Going into most Oscar nights, you have a good idea who is going to win. But, like everything else in the world right now, this year’s Academy Awards are wildly unsettled. Outside of Jessie Buckley’s apparent lock on Best Actress for “Hamnet,” almost every other major award is up for grabs this Sunday.
With all of the precursor awards in place, Picture and Director looks like a jump ball between front-runners “One Battle After Another” and “Sinners.” If the Academy members opt to split these categories between the two, I would expect “One Battle After Another” to take the top prize with Ryan Coogler of “Sinners” making history as the first Black filmmaker to win Best Director.
Amy Madigan of “Weapons” seems to be pulling away with late-breaking momentum in Supporting Actress, but when it comes to Supporting Actor, get ready to throw a dart. Precursor awards have been all over the place, and while Sean Penn from “One Battle After Another” currently has the edge in betting markets, I wouldn’t be shocked to see his co-star Benicio Del Toro toasting his second win with a “few small beers.”
Meanwhile, the Best Actor race ushered in this year’s Oscar scandal when TimothĂ©e Chalamet from “Marty Supreme” glibly dismissed opera and ballet in an interview. If Chalamet ends up losing, don’t blame it on opera-gate: The viral controversy broke after voting had already ended. Instead, chalk it up to the fact that this was always a stacked category, with all five nominees having a path to winning.
All of this uncertainty makes it hard to fill out a ballot, as I hope you will on Sunday when we watch Hollywood’s Big Night on the big screen at The Triplex. But these kinds of hard decisions are exactly what you want at the Oscars: nominees so strong that you may be disappointed when something loses, but you won’t be mad about anything winning.
Now Playing
“Sirat”
A father (Sergi López) and his son arrive at a rave deep in the mountains of southern Morocco. They are searching for Mar—daughter and sister—who vanished months ago at one of these endless, sleepless parties. As hope fades, they follow a group of ravers heading to one last party in the desert, confronting their own limits along the way. A tense and moving journey through an uncertain world, don’t miss this Academy Award nominee for Best International Feature and Sound when it comes to The Triplex!
Starts Friday.
“Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie”
The web series turned TV show turns into a movie in this meta-time-travel mockumentary that sees Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol’s fictional alter egos trying to book a gig at Toronto’s famed Rivoli club despite having no songs and not being a band. When one of their attempts goes wrong, the duo find themselves transported back to 2008—setting off a hilarious series of events in this instant cult classic.
One weekend only!
Starts Friday.
“What’s Up, Doc?”
Barbra Streisand is at her comedic peak in director Peter Bogdanovich’s screwball farce about a buttoned-up musicologist (Ryan O’Neal) on a trip to San Francisco who gets mixed up with a robbery-gone-wrong, a government whistleblower, and a strange woman (Streisand) who has seemingly devoted her life to confusing and embarrassing him.
March 13 at 5 p.m.
“The Mission”
Jesuit priest Father Gabriel (Jeremy Irons) enters the Guaranà lands in South America with the purpose of converting the natives to Christianity. He soon builds a mission, where he is joined by Rodrigo Mendoza (Robert DeNiro), a reformed slave trader seeking redemption. When a treaty transfers the land from Spain to Portugal, Mendoza and Gabriel resolve to defend the mission from Portuguese slave traders—but find themselves divided on how to do so while honoring their vows. A stirring examination of the conflict between faith and action that is lifted up by Ennio Morricone’s timeless score, Roland Jaffe’s “The Mission” continues to inspire debate 40 years after its release.
Presented with the Tanglewood Learning Institute and BIFF, join Pastor Erik Karas for a post-film discussion on the intersection of faith and music in the film.
March 14 at 7 p.m. at The Linde Center.
“Walden: Life in the Woods”
Director Alex Harvey joins us for a special screening of his 2019 film “Walden: Life in the Woods” on March 19! A radical, western re-imagining of Henry David Thoreau’s classic, “Walden: Life in the Woods” interlaces three stories about the trappings of 21st-century life over the course of one fateful day.
March 19 at 7:30 p.m.
“Hoppers”
When scientists discover how to “hop” human consciousness into lifelike robotic animals that allow people to communicate with animals, animal lover Mabel jumps at the opportunity to use the technology. Uncovering mysteries within the animal world that are beyond anything she could have imagined, Mabel quickly finds navigating the animal world more complicated than she could imagine in the latest animated adventure from Disney and Pixar!
“The Bride!”
In 1930s Chicago, groundbreaking scientist Dr. Euphronious (Annette Benning) brings a murdered young woman (Jessie Buckley from “Hamnet”) back to life to be a companion for Frankenstein’s monster (Christian Bale) in “The Bride!,” writer-director Maggie Gyllenhaal’s explosive mashup of gangster films and gothic horror that owes as much to “Bonnie & Clyde” as it does Mary Shelley.
“Project Hail Mary”
Science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up on a spaceship light years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: solve the riddle of the mysterious substance causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction… but an unexpected friendship means he may not have to do it alone.
Starts March 20.
“Pillion”
Colin (Harry Melling), a timid young man still living with his parents, gets swept off his feet and into a BDSM relationship by handsome biker Ray (Alexander SkarsgĂĄrd). As Colin steps way outside of his comfort zone, he must learn how to navigate the boundaries of his relationship with Ray in this charmingly unconventional romance from director Harry Lighton.
Starts March 20.
“Outerlands”
Join writer-director Elena Oxman and star Asia Kate Dillon (“Billions,” “John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum”) for a discussion about their new film “Outerlands” on March 21!
Cass (Dillon) is a 30-something who hustles jobs as a server, nanny, and party drug dealer to make rent on their tiny San Francisco apartment. When they agree to babysit Ari (Ridley Asha Bateman), the 11-year-old daughter of Kalli (Louisa Krause), their crush from work, Cass hopes it might lead to romance. When Kalli fails to return, Cass’ memories of their own difficult childhood begin to resurface. Feeling alone yet bonded together, Cass and Ari race to find Kalli and the power to heal.
March 21 at 7 p.m.
“Prairie Prophecy”
“Prairie Prophecy” explores a recommended revolutionary way of thinking about agriculture—one rooted in nature, resilience, and long-term stewardship of the land. Drawing on the ideas of scientist-farmer Wes Jackson and the work of The Land Institute, the film examines how perennial and natural systems agriculture offer practical responses to soil loss, climate change, and the future of food. Thoughtful, visually rich, and inviting, “Prairie Prophecy” encourages viewers to engage with sustainability not as an abstraction, but as a human-scale story with real-world relevance.
Screening and discussion presented by the Berkshire Land Conservancy, Roaring Brook Family Foundation, and BIFF.
March 22 at 3 p.m.
