Telluride Film Fest Closes – The Oscar Contender Breakdown

The Telluride Film Festival was populated by many of the biggest names in Oscar coverage, for whatever that’s worth. The only titan missing was Anne Thompson, whose absence was, I think, noticed. Her coverage of the fest, her take on the movies was something we have all come to rely on. Thompson will likely be back for Toronto, which will spin the race in a whole new direction.

Telluride was a strange experience this year, without a doubt. As mentioned previously, the changing of the guard among the film critics noticed for the past three years after COVID pushed so much of the movie-going crowd online and inside very insular, very “elitist” groups, so too did the most “elitist” of critics begin to rise in terms of influence.

I have never thought this turn, however inevitable it may be, was a good one for the Academy or the film industry to make. The more “elitist” the Oscars become, the worse off they will be in the coming years to hold onto their relevancy. I know inside the world of Film Twitter, this doesn’t matter. They like that it is an insular group that dwells in the rarified air of the most sophisticated tastes. But the Oscars had cultural value because they were also populist. The pendulum has simply swung too far in one direction.

The only question that remains is whether it can swing back. When you are at a film fest, and bouncing off of Twitter’s reaction, it’s far too easy to become part of a hive mind that forgets a whole world exists outside of it. That world is the world the Oscars are meant and were invented to, reach. But the more the oscar race becomes part of the most elitist of film critics, the less interest the public will have in them.

So what popped here in Telluride? Well, if you’re talking about what the critics thought – that’s easy. They loved Women Talking and TÁR. So you might say those got the biggest bounce. But it’s hard to know just how accessible they will be. A brief chat with the people who, say, serve food at the restaurants or the festival’s picnic will tell you a lot more, I think, about which movies actually did well here.

I can’t imagine those two films not having a strong impact on the Oscar race. They will be ushered through, I expect, based on the strong reviews.

This is still only September. We still have many months to go, many movies to see, and no really clear idea of which films that resonated with critics and festival goers will also resonate with industry voters and/or audiences.

So take this list of Telluride (with a dash of Venice) additions with a grain of salt:

Best Actor
Brendan Fraser, The Whale
Adam Driver, White Noise
Bill Nighy, Living
Timothee Chalamet, Bones & All
Banks Repeta, Armageddon Time
Brendan Gleeson, The Banshees of Inisherin
Daniel Giménez Cacho, Bardo
Song Kang-ho, Broker

Best Actress
Cate Blanchett, TÁR
Olivia Colman, Empire of Light
Rooney Mara, Women Talking
Taylor Russell, Bones and All
Florence Pugh, The Wonder

Supporting Actor
Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin
Jaylin Webb, Jeremy Strong, Anthony Hopkins – Armageddon Time
Mark Rylance, Bones & All
Toby Jones, Empire of Light

Supporting Actress
Jessie Buckley, Women Talking
Claire Foy, Women Talking
Nina Hoss, TÁR
Hong Chau, The Whale
Sadie Sink, The Whale
Anne Hathaway, Armageddon Time
Greta Gerwig, White Noise

Best Director
Todd Field, TÁR
Sarah Polley, Women Talking
Sam Mendes, Empire of Light
James Gray, Armageddon Time
Luca Guadagnino, Bones & All
Martin McDonagh, Banshees of Inisherin
Noah Baumbach, White Noise
Alejandro G. Inarritu, Bardo

Best Picture
TÁR
Women Talking
Empire of Light
Armageddon Time
Bones and All
Banshees of Inisherin
White Noise
Bardo