Oscars 2019: Who Should Win Every Award (And Who Actually Will)

8. Original Score

Nominees: If Beale Street Could Talk (Nicholas Britell), Mary Poppins Returns (Marc Shaiman), Isle of Dogs (Alexandre Desplat), BlacKkKlansman (Terence Blanchard), Black Panther (Ludwig Goransson)

Who Should Win

With First Man somehow not nominated, the majority of contenders here are very good, rather than great. And while they all have their merits, it's Nicholas Britell's work on If Beale Street Could Talk that deserves the award. What's so good about Britell's score is how it so perfectly dovetails with the film, the music enhancing the love of Fonny and Tish, but often with an undercurrent of pain. Barry Jenkins uses the score as the pivot on which all else turns. It also expertly captures the era, bringing a mix of different genres - there's classical, jazz, hip-hop and more worked in - that so brilliantly fits the New York of the 70s, while also complementing the love story on screen. No score here can match Beale Street's just for how purely evocative it is.

Who Will Win

Black Panther

Being one of only two Best Picture nominees in the mix here immediately helps Black Panther's chances, but so does the fact that it's one of the biggest categories where voters will feel they're really able to reward the movie. They're going to want to give it something, after all, but it's more likely to be shut out of the bigger prizes. Ludwig Göransson's is strong too: he spent a lot of time researching the different musical influences and instruments of Africa, which results in a score perfectly tied to the themes of the movie.