What's Jewish at this year's Oscars? Actually, quite a bit

By Alan Zeitlin

(JNS) - The Oscars ceremony at the annual Academy Awards in Hollywood has offered some drama of its own these past few years. There was Will Smith, who slapped the show's host, fellow actor and comedian Chris Rock, on stage. There was last year's British director Jonathan Glazer, who in his speech in accepting the Oscar for Best International Feature Film for "The Zone of Interest" proclaimed a "refute" of his Jewishness, citing the "Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip" as his rationale.

It may be quieter this year, but it is also likely that for the second straight year, the Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role will go to men playing Jewish characters.

Cillian Murphy took home the Best Actor trophy last year for his portrayal of Jewish scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer, while castmate Robert Downey Jr. snagged the prize for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for portraying Navy Rear Adm. Lewis Strauss, who Oppenheimer mocks for using a less Jewish pronunciation of his name.

In this year's ceremony, scheduled for March 2, Jewish actor Adrien Brody is the favorite to win Best Actor for his role as Jewish architect and Holocaust survivor Laszlo Toth, while Kieran Culkin is a virtual lock to win Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his depiction of Benji Kaplan, a troubled young Jewish man who with his cousin visits the Majdanek concentration camp in Lublin, Poland, in "A Real Pain."

Best Actor

Brody became the youngest man to win Best Actor in 2003, when he was just 29. He earned the award for his performance as Polish Jewish pianist and classical composer Władysław Szpilman, who died in 2000, in "The Pianist." In "The Brutalist," Brody plays Laszlo Toth, a created character who survives the Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany and tries to make it in America as a Jew, while facing many challenges.

In the film, Toth comes first to New York, and then Pennsylvania, with nothing, and gets wrongly accused of something. He yearns for his wife to join him in America. He is charismatic, creative and funny but has a hot temper and a problem with drugs. This type of tale has been told before; it's the classic immigrant story, though one that resonates with the times.

"Laszlo really is flawed, and that's what's so beautiful about the storytelling - to have a protagonist that is a human being, that's got afflictions and all kinds of things he's contending with," Brody said at a recent appearance at the 92nd Street Y in New York City. "But in spite of that he's someone you root for, and someone who has a purpose ... ."

Timothée Chalamet, also Jewish, earned a Best Actor nomination for his depiction of a young Bob Dylan in "A Complete Unknown." What's most impressive is that he sings all his own vocals. Dylan, Jewish and born in Duluth, Minn., has always remained somewhat of an enigma - thus, the double entendre of the film's title. In interviews, the 29-year-old said he gained 20 pounds for the role.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Two stars of the hit Max show "Succession" are up against each other in the Best Actor for a Support Role: Culkin and Jeremy Strong. In "A Real Pain," Culkin plays Benji Kaplan, a charismatic and sentimental man who can light up a room with his energy and antics. He heads to Poland to see the hometown of his deceased, beloved grandmother with his equally beloved cousin David (Jesse Eisenberg), a much more subdued and introverted person. They join a group of tourists with a quirky guide and spend a day at Majdanek, from which their grandmother survived during World War II and the Holocaust.

Culkin brings humor from his "Succession" character, joking at the airport when David fears Benji could be taken into custody for carrying marijuana.

"They're gonna arrest two Jews in Poland for a little bit of weed?" Benji quips. "That's a good look for the Polish people."

Strong is every bit as good as Culkin as Jewish attorney Roy Cohn in "The Apprentice" which chronicles how Cohn mentored Donald Trump, now in his second term as U.S. president, to work the levers of power.

In the film, the character throws a few Yiddish words around. "I want to be armed to the teeth when I put her yutz of a husband on the stand," Cohn says as he reviews a divorce case while wearing a bathrobe and calling his dog a "shmuck."

Best Actress

Jewish actress Mikey Madison brings her Brooklyn N.Y., accent (real name Mikaela Madison Rosberg) and knocks it out of the park in her debut lead role as a sex worker who falls in love with the son of rich Russian parents in "Anora."

She is called to meet Ivan (Jewish actor Mark Eydelshteyn) because he prefers someone who speaks Russian. After he pays her to sleep with him for several days, he suggests that they go to Las Vegas to get married. Madison wants a Hollywood fairytale out of a transactional relationship. Things get crazy when Ivan's parents send goons who become violent and see Anora as nothing but a prostitute. While she may lose the award to Demi Moore, star of "The Substance," Madison has a puncher's chance.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Felicity Jones is outstanding as the wife of Laszlo, a Holocaust survivor named Erzsebet. While she isn't in much of the first half of the three-hour and thirty-five-minute film, she makes her presence felt in the second half and has some powerful scenes. While not expected to win, her performance is one of the reasons "The Brutalist" should get the Oscar for Best Picture.

Best Picture

'The Brutalist'

This is the best film of the year; it's not even close. That it was made in 33 days for only $10 million is hard to believe. At the heart of the movie is a battle between Toth and his benefactor, Harrison Lee Van Buren (an excellent Guy Pearce), who is first rude to him, then admires him and hires him before doing something diabolical that no one could forgive. The film asks: What is an individual's breaking point? How much betrayal can a person take? When is it time to keep fighting, and when is it smarter to get up and leave? It is majestic, gritty and takes hold of one's soul.

Social media was abuzz debating whether or not "The Brutalist" is a Zionist movie, often in a negative way. In an early scene, David Ben-Gurion announces the establishment of the modern-day State of Israel. While it is clearly a film about a Jewish man regrouping after World War II and the Holocaust - trying to assimilate into America and overcome challenges - it is open to interpretation about whether or not it is a "Jewish" film.

'A Real Pain'

There is a scene showing a gas chamber at Majdanek and many Jewish references, but what is most noteworthy about "A Real Pain" is that it is partially a buddy movie that also educates on the Holocaust and is accessible to Gen Z. Eisenberg could have certainly gotten a Best Actor nomination, though he did nab one for Best Screenplay. He plays a neurotic character with a regular job, a wife and a young child, who wants to know his cousin better. He does a fine job in acting and with his script, though the Jewish history of this film remains stuck in the past.

'A Complete Unknown'

Directed by James Mangold, the film showcases Chalamet as Dylan, whose real name is Robert Zimmerman. The film keeps Dylan as a mystery and doesn't seek to answer questions many have about him. Not expected to win, it's very likable by all age groups.

'Dune: Part Two'

Chalamet had a good year; he also stars in the sci-fi flick that will likely miss out on the major awards but has a chance for Best Visual Effects or Best Sound. He plays the main character Paul Atreides, who battles evil people on a desert-like planet. It's perplexing that director Denis Villeneuve didn't get a nomination, as this film is so beautifully crafted that every scene could be its own painting. It also boasts the best fight scene of the year as Paul squares off against Austin Butler who plays Feyd-Rautha, one of the best villains ever.

'Anora'

Written and directed by Sean Baker, the film boasts two leads who are Jewish actors, Madison and Edelshteyn. Expect big things from both actors. A movie with wild moments and much nudity, it has become a hit with younger audiences. "Anora" is the favorite to win "Best Original Screenplay."

Best Documentary

'No Other Land'

This film, which is the favorite to win, follows Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham and Palestinian activist and attorney, Basel Adra. Directed by Adra, Abraham, Rachel Szor and Hamdan Ballal, it was shot from 2019 to 2023. It depicts Israeli soldiers assigned to Judea and Samaria who are rude and bordering on cruel. They routinely knock down houses built illegally, such as those in a collection of Arab villages in Masafer Yatta. Basel says his first memory is of his father being arrested at a protest against Israeli land use. This is not a documentary showing both sides of an issue, nor does it provide much in the way of historical or political context. The focus is to highlight the plight of this particular family. The title could, of course, refer to Israel as well.

Some will be disappointed by the lack of inclusion of a film on the events of Oct. 7, 2023, but a spate of films either already made or in the works should be eligible in the future.

Best Original Score

Jewish musician Daniel Blumberg has a shot to win "Best Original Score" for "The Brutalist." His sweeping music gives the movie the feel of an epic.

Biggest Snub: 'September 5'

While it did get a nomination for Best Original Screenplay, "September 5" should have certainly been up for Best Picture. It is Jewish through and through. The film focuses on ABC sports journalists at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, who because of their access to the Games take on the news story when Black September terrorists take Israeli athletes and coaches hostage. There isn't a tension-free minute, and the acting is superb. The film stars Jewish actor John Magaro and is directed by Tim Fehlbaum. In one of the biggest mistakes in journalism history, the media outlet first reported that the hostages were saved and that the terrorists had been killed, only to have to backtrack and announce the truth: that 11 Israelis were murdered. The well-known announcement by ABC sportscaster Jim McKay, "They're all gone," still sends shivers down the spine.

In Memoriam

Comedian Richard Lewis, 76, best known for his hilarity on HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm," and sex therapist, author, and TV and radio host Dr. Ruth Westheimer, 96, are among Jewish entertainers who passed away in 2024 who are likely to honored in the "In Memoriam" section.