The 97th Academy Awards threw up something of a shock with the small independent film Anora winning five of the six Oscars for which it was nominated, including that of “Best Picture”.

The movie’s director Sean Baker became the first person to win four statuettes for one film, including “Best Director” with Mikey Madison securing the “Best Actress” award for her starring role.

Adrien Brody was given “Best Actor” for his portrayal of a visionary architect in The Brutalist, whilst Zoe Saldana picked up the “Best Supporting Actress” gong for her role in Spanish-language musical Emilia Pérez and Kieran Culkin grabbed the “Best Supporting Actor” prize for A Real Pain.

The ceremony took place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, with special mention and thanks given to the emergency services who bravely tackled the wildfires in the city at the start of the year.

Popular but unexpected winner

For Anora to gain such success would have come as a surprise to many, especially as it was competing against films with vastly superior budgets.

Additionally, there is the fact that the title character played by Mikey Madison was featuring in her first lead role, playing a stripper and occasional sex worker who essentially meets her Prince Charming, Ivan – the spoiled son of a Russian oligarch – whilst at “at work”.

Host Conan O’Brien joked about the film’s success throughout the night and in a dig aimed presumably at Donald Trump, he said: “I guess Americans are excited to see someone finally stand up to a powerful Russian.”

Favourite left disappointed

The 25-year-old Ms Madison became the ninth youngest woman to take the prize and in her acceptance speech, she paid tribute to the sex worker community.

To her credit Demi Moore, who had been the favourite to lift the crown for her brilliant performance in The Substance, looked a little emotional at missing out, but still managed to applaud her peer and to be fair the two had been really supportive of each other in the build up to the ceremony.  

Record breaker

The films other awards were for: “Best Editing” and “Best Original Screenplay” giving Sean Baker four in total and in so doing becoming the first person ever to take home four Oscars in one night for the same film.

The only other person to ever win four Oscars in a single evening was Walt Disney in 1952, but his wins were for separate projects.

Almost a clean sweep

During his best director speech, Baker made what he called his “battle cry,” a plea to the industry to remain stalwart in its commitment to the theatre.

“We are all here tonight and watching this broadcast because we love movies, and where did we fall in love with the movies?” he asked.

“At the movie theatre, watching a film in a theatre with an audience is an experience,” he was keen to point out. “We can laugh together, cry together, scream in fright together, perhaps, sit in devastated silence together, and in a time in which the world can feel very divided, this is more important than ever.”

The only category it failed to lift an Oscar was Yura Borisov’s “Best Supporting Actor” nomination.

First for Black costume designer

Emilia Pérez and Wicked did not enjoy the same level of success on what was a disappointing night for both films. They each collected just two awards from 13 and 10 nominations, respectively. 

However, one of the two successes of Wicked was when Paul Tazewell became the first Black man ever to win an Oscar in the category of “Best Costume Design”.

Mixed fortunes

Another much fancied movie to experience a poor night was Conclave, which from its 8 nominations, managed just one win for “Best Adapted Screenplay”.

The Brutalist could be relatively pleased however with three Oscars from its 8 nominations, walking away with “Best Cinematography” and “Best Original Score”, to go along with Adrien Brody’s “Best Actor”.

Tributes

There were tributes for both Quincey Jones, the legendary record producer who died last year, and Gene Hackman, who the industry lost just last week.

Queen Latifah gave a musical performance and there were kind words from Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey to honour Quincey, before Morgan Freeman gave a moving speech about his great friend Gene Hackman.

“This week our community lost a giant, and I lost a dear friend.” He then reminded the audience that Gene Hackman had said: “I don’t think about legacy, I just hope people who remember me as someone who did good work.” Freeman simply said: “Gene, you’ll be remembered for that and so much more. Rest in peace my friend.”

Anora not the only “shock” of the night

In typical Hollywood style the evening ended in drama when immediately after the ceremony, the area was hit by a 3.9 magnitude earthquake, with its epicentre measured in North Hollywood, just miles from the Dolby Theatre.

Fortunately there were no reports of damage or injuries and no doubt the after-parties were full of similar jolts of energy!