar voters could be driven to see this film triumph because of DiCaprio's stunning central performance. The Revenant is also unlike anything that we have seen in the Best Picture category in recent years, and the Academy loves this kind of film.
Spotlight
Another kind of movie the Academy supports is the 'true story' a film that is based on true events or is a biopic. We have seen many movies such as this triumph in this category over the years. And if any movie can stop The Revenant from winning next weekend, then it is the terrific Spotlight.
Spotlight is another movie that has been met with real critical acclaim and sees Tom McCarthy back in the director's chair; he has also teamed up with Josh Singer to pen the film's screenplay. The movie follows The Boston Globe's Spotlight team - one of the most infamous investigative teams in American newspaper history.
Spotlight tells the story of their investigation into a child sex abuse scandal in the Boston area within the Roman Catholic Church and how it was covered up over the years. The movie is based on a series of stories that the team published in the early noughties - stories that saw them win the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. This hard-hitting movie is already being called one of the best journalism movies of all time and is up there with the likes of All The President's Men.
Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, and Stanley Tucci make up a fantastic ensemble cast and the movie was nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director for McCarthy, Best Supporting Actor for Ruffalo, and Best Supporting Actress for McAdams.
Spotlight has already picked up a clutch of awards and nominations and was in the Best Picture mix at the Golden Globes and the Baftas - missing out on both occasions to The Revenant. However, the film did triumph at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, where it won Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture - their equivalent of Best Picture. This win really did boast the movie and made it a front-runner for the Best Picture Oscar.
Which film will win? Right now, I think that The Revenant is the slight favourite but it really is extremely close to call. While The Revenant has had the run of the awards success in recent weeks, I still think that Spotlight could snatch the big award next weekend. I guess we are going to have to wait and see.
The Oscar winners will be announced Sunday 28th February.
Tagged in Oscars