A female member of the Academy’s 719-person documentary branch who has no connection to any of this year’s nominees, granted a cloak of anonymity in return for candor, speaks withTHRabout her ballot.

I putFrankensteinat number 10 because I haven’t seen it, which is unfair, but I ran out of time and decided to check the box indicating that I had so that I could support other films.F1was not for me — I watched about 45 minutes of it, and I didn’t need to watch more. I’m a huge fan of Yorgos Lanthimos, butBugonia, while I admired its ambition and performances, did not work for me. I likedTrain Dreamsand thought it was visually beautiful, but I grew a little tired of the character’s point of view and didn’t find it especially unique.Marty Supremewas a great ride, but it ultimately felt like more of the same stuff we’ve seen from the Safdies, even if this one was just Josh. I admiredThe Secret Agent’s performances and design, but was not as captivated by the narrative as I wanted to be.Hamnetwas emotional and beautifully rendered, but a bit overwrought — I didn’t want Jessie [Buckley] turned up to a 10 the entire time. To me,One Battle After Another,SinnersandSentimental Valueare all best picture-worthy. I lovedOne Battle, but there were flaws — I heard from a lot of friends in the Black community that they were troubled by the character Perfidia Beverly Hills, and I really hear that. WithSinners, I was leaning forward in my seat with my mouth open for the entire movie — it was so ambitious, profound, provocative and entertaining. But at the end of the day, I putSentimental Valueon top because it was, to me, exquisite, nearly perfect, and my kind of movie.Related StoriesMoviesMaggie Gyllenhaal Loved Those 'The Bride!' Test Screenings: "The Fantasy of It Being Some Horrible Thing Is Inaccurate"MoviesMaggie Gyllenhaal on How She Crafted Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale's Looks in 'The Bride!'

VOTE:(1)Sentimental Value, (2)Sinners, (3)One Battle After Another, (4)Hamnet, (5)The Secret Agent, (6)Marty Supreme, (7)Train Dreams, (8)Bugonia, (9)F1, (10)Frankenstein

I found [Sentimental Value’s Joachim] Trier’s direction of his actors and design of his film to be outstanding — but I have to go with [Sinners’ Ryan] Coogler. The director is the conductor of all of the crafts that go into a movie, andSinnerswas so gorgeously conducted, such a big swing, so ambitious and so unique.

[Timothée] Chalamet is great inMarty Supreme, but the character felt a bit redundant after the prior Safdie films. Michael B. Jordan is incredible inSinners. Wagner Moura’s performance inThe Secret Agentis the main reason to watch that movie. I was very tempted to vote for Leo [DiCaprio forOne Battle]. But Ethan Hawke’s performance inBlue Moonis inspired, magnetic, almost magical.

Rose Byrne brought everything toIf I Had Legs I’d Kick You— I mean, with the way the filmmaker chose to focus on her face, she was mesmerizing, and it was a tour de force. But I felt that [Sentimental Value’s] Renate Reinsve gave the most stunning performance of the year. She just got into my heart.

VOTE:Renate Reinsve,Sentimental Value

Best supporting actorSean Penn is incredible [inOne Battle], as he usually is. I love Stellan [Skarsgård] inSentimental Value, who is also always so good. But for me, it was between Delroy [Lindo ofSinners] and Benicio [Del Toro ofOne Battle], and I went with the Sensei because of the way in which I understand Benicio helped to craft that character. I saw some interviews about how he brought to PTA all of these ideas about the apartment and other things, and how they really worked together to build that character, who is the spiritual heart of the film. I have friends to my left who felt it made fun of activism, and friends to my right who found it to be too celebratory, and I would always point to Benicio’s character as an ideal for this moment — someone with deep community ties who knows how to open doors and make things happen. I’ll never forget that performance.

VOTE:Benicio del Toro,One Battle After Another

While I’m a fan ofOne Battle After Another, Teyana Taylor’s character was tough for me to swallow. Wunmi [Mosaku, inSinners] and Amy [Madian, inWeapons] are great. Though I lovedSentimental Value, I don’t think Elle Fanning had much to do. But Inga [Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Fanning’s costar] is getting my vote. The nuance that Inga and Renate Reinsve brought to that sibling relationship was incredible, and the scene of the two of them in the bedroom is one of the best-performed scenes of the year.

Source: Drudge Report