Split Decision: "Barbie"

No two people feel the exact same way about any film. Thus, Team Experience is pairing up to debate the merits of this year’s Oscar movies. Here's the last discussion, between Mark Brinkerhoff and Nick Taylor on Barbie…

NICK: Hi Mark! We’re coming to you live and in color - but mainly in pink - from Barbieland for today’s split decision. This is the only one of these where I get to be on the side of positivity, so if the runoff of good vibes is Too Much, forgive me. Either way, I’m very excited to talk to you about Barbie. I’m not sure this makes it into my top 10 for the year, but it’s almost certainly the 2023 film I’ve watched the most, and I think it’s a total delight with as much on its mind as any of Greta Gerwig’s previous films, albeit in a very different key from Lady Bird and Little Women. I’d say more, but I don’t want to start our chat with a three-paragraph monologue. So, Mark, what’s keeping you from feeling the Kenergy?...

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Split Decision: "Poor Things"

No two people feel the exact same way about any film. Thus, Team Experience is pairing up to debate the merits of this year’s Oscar movies. Here's Abe Friedtanzer and Nick Taylor on Poor Things…

NICK: Hello Abe! Congratulations on Poor Things winning the Team Experience Award for Best Picture. I’m glad a film that moves, sounds, and dresses in such an offbeat manner has become such a critical and popular hit. It’s always nice to see weird art winning. That being said, I don’t count myself as a fan of Poor Things, and have a lot of complaints I could throw at its many, many, unapologetic excesses. Still, I like starting these Split Decision panels on notes of praise, and I’d really love to hear what you think of Poor Things.

ABE: Hey Nick! Always happy to chat about movies. I had the pleasure of seeing Poor Things at the New York Film Festival back in September right after May December, a film that many liked that I did not. I've been a fan of Yorgos Lanthimos' since the incredible Oscar-nominated Greek film Dogtooth, and I found both The Lobster and The Favourite extremely interesting and engaging. I was very turned off, however, by The Killing of a Sacred Deer. Lanthimos' offbeat nature and his winning blend of pitch-black comedy and drama is usually quite effective, but Poor Things is a departure even from that…

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FYC: A Best Costume Design Celebration

by Cláudio Alves

PASSAGES should earn Khadija Zeggaï an Oscar nomination.

As the voting for the 96th Academy Award nominations continues, there's a possibility that we'll get a repeat of 2019 in Best Costume Design. Though not disastrous, that season saw the lineup comprised exclusively of Best Picture nominees – a sad sight for a race where, once upon a time, brilliant work could be rewarded regardless of a film's general buzz. Maybe Wonka, The Color Purple, or Napoleon will stop that from happening, but it'll still result in a fairly expected ballot. Why not look elsewhere to some of the year's underrated gems? Please, Costume Branch, remember you represent the category of I Am Love, Bright Star, Marie Antoinette, and many others. 

I've already made the case for La Chimera, Passages, and Pain Hustlers, so I won't repeat it. Still, even with those out of the way, there's plenty to celebrate from 2023 cinema. Here are ten Oscar-eligible achievements in costume design…

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Oscar Volley: Costume Design Needs More Modernity

Team Experience is discussing each Oscar category as we head into the precursors. Here's Elisa and Cláudio to talk Costume Design...

Will MAESTRO bring Mark Bridges back into the Oscar fold?
CLÁUDIO: To borrow an idea from Nathaniel, let me introduce the conversation with an imaginary outfit. Please think of me in a Priscilla powder blue suit tailored to Ferrari Italian perfection. There's a Wonka scarf in there, too, and Tomas' bearish coat from Passages on top. On my wrist, Felicia's pearls from Maestro, on my feet pink rollerblades from Barbie. For other accessories, I shall pick a revolutionary rosette from Napoleon to pin to my lapel and a pair of Victorian sunglasses from Poor Things. To complete the ensemble, Oppenheimer's hat with a Killers of the Flower Moon beaded band, everything topped by some showgirl-ready plumes straight out of Shug Avery's wardrobe. Do I look even more clownish than Melissa McCarthy and Brian Tyree Henry at the 91st Academy Awards? But I also look fabulous...maybe…

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Contemporary Costume Watch: "Passages"

by Cláudio Alves

Like it happens every year, as the awards season dawns, I complain that voters should pay more attention to contemporary narratives when recognizing design achievements. In 2023, their reluctance will be especially aggravating since there's such a deep well of costuming excellence within modern contexts. Take Khadija Zeggaï in Passages, for example. 

Ira Sachs' latest feature finds Franz Rogowski playing a Paris-based German director entangled in a bisexual love triangle of his own making. As Tomas, the actor is a sartorial tease whether he's in mesh or ratty green knits, while Ben Whishaw is more modest as his artist husband, Martin. Finally, Adèle Exarchopoulos is Agathe, a teacher who dresses like a young Bardot at the height of the Nouvelle Vague - all tight fits, high hems, and lingerie as outerwear. Across the board, fashion defies heteronormative tenets, everything is unisex and sexy to the nth degree. Clothes articulate tricky character dynamics while offering editorial-worthy queer spectacle…

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