I guess I need to see 'Anora'

Sean Baker’s ode to sex workers finished last at Sunday’s Academy Awards, coveting five of its six nominations in a race that seemed to widen late. The 97th ceremony hosted by Conan O’Brien delivered Anora Best Picture, Best Actress for Mikey Madison, Best Director, Best Editing, and Best Original Screenplay. Baker, known for his independent portrayals of lower-class life, earnestly championed indie filmmakers and the places where their art is discovered most: movie theaters.

After Baker’s victory lap, the winners echoed the season’s favorites. The Brutalist won three awards, including Adrien Brody’s expected Best Actor win. Supporting awards went to Kieran Culkin for A Real Pain and Emilia Perez’s Zoe Saldana. Other muli-winners included Wicked and Dune: Part Two. After a successful campaign, Demi Moore and The Substance were shut out, along with A Complete Unknown while the political thriller Conclave received one win for Adapted Screenplay.

The ceremony started strong with a rousing Oz medley from Wicked leads Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. Grande opened with the Judy Garland classic, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” followed by Ervio’s rendition of “Home” from The Wiz. It culminated in the duo performing “Defying Gravity” allowing Erivo to soar with Elphaba’s signature battle cry of freedom. Perhaps the heavy Oz of it all signified the two best friends wouldn’t be walking across the stage again. However, the film scored a historic win for Paul Tazewell, the first Black man to win an Oscar for Costume Design.

O’Brien was great with funny material that didn’t feel scathingly abhorrent toward the audience. Many are used to Jimmy Kimmel’s deadpan ripping. O’Brien brings something light and more cozy. Two jokes in particular stood out. The unexpected Drake jab was laugh-out-loud hilarious, cementing Kendrick Lamar’s victory in that rap beef. And his coy reference to someone standing up to a Russian received copious applause.

For the evening, that seemed to be the only political bar. Most winners cascaded with blatant statements about unity or togetherness that would suffice on a Hallmark card. The men in the White House are virtually demolishing what white men have alleged this country stands for in two months, and there isn’t a “Fuck Trump” heard for miles other than someone on Blueksy reposting Robert De’Niro’s blatant statement from a past Tony’s ceremony.

However, one winner of the night spoke truth to power. The Palestinian-Israeli filmmakers of No Other Land won Best Documentary. The film captures the oppressive ethnic cleansing orchestrated by Israel in the West Bank. The two spoke boldly and freely about how choosing life is the better option for both people to coexist. They also cited how the U.S.’s foreign policy is blocking any chance to make that joint peace a reality; true heroism and art in action. America should be ashamed of herself.

This moment seemed to be the high point of the ceremony. Someplace midway, after an oddly soundtracked In Memoriam and homage to The Wiz celebrating the late legend, Quincy Jones, the Oscars grew stale. Maybe that’s why Hulu viewers’ feeds cut out before seeing the last two awards.

Overall it was a decent production. The winners were pleasantly varied, although many argue the nominations lacked diversity after praise for films like Hard Truths and Sing Sing garnered little or no hardware. We’ll see what is allowed to take up space next award season.