By Maia Venuti
Staff Writer
The 95th Academy Awards Ceremony was held on March 12, and the winners were given recognition and praise for their work in the 2022 film year. This year, unsurprisingly, was a sweep for A24’s film “Everything Everywhere All At Once” (2022), which took home seven of its eleven nominations. Netflix’s “All Quiet on the Western Front” took home four wins out of its nine nominations. In total, A24 and Netflix dominated the wins, taking home a combined 15 of the 23 categories.
Arguably, the most exciting thing is that all four of the actors for best supporting and best lead were from A24 films, with three of them being from “Everything Everywhere All At Once.” Ke Huy Quan’s win was among the most memorable and wholesome moments of the night, and his acceptance speech was one of the best speeches. His pure excitement and utter joy at this victory after being an actor for close to 39 years, plus seeing his decades of hard work pay off, was one of the most amazing moments of the night.
Seeing the reunion of Harrison Ford and Ke Huy Quan was a heartwarming part of the night; seeing them embrace after working together so many years ago when Quan was just a kid made fans of Indiana Jones and “Everything Everywhere” alike so emotional.
Michelle Yeoh also made history as the first Asian woman to win the Academy Award for best actress in a leading role. In her acceptance speech, she said to the millions of women listening to “don’t let anybody tell you you are ever past your prime.” This comment was in response to the misogynistic comments from CNN anchor Don Lemon, who said that Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, as well as all other women in their 50s, “are past their prime.” Yeoh, 60, proved Lemon wrong with her win. She showed that all women, regardless of age, are superheroes and are able to do anything, even if men may think otherwise.
One of the most exciting and joyous moments for new and lifelong fans of Brendan Fraser was his win for best actor in “The Whale.” There is no one more deserving of that award. This win is not only a monumental pivot in his career, but cements the fact that Brendan Fraser’s return to acting is the greatest comeback in film history. Fraser is back, and he is not going anywhere this time. His speech brought tears to the eyes of viewers. The pride he showed in his co-stars, director Darren Aronofsky and his children was a joyous moment for Fraser and all fans.
Many people have been debating if Angela Bassett was snubbed of best supporting actress by Jamie Lee Curtis, while ignoring the biggest snub of the night: best animated feature. I think that “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On” (2022) deserved the win over Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio” (2022). Yes, “Pinocchio” was beautifully done, the animation was absolutely incredible and so unique for the story, but the story of Pinocchio has been told so many times, and there were not many new revelations.
Marcel the Shell, however, told a story in a documentary style format, which is very unique for a children’s movie, but it worked brilliantly and was able to be enjoyable for both adult and children viewers of the film. Del Toro was deserving of the award, and if Marcel wasn’t going to win “Pinocchio” should have won, but still, “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On” was snubbed.
2022 was a great year for film, and the 95th Academy Awards are reflective of that. Seeing the greatest films of 2022 be celebrated in this way is always so exhilarating, especially for A24, who rightfully took home a huge chunk of the awards given out. The Oscars this year were for the most part unproblematic. There were no slaps given out, no major snubs, and overall it was a solid year for the Academy.
