Script Reviews – 2024 Best Picture Oscar Nominees

I’ve watched all 10 Academy Award nominees for Best Picture (by the way, why do we still call it "Best Picture" when we don’t refer to movies as ‘Pictures’ in any other aspect of our lives?).

Here are my brief script reviews for each – in alphabetical order so I don’t play favorites.

American Fiction: Really solid script for most of the journey – great central character with a powerful emotional journey. But the ending is awful. A terrible choice was made, which devalues everything that has gone before. Turns a really interesting story into an unreliable one. But great idea, and if the writer didn’t overthink things, this could’ve been amazing.

Anatomy of a Fall: Really terrific, lifelike dialogue throughout. Complex characters, complex relationships, all the pieces are there. But it’s too long, and meanders a lot in the middle, without delivering the sort of emotional punch it felt like we were being set up to experience. What I thought was going to be ‘amazing’, turned out to be ‘fine’.

Barbie: They took creative swing after creative swing with this script – which is completely bananas. And the audience responded – which shows just how much we crave a shared experience, and how willing we are to accept bananas. Hear that Studios?

The script kind of feels like it’s trying to have it’s Ken cake and eat it too. Almost like two movies smashed into one. But it tackled a compelling social issue, and got an overwhelming audience response which should be encouraged. More scripts like Barbie, please. Creative swings always.

Killers of the Flower Moon: A steaming pile of hot garbage from beginning to end. This script is bloated, repetitive…I repeat…repetitive…and features a central character who does not evolve or go on any sort of emotional journey. Round and around in circles we go. How many times does Robert DeNiro’s character say exactly the same things? Many. Three and half hours of simplistic, infantile, mildly culturally disrespectful trash. This is a terrible, terrible script.

Maestro: OK – can we be serious for a moment? Sure, this has been directed to within an inch of its life. Let’s all notice the director’s choices in every scene. But script-wise? This isn’t a movie. This is a vanity project. What do we learn about Bernstein? He’s the same closeted, party-loving man from beginning to end. We don’t learn anything about his creative process, and there is no depth to his ‘journey’. Oh, but there are black-and-white bits and a long scene where the writer/star/director shows he learned how to conduct an orchestra! Genius! So let’s not worry about the script! Which is bad. Simply bad.

Oppenheimer: A compelling movie – no doubt. The script is all over the place. Whose movie is it? Opennheimer's? Robert Downey Jr.’s? What’s is about exactly? Is it a bio pic? An examination of man being given power too awesome for them to handle? Something else? The script is over complicated, and yet lacks much science talk, and never really finds its lane. 

Christopher Nolan’s treatment of women is genuinely embarrassing and should be called out. Emily Blunt’s character is drunk/sharing the screen with a flask in EVERY scene. And that’s her defining character trait it seems. Meanwhile, Florence Pugh has her top off needlessly. Neither are given any genuine depth. I’m glad there’s an audience for serious issues, and this is a well-made movie built on poor script foundations.

Past Lives: What a sweet, lovely, and moving little script. Well constructed, beautifully explored, nuanced, layered, and with an ending that gave me the feels – especially as an expat – which is an immigrant living in a new land. The characters felt real, the dialogue was authentic, and the choices made sense. A quiet, lovely script turned into a lovely movie.

Poor Things: Another script taking big swings (yay). Some work, others don’t. I feel the direction of this movie gets in the way – it’s as if the filmmaker wants you to notice the sets, the production design, the camera lens he’s chosen and his directing more than the story. Which is a shame. Speaking of story – sometimes it avoids a deeper emotional experience by veering into a sex joke. Or by feeling very proud of itself for having blunt sex moments. But still – I applaud the big swing.

The Holdovers: Great little character study. A great cast that really elevates a solid script. All the central characters make choices – not always the best ones for them – all have authentic emotional journeys, and all are profoundly changed in the time we spend with them. Easy to connect with them all, and feel their collective pain and challenges. Great script, well executed.

The Zone of Interest: Gosh. Did not know what to expect going in, and I was profoundly moved. This is a work of art from the opening titles. The creators know exactly what they want to do, and they execute beautifully. This is a remarkable script, because almost all of the dialogue is in some way irrelevant. It’s all about what’s not being said. 

And watching a film like this where you start to care about the personal lives of people indulging in monstrous behavior – gives you conflicted feelings, and shows we are in the hands of skilled craftspeople. It tackles its theme of ‘the banality of evil’ beautifully, it’s the most aural film I’ve probably ever seen, and if it doesn’t win the Oscar for best sound – then they should shut down the Academy.

Who would I choose? I’d go with Barbie or The Zone of Interest.

I would encourage you to watch them all – they provide a fascinating look at where cinema is right now, from big to small, commercially popular to smaller indie, with a bit of hot garbage thrown in for good measure. Which serves as a reminder of how much Hollywood values reputation over craft. 

Catch up on Script magazine’s interviews with the screenwriters, directors, and editors behind this season's Oscars contenders.

The 96th Academy Awards show will air March 10, 7:00 PM EST on ABC.