A comprehensive guide to the Oscars 2021 which takes place tomorrow night (Sunday 26th April).
By Stephon Umashangar
Best Picture
· Will Win: Nomadland
· Should Win: The Father
· Should Be Nominated: Quo Vadis, Aida?
This might be one of the most uncompetitive Best Picture races in years. Minari and Promising Young Woman both still seem popular, but won’t really challenge Nomadland’s dominance which has already seen it take home Best Picture in the Golden Globes, BAFTAs, Critics Choices and Independent Spirit Awards. However, my personal favourite of this season’s nominees (and indeed from all films released last year) is The Father. A phenomenally told film, which puts the audience right in the brain of Anthony Hopkin’s lead character (more on this performance later). The Father is a deeply emotional and powerful film, and will truly be remembered for many years (something that I don’t think can be said of any of the other nominated films, besides Promising Young Woman). Likewise, Quo Vadis, Aida? was a criminally overlooked film this season: a phenomenal drama about the Srebrenica Massacre (Bosnian Genocide). It is a truly devastating film, wonderfully directed, brilliantly acted and poignantly delivered to the audience, many of whom (including myself) will know little of this tragedy.
Best Director
· Will Win: Chloe Zhao
· Should Win: Chloe Zhao
· Should Be Nominated: Rose Glass
Again, no competition. Chloe Zhao has this ability to bring the best out of a cast of largely non-professional actors and actresses, and once again this pays off. Chloe Zhao knows exactly what she wants to represent, and presents the Nomadic lifestyle to the audience in such a personal fashion, really getting to the centre of their livelihoods and not getting stuck up on little details (like the atrocious conditions for workers at an Amazon factory, which has led to some faux outrage). Out of the nominees, Zhao fully deserves this win, and I cannot wait to see her branch out in her next film The Eternals. Jasmila Zbanic, in directing Quo Vadis, Aida?, would have been my personal choice for the win, but for the sake of choosing something different, I have chosen the Saint Maud director, Rose Glass. Saint Maud is a stunning film, in every single aspect, and easily one of the best of the year, and for me Rose Glass really pulls it all together in a way that will remain in my memory for a long time.
Best Actress
· Will Win: Carey Mulligan???
· Should Win: Vanessa Kirby
· Should Be Nominated: Kate Winslet
While Best Director and Best Film are arguably the most uncompetitive they have been in my lifetime, Best Actress is easily the most competitive. I’ll start with my favourite, Vanessa Kirby, who is possibly the only nominated actress out of the running. This is a shame, because from the first minute of Pieces of a Woman, Kirby has to bring everything to the table. The incredible long take pregnancy is possibly the most impressive thing that I have watched this year, and Kirby carries the phenomenal acting from this, and through the rest of the film, as she deals with the consequence of that first act. However, the Best Actress race for the Oscars is between Andra Day (Golden Globe winner), Frances McDormand (BAFTA winner), Viola Davis (SAG winner) and Carey Mulligan (Critics Choice winner). All of these performances are stellar, and to be quite frank there are probably five or six more phenomenal performances that deserve at least a nomination (including Rosamund Pike, Radha Blank, Morfydd Clark, Jasna Djuricic). I could be wrong, but for me this is a two-way race between Viola Davis (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) and Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman). Both put in truly revolutionary performances: Davis playing as a strong black female lead which goes against the stereotype of using such characters as victims and Mulligan for the way this film deals with sexual assault in such a brave way, all based around Mulligan’s character. This category is stacked with actresses who deserved nominations (as mentioned before), but my pick is Kate Winslet. Winslet, in Ammonite, has phenomenal chemistry with her co-star Saoirse Ronan and produces her best performance in years, playing Mary Anning with real depth and emotion. Winslet shows her years of experience, and the reason she should truly be considered one of the best actresses in the world.
Best Actor
· Will Win: Chadwick Boseman
· Should Win: Anthony Hopkins
· Should Be Nominated: Tahar Rahim
This is really tough, because both Anthony Hopkins (The Father) and Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) give two of the best performances that I have seen in years. After the past two years of Phoenix and Malek, neither of whom deserved to win, we have been blessed this year with a really strong cohort of actors nominated. Boseman, in his last performance before his untimely passing, really gives everything he can in this film, and there’s a real emotional depth he brings to the role. I believe Spike Lee, in a recent interview, mentioned that he believed Chadwick Boseman knew this was his last film and wanted to give everything he had left to it, and this really does come through when watching Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Anthony Hopkins in The Father gave one of his best performances in years, and there’s one scene near the end in particular that really hits hard. Whoever wins though, it would be the best Academy Award winner since 2016, when Casey Affleck won for Manchester by the Sea. I think the nominees are absolutely perfect this year, but Tahar Rahim makes a good alternative for his performance in The Mauritanian.
Best Supporting Actress
· Will Win: Yuh-Jung Youn
· Should Win: Olivia Colman
· Shoud Be Nominated: Ellen Burstyn
Another really tightly contested category, even though Yuh-Hung Youn has recently started running away with this one for her performance in Minari. Maria Bakalova obviously deserves plaudits as well for her brilliant comedic performance in Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm, but for me Olivia Colman deserves the Oscar, for her powerful portrayal as a daughter watching her father struggle with dementia. It is a credit to both Olivia Colman and Anthony Hopkins that The Father is genuinely difficult to watch at times, and they both work brilliantly on screen together. Ellen Burstyn, in Pieces of a Woman, has been criminally overlooked this awards season, in my opinion. Between her and Vanessa Kirby, they really hold this film together, and their performances are probably the main reason that I hold this film in such high esteem.
Best Supporting Actor
· Will Win: Daniel Kaluuya
· Should Win: Paul Raci
· Should Be Nominated: Eddie Redmayne
Kaluuya puts in a really strong performance in Judas and the Black Messiah, which is even more impressive when you watch Fred Hampton’s original speeches. In my opinion, Kaluuya manages to very strongly replicate this, and, throughout this performance, you get a sense for Kaluuya’s range as an actor. Paul Raci in Sound of Metal puts in a very different performance to that which we’re used to seeing on screen: but his authentic approach to deafness (having worked with deaf people for years) is what makes this performance so unique, and hence why it deserves the Oscar. Eddie Redmayne, in The Trial of the Chicago 7, also gives a very strong performance (even though very few people recognise this). I think a lot of people don’t particularly rate Eddie Redmayne as an actor, but I thought once again he gave a very strong performance in this film and for me was best of an impeccable cast.
Best Original Screenplay
· Will Win: Promising Young Woman
· Should Win: The Trial of the Chicago 7
· Should Be Nominated: Soul
Promising Young Woman is a fresh, brave, controversial, and timely work by debutante writer-director Emerald Fennel. The premise itself is certainly the strongest in this category, and the message it sends is by far the clearest and in doing so critiques the lad culture (including so-called ‘nice guys’) and the victim blaming (from both men and women) that surrounds sexual assault. However, past this strong idea which this film centres around, I think this screenplay is slightly flawed and could definitely be improved upon. On the other hand, The Trial of the Chicago 7, while it doesn’t necessarily say anything new, has all the hallmarks of an excellent and clever screenplay by Academy Award winning screen-writer Aaron Sorkin. My favourite screenplay of the year, however, is in the Pixar film Soul, written by Pete Docter, Mike Jones and Kemp Powers. One of my favourite films of the year, it does the classic Pixar manoeuvre of creating a film which appeals to both children and adults alike, creating a deeply emotional drama which resonated strongly with audiences. It is in fact my favourite Pixar film: the use of music, the celebration of black culture and the core message of the true meaning of life all contribute to a film which I believe will be remembered for generations.
Best Adapted Screenplay
· Will Win: Nomadland
· Should Win: The Father
· Should Be Nominated: First Cow
I don’t think I need to say much more about Nomadland and The Father. Both Chloe Zhao and Florian Zeller deserve a lot of credit for these screenplays, and both could feasibly win the award. My choice for “should be nominated” is the indie film First Cow, which is another that has been criminally overlooked this award season. Writer-director Kelly Reichardt produced a really underrated film here, and it does something remarkable: making me excited about a film about a cow. I would also like to shout-out the Oscar-nominated film The White Tiger, which was another really strong film, and a film I didn’t expect to enjoy, but which was a really powerful social commentary on class in India.
A massive thanks to Stephon for this piece! If you would like to see your own work published just get in touch, its that easy.
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