Two notable movies have become the topic of discussion since the night of the Oscars. Of course, many more movies have allegedly gotten snubbed than just these particular movies. Still, I’ve decided to focus on these two because I have heard the most outrage on account of: Ari Abbasi’s The Apprentice and James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown. The outrage follows in response to Adrien Brody’s Oscar win, which I will cover, while also awarding ratings to The Apprentice and A Complete Unknown.

To begin, the award that began the discourse: Adrien Brody’s 2nd Best Actor Award. Now, of course, awards don’t define a good actor. However, Adrien Brody became the youngest actor to win the Oscars for 2003’s The Pianist, something that many argue Timothee Chalamet should’ve achieved for his Oscar-nominated movie A Complete Unknown. Now, the anger from this Oscar win comes from the use of AI in The Brutalist (which won Adrien Brody his award). It could be argued that AI was only used for a few minutes to simply enhance Adrien Brody’s accent, but even that is setting a bad precedent for future awards. A big part of movies are their human aspects. The fact that real people take up these roles and real people write these scenarios for a human audience makes movies unique and, well, human. Introducing AI to art like this and allowing it to win awards creates a scary future. What if in the years to come, an entirely AI-generated movie wins? What does this say about humanity and about society? This singular win has created an ethical discussion. I, for one, hope that some boundaries are set in regards to AI in the film industry. 

Next, a review of James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown. The movie is a biopic of American singer Bob Dylan, and begins with his arrival in New York, where his claim to fame began. I cannot necessarily judge this movie by plot, since it follows a person’s life, and that would be rather unfair. It does, however, flow well and show the passage of time in a cinematic manner. While transitions from one period to another were sometimes a bit ‘choppy,’ I think that the passage of time throughout the film reflects how sudden all these events were for the young star. The acting in this movie was, of course, top-notch. There was a lot of dedication and attention to details–Timothee Chalamet’s prosthetic nose, the live singing, long fingernails, and much more–and these small details brought everything together. The entire film was wonderfully executed. That being said, I, personally, am not a huge fan of biopics. While the movie was great, I simply did not feel as drawn to it as I hoped I would. So, I give A Complete Unknown 4 stars. 

Finally, a review of Ari Abbasi’s The Apprentice, which received a lot of mixed reviews, mainly due to the film’s politics. Now, naturally, a film about Donald Trump will be political. However, it didn’t serve as a critique of his current policies, but more so as a tale of his earlier years in 1970s New York. I have not extensively studied the accuracies or inaccuracies of this movie, so I cannot disclose how accurate it is to our President. However, what I can say is that it’s a gripping movie. The performances by Jeremy Strong and Sebastian Stan? Outstanding. The directorship? Great. The soundtrack was impeccable, and it shone through in the right moments. In this film, Donald Trump begins as his dad’s helper and ends as a famous real estate businessman. His rise to power in this movie is largely attributed to his relationship with Roy Cohn, a well-known attorney who was most prominent during the Red Scare and the age of McCarthyism. Roy Cohn takes notice of young Trump and builds him up, aiding him as he rises through the ranks and opens Trump Tower and several other enterprises. However, by the time that Trump rises and asserts himself as a business tycoon, Roy Cohn is in ill health. There will not be any spoilers here, but the end of the movie is perfect and it concludes with a full-circle ending. The Apprentice receives 4 and a half stars in my book. 

So, did these other movies deserve the win instead of The Brutalist? While I haven’t watched The Brutalist, I would say yes. This is purely due to the precedent that it sets for future awards and movies. Even if the movie was ‘perfect,’ I would say that the win is not deserved because this ‘perfection’ takes from our human film industry, an industry that would not exist without the people that make it what it is today.