What It’s Like to Watch Every 2021 Oscar Nominated Film
I watched all of the nominated films so you don’t have to!
The COVID-19 pandemic impacted nearly every aspect of film this last year; movie theaters were closed, release dates were postponed, and yet in some ways things stayed the same. We still got an excellent year for film and because of all the changes we now have an Oscar nominated pool of films that could have only happened in 2020. The frontrunner for Best Picture is a small film that likely would not have even been nominated in a “normal” year.
While it is great to have so many smaller films nominated - I honestly wanted more from The Academy. I wish we had gotten an Best Visual Effects nomination for The Invisible Man and a Best Makeup & Hairstyling nomination for Birds of Prey because - why not! Any film that was bold and confident enough to be released this year despite the less-than-ideal distribution conditions deserves a certain level of respect. The Oscars -its winners and its losers- are a great signifier for what was happening culturally, and I am very pleased that with these nominations no matter what wins it will ring true to the 2020 experience.
So here we are once again, I’ve watched all of the Oscar nominated films and I’m here to help you navigate your Oscar pools, zoom, parties, conversations. I’ve broken down the Best Picture nominees individually but the rest of the categories I’ve grouped likes together. It’s been an unforgettable, exhausting, trying year but here we are at the cinematic end of 2020.
Best Picture
The Father
Superbly acted film with intentional editing and screenplay; however, this did not deserve a Best Picture nomination. I might be more ok with a Best Picture nomination for The Father if Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and One Night in Miami were also nominated, but since they were left off of this list The Father should have been as well.
Judas and the Black Messiah
Another film with knock-out performances but, unlike The Father, this film clearly deserves its Best Picture nomination because it shows the complexities of its real-life subjects Fred Hampton and William O’Neal. I wish the film had not put both Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield as supporting actors because they were both phenomenal but surely at least one of them was the true lead (if not both of them).
Mank
Ok -time to get this out of the way- I am a big fan of Mank and David Fincher. I understand why many did not enjoy it as much as I did, but I loved the way this film handled hierarchies in Hollywood and illustrated how tinsel town can be used to alter news for political gain. It was incredibly timely and rich in history and since it was the “Hollywood movie for Hollywood” it should come as no surprise that it is the most nominated film with 10 nominations (though it’s only expected to take one, at most, home).
Minari
Another one of my absolute favorites from this last year is Minari. It’s the story of an immigrant family trying to make it as farmers in the rural South; it is both shot and told in such an intimate way that it’s hard not to adore this film. It has many similarities to this year’s frontrunner, Nomadland, as they both focus on the American dream; however, I think this film does a more purposeful and therefore impactful depiction of pitting the American dream versus the characters’ reality.
Nomadland
Even though this film was not made during the pandemic, and Chloé Zhao had no way of knowing the landscape that would be the backdrop for this film’s release - there is hardly a better representation for 2020 than Nomadland. In a year where we are all forced to stop and stay local it was thrilling to watch Fern traverse across the American west, even though for her it was not an idyllic vacation. Much like Minari the film wants to draw parallels to the American dream and Americana in general, but it also is a movie simply focused on showing the nomadic lifestyle (with actual nomads).
Promising Young Woman
I’m not sure that I would even call this a hot take because nearly everyone I personally know who has seen this film agrees with me - but this film is not it! The critics and Hollywood in general has hailed this film as a feminist, epic revenge tale but in actuality it is such a shallow, wonky portrayal of grief. The bones were there for a great film, but the film never committed to actually handling any of the complex subjects it was tackling.
Sound of Metal
While this is certainly a stressful watch as Ruben, Riz Ahmed, comes to grips with losing his sense of hearing as a heavy metal drummer the film is also surprisingly moving. I was blown away by the sound design and the acting performances and was pleased to see representation of deaf culture in an Oscar nominated film.
The Trial of the Chicago 7
I’m a big Aaron Sorkin fan when it comes to his screenplays and while this is easily his best film as a director it is still not worthy of Best Picture - though if any film were to beat Nomadland it would be The Trial of the Chicago 7. The story is timely and illustrates how history repeats itself, but so much of it was spent in the courtroom I couldn’t help but think about how this film would have been so much better as a stage play.
Best Original Screenplay, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Directing
The Best Directing category this year made history for a few reasons with its two female nominees and its two East Asian nominees; this again is one of the few bright spots from the changes Covid made to the film industry is that it opened the door for other voices to shine. Nomadland’s director Chloé Zhao is the clear frontrunner and she could make history tonight if she takes home the Oscar for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Film Editing as it would tie her for the most individual wins in one night, a title currently held by Walt Disney.
As you can tell by now, I am not a fan of Promising Young Woman which is why the Best Original Screenplay category has me the most stressed. The film has racked up enough awards at other ceremonies that it is the likely winner, but my main complaint with the film lies with its script which is why it would be extra upsetting for me if that was the one award it won at the Oscars. It’s especially upsetting because it is up against Minari, a film who’s script portrays an intimate semi-autobiographical tale that should win this category. Best Adapted Screenplay will likely go to the front runner of the night, Nomadland, but it also would not be surprising to see a play win this category such as The Father or even One Night in Miami.
Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress
Overall this year’s batch of nominees have been slightly underwhelming; however, this is not the case when it comes to the acting categories. The Best Actor category features all incredible, career-best performances and perhaps the best performance of the year, Delroy Lindo for Da 5 Bloods wasn’t even nominated. This year also features a posthumous nomination for Chadwick Boseman for his work in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom which seems the most likely winner. Personally, I think Riz Ahmed delivered the performance of the year with his turn as Ruben in Sound of Metal, but there’s also a decent chance Anthony Hopkins pulls out a win for his role in The Father.
Similarly, the Best Actress category , though stacked, will likely come down to either Viola Davis for playing Ma Rainey in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom or Olivia Coleman for her role in The Father. It will be interesting to see if the Academy voters split their votes or if they stick to the same films for these categories (or if someone like Frances or Carey sneak in and win). The supporting categories are not as close and the winners will most likely be Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah, and Yuh-Jung Youn, Minari.
Best Animated Feature, Best Documentary Feature, Best International Feature
Another batch of films that normally are some of my favorites but this year let me down. The Animated Feature category has two Pixar films and Soul is very likely to win. While I enjoyed most of the animated features, Soul is the only one that felt on par to winners from previous years. It’s an odd Pixar film in that it’s more adult in themes than its target audience, but I’m sure that only solidified it’s win with the voters. Likewise, the International Features were still some of the strongest films from this year’s nominated movies; however, it is the weakest the category has been in some time. The last two years the Best Picture frontrunners have been International features so that may be contributing to the lower caliber, but since Another Round got an additional nomination for Best Director it is likely to win (even though Quo Vadis, Aida? Is the best film of the category).
The Best Documentary Feature category baffles my mind as it’s sort of an open field for a winner and some key films were left off the nominations list. As of right now it seems the likely winners could be Crip Camp, an uplifting documentary about the disability rights activism that stemmed from a summer camp, Time, a searing look at the toll the prison industrial complex takes on families, or My Octopus Teacher, which is almost as silly a documentary as the name suggests. I would be shocked if My Octopus Teacher wins because I was shocked it got nominated over the Covid-19 documentary 76 Days. I understand that after this last year voters may not have been keen on watching a pandemic documentary, but the films in depth look at the first 76 days of the pandemic will surely be the documentary history watches to understand 2020.
Best Makeup & Hairstyling, Best Costume Design, Best Production Design
As a costume designer, these arts categories are always part of my favorites but each year there are undoubtedly a few films I would have loved to see nominated here. For example, the clear Best Makeup & Hairstyling and Best Costume Design for the last year is Birds of Prey and yet that film was completely shut out of nominations. Personally, I would love to see Mank win for Best Costume Design both because I am a longtime fan of designer Trish Summerville, but also because the film does such a great job mixing the opulence with the worn-in looks in a way that rings true and purposeful when depicting the power imbalances in Hollywood.
When it comes to the arts categories the Academy typically favors period pieces and this year is certainly no exception. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom seems to be the clear favorite for Best Makeup & Hairstyling and even maybe Best Costume Design; however, Mank is the frontrunner for Best Production Design. The split is likely because Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom primarily happens over a few locations whereas Mank tackled all of Hollywood during the 1930s. While these are the ones to watch - never count out a Regency era film such as Emma, especially when Bridgerton is having such a major cultural moment.
Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects
The Best Visual Effects and Best Film Editing categories are typically a way for the Academy to sneak in more popular blockbusters, and this year they certainly snuck in some outsiders here but only a few of them I would label as “popular.” While Best Film Editing is comprised entirely of Best Picture nominees, the Best Visual Effects category has some real oddballs such as The Midnight Sky, The One and Only Ivan, and my favorite film from this year’s Oscar nominated bunch Love and Monsters. Tenet is the likely winner for the Best Visual Effects category and if I had to guess I’d keep an eye on Trial of the Chicago 7 for Best Film Editing though I’d love to see something like Sound of Metal win here.
You may have noticed by now that I am a fan of Mank; however, I am not in support of it winning for Best Cinematography. The best cinematography of the year should have gone to Minari for its water color depiction of the American South, but that film was unfortunately not even nominated in this category. Nomadland has a similar depiction of the vast American west and it stands a decent chance of winning in this category.
Best Original Score, Best Sound, Best Original Song
These three categories are, shockingly, the ones I care the most about in 2021 because of the stories behind some of my favorite nominees. I am a big fan of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross so having them double nominated this year in the Best Original Score category has been great for me. While I am famously a member of the Mank hive and would love to see them win for that score, the duo along with Jon Batiste will most likely win for their Soul score. The category I care the most about this year is Best Original Song; I care about this category so much because of the fervorous campaign the actual city of Husavik has launched for the song named after their hometown: “Husavik (My Hometown)” from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.
One of the strongest films to come out of the last year is Sound of Metal and there is no doubt that the sound design for this film is impressive to say the least. Since the movie follows a heavy metal drummer as he loses his sense of hearing it is obvious that the sound design would be absolutely central to the story. The sound design in Sound of Metal intricately weaves the ringing noises with the deafening silence and fully immerses you into the upheaval that Ruben is experiencing as he comes to grips with this new aspect of his life. It would not only be shocking but a true snub if Sound of Metal loses this category.
Best Documentary (Short Subject), Best Short Film (Animated), Best Short Film (Live Action)
While normally the short film categories are one of my favorite groups of films to watch, this year they let me down. Short films often point to where the film industry is going and it can set the stage for future Oscar winners (such as Taika Waititi who was nominated for a Best Short Film (Live Action) in 2005 before winning an Oscar in 2020 for Best Adapted Screenplay with Jojo Rabbit). While the impact of the pandemic can only be felt in the feature length categories when it comes to which films got distributed in 2020 and how, the shorts films were more likely edited and therefore directly influenced by the pandemic. Perhaps this is why they all feel smaller in scope.
Overall the nominated shorts seemed to have smaller aspirations than in previous years; I enjoyed a handful of them, but was only wowed by a few. The stand-outs were The Letter Room, Burrows, and A Love Song for Latasha. The latter along with Two Distant Strangers were extremely timely in the wake of the George Floyd protests, but A Love Song for Latasha was a more intimate portrayal of loss and the way grief surpasses time. Likewise, If Anything Happens I Love You, an animated short about the grief surrounding losing a child to a school shooting, may be a timely enough story to sway the Academy voters.
