
The New Yorker critics Richard Brody and Alexandra Schwartz discuss the year’s best offerings, and how films seem to be getting better these days.
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Alexandra Schwartz
This is the new yorker radio hour, a co production of wnyc studios and the new yorker.
David Remnick
I'm David Remnick and you're listening to the New Yorker Radio Hour. Now, this program doesn't have many rituals, but here's one that we observe every year. The Brody Awards. When Oscars night is around the corner, I sit down with two of our illustrious critics to discuss the year in movies. The ones that, that didn't get enough credit according to them, or maybe the ones that got a little too much and maybe not to mention the films that you should see and you might have missed so far. I'm joined by New Yorker staff writer and co host of our podcast, Critics at Large, Alexandra Schwartz. Alex, how are you?
Alexandra Schwartz
Hello.
David Remnick
And one of the New Yorker's film critics, Richard Brody.
Richard Brody
Hello, David. Hello, Alex.
David Remnick
When we've done this in the past, Richard, your picks for the year's best movies, usually, let's just say they wildly different from what we usually see from the Academy. But this year I don't know what's happening. Either you've gotten more conservative or somehow the Academy has finally caught up to you. What's going on here?
Richard Brody
Yeah, I think that the Academy has gotten better and the movies have gotten better. On the one hand, ever since the OscarsSoWhite campaign that was launched in I think 2015 by April Rain, the Academy has responded by greatly increasing its membership, diversifying its membership, internationalizing its membership. And the result is by and large better nominations.
David Remnick
And also the Academy told everybody that they've got to actually watch the movies. They have to watch all five films in each category.
Richard Brody
No student does all the homework. That means that they have to press play and watch to the end. But they can eat their dinner unless their eyeballs are being monitored.
David Remnick
Why would they do that?
Richard Brody
To be able to vote on the films.
Alexandra Schwartz
The joy of participation.
David Remnick
Yep, that's it. It's like soccer.
Alexandra Schwartz
Well, or probably more to the point, this is why things like Oscar campaigns actually have traction. Because if you're going, if you need a shortcut or if pressure works on you, then okay, you know who you're gonna vote for. You may not have to see everything in contention, I would imagine.
David Remnick
I'm crushed.
Alexandra Schwartz
I, of course, am not a member of the.
David Remnick
And Richard, there's a new category this year, casting.
Richard Brody
Yeah, a very good category. Although I think it's a slight misnomer. I think that actually what it really means is best ensemble cast. On the other hand, I'm very happy that casting directors are in fact Being named and honored. But by and large, this is something that's been missing for many years.
David Remnick
Why was it missing? And why did somebody suddenly have this revelation to do it?
Richard Brody
Well, I think that first of all, there are many movies which are dominated not by one or two main roles, but by an ensemble. And those ensembles are put together by a very skilled person. There are many people whose work goes into making films who deserve to be acknowledged.
David Remnick
Now, according to a new deal with YouTube, in a few years, the Oscars are going to be streamed online by YouTube and not by ABC. Is that gonna affect things at all, you think, Alex?
Alexandra Schwartz
I mean, I think it's probably for the best. This just reflects the reality of how most people consume television or big programming. You know, you're not. I'm a cord cutter. I cut my cord so long ago, I don't even remember what it was. So I think they're meeting the people where they are.
David Remnick
Yeah.
Richard Brody
Yeah, exactly. Especially younger people where they are and people around the world where they are. Because the Oscars are an international event, but American broadcast television is not.
David Remnick
Now, let's get to our awards. Now, the hell with the Academy. Let's get to the Brodies. These are the awards we've all been waiting for. Alex Schwartz is here with the official Brody envelopes. Let me see those envelopes. Okay, Russell, Russell, Russell, I believe you. Now, to be clear, these nominations and awards aren't chosen by any August voting body. It's just all one person, Richard Brody. So we're gonna start Alex with best actor, who was nominated.
Alexandra Schwartz
And the nominees for the Barodi Award for Best Actor are. Timothee Chalamet for Marty Supreme, Michael B. Jordan for Sinners, Wagner Mura for the Secret Agent, Josh o' Connor for the Mastermind, and Denzel Washington for Highest to lowest. And Richard. The winner is.
Richard Brody
The winner is Michael B. Jordan. And Michael B. Jordan in the dual role of Smoke and Stack in Sinners. This was a very hard choice because I find it hard, really hard. I find all five actors brilliant in different ways. But one of the things that really struck me about Jordan's performance in Sinners is that although he's playing two vibrant roles in a. Well, it's really an action film. There's an extraordinary intimacy to his performance. It's almost as if he seems to be whispering his role throughout, that he's. Instead of pushing outward, he's drawing viewers in.
David Remnick
Look at that sky that's a mighty fine day to be free Ain't it.
Richard Brody
Our own juke joint for us and.
David Remnick
By us, just like we always wanted. Only chance we got if we split up. Well, who gonna watch the truck when I'm in there talking to the Chows?
Richard Brody
Let them see us. You?
David Remnick
We've been gone a long time, Stack. Seven years ain't long enough to forget about us. Who is your close second?
Richard Brody
Wagner Mora. Wagner Mora of the Secret Agents.
David Remnick
I agree. I love that movie.
Richard Brody
Yeah, it's a great movie. And it's a very elusive role because he's actually playing a multiple role, too. He's playing a character who's in hiding.
David Remnick
Alex, did you have a winner?
Alexandra Schwartz
I like the Timothy of Marty Supreme. I actually think he's going to take the Oscar. Certainly the momentum is with him. And is it? I kind of think it is after the Golden Globes. What do you think, Richard?
Richard Brody
Yeah, I think the same thing.
Alexandra Schwartz
Yeah. We may be surprised, but I'm happy for the Brody's win because I think Michael B. Jordan gives a fantastic dual performance with very subtle distinctions between these two twin brothers.
David Remnick
The New Yorker's Alexandra Schwartz will continue in a moment.
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David Remnick
This is Special Agent Riegel, Special Agent Bradley Hall.
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Alexandra Schwartz
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Richard Brody
Iheartradio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
David Remnick
Okay, let's move to the next category.
Alexandra Schwartz
All right, the Brody nominees For best actress are Rose Byrne for if I Had Legs, I'd Kick you. Susan Chardy for On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, Callie Hernandez for Invention. Dakota Johnson for Materialists. We're going to come back to that. And Tessa Thompson for Hedda. And the Brodie goes too.
Richard Brody
It goes to Tessa Thompson for Hedda.
Alexandra Schwartz
Aha. You can write your books with them and teach with them at the university and you might even be able to get jobs alongside them. But they'll never really respect you if they think you can't do it like the boys. Hedda, please. You saw Greenwood's face earlier when you asked for a soft drink like a soft woman. What did you see?
Richard Brody
Condemned People didn't see Hedda, unfortunately. It was released by Amazon. It spent very little time in theaters, and I think that that counts seriously against it in.
David Remnick
So who's probably gonna get it? Rose Byrne.
Richard Brody
Rose. Yeah, Rose Byrne, probably. And it's a very good performance, Richard.
Alexandra Schwartz
Dakota Johnson has not been universally adored for her performance in Materialists. And I'm putting this case lightly. And the movie, what made her a standout performer for you? I'm very surprised to see her on this list.
Richard Brody
Oh, I like Dakota Johnson as a performer in general. I think she is a dialectical actress. I think she has an exquisite way with dialogue and that Materialists gives her a great deal of dialog of a very practical nature to spin on the end of her finger like a basketball.
Alexandra Schwartz
Oh, my God.
David Remnick
She's gonna treasure that.
Alexandra Schwartz
Now, for our third category, here are the nominees for the best director Brody. Wes Anderson for the Phoenician Scheme, Ryan Coogler for Sinners, Kleber Mendonza Filho for the Secret Agent, Kelly Reichart for the Mastermind, and Josh Safdie for Marty Supreme. And Richard the Brody goes to.
Richard Brody
It goes to Kelly Reichardt for the Mastermind.
Alexandra Schwartz
I love this movie, too.
Richard Brody
And it's an odd thing to say because by definition, the best movie of the year is directed by the best director, Ryan Coogler for Sinners. But I wanted to divide things up a little bit here because I wanted to look at direction in a kind of classical, artisanal way. The Mastermind is a really dramatic movie, but it's kind of small scale. It has very long takes with very careful physicality. It's a heist movie set in 1970, starring Josh O' Connor as an unemployed who decides to break with his bourgeois life and become an art thief. The paintings come off the wall, go into the cases, down to the waiting.
Alexandra Schwartz
Car, but it will be interesting to me if Ryan Coogler wins in part because he insisted and got total creative control on Sinners. And he really pushed the studios in a direction that we all know they are not comfortable being pushed, where he got Final Cut and he got to retain ownership over Sinners. So that would be, I should say.
David Remnick
Jelani Cobb had a terrific interview with Coogler on this program when that film came out.
Richard Brody
This is actually one of the reasons why Hollywood films are so good right now. I think one of the positive effects of Barbenheimer is that studios have come to realize that one way of actually doing well, both with money and with awards, is to give good directors a great deal of freedom.
David Remnick
So I'll make no Secret. I love the Secret Agent. I thought that was the best movie I saw this year. And I know you guys both liked it as well. Does the director of a foreign film or does a foreign film ever take the big awards?
Richard Brody
Parasite.
Alexandra Schwartz
Parasite.
David Remnick
But that was a complete outlier, Right?
Alexandra Schwartz
And remember, Life Is beautiful from the 90s. There was the whole Roberto Benigni jumping on chairs moment.
David Remnick
That was a mistake.
Alexandra Schwartz
Well, it was the 90s. A lot of it was a mistake.
David Remnick
Yeah. All right, let's move on to the big, big award, the best picture. Alex, who are the Brody nominees for best picture?
Alexandra Schwartz
The Brody nominees are Afternoons of Solitude, Hedda highest to Lowest, Marty supreme, the Mastermind, Misericordia, One Battle After Another, and Sinners. And the Brody goes to.
Richard Brody
It goes to Sinners, one of the most comprehensively imaginative films that I've seen in a long time. Thrilling. I mean, visually, emotionally, historically exciting. It starts out like a historical drama with a great deal of detail, including practical, material detail about life under Jim Crow in Mississippi in 1932. It veers into becoming a vampire film. But as a vampire film, it isn't just a vampire film. It's vampires as metaphor. And the metaphor is a brilliant metaphor for cultural appropriation, for the way that white artists will go down south, both literally and metaphorically, take over the blues and turn them into something of their own, along with whatever devastating effect that may have on the artists themselves.
Alexandra Schwartz
Richard, you know, one battle after another. Did that film not do it for you? I read your review. I think you liked it. But you didn't think it rose to the level.
Richard Brody
It's in my top 10. I mean, I think it's a very good movie. I think its tone is. Is all over the place. For instance, I happen to love Leonardo DiCaprio as an actor, but I think that his performance is completely out of tune, just discordant with the movie. That it's a comic performance just like Sean Penn's. I think he's a brilliant actor, but I think that he's completely misdirected one.
David Remnick
Of the, the ensemble cast. That's so good, actually.
Richard Brody
And Benicio del Toro especially. I think Benicio del Toro gives that movie its moral and tonal essence. But I mean, one of the things about talking about acting is that I actually think it's very much talking about directing because the actors don't simply present themselves as they see fit. I don't think Leonardo DiCaprio had necessarily the idea to perform like that. This was the tone that Paul Thomas Anderson brought to the film. And I think it was a mistake.
David Remnick
Is there a Schwartz this year, Alex?
Alexandra Schwartz
Ooh, a Schwartz. How exciting. After a dozen years, I've been elevated.
David Remnick
Yeah.
Alexandra Schwartz
Ooh, what would I do? You know, I have said, I guess I have to stand by it. I also love Sinners and I very much enjoyed Marty Supreme. The Mastermind might have been my favorite movie last year. You know what I loved? And it really surprised me. I loved the kind of the. You think it's going to be a very small bore kind of movie. It takes place in a, in a small Massachusetts town. The theft itself is kind of small. It's from a small local art gallery. And then what Kelly Reichardt does is very subtly bring in the bigger world of politics and tensions that were going on in mid-70s US. But rather than make a huge PT Anderson thing of it, she lets them leak in around the background so you can see what the kind of solipsistic lead is missing. And everything about it was dark, beautiful and multilayered. So mainly I'm not even saying it needs an award, but I hope more people see it cause it's really worthwhile.
David Remnick
Alex Schwartz, Richard Brody. As always, it's a great pleasure. You can find Richard Brody's column on film the front row. And Alex is writing@new yorker.com and you can hear her co hosting the New Yorker podcast, Critics at large. Thanks so much guys.
Richard Brody
Thanks.
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Richard Brody
David, thanks very much.
David Remnick
And along with all the cultural uplift that you can find@newyorker.com, you can subscribe to everything at the New Yorker. @New Yorker.com I'm David Remnick. That's our program for today. Thanks for listening. See you next time.
Alexandra Schwartz
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Richard Brody
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Date: February 17, 2026
Host: David Remnick
Guests: Richard Brody, Alexandra Schwartz
Produced by: WNYC Studios and The New Yorker
This episode features the much-anticipated annual "Brody Awards," the alternative Oscars presented solely by The New Yorker film critic Richard Brody. Host David Remnick, joined by co-host Alexandra Schwartz and Brody himself, dives into the films, performances, and directorial achievements of the year—highlighting overlooked standouts, critiquing Oscar trends, and celebrating cinema beyond what the Academy typically spotlights. The conversation is lively, insightful, and peppered with signature New Yorker wit.
Greater Diversity and Inclusion:
Viewing Rules and Industry Practices:
Brody welcomes the addition of a casting/ensemble category, noting it's overdue recognition for a key aspect of filmmaking.
(All picks are chosen by Richard Brody; the discussion is lively, passionate, and diverges at points as Remnick and Schwartz interject their views.)
Nominees:
Winner: Michael B. Jordan for Sinners
Notable Exchange:
Nominees:
Winner: Tessa Thompson for Hedda
Nominees:
Winner: Kelly Reichardt for The Mastermind
Nominees:
Winner: Sinners
On Criticism and Tastes:
Iconic Movie Awards Moments:
On Kelly Reichardt’s The Mastermind:
The conversation is playful yet incisive, balancing film-critic rigor with humor and accessibility. The trio swaps insider knowledge for relatable observations, offering both cinephile insight and guidance for curious listeners interested in the year's essential films.
This episode provides a lively, unscripted take on the cinematic year, featuring the distinctive voice of Richard Brody and the sharp perspectives of Alexandra Schwartz and David Remnick. Even listeners unfamiliar with the Oscars or these particular movies will find approachable criticism, recommendations for overlooked gems, and vibrant commentary on the evolving culture of film.
For further reading: