Oscar nominations 2021 recap: this year is (mostly) golden

Due to the ongoing pandemic in the past year, there has been a mass exodus of big studio films, which may leave some believing that there would not be a sufficient amount of motion pictures released to even constitute an Academy Awards, or Oscars. However, it has been business as usual in terms of high-profile indie releases that usually contend, partially because of the godsend of streaming services that could premiere films with minimal theatrical exhibition, and with an expanded eligibility window that encompassed all films released in 2020 and up until Feb. 26, 2021, there was an abundance of viable films for this unique awards season.

This crop of nominees is unequivocally the strongest in recent memory, barring some inexplicably asinine picks, such as The Trial of the Chicago 7 in Best Cinematography. Unlike other years where films like Bohemian Rhapsody were egregiously nominated for Best Picture and other unwarranted categories, most of the nominees were justified or understandable, even if I would personally choose others. The Best Picture slate is particularly excellent: I do not dislike a single film in that category.

Additionally, there seemed to be a more adherent focus on merit over popularity with relative unknowns like Paul Raci (Sound of Metal) or Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm) deservedly scoring nods. Other superb personal and fan favorites like Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman), Viola Davis (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Steven Yeun (Minari), Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal), Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Daniel Kaluuya (Judas and the Black Messiah), Youn Yuh-jung (Minari) and Amanda Seyfried (Mank) prevailed on nomination morning as well.

Netflix’s and director David Fincher’s 1930’s Hollywood film Mank, which follows screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz’s tumultuous race to finish the script for Citizen Kane, leads with the most nominations with 10. This is no surprise: The Oscars adore films about the Hollywood system. La La Land and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood received 14 and 10 nominations respectively.

Streaming leviathan Netflix also leads with the most nominations per studio with 35. With their gargantuan output of content that was unaffected by theater closures, they were able to produce a myriad of awards contenders that were heavily embraced by the Academy, including Mank (10), The Trial of the Chicago 7 (6) and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (5), in addition to other notable films that were recognized, including Hillbilly Elegy (2), Da 5 Bloods (1), Over the Moon (1) and The Midnight Sky (1).

With big studios mostly absent and indie films predominantly comprising the Best Picture and other major category lineups, there was a glut of films that were nominated for the next highest of six awards, including Nomadland, The Trial of the Chicago 7, Minari, Judas and the Black Messiah, The Father and Sound of Metal. Feminist revenge thriller Promising Young Woman also had a robust showing with five.

The two frontrunners seem to be Chloé Zhao’s lyrical masterwork Nomadland, which has been crowned with the most industry and critic’s awards thus far, and Aaron Sorkin’s courtroom political drama The Trial of the Chicago 7, which has a revered pedigree. This frontrunner dynamic forms an interesting duality that has been seen in recent years: the arthouse picture versus the traditional crowd-pleaser. Though Mank does the lead with nominations, it has meager chance of winning the top prize, as it missed both in screenplay and editing recognition, which are vital to a Best Picture win.

Minari and Promising Young Woman have also been prominent forces in the Best Picture conversation. Minari is a widely beloved, affecting and heartfelt tale of the American dream and the immigrant experience, though it did fall short of an editing nomination, and coupled with Nomadland, Promising Young Woman is the only film to score the five major nominations across the board of Best Picture, Best Director, an acting nod, a screenplay nomination and Best Editing.

Some films have taken advantage of the expanded window to triumphant effect, including the thrilling inclusion of fantastic releases like Judas and the Black Messiah, Sound of Metal and The Father that broke in later in the season. All three of these films overperformed and received more than their expected influx of nominations.

On another note, the Academy has been striving to have more inclusive nominations over the past several years, diversifying their voter membership and adding a substantial amount each year, and this year’s assortment of nominees is a landmark (and much needed) step in that direction, though there is still room for improvement (The exclusion of outstanding, riveting Black-led and-made films like One Night in Miami or Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is highly disappointing). The positive impact of representation behind and in front of the screen is incalculable, and if the Academy’s purpose is to reflect, celebrate and value filmmaking, it is imperative that they acknowledge everyone.

Chloé Zhao (Nomadland) and Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman) partially comprise the first Best Director lineup in history to contain more than one woman; they are also the sixth and seventh women ever nominated here. Zhao is the first woman of color nominated in Best Director and the first woman to be nominated for four awards in a single year, including producing for picture, directing, writing, and editing. Fennell is the first woman ever nominated for a feature directorial debut.

Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal) is the first of Pakistani descent to be nominated for Best Actor, and Steven Yeun (Minari) is the first Asian American to be nominated for Best Actor. With her fourth nomination, Viola Davis (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) is the most nominated Black actress of all time. In total, there were nine nonwhite actors recognized, which is also the most in Academy history.

Like any Oscar year, there were immense snubs and surprises. A snub is not necessarily from any deserving film from the past calendar year but from those that were not only deserving but also prominent components of the awards conversation. I also feel these neglected individuals or films were simply unimpeachable. Surprises were not unifromly projected but prevailed nonetheless.

Some notable snubs are the following:

• Delroy Lindo, Da 5 Bloods (Best Actor)
• Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and One Night in Miami (Best Picture)
• Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Best Adapted Screenplay)
• Tenet (Best Original Score)

Some notable surprises are the following:

• LaKeith Stanfield, Judas and the Black Messiah (Best Supporting Actor)
• Paul Raci, Sound of Metal (Best Supporting Actor)
• Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (Best Supporting Actress)
• Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (Best Original Song)
• Thomas Vinterberg, Another Round (Best Director)
• The White Tiger/ Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (Best Adapted Screenplay)

The complete list of nominations can be viewed at https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2021.

Photo Credit / Gadgets 360