The dust has begun to settle on the 90th Academy Awards which were handed out in a star-studded ceremony in Los Angeles last night.
There were a few shocks on the night but the awards ultimately fell where they were expected to, with Three Bilboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, Darkest Hour, The Shape of Water, Dunkirk and Blade Runner 2049 all picking up major honours.
It was an awards show which celebrated diversity and inclusion, championed equality and took a stand against harassment. Host Jimmy Kimmel thankfully didn’t have the same drama to deal with this year and the awards ran surprisingly smoothly.
The EF Film team have their say on the various award winners and losers, and whether they enjoyed the event.
Here is a list of the winners from the 2018 Oscars.
- The Shape of Water
- Guillermo del Toro – The Shape of Water
- Gary Oldman – Darkest Hour
- Frances McDormand – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
- Sam Rockwell – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
- Allison Janney – I, Tonya
- Get Out
- Call Me By Your Name
- Dunkirk
- A Fantastic Woman (Chile)
- Coco
- Blade Runner 2049
- The Shape of Water
- Blade Runner 2049
- Darkest Hour
- Dunkirk
- The Shape of Water
- Phantom Thread
- The Shape of Water
- ‘Remember Me’ – Coco
- Icarus
- Heaven is a Traffic Jam
- The Silent Child
- Dear Basketball
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EF Film Editor – Jason Palmer
Gary Oldman winning Best Actor and Frances McDormand winning Best Actress for Darkest Hour and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri respectively were no surprises. They were both outstanding and fully deserved their wins. The same can be said for Sam Rockwell and Allison Janney – two character actors who are always the best things in their movies. It was time both of them got the recognition they deserved and it was great to see them take home the Supporting Actor/Actress honours.
Perhaps the best results on the night for me though went to Blade Runner 2049, and especially Roger A. Deakins taking home gold on his 14th nomination. Deakins gave a wonderful speech and it was so good to see him finally win after a lifetime of amazing work. Blade Runner 2049 was, for me, one of the greatest films of last year, and a sci-fi epic for the ages. The fact that the academy awarded the film for its ground-breaking Cinematography and Visual Effects was amazing to witness.
It’s a shame Three Billboards couldn’t take the Best Film award as I think it was by far the strongest title nominated in that category, but the biggest losses for me were The Big Sick and Molly’s Game being largely ignored at the event. Dunkirk picking up a few Oscars was nice to see given the endeavour of the film.
The event itself went well given all the real life drama fuelling the awards build-up. Jimmy Kimmel once again did well as host and thankfully avoided any major mishaps. It was a masterstroke having Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway reveal the Best Picture winner after the drama of last year between La La Land and Moonlight!
As a side-note, the gags about Black Panther crushing the box office were hilarious and it was great to see the cast enjoy their success during  the show.
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EF Film Reviewer – John Parker
One of the biggest problems with the Oscars has always been that it comes at the end of an interminable season of other award ceremonies. By the time we get to the big night, we pretty much know exactly what is going to happen, and who’s going home with the gold.
And for the most part that is exactly what happened last night. The pattern of every other awards ceremony over the past few months was repeated with alarming predictability. That being said, I’m absolutely delighted that Sam Rockwell’s winning streak continued. He is an actor who has been brilliant for years, and is finally getting the recognition he deserves.
Jordan Peele winning Best Original Screenplay for Get Out – in what was a very tough category – was a huge moment, and the first indication that Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri was not going to take Best Picture. That The Shape of Water went on to beat both of them to the big prize was for me the biggest surprise of the night.
I personally would have loved to see Phantom Thread, Get Out, and Lady Bird upset the odds a few more times in the big categories, but alas it wasn’t meant to be. Aside from the aforementioned wins for Rockwell and Peele, my favourite moment of the night was seeing young British filmmakers Rachel Shenton and Chris Overton win Best Live Action Short for The Silent Child. A skit which saw celebrities firing hot-dogs at commoners was undoubtedly the low point. Although Dunkirk beating Baby Driver for Film Editing runs it a close second.
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EF Film Reviewer – Jody Clark
The 90th Oscars proved to be a fine if somewhat relatively unsurprising ceremony – although in fairness nothing was going to hit the intense drama of last year’s Best Picture showdown. That said, it was a nice touch to recall Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway to present the final award on the night after last year’s embarrassment which ‘enveloped’ them – through no fault of their own.
This year, there was a good spread of awards for a great array of films, which accurately summed up the nominations. Sam Rockwell was always a shoe in for Best Supporting Actor in Three Billboards, while Allison Janney was always a dead cert for Best Supporting Actress as the memorable mother in I, Tonya.
Likewise there was no surprise for Gary Oldman picking up the Best Actor award partly for his transformative portrayal of Winston Churchill, but also because he was really due an award, and both Denzel and Daniel Day-Lewis had won before, and Timothee Chalomet and Daniel Kaluuya have got time on their side.
There was a little more uncertainty over Best Actress with Frances McDormand the slight favourite for her portrayal of a bereaved mother in Three Billboards, over Sally Hawkins’ mute cleaner in The Shape Of Water, but it was McDormand who won out for her powerful turn to scoop her second Oscar. But perhaps even more impressive was her impassioned speech, where she persuaded all the women in the room to get to their feet, and then encouraged all the money men to get behind these wonderfully creative talents and finance their projects. It was by far the most memorable moment of the night and was really very inspiring.
Elsewhere Best Director was, predictably, Guillermo Del Toro for his wonderful work on the sci fi monster love story The Shape Of Water, but the main turn up on the night came with Best Picture, where The Shape Of Water surprised many, by pipping Three Billboards, to claim its fourth award.
Other highlights on the night included Original Screenplay wins for Get Out and a thoroughly deserved Best Adapted Screenplay win for James Ivory for Call Me By Your Name, while Best Animation went to Coco, but the most deserved award by far went to cinematographer Roger Deakins at the 14th time of asking for his work on Blade Runner 2049.
Eddie Vedder’s rendition of the Tom Petty song Room At The Top was also a very moving and poignant moment for the In Memoriam.
Worst moment for me though was for Gael Garcia Bernal’s rendition of Remember Me from Coco – though some people seemed to love it! Take a look online and make your own mind up!
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