We have already stated that Leonardo DiCaprio will win Best Actor for The Revenant with one of our recent Oscar Watch columns. His helmer for that film, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, is currently the favorite to score his second Oscar for Best Director in a row after his work on last year’s Birdman. Joseph L. Mankiewicz and John Ford are the only two directors in history to win the esteemed award two years in a row. Oscar doesn’t like to give anyone an Academy Award two years in a row, unless your name is Tom Hanks.
Will Iñárritu win a second?
There is some serious competition out there, including early favorite George Miller for Mad Max: Fury Road and Adam McKay for The Big Short, who we think will already score an Oscar for his work penning the Adapted Screenplay for that powerful flick.
Here are the nominees and what the chance is each will win:
Lenny Abrahamson, Room
What Abrahamson did with Room is spellbinding. The entire first half of the film takes place in the smallest of places. That had to be the most supreme of challenges. Yet, he captured drama, overwhelming mother-child emotion, claustrophobia and a slew of other feelings in just a 12-foot by 12-foot space. He also guided soon-to-be Best Actress winner Brie Larson into the performance of a lifetime.
Abrahamson also got a performance out of a child, Jacob Tremblay, which emitted the power and resonance of an actor with 10 times his age (which would go down as one of our biggest Oscar snubs of the year).
Unfortunately, Abrahamson scores the “just happy to be nominated” nomination this year. Some say he took the space that Ridley Scott was supposed to get for his work on The Martian. We say, “Don’t worry, Lenny… you will be back.”
Adam McKay, The Big Short
McKay, the director who gave us Old School and Step Brothers, getting an Oscar for Best Director, seems something as funny as one of his movies. Yet, what he did with The Big Short is nothing short of brilliant. He managed to make something accessible that had previously been about as inaccessible as could be on the big screen – the 2008 housing crisis and subsequent destroying of the U.S and world economy.
McKay also had a firm command of an A-list ensemble that turned in some of the best performances of the year. Christian Bale, a Best Supporting Actor nominee, is joined by Steve Carell, Brad Pitt, Ryan Gosling and Marisa Tomei. McKay will have to be satisfied with the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar he’s going to win as this will not be his year to be anointed Best Director.
Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
In hindsight, Spotlight was a Herculean effort. The pedophile scandal and subsequent cover-up was a momentous task to bring as a narrative of a two-hour film. Showcasing the story of how the Boston Globe’s Spotlight investigative journalism division uncovered years of abuse, and how it was buried by the Catholic Church, into a two-hour narrative for the big screen is astounding.
McCarthy could put an upset on February 28 when the awards are handed out. But, we think if anyone is going to upset the favorite in this category, it will be…
George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
For the longest time, Miller was the favorite to win Best Director for his work on Mad Max: Fury Road. He crafted an action film with heart that captured the fancy of hundreds of millions the world over. It is a triumph in every sense of the word. When viewing it, you cannot look away. There are powerful emotional moments throughout, combined with jaw-dropping action scenes that are enhanced marvelous production design and an editing achievement that is second to none (it will win in that category for sure).
If we were an Oscar voter, The Movie Mensch would be placing ours with Miller. He truly is the director of the year. There is no ifs, ands or buts about it. Yet, there is a Tsunami of buzz and momentum for someone else in this category and yes… it is he that will make history.
And the Oscar goes to…
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, The Revenant
Iñárritu will win his second Oscar in a row. Not that he doesn’t deserve it, but there seems to be a disconnect between voters who want to award the Mexican filmmaker for conquering the most difficult of film shoots. Just because it was the most challenging, does it make it the best? Hardly! In this case, we think Iñárritu did the third best job, behind McKay and Miller.
Just like Leonardo DiCaprio will win for The Revenant, even though someone else truly deserves it more, so too will his helmer. Iñárritu did paint quite a beautiful picture with his The Revenant canvas. But for us, it isn’t the most stunning, riveting, raw or revolutionary.