The 97th Academy Awards announced its nominations, leaving everyone with mixed reactions. On the one hand, the thirteen nominations for the controversial and problematic musicalEmilia Pérezwere confusing at best and outright insulting at worst. On the other hand, recognition for truly bonkers and daring work likeThe Substancein major categories like Best Picture and Best Actress was a pleasant surprise and a much-needed win for the horror genre and auteurism in general.
Similarly, the five nominees for Best Director run the gamut. On the one hand, you have widely regarded directors who are receiving their first nominations after years of consistent and often ignored work. On the other, you have audacious filmmakers acknowledged for delivering some of the most visionary and rewarding movies of 2024. Few could argue any of these nominees are underserving of the recognition, but one can argue that a couple of them are undeniably more deserving of the win.This list will rank every Best Director nominee at the 2025 Oscarsbased on their work behind the camera, how their vision guided the movie, and how they would measure against other winners in the prestigious category.
5Jacques Audiard
‘Emilia Pérez’ (2024)
Jacques Audiardhas directed many brilliant movies throughout his career, including 2009’sA Prophet, 2012’sRust and Bone, and 2018’sThe Sisters Brothers. However, he received his first Oscar nomination for Best Director for the wild and tragically misguidedEmilia Pérez. This maximalist musical starsKarla Sofía Gascónas the titular character, a former drug lord who recruited a struggling lawyer (Zoe Saldaña) to transition into a woman. Years later, Emilia returns to ask for help in getting her children back.
At best,Emilia Pérezis anintriguing but woefully tone-deaf moviefrom an artist willing to push himself, defy expectations, and subvert conventions. At worst, it is aninsulting and mind-numbingly ignorantattempt at trivializing a country’s severe and ongoing plight in the name of cheap art. The truth lies somewhere in the middle, although based onAudiard’s controversial and frankly ignorant comments, it’s probably the worst-case scenario. BeyondGascón’s scandalous tweets, Audiard’s comments also come froma place of barely concealed contempt. Thus,Emilia Pérezcomes acrossless as a form of artistic expression and more as an exercise in ego.
Emilia Perez
4James Mangold
‘A Complete Unknown’ (2024)
James Mangoldhas been steadily working for over three decades. His career has oscillated between Westerns like3:10 to Yuma, blockbusters likeLogan, and Oscar-nominated biopics likeFord v Ferrari. However, he is just now receiving his first Oscar nomination for theBob DylanbiopicA Complete Unknown.Timothée Chalametstars as Dylan, with the film chronicling the early years of his folk career leading to the Electric Dylan controversy of 1965.
A Complete Unknownis a solid musical biopic, sharing many thematic and structural similarities with Mangold’s previous foray into the genre, 2005’sWalk the Line. Like that movie,A Complete Unknownis nicely paced (if Mangold knows how to do one thing, it’s keeping a brisk and effortless flow in his narratives) and entertainingly showy, largely thanks to Chalamet’s confident leading role. LikeWalk the Line, however,A Complete Unknownnever goes underneath Dylan’s skin to reveal the man beyond the myth; instead, it further lionizes the myth, happy to settle on the surface. Mangold’s best aspects as a director—intimate shots that galvanize audiences, austere shots that bring the characters forward, and a nuanced approach—are all present in the film. However, it’s alsonot a particularly interesting change of pace from what we’ve seen before from Mangold, which he has also arguably done better elsewhere.
A Complete Unknown
3Sean Baker
‘Anora’ (2024)
After years of consistent and often underappreciated work,Sean Bakeris finally receiving recognition from the Academy thanks to his unconventional romantic comedy-dramaAnora.A spectacularMikey Madisonstars as the titular character, an exotic dancer and sex worker who enters a marriage with the young son of a Russian oligarch. When his parents find out, they send the boy’s Armenian godfather, Toros (Karren Karagulian), to secure an annulment from the young couple.
Anorais the likely eventual winner for both Best Picture and Best Director, and it’s not hard to see why. Like Baker’s previous efforts,Anoraisa melancholy and witty portrayalof the struggles, thrills, and often incredible lives of those striving for more in a world that becomes increasingly challenging to navigate. In many ways,Anorais the perfect marriage between Baker’s modern directorial approach anda more classic and sentimental style of filmmaking. This blend is particularly noticeable in the film’s two most famous scenes: the fight between Anora and Toros' henchmen and the devastating final scene. There’s an over-the-top style to the first one and a quiet, almost visceral approach to the second.Baker’s directorial approach exists between these two extremes, and the fact he can so effortlessly go from one to the other isnot only impressive but profoundly affecting.
2Coralie Fargeat
‘The Substance’ (2024)
The Substancewas undoubtedly the most pleasant surprise of 2024. This bold and deliciously dark and extreme satire stars a career-bestDemi Mooreas Elisabeth Sparkle, a fading Oscar-winning actress who gets fired from her fitness show upon turning fifty. Desperate and alone, Elisabeth turns to a black-market drug that creates another body based on her. However, the young Sue (Margaret Qualley) begins to take more and more time from Elisabeth, leading to an explosive finale that ranks among the most memorable and over-the-top in recent memory.
Coralie Fargeat is at the peak of her creative abilitiesinThe Substance. The screenplay, which she also wrote, is an acidic critique of the entertainment industry, absurd beauty standards, self-loathing, and our culture’s obsession with youth and beauty. Fargeatbrings outthe performance of Demi Moore’s career, with both the director and actress embracing the script’s meta nature to deliver a wicked and biting film with genuine teeth.The Substanceis a truly audacious and singular film, the product ofa distinct creative force unwilling to commit her visionfor anything or anyone. No other film at the Oscars is as original or thought-provoking asThe Substance, and it’s largely thanks to Fargeat. As the driving forcebehind this twisted body horror, Fargeat is arguablythe finest example of auteurism of the yearand the living proof that a confrontational and uncompromising vision can still be embraced by critics and audiences as long as it has something poignant to say.
1Brady Corbet
‘The Brutalist’ (2024)
AlthoughThe Substancemight be the most daring work of 2024,The Brutalistis arguably the film of the year. This dauntingepic period drama clocks in at 215 minutesand squeezes the most out of each.Adrien Brodystars as Lázló Tóth, a Hungarian-Jewish immigrant who travels to America to achieve the promised dream. His career and life change when wealthy and ambitious but petty industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce) becomes his primary client.
The Brutalistis the perfect movie for 2024, andBrady Corbetis the steady hand stirring the ship. His distinct touch is present in every scene and every precise shot; indeed, no film last year was as beautifully structured orimmaculately designed asThe Brutalist. Corbet is in full control of his creative powers, delivering a visionary anddemanding epic that is as challenging as it is rewarding, a unique experience that represents the greatest strengths of cinema as an art form. Brody, Pearce, andFelicity Jonesare brilliant, andDaniel Blumberg’s score andLol Crawley’s cinematography further enhance the experience, but this is Corbet’s show first and foremost. No movie is as much about the director asThe Brutalist;it is Corbet’s crowning achievement, an electrifying and enthralling epic that is as monumental as Lázló’s designs. Timely, thoughtful, demanding, and unforgettable,The Brutalistisas close to a modern masterpiece as a movie can get, and it’s thanks to Corbet’s sumptuous, precise, and uncompromising vision.
