A Catholic look at this year's Oscar Best Picture nominees

(OSV News) -- As a Catholic film critic, I usually enjoy awards season. I root for my favorite films of the year to win the awards they deserve, and sometimes we even have an Oscar watch party at the convent -- complete with a contest in which we try to guess the winners.

This year, however, watching many of the nominated films felt like more of a chore than a joy, and I'm left dwelling on how I'll never get those hours back.

Don't get me wrong, several of the nominated films are fine examples of creative, skillful filmmaking. Yet, that is not my only criteria for how good or bad a film is. The most important criterion for my faith-based film reviews is how the story treats the human person. Is the dignity of the human person honored in the film's story or not? Are the values that Jesus taught us upheld or not?

Here's how the eight out of 10 films I was able to see hold up in the human dignity department. (I was not able to view "Anora" or "I'm Still Here.")

"The Brutalist"

When I saw the three-and-a-half hour run time of this film, my first thought was, "unless you're Martin Scorsese, you have no business making such a long film." That turned out to be true. "The Brutalist" was mostly sex, drugs and ambition. A Hungarian Holocaust survivor, László Tóth (Adrien Brody), immigrates to America and discovers the American dream is elusive. An architect in the brutalist style, he makes an unlikely partnership with the wealthy Harrison Van Buren (Guy Pearce), who wants Tóth to design and build a monument to his deceased wife. The portrayal of Tóth's emotional journey makes Adrien Brody's Best Actor nod a no-brainer. Still, the way various characters treated each other in this film was deplorable. There's Tóth's drug-addicted ambition that made him awful to live and work with. There's Van Buren's self-importance and moral depravity. Then there's Erzsébet (Felicity Jones), Tóth's wife, who has to deal with the emotional fallout of the man László has become as they try to rekindle their relationship. Not the best portrait of healthy human living.

"A Complete Unknown"

This biopic about musical legend Bob Dylan, played by Timothée Chalamet, follows Dylan's career on his transition from acoustic folk music to electric guitar in 1965. Never being much into the music scene, I learned a lot about Dylan, including the fact that he wrote "Blowin' in the Wind," covered by so many other artists. Like many others who rise quickly to stardom, the film portrays Dylan as super talented, but, once he was a household name in folk music, as ungrateful to those who facilitated his success. On the famous night when Dylan debuted on electric guitar at the Newport Folk Festival, his actions felt like a betrayal of those who had supported his journey, such as Pete Seeger (Edward Norton) and Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro).

"Conclave"

Probably the most controversial film for Catholics on the list of Best Picture nominees, "Conclave" follows Cardinal Lawrence, superbly played by Ralph Fiennes, as he organizes and presides over a conclave after the mysterious death of the reigning pope. In the conspiracy thriller genre, the film has all the twists and turns a movie-going audience would expect and enjoy. As a film aficionado, I appreciated it. As a Catholic who loves the church, though, I came out of the theater steaming mad. Including the appalling, totally unrealistic twist at the end, the film hits on every scandal in the book, making church leadership look like a bunch of power-hungry crazies. What is missing is faith and the fact that a conclave is a sacred ritual that calls on the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in seeking God's will when choosing a new holy father. One wonders if there were any Catholic consultants on the film.

"Dune: Part Two"

Unless you've read the book or saw "Dune: Part One," you probably won't understand "Dune: Part Two." That's okay, though, because it's part of a sweeping epic of "Lord of the Rings" quality. The first thing I did when I got home from the theater was ask Google if a Part Three was in order. Affirmative. Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) and his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), seek an alliance with the Fremen people, natives of planet Arrakis, after Paul's father is killed by the rival House of Harkonnen. Some of the Fremen, like warrior Stilgar (Javier Bardem), believe Paul is the fulfillment of an ancient messianic prophecy. Others, like Paul's girlfriend, Chani (Zendaya), don't believe in the prophecy. Paul is akin to the character of Harry Potter in that he doesn't seek to be the chosen one but he's ready to accept his destiny. Chani is ready to give him all her love, but she can't accept him as a messiah. Spoiler Alert: Acting to serve the people of Arrakis, Paul sacrifices being with the love of his life in order to embrace his calling.

"Emilia Pérez"

"Emilia Pérez" celebrates everything LGBTQ+. Rita (Zoë Saldaña) is a lawyer in Mexico who's frustrated with her firm's reputation for successfully defending criminals. She accepts a secret meeting with Manitas (Karla Sofía Gascón), a cartel leader who confides in her his desire to become a woman. Rita scours the globe for the right doctor, sets everything in motion, relocates his wife and children, and fakes his death. When she meets Emilia years later, she recognizes the former cartel leader. A disturbing subject for the lightness of a musical, "Emilia Pérez" is a tale so odd that I was left feeling sorry for the characters, especially Jessi (Selena Gomez), Manitas's wife and his children. They didn't ask for any of what happened to them. After Manitas becomes "Emilia," she didn't have a secure sense of her identity. Missing Jessi and the children, Emilia summons them back to Mexico and pretends she's their long-lost auntie, which is understandably confusing for the children. Ultimately, giving into the pull to be what one is not has far-reaching consequences.

"Nickel Boys"

When a promising young man, Elwood (Ethan Herisse) experiences a "wrong place, wrong time" incident, he ends up at Nickel Academy, a Jim Crow-era reform school in Florida. Amid the abuse he endures, a norm at the school, he makes friends with Turner (Brandon Wilson), and they become inseparable. El's been keeping track of every abuse in a notebook, hopeful that when he gets out, he can go to the authorities. Although a difficult film to watch, I thought "Nickel Boys" was the most honoring of human dignity of all the Best Picture nominees. Filmed almost totally in the first person point of view (most of the time from Elwood's perspective but also Turner's) -- an unusual technique, but brilliantly used here -- "Nickel Boys" also celebrates hope. I don't want to give too much away, so I'll just say that it's inspiring to see the length to which the characters go to honor and uphold the dignity of a friend.

"The Substance"

What would it be like to have the possibility of becoming a younger, better version of yourself? Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) gets to find out. She's a fading celebrity who's fired as the star of a Jane Fonda-esque exercise show by her sleazy boss, Harvey (Dennis Quaid). When offered a drug regimen, her younger self, calling herself Sue (Margaret Qualley), emerges from her spine. The catch: they can each live for only seven days at a time. When Sue decides that's not enough, horrible things happen. "The Substance" is both a commentary on our society's attitude toward aging and on celebrity culture, all wrapped up in a slasher horror film. Sadly, when Elizabeth's star diminishes, she loses her sense of self and seeks the beauty and fame that she once had. The result is a twisted, bloody, exaggerated "Picture of Dorian Gray" enfleshed in Elizabeth's own body. Not pretty, for sure, and very far from championing the peace that comes with knowing we are loved, especially by God, no matter our age or appearance.

"Wicked"

Probably the most crowd-pleasing film on the list, "Wicked" brings the successful Broadway musical to the big screen. Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) has been bullied and misunderstood all her life because of her green skin. At Shiz University in Oz, she meets Galinda (Ariana Grande), the popular girl, and is forced to room with her. They become friends, but when they meet the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum), they each have to decide either to follow others or to follow their hearts. A character at the very beginning of the film asks Glinda, "Why does wickedness happen? Are people born wicked or is wickedness thrust upon them?" These are great questions and worthy of pondering. What makes the story of "Wicked" tragic is that Elphaba could have chosen to be good, to ignore what other people thought of her and followed her heart, despite her formative experiences. After all, she had a good heart. Instead, she chose to let her experiences fester in anger, transforming her into the Wicked Witch of the West.

No one knows which of the 10 nominated films will take home the coveted statue on March 2, but the buzz says that it might be "Anora." My vote would be for "Nickel Boys" -- the story that best captures the essence of our God-given human dignity and the struggle to hold onto it against all odds.