‘And the winner is…’
Every year the Oscar nominations are announced a couple of months before the ceremony, and every year I think to myself how wonderful it is that I have so much time to sift through the Best Picture nominees in order to unnecessarily come up with my own personal Oscar winners. And, sure enough, every year I forget and then have to scrabble around at the last minute to see them all. And yes, every I never quite manage it. Even in 2021, the year of endless TV watching, I have only managed to take in all the Best Picture nominees but not all the films in the acting categories as I had hoped. Still, in a move of breathtaking arrogance, I’m going to throw my opinion into the mix anyway. Let’s have it…
Best Actor: Anthony Hopkins (The Father)
An utterly spellbinding meditation on mortality from a true master of cinema. Surely one of the easiest decisions the Academy will ever make?
Best of the rest: Probably Riz Ahmed for his multi-faceted turn in Sound of Metal.
Others: Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Gary Oldman (Mank), Steven Yeun (Minari)
Best Actress: Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman)
This will undoubtedly go to Frances McDormand and her authentic turn as Fern in Nomadland but it should go to Mulligan with her once-in-a-lifetime portrayal of Cassandra in Promising Young Woman.
Best of the rest: It’s difficult to begrudge McDormand her third Oscar. She is pretty revelatory throughout Nomadland.
Others: Viola Davis (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Andra Day (The United States vs. Billie Holiday), Vanessa Kirby (Pieces of a Woman)
Best Director: Chloé Zhao (Nomadland)
This award should be going to Florian Zeller’s masterful use of time and space as a way to offer a horrifying insight into life with dementia. However, he wasn’t nominated, so in his absence, Zhao’s genuinely unique, semi documentary style throughout Nomadland would make for a worthy winner.
Best of the rest: Emerald Fennell’s unforgettable work on Promising Young Woman could have taken home the Oscar if the field hadn’t been unusually strong this year.
Others: Lee Isaac Chung (Minari), David Fincher (Mank), Thomas Vinterberg (Another Round)
Best Original Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin (The Trial of the Chicago 7)
At his best, Sorkin is one of the best script writers in the game, and The Trial of the Chicago 7 zips along with style and panache, with the eclectic cast having a ball working their way through Sorkin’s dense dialogue.
Best of the rest: Emerald Fennell unlucky to miss out again here as her sharp and witty script certainly has its moments. A lack of originality in terms of plotting perhaps lets her down.
Others: Will Berson & Shaka King (Judas and the Black Messiah), Lee Isaac Chung (Minari), Darius & Abraham Marder (Sound of Metal)
Best Picture: The Father
While Nomadland seems nailed on to take home the biggest award of the night, it wouldn’t even make my top 3 on this list. The Father is the one that will endure, people will still be talking about Hopkins’ unbelievable performance and Zeller’s artful direction long after Nomadland has been forgotten.
Best of the Rest: Promising Young Woman – always the bridesmaid…
Others: Judas and the Black Messiah, Mank, Minari, Nomadland, Sound of Metal, The Trial of the Chicago 7
Leftovers…
Best Supporting Actor: Daniel Kaluuya (Judas and the Black Messiah)
Best Supporting Actress: Olivia Colman (The Father)
Sound Editing: Sound of Metal
Adapted Screenplay: Christopher Hampton & Florian Zeller (The Father)