Undecided In Your Oscar Best Picture Ballot? Deadline Is Here To Help

Only a few days remain to cast Oscar ballots in the most wide open Best Picture race in memory. For voters still on the fence, Deadline is here to help. Below, each nominated film presents its best case, and we’ve included the reviews from our Oscar maven Pete Hammond.

The Big Short
Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, Producers

Adam McKay uses comedy to make the film’s drama and technical banking terms palatable, as it builds toward a tragic punchline — with the joke on everyone but the bankers who caused the debacle. READ

Watch Pete Hammond’s review here.

Bridge Of Spies
Steven Spielberg, Marc Platt and Kristie Macosko Krieger, Producers

Marc Platt and Kristie Macosko Krieger discuss the challenges in making this big period drama and engaging adult audiences in this blockbuster era. READ

Watch Pete Hammond’s review here.

Brooklyn
Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers

Director John Crowley found Nick Hornby’s script to have the same impact as Colm Toibin’s novel, and his first choice for the lead role was always Saoirse Ronan. READ

Watch Pete Hammond’s review here.

Mad Max: Fury Road
Doug Mitchell and George Miller, Producers

George Miller’s film has super-charged to unexpected front-runner status above- and below-the-line. So how did he manage to execute one of the greatest Oscar coups in years? READ

Watch Pete Hammond’s review here.

The Martian
Simon Kinberg, Ridley Scott, Michael Schaefer and Mark Huffam, Producers

Months after launching at the Toronto Film Festival and becoming the biggest-grossing film in Ridley Scott’s career, Matt Damon still hasn’t tired of talking about the film. READ

Watch Pete Hammond’s review here.

The Revenant
Arnon Milchan, Steve Golin, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Mary Parent and Keith Redmon, Producers

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s period Western epic is Leonardo DiCaprio’s fifth Oscar-nominated performance As we head into the home stretch, the actor reflects on the hard-knock education that led him to this point. READ

Watch Pete Hammond’s review here.

Room
Ed Guiney, Producer

The indie drama is one of those films that does what art should: It changes you. “I saw grown agents crying,” director Lenny Abrahamson says of early screenings. READ

Watch Pete Hammond’s review here.

Spotlight
Michael Sugar, Steve Golin, Nicole Rocklin and Blye Pagon Faust, Producers

Director Tom McCarthy and his co-writer Josh Singer took a page from The Boston Globe’s investigative Spotlight team playbook: They stuck to the facts. READ

Watch Pete Hammond’s review here.