Critical Darlings: Sentimental Value and Belated Oscar Breakthroughs with Joe Reid
2/26/20261 hr 19 min
This week we’re in hygge mode, uncovering traumas in our generational home with the host of This Had Oscar Buzz, Joe Reid! One of the breakout Oscar films of the year is Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value, a warm, realist Norwegian film about a difficult but brilliant director (Stellan Skarsgard), his two daughters (Renate Reinsve and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas), and an American actress cast in the auteur’s new film (Elle Fanning). All four performances earned Oscar nominations, along with nominations for Best Picture, Best International Feature, Best Film Editing, and Best Original Screenplay. Sentimental Value also highlights a recurring phenomenon in Hollywood, wherein the Academy will pass over a director’s breakout film but shower the follow-up with nominations. In Trier’s case, his previous film The Worst Person in the World received nominations for Best International Film and Original Screenplay but, in our opinion, deserved many more. We try to break down how and why this happens, whether films about filmmaking have an innate appeal to Oscar voters, how Fanning’s star power helps bridge the international gap for voters, and the film itself, including its deft intermingling of artistic expression and sublimated generational trauma. With Joe's guidance, we also check in on some of the Oscar-buzziest films of the year that didn't pan out, check in on the state of the acting category race and some potential upsets, and celebrate The Secret Agent's breakout star Tânia Maria and her new role as Burger King spokeswoman. Sign up for Check Book, the Blank Check newsletter featuring even more “real nerdy shit” to feed your pop culture obsession. Dossier excerpts, film biz AND burger reports, and even more exclusive content you won’t want to miss out on. Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes. Follow us @blankcheckpod on Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Facebook! Buy some real nerdy merch Connect with other Blankies on our Reddit or Discord For anything else, check out BlankCheckPod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsAlison Wilmore· Host0:00
[upbeat music] Welcome to Critical Darlings, a conversation about the award season conversation, one contender at a time. [upbeat music] Please welcome to the stage your hosts, Richard Lawson and Alison Wilmore.
Richard Lawson· Host0:24
[clapping] Marie, thank you as ever for your spirited introduction. Uh, we are once again joined with producer Ben. Hello, Ben.
Ben Frisch· Panelist0:32
Hello.
Richard Lawson· Host0:33
And we have a special guest, uh, from Vulture- Yes ... uh, Alison's coworker, and the host of This Had Oscar Buzz, the podcast, Joe Reid. Hello.
Joe Reid· Guest0:42
Hi. Thank you for having me.
Richard Lawson· Host0:44
Well, we're glad we- you could make it.
Joe Reid· Guest0:45
Me too.
Richard Lawson· Host0:46
Especially 'cause you're in a really busy time of your working life right now.
Joe Reid· Guest0:50
Yes.
Richard Lawson· Host0:51
You ... Ev- people don't know every year Joe does a ranking of every film, ev- short or feature- Yes ... right?
Joe Reid· Guest0:58
Every nominated one.
Richard Lawson· Host0:59
Nominated for an Oscar- Yes ... so you have to watch a ton of shit.
Joe Reid· Guest1:01
50 of them this year.
Richard Lawson· Host1:01
And I say shit deliberately.
Joe Reid· Guest1:02
[laughs] [laughs] Sometimes.
Richard Lawson· Host1:03
'Cause a lot of times there's bad stuff.
Joe Reid· Guest1:05
Uh-huh.
Richard Lawson· Host1:06
Um- Live action short has not covered itself in glory for many, many years [laughs] I feel like. Oh, God. This, no, is it any better this year?
Joe Reid· Guest1:11
No. It's ... I was, I was saying to Alison earlier, there are fewer things that feel like absolutely terrible and awful. You know, there's usually some like incredibly treacly like animated short or whatever, or like a live action short and it's like- And it wins. [laughs] Right. And it inevitably wins. Um, there's none of those, but there's also none of like the one or two that are