Entertainment
We’ve Already Seen Next Year’s First Big Oscar Film With Channing Tatum’s Best Performance Yet
It’s not quite clear yet if One Battle After Another or Sinners is in the lead in this year’s race for the Academy Award for Best Picture, but campaigns are already starting to begin for what could be appearing at the Oscars in 2027. The Sundance Film Festival often sees the debut of films that become major Oscar contenders because they get good buzz at the beginning of the year that can be sustained as audiences and critics discover them. Films that end up winning major festival prizes will have an advantage, and it’s particularly impressive to take home both the Grand Jury Prize Dramatic and the Audience Award Dramatic. This achievement was last pulled off by the Best Picture nominee Minari and the Best Picture winner CODA, and this year, both prizes went to Beth de Araújo’s harrowing drama Josephine.
Loosely based on an event in de Araújo’s childhood, Josephine explores the aftermath of a brutal sexual assault from the perspective of an eight-year-old girl who bore witness to it. Josephine (Mason Reeves) is in Golden Gate Park with her father Damien (Channing Tatum) when she witnesses the woman Sandra (Syra McCarthy) being raped by the assailant, Greg (Philip Ettinger), who flees the scene. Although Damien eventually chases the rapist away and notifies the authorities, Josephine is the only person who could testify in a court proceeding because of what she saw. The film examines the aftermath of the traumatic incident and how both Damien and his wife Claire (Gemma Chan) try to explain what happened to their daughter. Not only were they unprepared to discuss sexuality and intimacy, but they’re unclear on how much information they should give Josephine about the threats that exist in the world, and how to protect herself.
‘Josephine’ Is a Sobering Depiction of Childhood Trauma
Josephine is by no means an easy film to watch, and the opening scene is incredibly graphic and may be too intense for some viewers. However, Josephine does not feel manipulative because of the singularity of its focus; Josephine doesn’t understand what exactly she saw or why everyone is so scared, and initially, Damien wants to keep her in the dark in order to preserve her innocence. One of the most clever techniques that de Araújo uses is the insertion of Greg into the background of scenes in order to show how the memories still linger with Josephine. The slow realization that she has changed because of what she witnessed is heartbreaking for both Damien and Claire, because they are forced to re-live their own trauma whilst trying to divert Josephine’s attention. It becomes clear that Josephine will be unable to not be reminded of what happened because of the way that the media works, and that she needs to be taught on how to protect herself.
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Although the intimate focus on Josephine’s perspective makes the film feel more authentic, it’s also a great depiction of marital strife and how different parenting techniques can provoke tension. Damien and Claire have very different parenting styles; Damien even admits that he’s not as strong at talking about emotional stuff with Josephine, and tells her that meeting Claire turned him into a better man. However, Damien and Claire also have different methods for how they think Josephine can best be treated; while Claire thinks that taking her to a professional is the best option, Damien believes it’s essential to teach her how to defend herself. It’s to the credit of Josephine that it points out the faults in both strategies; Josephine doesn’t engage with the child psychologist because she views it as a punishment, but she also misunderstands her defense training after standing up to a bully on the playground.
‘Josephine’ Will Be a Major Contender in the Acting Races
It’s likely that Reeves will be in contention for any critic circle prizes for breakout stars and child performances, but Tatum will certainly be in the race for Best Supporting Actor. It’s a sensitive performance of fatherhood because it underscores how both fear and love navigate Damien’s decisions; his inability to discuss what happened isn’t due to toxic male ego, but because he’s still processing what happened, and doesn’t want to think about raising a child in a world where this happens. The insistence that Damien puts on Josephine testifying, which sparks a disagreement with Claire, is because he wants his daughter to know that the justice system works to ensure that men like Greg will be punished. There’s the subtlest of hints that Damien himself was abused as a child that Tatum delivers masterfully, but he’s also able to show the loving and compassionate spirit that makes Josephine look up to him.
Tatum may gain traction after being snubbed for his performances in Foxcatcher and Roofman, but Josephine has the potential to contend in multiple award categories. It’s hard to imagine that, when considering how amazing Reeves’ performance is, Josephine would not be a frontrunner for Best Casting, and de Araújo’s clever writing could land her a nomination for Best Original Screenplay. What the campaign for Josephine will look like is dependent on which distributor picks it up, but given that it is also scheduled to play at the Berlin Film Festival, it’s only a matter of time before it’s acquired. Part of the reason that the Oscars expanded the Best Picture field to ten nominees was to ensure that some smaller, underdog films would get in; there is already talk about how blockbusters like The Odyssey and Dune: Part Three will appeal to the Oscars, but Josephine is a already a contender that shouldn’t be discounted.
- Release Date
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January 23, 2026
- Runtime
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120 minutes
- Director
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Beth de Araújo
- Writers
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Beth de Araújo
- Producers
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David Kaplan, Joshua Beirne-Golden, Mark H. Rapaport, Beth de Araújo, Crystine Zhang, Josh Peters, Marina Stabile