Oscars 2021 Reviewed
My opinion on the Best Picture nominees.
It is ironic that 2020 turned out to have a strong Oscars slate. I rank the Best Picture nominees as follows:
Minari
Nomadland
Sound of Metal
The Father
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Judas and the Black Messiah
Promising Young Woman
Mank
In an exciting Oscars year, there are usually three viable Best Picture winners, yet all of the top four here were worthy of the award. From the thin pickings that 2020 could offer emerged the velvet strength of Minari, the ground-breaking Nomadland, the rich detail of Sound of Metal and The (creatively traditional) Father. All four of these are worth a watch or three. Even with fierce competition, my heart went to Minari, as it struck a chord that few other movies have, and with such modest storytelling tools.
Nomadland’s Best Director award for Chloe Zhao was the most deserving win of the evening. Her vision was never compromised and the effectiveness of Nomadland never waned. If anything is a testament to her skill, it is that she could wring such a film from a cast with only two professional actors, the rest being real-life subjects.
Of my top five Best Picture nominees, it is incredible that none were directed by Hollywood heavyweights. Even Chloe Zhao has only two other feature-length studio credits to her name, and the rest even fewer. These were mostly writers trying their hand at directing, and it thrills me to look at this fresh crop of talent that promises to give cinema the second wind that it so badly needs.
With movie theatres in dire straits, Netflix’s success with the television format and competition from 60-second schlock on TikTok and Instagram, the winds seem to be shifting, making the 90 - 180 minute film an increasingly threatened species. How pleasing then that in a year with all the odds stacked against this art form, four magnificent examples of its merits have come forward, not made by industry greats but exciting new players. It is a good time to be a movie snob.
What To Watch Out For
Notice that in Minari, Nomadland and Sound of Metal, my top three picks, all of the main characters live in a house on wheels.