My relationship with the Oscars almost feels like one of those bad habits I cannot break. More than a handful of times, I have concluded for my own sake and sanity that I was done taking the Academy seriously. Yet, somehow, every year as the ceremony creeps closer, I tend to convince myself, and those around me, that this time will be different.

Despite my relatively cynical take on these things, one not entirely limited to the Oscars, I let myself get sucked back in, time and again. The absence of nominations for Challengers and All We Imagine as Light should have been the first red flag of this year, but I still held out some hope.

The most surprising part of the 97th Academy Awards, however, was that there weren’t that many surprises at all – or at least not the kind I was hoping for. Almost all of the Oscar winners went with the odds – the predictions, frontrunners, or favorites. 

Sean Baker, with Anora, was the big winner of the night, making history by getting his hands on four trophies in a single evening – Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Editing. He now joins the solitary company of Walt Disney, who also won four Oscars in a single night back in 1954. The Academy had been circling Baker for years, and perhaps in their excitement, thought it would be best to put one too many golden statues in his hands. 

Let me, nevertheless, clear out the air. I enjoyed Anora and have been rooting for it all this while. An independent film winning big is always a good sign. Suffice it to say, not many of us could’ve predicted tonight’s outcomes to this extent, anyway. So, does all of this make the Oscars great again, or even slightly better? Sort of.

I do think the Academy got more right this year than it usually does, both in their film picks and in terms of representation, especially if you look at their track record over the last few years. There were, however, a few choices that I still can’t quite wrap my head around. 

I didn’t expect the supporting awards to spark one of the biggest debates of my Oscars night. It is not like Zoe Saldaña and Kieran Culkin’s Oscar wins for Best Supporting Actress and Actor shocked me – the signs were there already, and it can be argued that the two were appropriate picks. But it did frustrate me.

Saldaña plays a cartel fixer in the Spanish-language Emilia Pérez and Culkin is a man exploring his family’s past in A Real Pain.  But calling them “supporting” does feel like a joke. These felt like their films and although it may sound reductive, if the lead categories are too competitive, so be it. Submit them anyway. Otherwise, why put someone so central to your film in the supporting category?

Saldaña beat out Monica Barbaro (A Complete Unknown), my personal pick Ariana Grande (Wicked), Felicity Jones (The Brutalist), and Isabella Rossellini (Conclave). Culkin, meanwhile, edged past Yura Borisov (Anora), Edward Norton (A Complete Unknown), Guy Pearce (The Brutalist), and my preferred choice of Culkin’s on-screen brother from Succession, Jeremy Strong (The Apprentice)

Culkin was awkward, funny, and seemingly in disbelief while giving his acceptance speech. “I have no idea how I got here,” he said. He has been acting since childhood, but I don’t think he ever saw himself as an Oscar winner, and neither did I. 

At this point, it’s starting to feel like an inside joke. Diane Warren has been nominated for Best Original Song 16 times – and she’s lost every single one of them. This year, Warren was nominated for “The Journey” from Six Triple Eight, a ballad performed by H.E.R. It had all the makings of a winner. But once again, she was left empty-handed, with the Oscar instead going to “El Mal” from Emilia Pérez.

There’s something almost cruel about how often Warren has been snubbed, although the Academy did give her an honorary award in 2022. She’s penned some of the most memorable songs in film history, including “Because You Loved Me” and “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” yet the Academy continues to pass her by.

While Adrien Brody made history by becoming the first leading actor to win two Best Actor Oscars on his first two attempts, earning his second for The Brutalist, 22 years after his first for The Pianist, at this point, Warren’s tied with sound designer Greg P. Russell for the most nominations without a win.

Will she ever get her non-honorary Oscar? Maybe. But if history has taught us anything, it’s that being an industry legend doesn’t guarantee you gold, and her continued snubs remain one of Hollywood’s strangest traditions.

If there was one category that felt like a lock, it was Best International Feature. Emilia Pérez had the most nominations of the night (13) and was considered a frontrunner from the start. But alas, ’twas was not to be.

I think I’m Still Here is a fantastic film, and a much-deserved first win for Brazil. Set in 1970s Rio de Janeiro under military rule, it is based on Ainda Estou Aqui, a 2015 autobiographical novel by Marcelo Rubens Paiva.

With its release, I’m Still Here sparked national conversations for justice and indigenous rights, which coincided with charges against former president Jair Bolsonaro for allegedly trying to overturn the 2022 election. It also renewed calls for justice for dictatorship-era crimes. 

There were, however, underlying factors that may have played a role in this upset. Emilia Pérez became increasingly divisive leading up to the Oscars, particularly due to resurfaced tweets from Karla Sofía Gascón. And so, some Academy voters may have distanced themselves from the film as a result.

The Oscars are rarely just about the quality of the film. Politics, perception, lobbying, and timing all play a role, and in this case, they may have worked against Emilia Pérez.

I have nothing but admiration for Sean Baker. He’s one of the few filmmakers who truly does it all – writing, directing, and, apparently, editing. But when he won Best Editing for Anora, I had to wonder if the Academy got caught up in the film’s sweeping momentum.

I was all in for Anora winning Best Picture. But for Editing over Conclave? Not really. A film as dialogue-heavy as Conclave requires a certain precision. Nick Emerson had already won the BAFTA and was widely considered the frontrunner heading into the Oscars.

Baker, on the other hand, became just the third director in history to win an Oscar for editing his own movie, joining Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity) and James Cameron (Titanic). It’s an impressive feat, no doubt. But did Anora truly have the year’s best editing? 

Conclave operated in stark contrast to Anora’s jagged editing. It had a controlled, almost surgical rhythm, allowing the weight of silences and glances to dictate the tension. The precision was used for more than just pacing though. Much like the Conclave, it was about power – when to withhold, when to reveal, and when to let it linger just a little too long.

Demi Moore had all the momentum she could have asked for heading into the Oscars. She won the Golden Globe, the Critics’ Choice, and even the SAG Award for her role. Everything pointed to her finally getting that elusive Academy for The Substance.

The Oscars, meanwhile, zagged when everyone expected them to zig. Mikey Madison pulled off the biggest surprise of the night with a win for Anora, leaving Moore – once again – without a major film trophy to her name.

I love an Oscars upset as much as the next person, but The Substance marked a comeback moment for Moore – a reinvention for once the highest-paid actress in Hollywood. For those of us who grew up watching A Few Good Men, Indecent Proposal, or even G.I. Jane, Moore’s performance in The Substance felt like a reminder of just how much of a force she’s always been. 

Was Madison brilliant in Anora? Absolutely. But Moore’s win seemed so inevitable that this upset genuinely shocked me. She had all the precursor wins, and the kind of transformative performance the Academy usually adores. You very well know her speech would’ve killed.