The anticipation is building for the 96th Academy Awards with the nominations announced recently. Here’s where to watch some of the cinematic masterpieces before the curtains rise on Hollywood's biggest night at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 10.
Anatomy of a Fall
Directed by Justine Triet, this French legal thriller takes audiences on a gripping investigation of a woman suspected of murdering her husband, with their blind son as the sole witness. The film starring Sandra Huller, Swann Arlaud and Milo Machado Graner has been nominated in five categories — best picture, best director, best actress, best original screenplay and best editing.
Watch it on: Rent it on Apple TV, Google Play
Barbie
2023’s mammoth global hit, Greta Gerwig-directed Barbie has notched up nominations in eight categories including best picture, best adapted screenplay, best actor in a supporting role and best original song. In the titular role is Margot Robbie as the iconic American plastic doll, leaving Barbie Land for a brush with the real world of humans, along with her boyfriend Ken (Ryan Gosling).
Watch it on: Prime Video, Apple TV
Oppenheimer
Christopher Nolan’s biographical thriller on the life of American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, often referred to as the father of the atomic bomb, has landed the most number of nominations —- 13 —- including best picture, best director for Nolan, best actor for Cillian Murphy and best supporting actor for Rober Downey Jr.
Watch it on: Prime Video, Apple TV
Killers of the Flower Moon
Directed and produced by Martin Scorsese, this star-studded film features Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Lily Gladstone in the lead. Set in the 1920s, it follows the murders of Osage tribe members following the discovery of oil in their tribal land. Gladstone is the first native American actress to be nominated for best actress. The film has bagged a total of 10 nominations including best picture and best director for Scorsese.
Watch it on: Apple TV
Maestro
Bradley Cooper has directed and starred in this biographical romantic drama exploring the marital dynamic of American composer Leonard Bernstein (Cooper) and actress Felicia Montealegre (played by Carry Mulligan). Maestro has landed seven nominations including best picture, best director, best actor and best actress.
Watch it on: Netflix, Apple TV
Past Lives
In this poignant tale directed by Celine Song, childhood best friends — Hae Sung (Teo Yoo) and Nora (Greta Lee) — are torn apart when Nora’s family emigrates from South Korea. Two decades later, they reunite for a fateful week, confronting notions of love and destiny. Past Lives has been nominated for best picture and best original screenplay.
Watch it on: Prime Video, Apple TV
Rustin
The George C. Wolfe directorial is a biopic of Bayard Rustin, the advisor to Martin Luther King Jr. and one of the organisers of the historic 1963 March on Washington. With Colman Domingo in the title role, the film shows how Rustin faced discrimination because of his sexual orientation. The cast includes Gus Halper, Johnny Ramey, Jeffrey Wright and Chris Rock. Domingo has been nominated for best actor for playing Rustin.
Watch it on: Netflix
Nyad
This is a biographical sports drama on swimmer Diana Nyad — played by Annette Bening — as she makes multiple attempts to swim the Straits of Florida in the early 2010s, interspersed with flashbacks to her formative years. Directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, the film is an adaptation of Nyad’s 2015 memoir, Find a Way. The film has fetched Jodie Foster her first Oscar nomination as best supporting actress in the role of Nyad’s coach Bonnie Stoll. Bening is also nominated in the best actress category.
Watch it on: Netflix
Society of the Snow
Directed by J.A. Bayona, Society of the Snow is a gripping survival thriller around the harrowing events of the Uruguayan 1972 Andes flight disaster. Based on Pablo Vierci’s eponymous book, the film brings to life the narratives of all 16 survivors of the crash, many of whom Vierci had known since childhood. The cast comprises predominantly Uruguayan and Argentine actors, including Enzo Vogrincic, Matías Recalt, Agustín Pardella and Tomas Wolf. Society of the Snow has been nominated for best international feature and best makeup and hairstyling.
Watch it on: Netflix
