Oscars 2023: the triumph of “Everything Everywhere All At Once”, the surprise Lady Gaga and very beautiful stories

A “Care Bears evening”, “Placed under the sign of benevolence”, this is how the commentators of Canal +, which broadcast the event live, described the 95th Oscars ceremony. And it was exactly this: no slap this year, no discomfort either at the Oscars, unlike this surreal scene last year, when Will Smith got up from his seat to go and slap Chris Rock, unhappy with a reflection of the comedian and actor on his wife Jada Pinkett Smith … before receive the statuette for best actor. No, in the night from Sunday to Monday, nothing scandalous happened at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. On the contrary, the evening was joyful and moving, like the film that swept everything, “Everything Everywhere All At Once”.

A white carpet, and coordinated stars

We didn’t really know why, but the traditional red carpet where the nominees and the presenters parade before the ceremony was this year… white, or rather “champagne”. This highlighted the color palettes of the dresses and costumes worn by the guests: Kerry Condon – nominated for best actress in a supporting role for “The Banshees of Inisherin” – in yellow, Angela Bassett, majestic like the queen from Wakanda, in purple, Nicole Kidman, Baz Luhrmann, Rihanna or Lady Gaga in black. But, chance or concern for chic coordination, many had chosen to match the carpet, wearing white, silver or champagne outfits, such as Jamie Lee Curtis, Florence Pugh, Ana de Armas, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana, Jessica Chastain, Halle Berry, Emily Blunt or Eva Longoria…

A removed presentation

Jimmy Kimmel, host of a successful talk show on ABC, which broadcast the evening in the United States, played the perfect presenter, alternating kindness and his usual well-felt cowardice. He thus, from the outset, paid a very nice tribute to the 16 “primo-nominees” of the ceremony, thus recalling that figures of the 7th art such as Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Lee Curtis, Brendan Fraser, Colin Farrell or Ke Hey Quan competed for the first Oscar of their career. Then he chained the big valves, like “Steven Spielberg says he never smoked weed, I don’t believe him. Hey, Steven, are you going to tell us you were sober when you filmed that weird alien story that doesn’t want to go home? You were stoned! »

Without forgetting to make references to the past slap of Will Smith: “If you commit a violent act this evening, you will receive the Oscar for best actor… and like last year, the others, especially do not move! “Or even, halfway through:” At this stage of the ceremony, we would like to have a good slap! “But the Oscar for the best joke goes to Hugh Grant, who, comparing himself to Andie MacDowell, with whom he presented a statuette, launched: “I look like an old crumpled ball! And the award for best visual gag goes to Elizabeth Banks, on stage with her cocaine-addicted bear from “Crazy Bear”, which is released this Wednesday in France.

Lady Gaga, musical queen of the evening

It has become a tradition at the Oscars: the five nominated songs are the subject of “live” performances by their interpreters who punctuate the ceremony. Rihanna, pregnant, sang “Lift Me Up”, named for the film “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”, in a crazy staging that required an interruption to reorganize the scene. Highly anticipated, the Indian performers of “Naatu Naatu”, the song – ultimately winning – from the film “RRR”, which went around the world on social networks, delivered a breathtaking choreographed performance on stage. We thought it would be the musical bravery piece of the evening, but… she was beaten to the applause meter by Lady Gaga who finally sang, despite having warned that she would not do it because she had not could not repeat, too taken by the filming of “The Joker – Folie à deux”. After swapping backstage her evening dress for a black t-shirt, jeans with holes in the knees and very little makeup, she launched into an almost acoustic version of “Hold my hand”, the song from “Top Gun Maverick”. , dazzling us with a huge vocal performance.

Very nice stories

The more the statuettes were awarded, the more they hailed chaotic paths, broken destinies, figures once forgotten who took their revenge with these prestigious awards. Thus Alexei Navalny, the greatest political opponent of Vladimir Putin, victim of poisoning by the Russian secret services from which he escaped, but now imprisoned in his country. The team of the film “Navalny”, which is dedicated to him and which won the Oscar for best documentary, thus pleaded his case on stage.

Nice revenge, too, for comedian Brendan Fraserblacklisted from Hollywood in the early 2000s following health concerns and sexual assault: he left with the best actor statuette for “The Whale” (“The Whale”) for his role as hyper-obese cloistered at home, and delivered a heartbreaking speech where, in tears, he stressed that “Only whales can swim among those who were named with me this evening”.

But the prettiest stories of this ceremony are from “Everything Everywhere All At Once”, outsider left with seven Oscars, toasting the politeness of Steven Spielberg’s “Fabelmans” or “Top Gun: Maverick”. What incredible revenge in this film: that of Michelle Yeoh, best actress who would compete for the first time at the Oscars despite a prestigious career. “This statuette is proof that when you dream big, you can…and ladies, don’t let anyone tell you you’re going too far,” the actress said. Ditto for Jamie Lee Curtis and her first nomination at 64, crowned best actress in a supporting role after an immense career. The daughter of Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh concluded her speech with, “Dad, mom, I just won an Oscar! »

Ke Huy Quan, Best Supporting Actor, thanked his mother with the same words: “Mom, I won an Oscar”. Quite a revenge for this Vietnamese boat-people who started from scratch, who rose to fame at a very young age thanks to his role as Half-Moon in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” opposite Harrison Ford – who presented the prize for best film to “Everything Everywhere All At Once” – in 1984, then who was forgotten by Hollywood, becoming a stuntman to make ends meet… The film has been showing again in France since last Wednesday, also available on OCS.

Losing favorites and a winning young studio

This time, Steven Spielberg won nothing with “The Fabelmans”, his film testament to his youth and his parents, when he could win the statuettes for best director and best film. He is one of the big losers of the evening, alongside the “Banshees d’Inisherin” (nine nominations, no award), “Elvis” (8 nominations, zero Oscar) or “Tar”, left empty-handed when he competed for the Best Picture and that Cate Blanchett was nominated for Best Actress.

“In the West, nothing new”, also favorite, is doing better, collecting four statuettes including that of the best foreign film. But the big winner of the evening is the young studio A24, which produces the “Euphoria” series and many films adored by young audiences. Between “Everything Everywhere All At Once” and “The Whale”, he leaves with nine Oscars. Much better than the big Hollywood studios, a sign that voters wanted to change eras by rewarding more modern, more daring, more creative cinema.

The full list

Best Film: “Everything Everywhere All At Once”.

Best Director: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert for “Everything Everywhere All At Once”.

Best Actor: Brendan Fraser for “The Whale”.

Best Actress: Michelle Yeoh for “Everything Everywhere All At Once”.

Best Supporting Actor: Ke Huy Quan for “Everything Everywhere All At Once”.

Best Supporting Actress: Jamie Lee Curtis for “Everything Everywhere All At Once”.

Best animated film: “Pinocchio” by Guillermo del Toro.

Best Foreign Language Film: Nothing New in the West, by Edward Berger.

Best Original Screenplay: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert for “Everything Everywhere All At Once”.

Best Adapted Screenplay: Sarah Polley for “Women Talking”.

Best Soundtrack: “In the West, Nothing New”.

Best Original Song: “Naatu Naatu” by MM Keeravani, Kala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj for “RRR”

Best Cinematography: James Friend for “In the West, Nothing New”.

Best Editing: “Everything Everywhere All At Once”

Best decorations: “In the West, nothing new”.

Best Sound: “Top Gun: Maverick”

Best Visual Effects: “Avatar – The Way of Water.”

Best Costume: “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”

Best Makeup and Hairstyling: “The Whale”.

Best short film: “An Irish Goodbye”, by Tom Berkeley and Ross White.

Best Animated Short Film: “The Child, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse”.

Best long documentary: “Navalny”, by Daniel Roher.

Best short documentary: “The man who whispered in the ears of elephants”.