Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey
Get our The Life Cinematic email for free
If the Oscars of 2016 and 2015 (and, in truth all the others before them) were remembered for being too white, and those of 2017 for being too male, then this year’s Academy Awards will likely be known for being rather too predictable.
Hosted by comedian and talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, Hollywood celebrated on a night that sought to be inclusive, diverse and respectful of the greatest ambitions of the industry’s art. It took place less than six months after allegations of sexual assault levelled against producer Harvey Weinstein, triggered resignations and firings in a range of industries, forced the movie industry to undergo a period of self-examination and helped inspire the #MeToo movement.
The mood of the night was best captured by Frances McDormand, who won the Best Actress award for her performance in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and who provided one of the nights’ few moments of genuine drama when her statuette was allegedly stolen at an after party.
Addressing the stars and others at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, she urged all the female nominees to get to their feet, which they all did.
“Look around, ladies and gentlemen, because we all have stories to tell and projects we need financed. Don’t talk to us about it at the parties tonight,” she said. “Invite us into your office in a couple days, or you can come to ours – whichever suits you best – and we’ll tell you all about them.”
Along with McDormand, the other major prizes went to The Shape of Water, which was named Best Picture, and its director Guillermo del Toro, who won the Best Director prize. Gary Oldman won Best Actor for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour, while Jordan Peele won in the Original Screenplay category for Get Out.
Christopher Nolan’s war epic Dunkirk won three awards, all of them in the technical classes.
Daniela Vega makes Oscars hsitory as first openly transgender presenter
If the awards sought to be more inclusive than previous years, and avoided screw-ups such as the incorrect naming of Best Picture as happened last year, this year’s event was somewhat lacking in energy.
This may have been reflected by the fact this year’s awards earned it smallest ever television audience. The nearly four-hour live show averaged 26.5m viewers, according to data from Nielsen, down from 32.9m in 2017 and below the 32m in 2008, now the second-least watched year.
The awards’ obvious desire to make up for crimes and omissions of past years was underscored by Kimmel's opening monologue in which he talked about the class of powerful men who preyed on women.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Pointing at the iconic Oscar statue with its folded arms, he said: “He is literally a statue of limitations. And that’s the kind of man we need more of in this town,” he said to loud laughter.
Kimmel also directly called out Weinstein, the disgraced Hollywood titan who has denied the accusations of sexual assault, rape and abuse that have been made against him.
Referring to Weinstein’s expulsion last year from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, he said: “There were a lot of great nominees, but Harvey deserved it the most.”
Kimmel also addressed the widely reported disparity in pay received by actor Mark Wahlberg and actress Michelle Williams for reshooting scenes in the kidnapping drama All the Money in the World. Making Hollywood agents the butt of his joke he said both performers were represented by the same agent, adding: “If we can’t trust agents, who can we trust?”
The centrepiece for Oscar recognition of activism came midway through the show, as three actresses who were among Weinstein’s accusers – Annabella Sciorra, Ashley Judd and Salma Hayek – introduced a montage of film clips and interviews that sought to pay tribute to diversity..
Oscars 2018: memorable moments from the 90th Academy Awards
Show all 62
The section recognised breakthroughs by women and people of colour behind and in front of the camera. It also featured the recent blockbuster Marvel superhero film Black Panther, that featured a predominantly African-American cast.
In a similar vein, rap artist Common and singer Andra Day brought the leaders of various activist movements, including #MeToo and Black Lives Matter, onstage for a performance of the Oscar-nominated song Stand Up for Something.
After McDormand spoke, Del Toro used his acceptance speech to invite young filmmakers to kick open the door of the film industry and “come in”.
“The youth [is] showing us how things are done – really, they are – in every country in the world,” he said.
“I want to tell you, everyone that is dreaming of a parable, of using genre and fantasy to tell the stories about the things that are real in the world today, you can do it. This is a door. Kick it open and come in.”
The full list of winners at the 90th Academy Awards:
Best Picture:
Call Me by Your Name
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
Get Out
Lady Bird
Phantom Thread
The Post
The Shape of Water – WINNER
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Lead Actor:
Timothée Chalamet, Call Me by Your Name
Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread
Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out
Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour – WINNER
Denzel Washington, Roman J. Israel, Esq.
Lead Actress:
Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water
Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri – WINNER
Margot Robbie, I, Tonya
Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird
Meryl Streep, The Post
Oscars 2018: Best-dressed on the red carpet
Show all 26
Supporting Actor:
Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project
Woody Harrelson, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Richard Jenkins, The Shape of Water
Christopher Plummer, All the Money in the World
Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri – WINNER
Supporting Actress:
Mary J Blige, Mudbound
Allison Janney, I, Tonya – Winner
Lesley Manville, Phantom Thread
Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird
Octavia Spencer, The Shape of Water
Director:
Dunkirk, Christopher Nolan
Get Out, Jordan Peele
Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig
Phantom Thread, Paul Thomas Anderson
The Shape of Water, Guillermo del Toro – WINNER
Animated Feature:
The Boss Baby, Tom McGrath, Ramsey Ann Naito
The Breadwinner, Nora Twomey, Anthony Leo
Coco, Lee Unkrich, Darla K. Anderson – WINNER
Ferdinand, Carlos Saldanha
Loving Vincent, Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman, Sean Bobbitt, Ivan Mactaggart, Hugh Welchman
Animated Short:
Dear Basketball, Glen Keane, Kobe Bryant – WINNER
Garden Party, Victor Caire, Gabriel Grapperon
Lou, Dave Mullins, Dana Murray
Negative Space, Max Porter, Ru Kuwahata
Revolting Rhymes, Jakob Schuh, Jan Lachauer
Adapted Screenplay:
Call Me by Your Name, James Ivory – WINNER
The Disaster Artist, Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber
Logan, Scott Frank & James Mangold and Michael Green
Molly’s Game, Aaron Sorkin
Mudbound, Virgil Williams and Dee Rees
Original Screenplay:
The Big Sick, Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani
Get Out, Jordan Peele - WINNER
Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig
The Shape of Water, Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa Taylor
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Martin McDonagh
Cinematography:
Blade Runner 2049, Roger Deakins - WINNER
Darkest Hour, Bruno Delbonnel
Dunkirk, Hoyte van Hoytema
Mudbound, Rachel Morrison
The Shape of Water, Dan Laustsen
Best Documentary Feature:
Abacus: Small Enough to Jail, Steve James, Mark Mitten, Julie Goldman
Faces Places, JR, Agnès Varda, Rosalie Varda
Icarus, Bryan Fogel, Dan Cogan - WINNER
Last Men in Aleppo, Feras Fayyad, Kareem Abeed, Soren Steen Jepersen
Strong Island, Yance Ford, Joslyn Barnes
Best Documentary Short Subject:
Edith+Eddie, Laura Checkoway, Thomas Lee Wright
Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405, Frank Stiefel - WINNER
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies