Not to brag, but we had a pretty great set of nominations for the ORWAV Oscars this year, with the Academy’s top picks enhanced by the kind of family favourites and comedy performances that rarely get as much attention.

So in case tonight’s Oscar winners aren’t quite what you hoped, scroll down for an alternative list of the best in the last year of film, all courtesy of One Room With A View…

Note: the scores are the average vote a film received, so in a category with 7 films, 7 would be the highest possible score.

Best Screenplay

IfBealeStreetCouldTalk

Courtesy of: Annapurna Pictures

  1. Barry Jenkins (If Beale Street Could Talk) – 4.20
  2. Armando Iannucci, David Schneider, Ian Martin, Peter Fellows (The Death of Stalin) – 4.18
  3. Deborah Davis & Tony McNamara (The Favourite) – 4.08
  4. Paul Schrader (First Reformed) – 3.55
  5. Nicole Holofcener & Jeff Whitty (Can You Ever Forgive Me?) – 3.50
  6. Boots Riley (Sorry to Bother You) – 2.64

Barry takes it by a whisker! If Beale Street Could Talk hasn’t received as much love from the Academy as many expected, despite being one of the year’s best films – we’ve corrected that. Adaptations are never easy, but Jenkins managed to capture the spirit of James Baldwin’s prose, delivering a tight, contained, lovelorn visual poem.

Close on his heels were two dark, sweary political thrillers, that turned painful topics into something exciting and tragic. The Death of Stalin deserved to get this kind of attention at the Oscars.

Best Cinematography

Roma2

Courtesy of: Netlix

  1. Alfonso Cuarón (Roma) – 4.50
  2. James Laxton (If Beale Street Could Talk) – 4.40
  3. Robbie Ryan (The Favourite) – 4.17
  4. Łukasz Żal (Cold War) – 3.88
  5. Linus Sandgren (First Man) – 2.90
  6. Sean Bobbitt (Widows) – 2.90

Black and white films are often rewarded for their novelty value, but that claim can’t be levelled at our winner, Alfonso Cuarón. His domestic epic would look just as beautiful in colour, using a forensic lens and sweeping camera moves to capture every detail of this nostalgic world.

James Laxton came close to taking a second win for If Beale Street Could Talk, while The Favourite claims another 3rd place finish…

Best Director

YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE

Courtesy of: Studio Canal

  1. Lynne Ramsay (You Were Never Really Here) – 7.64
  2. Yorgos Lanthimos (The Favourite) – 7.42
  3. Alfonso Cuarón (Roma) – 6.90
  4. Debra Granik (Leave No Trace) – 6.67
  5. Barry Jenkins (If Beale Street Could Talk) – 6.50
  6. Christopher McQuarrie (M:I – Fallout) – 6.00
  7. Spike Lee (BlackKklansman) – 5.33
  8. Paul Schrader (First Reformed) – 5.27
  9. Alex Garland (Annihilation) – 4.11
  10. John Krasinski (A Quiet Place) – 2.89

The Academy failed to recognise any female directors yet again, while we gave Lynne Ramsay our top prize. Just saying. It’s an outrage that Ramsay’s unconventional, tense, heart-breaking thriller didn’t receive an Oscar nomination; this is the best consolation prize we could manage.

Our dominant films Roma, The Favourite and If Beale Street Could Talk score highly again, while Christopher McQuarrie sneaks into the mid-field for his career best work on Mission: Impossible – Fallout.

Best Actress

Deborah Davis_The Favourite

Courtesy of: Fox Searchlight

  1. Olivia Colman (The Favourite) – 9.58
  2. Melissa McCarthy (Can You Ever Forgive Me?) – 7.80
  3. Rachel Weisz (The Favourite) – 7.75
  4. Glenn Close (The Wife) – 7.63
  5. Viola Davis (Widows) – 6.73
  6. Yalitza Aparicio (Roma) – 6.40
  7. Lady Gaga (A Star is Born) – 5.75
  8. Toni Collette (Hereditary) – 5.50
  9. Jessie Buckley (Beast) – 5.13
  10. Rachel McAdams (Game Night) – 5.00
  11. Kathryn Hahn (Private Life) – 3.50

We’ve all known Olivia Colman was a star for years; finally, the rest of the world is catching up. Her performance in The Favourite was a brilliant mix of comedy and tragedy, supported (as she’s made clear in every acceptance speech so far), by her co-stars Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz.

Melissa McCarthy gained a lot of plaudits for her complex performance in Can You Ever Forgive Me? with Viola Davis coming 5th after receiving no love from the Academy. As for Kathryn Hahn’s great performance in Private Life coming last by such a margin…I’ll be having words with the ORWAV staff.

Best Actor

RichardEGrant

Courtesy of: Fox Searchlight

  1. Richard E. Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?) – 4.40
  2. Ethan Hawke (First Reformed) – 4.00
  3. Brian Tyree Henry (If Beale Street Could Talk) – 4.00
  4. Joaquin Phoenix (You Were Never Really Here) – 3.73
  5. Hugh Grant (Paddington 2) – 3.18
  6. Steven Yeun (Burning) – 3.13

Come on, who didn’t love Richard E. Grant in Can You Ever Forgive Me? It’s the role he was born to play: a witty, charming, damaged man, struggling his way tragically through life. Hawke and Henry tied, but I’ve placed Hawke higher purely because he received more 1st placed votes. Clearly, this is a year for supporting performances to shine.

Best Film

TheFavourite

Courtesy of: 20th Century Fox

  1. The Favourite – 5.33
  2. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – 5.11
  3. You Were Never Really Here – 4.64
  4. M:I – Fallout – 4.40
  5. First Reformed – 3.73
  6. Widows – 3.45
  7. Burning – 3.13
[Insert ‘Favourite’ joke here]

The Favourite was one of our most nominated films, and finally it takes the main prize, with its mixture of idiosyncratic period flourishes, acerbic comedy, and touching tragedy. It’s director Yorgos Lanthimos’s most accessible film yet, and also his best.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse slings its way into second place as one of the most inventive superhero films ever, and You Were Never Really Here also receives a lot of love in 3rd place.