The 92nd Annual Academy Awards are fast approaching and the battle for Best Picture is a tough one. This time, a total of 9 films were nominated for the award out of a maximum of 10. The ceremony will take place on February 9th and it’ll be interesting to see which 2019 movie is named the best.
Will the least hyped films like Parasite and Little Women beat the rest? It will no doubt depend on the criteria the judges use to make their choice. If one of the criteria they use to select the winner is the strength of the movie’s climax, then we think the ranking would look like this.
This list contains spoilers for each movie’s ending.
Ford v Ferrari
Despite being generally brilliant, Ford v Ferrari had a disappointing ending. First, the death of Ken Miles was handled poorly. While test-driving the J-car in the final moments of the movie, the breaks fail and he crashes. The movie doesn’t show the immediate aftermath of his death. His wife is never shown mourning. There are also no media reports announcing the death of a racing legend. This makes it all feel less emotional.
And just before that tragic incident, Miles dominates the 1966 Le Mans race. His amazing speed puts him way ahead of his competitors. However, since Ford executive Beebe hates him, he gives an order for Miles to wait for the other Ford drivers so that all the three Ford cars can cross the finish line at the same time. He argues that it will be good for the pictures. A reluctant Miles follows orders but he is later denied victory because the rules state that the driver closest to him covered more ground to reach him, hence his lap was more impressive. The annoying Beebe thus comes out on top.
Marriage Story
Marriage Story’s plot revolves around a nasty divorce between actress Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) and her husband Charlie (Adam Driver) who happens to be a theater director. But by the end of the movie, the two go down the path of getting along for the sake of their child.
On a night when it’s Nicole’s turn to spend her custody time with their child Henry, she lets Charlie take him. And as they are leaving, Nicole tells Charlie to wait before bending over to tie his shoe. It might not seem like much on the surface but it’s a moment that emphasizes the importance of divorced parents keeping the peace for their children’s benefit.
Jojo Rabbit
It’s hard to prevent your heart from doing a jiggle of joy when Jojo is saved from execution in the final moments of the movie. By this moment, Jojo, who was idolizing Hitler, has come to realize that Elsa, the Jewish woman her mother was hiding, is a good person. He has also realized that Jews, in general, are not as evil as he thought.
But when the Allied troops are closing on on the Germans, desperate Nazi commanders force a couple of children to be child soldiers. Instead of participating, Jojo runs. Later on, Jojo and other Germans are captured by American soldiers to be executed. Luckily, Jojo is spared when the Nazi commander Captain Klenzendorf calls him a Jew. Jojo later heads home where he and Elsa dance to “Heroes” by David Bowie.
1917
In the single-take movie, Lance Corporals Will Schofield and Tom Blake receive orders to deliver a message to Colonel Mackenzie (Benedict Cumberbatch) about a potential ambush by the Germans. The final moments see Schofield pushing through the trenches alone to get to Mackenzie after Blake gets killed. Schofield has to dodge explosives, gunfire and all kinds of obstacles. Luckily, he finds Mackenzie. A huge relief.
1917’s climax is bittersweet because while the mission is completed, one of the men on the mission ends up dead. However, the climax still turns out to be positive because thousands of lives are saved, even if it’s just temporary. World War I ended in 1918, so the saved soldiers still had more months left to fight.
Parasite
Arguably the best Korean movie of all time, Parasite is a war of classes between a rich family called the Parks and a poor family called the Kims who serve as helps. The relationship between these two families and the infiltration of a third party culminates in misery and murder. The movie’s climax shows just how much the hatred between classes and interests can lead to total violence.
At the climax, the Parks invite the Kims to a party. Unknown to the Parks, the Kims hold a big secret. They know that the husband to a former help is living in the bunker. A fight ensues between the Kims, the bunker man, and his wife. It results in several people dead. Mr. Park also gets stabbed by the bunker man after he insults him for his smell. Impressively chaotic!
The Irishman
The climax of The Irishman comes after former union boss Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino) has refused to stop trying to reclaim his position despite the mafia wanting him to stand down. Surprisingly, Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro), who has been friends with Hoffa for a long time, is asked to take care of the problem.
Dilemma? Not for him. He does as asked. What’s even more impressive is that Frank goes to commit this murder in style. He boards a private jet to where Hoffa is and tricks him into getting into a house where a ‘meeting’ is supposed to take place. There, he shoots him twice in the back before flying back to attend a wedding. A lesson we’ve been told again and again: Always watch your back and never trust anybody.
Little Women
Little Women’s climax is satisfying since it improves on the ending in the book upon which it is based. In the book, writer Jo March demonizes marriage and parenthood. She vows to always be by herself and she has her reasons. However, she still marries Professor Bhaer at the end and has children.
In the movie, Gerwig’s film, Jo considers being with Professor Bhaer, instead, she puts this as a story in her book instead. She makes the heroine in her book marry and have children with a professor, so that the book becomes more appealing to society, while personally she remains single. In the end, she achieves the two things she wanted, having a bestseller and not bowing down to societal pressure.
Joker
With a 69% score on Rotten Tomatoes, Joker is the lowest rated Best Picture nominee. The plot isn’t as solid as that of the other films it’s competing against but what saves the movie is the brilliant acting by Joaquin Phoenix and Todd Phillips’ attention to detail as a director.
In the final moments, Arthur Fleck really breaks bad. He goes to a late-night talk show, tells bad jokes before shockingly confessing to murder on live TV. Shortly after, he shoots the host Murray (Robert De Niro). He is arrested but rioters who have become his supporters free him. During the riots, Bruce Wayne’s parents are murdered and Joker is seen dancing to the cheers of the crowd.
Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood
Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood was a slow burn for the first two hours but in the last hour, Classic Tarantino really kicked in. The films’ climax was iconic because it got creative and altered the events that actually happened in real life regarding the Manson Murders.
In August 1969 the Manson Family brutally murdered Sharon Tate and four others. In the movie, Manson Family members arrive outside Tate’s house in a car. Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), who is Tate’s neighbor, hears the car and orders them to get away from his street. The family recognizes him as an actor whose movies inspired them to be violent so they opt to kill him instead. However, their mission doesn’t go according to plan. Booth (Brad Pitt) ends up killing two of them while Dalton kills one. In the end, Sharon Tate is never murdered.
