Oscars 2025 Nominees, Ranked By How Depressing They Are – Consequence

In case your aunt has been asking you about The BrutalistJanuary 29, 2025January 29, 2025January 29, 2025Prestige movies carry a certain reputation for being less fun to watch than your average summer blockbuster. The kinds of films nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars each year are, after all, meant to be capital-I Important — movies that represent the year’s outstanding achievements in cinema while also speaking to where we are as a society. And when you consider what there is to be said about where we are as a society… yeah, a lot of Oscar movies are massive bummers.Which is why, for the fourth year running, Consequence has ranked the 2025 Best Picture nominees — not in terms of quality, but in terms of how you’ll feel once you’re done watching them. The range of this year’s films isn’t perhaps as chaotic as it was in 2024, with Barbie and Killers of the Flower Moon representing the two ends of the spectrum, yet there’s still a reasonable amount of diversity in tone and subject matter to keep things interesting.A note that while a sincere effort has been made to avoid specific plot details below, the nature of this list means that there will be implicit spoilers about the endings of these movies. Read accordingly.
Conclave (Focus Features)
Conclave (Focus Features)By the metric of “how well do things go for everyone involved?”, Conclave emerges as — depressingly enough — the nominee with the happiest overall ending. The only person who actually dies in this movie is the original Pope, and despite the at times brutal squabbling that ensues amongst the men gathering to pick his successor, the best possible choice is the one made. Not to mention that the additional twist of the story (which we won’t spoil here) also adds a frisson of rebellion to the proceedings, leading to a sense of real victory at the conclusion.This actually represents a huge shift for director Edward Berger considering his previous film, All Quiet on the Western Front — which held the number one slot on this list in 2023. Way to lighten up, Edward!Stream Conclave now on Peacock or on VOD via Apple and Amazon.
A Complete Unknown (Searchlight Pictures)
A Complete Unknown (Searchlight Pictures)Gee, wonder how things turned out for that Robert Zimmerman kid? Hope things worked out for him eventually!The only reason that this thoughtful portrait of Bob Dylan (Timothée Chalamet)’s rise to fame isn’t the top of this list is that director James Mangold’s muted emotional and aesthetic palate doesn’t culminate in an explosive moment of triumph for the music legend. Instead, Dylan may have “won” his freedom, as Joan Baez says, but it’s a victory he takes in stride as he roars off on his motorcycle. Good for Bob!Pre-order A Complete Unknown on VOD via Apple.
Wicked (Universal)
Wicked (Universal)So there are parts of Wicked that would probably play very differently in an alternate reality where the 2024 US election went the other way. (The goat professor’s storyline is haunting.) Yet, despite the real-world parallels, and the foreknowledge that things might not go so great for Elphaba in Part Two, it’s hard to walk out of the theater feeling bummed out when you’re ending on this note: “Nobody in all of Oz/ No wizard that there is or was/ Is ever gonna bringggggggg meeeeeeee downnnnnnn!”Pre-order Wicked now on VOD via Apple and Amazon.
Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros.)
Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros.)What does victory matter if it costs you the love of Zendaya? This question applies to both Challengers and Dune: Part Two, and in the case of the latter movie, it’s the factor that keeps Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi sequel from being any higher on the list. Sure, Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) manages to triumph over his enemies and continue his path towards messiah-dom, but the ending makes it clear that the future for some of these characters is not necessarily a rosy one. It certainly sets up a lot of exciting possibilities for a third movie — which might end up being a bummer, but will definitely be weird.Stream Dune: Part Two now on Max or on VOD via Apple and Amazon.Subscribe to our daily email digest for the latest headlines.
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Source: https://consequence.net/2025/01/oscars-2025-nominees-depressing-ranking/