Right, as promised, here is a dedicated post to giving my thoughts on the Oscar nominees that I’ve seen. I hope I can watch more later, but these will have to do for now. I’ll go through these Oscar films in order of least nominations, eventually climbing to the big boys. And I will preface that the ones I liked I’ve already reviewed in my Best of 2020 list, so this episode may be filled with quite a bit of contrarianism – that is my style after all 😉
First up is The White Tiger: nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay. It’s a bit of an odd start since I haven’t actually read the book this is adapting, so I can’t exactly comment on if this deserves to win that award. All I can say is that Gourav gives a fantastic performance in this dissection of Indian society as his infectiously optimistic character is slowly whittled down by the tiny devils living inside everyone that surrounds him. “Slowly” is putting it mildly however, as the pacing is a bit of a drag for a good chunk of this film. It takes quite a while for the quality to shine through, but once it gets there this is a pretty thrilling and well written film. And although I’m not a huge fan of the directorial style, there are some interesting editing choices here that make the slow burn worth sitting through.
A Visual Effects nomination incoming with George Clooney’s latest fail at directing: The Midnight Sky. See, this is a film that I know is garbage from a writing stand point, but I can’t help but feel some sentimental attachment to it. This is a project full of heart, sadly failing utterly at all it sets out to achieve. There’s a certain irony about that considering the ambitious dramatic narrative it valiantly structures, yet every emotional beat feels shallow with a lot of unintentionally funny scenes. But, this is the Visual Effects category, which has nothing to do with writing. And I have to say that the visuals are outstanding, with one particular shot blowing my breath away when I saw it in the cinema (oh so long ago). The visual effects are gorgeous in both space and the arctic, so I would have no qualms if this won that award.
Next is Da 5 Bloods: nominated for Best Original Score. It had a great score? Really? It’s not like I would know because I switched it off after 10 minutes. Listen, I just detest Spike Lee’s style. I found every word uttered in these beginning scenes to be utterly insufferable, so I really didn’t bother going through all the pain just to watch something I knew I wouldn’t enjoy. Besides, I’m rather annoyed that Tenet didn’t get that nomination, since the music was awesome (even if it did often get drowned out by itself).
Oh, speaking of the devil, Tenet is next in line with two nominations: Best Production Design and Best Visual Effects. Yep, I wholeheartedly agree. The screenplay is garbage but these categories don’t care about that. Because strip away the god awful dialogue and you are left with a mesmerising experience (though again, the sound design went a long way to make it truly magical). I’ve reviewed it in greater depth in my Best of 2020 list (spoilers, I have it at number 3), but I will repeat that Tenet most certainly deserves to win these two awards.
Pinocchio: Best Costume Design and Best Makeup… I’m sorry, what?! I’m honestly shocked this got nominated for anything, because I genuinely wish I hadn’t watched this. The pantomime style, nonsensical editing, awful dubbing, uncanny valley make-up/CGI, cringe inducing writing and twisted moral message makes this one of the worst films I’ve ever watched. Admittedly, visually it looks pretty good, but like I’ve already said the make-up is utter garbage. Maybe it deserves Costume Design after all, though that’s hardly a category I even have any eyes for.
Ah, News of the World, a film I said was blatant Oscar-bait in Weekly Recap 9 and yet I’m now pleasantly surprised to realise it’s actually been nominated for 4 awards: Best Original Score, Best Sound, Best Production Design and Best Cinematography (my favourite category at last!). Ok, let’s tick each one off one at a time, starting with Best Score. Eh… I don’t get this one. And not because I think it was a bad score, but rather because I haven’t the faintest clue what the music sounded like. You know what, I’m sure it was good and added to the viewing experience at the time, but it being so forgettable is pretty telling it doesn’t deserve this award. Same thing for Best Sound, which as a Western is hardly going to be particularly incredible. For all I know, the sound design was perfect, but again, it was far from what I found most interesting about it. The Production Design is now getting into more familiar territory, as yes, I agree that the world is built magnificently. The towns have a fantastic atmosphere to them, so I definitely felt immersed in the time period. I still think Tenet deserves it over this though since Tenet manages to achieve something far grander – and for me, ambition is a big selling point. But it’s this final category that I have no qualms calling it the winner in: Best Cinematography. Oh yes! Wolski was the DOP for this film and I already loved him for his work in Pirates of the Caribbean. He’s a cinematographer who really likes to look at the sun, and I can’t blame him because those kinds of shots tend to lead to some truly beautiful frames. The film as a whole was fairly average, but Wolski for sure deserves an award for the work he crafted here.
Oh dear, here comes a film I’ve already gotten hate for hating. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom has been nominated for a grand total of 5 awards: Best Actor (Chadwick Boseman), Best Actress (Viola Davis), Best Production Design, Best Costume Design and Best Make-up. Well, I’ll just go straight ahead and say what a disgusting film this was. Ma Rainey is one of the ugliest characters I’ve ever seen – in both appearance and personality – while Boseman prances about in shoes that laughably mismatch with the rest of his appearance, screaming inexplicably until he goes psycho at the end. What might have worked on stage evidently does not work on film, as heavy-handed monologues break the cardinal rule of show don’t tell, ultimately creating an environment of spiteful entitlement shot with the dullest cinematography. I really feel this is a film that has gotten undue praise simply because of Boseman’s untimely death, but as sad as that might be, it hardly changes my opinion on this garbage film. I said Pinocchio was one of the worst films I’d ever seen, but Ma Rainey takes ‘worst’ to a whole new level. So, does it deserve these nominations? I don’t think it deserves them, but they were inevitable. Still, Best Actor? Nope, I would have to give that to John David Washington in Tenet or even Russell Crowe in Unhinged. Best Actress? Definitely no, I hated her performance; Elisabeth Moss in The Invisible Man, Gemma Arterton in Summerland and Jessie Buckley in I’m Thinking of Ending Things are all far more deserving. As for the other three, I think I’ve already said enough, so I won’t even say if it deserves to win them.
Right right, let’s all take a deep breath and return to something that I did like. The Trial of the Chicago 7 has been nominated for: Best Supporting Actor (Sacha Baron Cohen), Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing and Best Picture. Well, right off the bat I will say I agree with… one of these. And that’s Borat himself winning for Best Supporting Actor. He was genuinely fantastic in this film in a shockingly serious performance. Which is weird to say because he was the funniest character, yet the humour he brought to this film felt natural while still performing the mature scenes with a lot of weight behind him. He is a very transformative actor, and while his biggest blessing might be his biggest curse in the form of Borat always chasing him no matter how much he tries to do something different, I do think what he achieves here is worthy of granting him a spot in the nominees. With that said, I would rather give the award to Kenneth Branagh, and while I’ve always loved him since Hamlet and Frankenstein (and, of course, Harry Potter), his performance as the villain has to be my favourite from him. He delivers so much pain through his eyes, his sinister vibes intertwining perfectly with the sympathy I can’t help but feel towards him. It’s a beautiful, ultra underrated performance that I wish more people would acknowledge. Oh wait a minute, I was supposed to be talking about The Trial of the Chicago 7. Yeah, well, I don’t think it deserves any of the others. Original Screenplay? Meh, it was fine, but not as good as I’m Thinking of Ending Things (even though I have a lot of problems with that film). Best Cinematography? Hah, definitely not! The visuals of the film were by far the worst aspect of it. Same for Editing, which while competent, did nothing that was on par with Shirley (seriously, the editing in that film was magnificent, despite the fact that I didn’t really like it overall). And Best Picture? Come on, you have to be joking. Is it a good film? Yes, and the performances are the highlight. But the absolute best of 2020? That was a rhetorical question by the way.
And now my final Oscar contestant – after having to tragically skip over all the other Best Picture Nominees – is Mank, the most highly nominated film this year with a whopping 10 nominations: Best Sound, Best Score, Best Makeup, Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Supporting Actress (Amanda Seyfried), Best Actor (Gary Oldman) and, of course, Best Picture. This is another no from me. You heard me right, I’m not a fan of Mank in the slightest. I don’t agree with it being nominated for any of these, quite frankly, since it’s my second most disliked film of 2020 that I actually watched all the way through. What can I say, I think it’s atrocious. An escapade of yawns into the uninteresting writing process of Citizen Kane, told through jarring flashbacks and a soulless mimicry of classical Hollywood’s iconic aesthetic. Oldman phones it in with a performance of drunken stupor, humorously snoring through half of the movie (something I dreadfully felt like doing myself) and ranting incoherently for the other half. Thus, amidst the boredom and amateurish filmmaking, lies a film too poorly paced for the entertainment audience and too insulting for the cinephiles, inexplicably tying itself up into a knot of confusing politics that only exposes Mank for the failure it is predicated on. I was never a fan of Fincher, but this one is especially embarrassing in how poorly made it is. And I really don’t care how unpopular of an opinion that is, because I would be most annoyed if this gets the likes of Best Actor, Best Director, Best Cinematography, and, of course, Best Picture, since there are others far more deserving than Mank.
So what film do I think deserves Best Picture? The Queen’s Gambit! Lol, only kidding. Truth be told I shamefully haven’t watched enough of the (allegedly) good stuff to have come out in 2020, so I just can’t say for certain. Because while Tenet is technically speaking my favourite film of 2020, it’s a far cry from being Best Picture worthy. So, because I tend to like Korean movies so much, I’ll just give it to Minari (though I sure do hope I won’t regret saying that when I finally do get my hands on it). But what do you think deserves to win each category? Do you agree with me, or did I slander one of your favourites? Let me know down in the comments, and consider subscribing so as to not miss out on more weekly content.
