Oscars 2025: Our critics dissect the flicks up for Best Picture

Tomorrow night (Sunday, March 2), the glitz and glamour of Tinseltown will be on display in all of its magnificent, unadulterated spirit as the 97th Academy Awards hit Hollywood

Hosted by Conan O’Brien at LA’s Dolby Theatre, this year’s Oscars ceremony is bringing filmmaking talent from all over the globe together, and from musical mayhem to divisive drama and sci-fi shenanigans, all is being celebrated.

Already this year Los Angeles has been in the headlines for harrowing reasons, with the terrible wildfires of recent weeks claiming almost 30 lives. Despite the devastation, the spirit of the Hollywood community has remained strong through awards season, with many of the brave firefighters who fought back the flames attending events as guests of honour. 

LA’s pride is high, and with this, tomorrow night’s Oscars is set to be bigger and better than ever. But who’s who and what’s what in this star-spangled celebration of cinema? Fear not, dear readers – help is at hand.

Dusting off the tuxedo for yet another year, our in-house movie-mad cad, Dan The Man Morris, has teamed up with BBC Radio Shropshire’s film buff-in-chief Carl Jones to bring you the lowdown on those ten mighty flicks in the running for Oscars 2025’s Best Picture.

The boys are back in town, and they’re talking the magic of Wicked, getting brutal with The Brutalist and bringing A Complete Unknown right into the spotlight.

You can catch all the Oscars action on Sunday night on ITV, but before that, the lads are here to prep you for the red carpet with their take on those films punching for the top prize.

What are our critics’ hopes and predictions? Lights, camera, action…

Express & Star and Shropshire Star film critic Dan Morris on The Substance, I’m Still Here, Anora, Dune: Part Two, and The Brutalist:

It’d be nice to be able to say that there’s everything still to play for, yet in truth, the BAFTAs have set the store for what we can expect from tomorrow night’s proceedings.

Brady Corbet’s epic period drama, The Brutalist, has justly grabbed a nod for Best Picture, yet its greatest hope of a gong success comes down to leading man Adrien Brody in the Best Actor category.

Brody’s turn was a career-best powerhouse performance that quite rightly bagged the equivalent BAFTA, and I’ll be stunned if we don’t see a repeat occurrence on Sunday night.

The Brutalist itself is fully deserving of the Best Picture nod, and – as a powerful and emotive flick charting the journey of a holocaust survivor – is exactly the kind of film the Academy would normally look to laud. In a year without Conclave, it would be a shoo-in. But, as they say, them’s the breaks.

While the BAFTAs are a strong compass in predicting the way the Oscars will go, where I truly hope we see a departure from the mould is with The Substance.

This body-horror shocker was nothing less than Demi Moore’s finest hour, and while she was snubbed for the Best Actress BAFTA, I hope and pray that the Academy will have more sense.

As far as Best Picture, its chances are incredibly slim, yet Moore deserves the Best Actress gong for her tour de force turn, and with a wink to a long career featuring other exceptional performances that have been ignored.

Flying the flag for the sci-fi fraternity, we have Dune: Part Two. Part One picked up six Academy Awards, and while Part Two has only been nominated for five, it stands a solid chance of clearing up in the technical awards with nods for Best Visual Effects, Best Cinematography, Best Sound, and Best Production Design.

Could it take Best Picture? Very unlikely. Yet this won’t be a blemish on a film that was never built to be a heartstring tugger, and put the majority of its stock into the visual wow factor.

A late comer (at least for UK audiences) that has certainly concentrated more on stirring the soul is political biopic I’m Still Here. The first Brazilian-produced film ever to be nominated in the Best Picture category, this one tells the captivating tale of the wife of dissident politician Rubens Paiva as she attempts to cope with his forced disappearance.

Only released in good old Blighty last week, this compelling, heartfelt, and moving drama deserves its Best Picture nod.

Yet, I suspect it will have more luck in the Best International Feature Film category.

Finally (almost) from me, a nod to Anora, Sean Baker’s comedy drama that rocked the Cannes Film Festival with its grab of the coveted Palme d’Or.

A sensational turn from lead star Mikey Madison bagged the Best Actress BAFTA, and she may well give Demi Moore a good run for her money tomorrow.

Best Picture? Again, it feels unlikely. But foreign language flicks do have previous form at scoring the top prize. If Parasite can do it, why not this one?

A cheeky last mention from me must go to the most treasured bit of filmmaking up for a gong tomorrow night – Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.

Nominated for Best Animated Feature, this one deserves that fabled statuette more than any other flick in contention, and had it been nominated for Best Picture it would have my vote every day of the week. The Academy do have a history of loving ‘cracking cheese’, so fingers crossed.

Dan Morris leads our movie reviews with Film Talk, every Saturday in the Express & Star and Shropshire Star

 BBC Radio Shropshire’s Carl Jones on Wicked, Emilia Perez, Conclave, Nickel Boys and A Complete Unknown: 

When the white smoke rises from the chimney at Oscars HQ to anoint the class of 2025, no-one would be happier than me to see religious thriller Conclave double down on its Bafta triumph and win best picture.

I can’t abide a closed door; they make me yearn to see what secrets lie beyond. Maybe that’s why I found this potboiling thriller, set in the inner sanctum of the Catholic church, so deliciously captivating.

Ralph Fiennes is the cardinal charged with overseeing the election of the new Pope, and uncovers a trail of secrets that could shake the very foundations of the Vatican.

It’s broodingly tense, terrifically acted, evocatively designed and photographed, and rocks along at a brisk pace. Given the marathon running times of some Oscar contenders this year, that last quality alone deserves serious acclaim!

There’s no doubting the fact that Emilia Perez has been derailed by the controversy around lead star Karla Sofía Gascón, who has faced accusations of racism for comments posted on social media.

But long before all of that blew up, the film about a Mexican mob boss who goes off grid to undergo gender transition surgery was already proving incredibly divisive, with as many one-star as five-star reviews.

Yes, it’s creative, but just because you can mingle and mangle so many jarringly different genres (I count thriller, drama, musical, comedy and soap opera) doesn’t mean that you should.

For sure, the film is outrageously creative, unpredictable and original, but the result for me was too much of a chaotic mess.

Its best hope for glory is Zoe Saldana as best supporting actress; and quite right too; she was bold, brave and the best part of the film.

As for Wicked’s hopes of being ‘pop-u-lar’ enough with the Academy to land best picture, I’d think there’s more chance of me defying gravity on a broomstick over the Wrekin.

But I can’t believe it will leave completely empty handed from its 10 nominations, such are the slick, vibrant and creative qualities of its visuals, costumes… and of course, the music.

If there’s one person running odds-on favourite Adrien Brody close for the best actor accolade, it’s the incredibly versatile Timothee Chalamet – thanks to his amazing turn in A Complete Unknown.

It’s hard to imagine the actor who brings Bob Dylan to life so convincingly (not just acting, but singing too) is the same action star from Dune, and confectionery-loving crackpot Willy Wonka.

Finally, an honourable mention to Nickel Boys, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about the powerful friendship between two young African-American men navigating the harrowing trials of reform school.

The unfortunate truths it tells make for an uncomfortable watch at times, some dialogue is tricky to follow, and the first-person filming style which places the viewer in the lead character’s role won’t be everybody’s cup of tea.

But it’s blessed with some wonderful performances, including a scene-stealing turn from Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as the grandmother. An important movie, for sure.

Carl Jones reviews the latest releases, and previews local cinema screenings, every week on the BBC Radio Shropshire mid morning show