movieminis

There are two major precursors for the Best Film Editing category: the American Cinema Editors (their awards titled the Eddies) and the BAFTA.

The BAFTA went to Baby Driver, which has created the potential for a true spoiler here. Dunkirk came in as the frontrunner and is still considered the frontrunner by many. But considering the fact that BAFTA predicted a few recent film editing spoilers such as Whiplash and Hacksaw Ridge, and the acclaim of Baby Driver‘s film editing, it could certainly steal the award.

The American Cinema Editors awarded their Eddies to I, Tonya in the comedy category and to Dunkirk in the drama category. The comedy Eddie doesn’t usually translate to the Oscar. And while the BAFTA may seem more prestigious, the drama Eddie does, in fact, line up more with the Oscar, which is part of the reason why I’m going to stick with Dunkirk.

As seen last year with Hacksaw Ridge, intense war films can certainly perform well in this category, and Dunkirk does have its fair share of visceral sequences. But the film also has the non-linear structure going for it as well and it could’ve also received even more of a push considering the snub of Lee Smith for Inception.

The Nominees
Lee Smith — Dunkirk
Jonathan Amos, Paul Machliss — Baby Driver
Tatiana S. Riegel — I, Tonya
Sidney Wolinsky — The Shape of Water
Jon Gregory — Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri

Will win: Lee Smith — Dunkirk
Could win: Jonathan Amos, Paul Machliss — Baby Driver
Should win: Lee Smith — Dunkirk
Should’ve been nominated: Joe Walker — Blade Runner 2049

Featured image via Warner Bros.