We’re running through the 20 feature categories at this year’s Oscars. Yesterday, we analyzed seven categories that receive a relatively low profile. Today, we’re moving on to five additional below-the-line fields that are somewhat more significant. I mean, they’re significant in my eyes; you might care more about Best Costume Design than Best Film Editing, but this isn’t your website.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
NOMINEES
Judas and the Black Messiah—Sean Bobbitt
Mank—Erik Messerschmidt
News of the World—Dariusz Wolski
Nomadland—Joshua James Richards
The Trial of the Chicago 7—Phedon Papamichael
WILL WIN
Mank just won at the guild, which was apparently a big upset. I don’t know why it was a big upset because, like, have you seen Mank? It’s fucking gorgeous!
Still, the smart money seems to be headed toward Nomadland, which makes some sense; it’s a beautiful film with a number of lovely landscapes, and there’s always the possibility of a frontrunner sweep. Still, I’m betting on the rich black-and-white over the gentle redwoods. Mank takes it.
SHOULD WIN
I’m pleased to see News of the World show up here, since Wolski reigned in Paul Greengrass’ more hectic tendencies in favor of a crisp and composed set of images. Still, Mank is the clear pick for me here. It isn’t just that it’s in black-and-white; it’s the sense of luminosity, the way it plays with light and shadow. The movie has its flaws, but it’s always bewitching to look at.
MOVIEMANIFESTO’S BALLOT
Antebellum—Pedro Luque Briozzo
Gretel & Hansel—Galo Olivares
Malcolm & Marie—Marcell Rév
Mank—Erik Messerschmidt
News of the World—Dariusz Wolski
Speaking of movies that have their flaws, Antebellum was one of the most derided works of the year; I acknowledge its thematic issues, but its fluid camerawork is pretty damn terrific. Gretel & Hansel is watchable almost entirely because of its sinewy craft. As for Malcolm & Marie, maybe I do just unduly admire black-and-white.
MovieManifesto’s winner: Mank—Erik Messerschmidt.
BEST FILM EDITING
NOMINEES
The Father—Yorgos Lamprinos
Nomadland—Chloé Zhao
Promising Young Woman—Frédéric Thoraval
Sound of Metal—Mikkel E.G. Nielsen
The Trial of the Chicago 7—Alan Baumgarten
WILL WIN
For a month or so, this was looking like Sound of Metal’s award to lose. Well, I’m pretty sure it’s lost it, given that The Trial of the Chicago 7 just won at the guild. Over the past decade or so, the Academy has favored more auspicious visible achievements in this category—recent winners include Dunkirk, Hacksaw Ridge, Mad Max: Fury Road, and Gravity—but Sound of Metal doesn’t really fit that description. Then again, none of the nominees is a technological eye-catcher. But The Trial of the Chicago 7 does feature a pair of rapid-fire montages; they may not qualify as great editing, but they certainly feature a lot of editing. In a visibility-fueled race, that should give it the edge.
SHOULD WIN
I don’t take issue with any of these nominations, but the only one whose editing is truly exceptional is The Father, which uses sharp cuts and jagged rhythms to bring you inside its protagonist’s diseased mind.
MOVIEMANIFESTO’S BALLOT
The Father—Yorgos Lamprinos
Palm Springs—Andrew Dickler and Matthew Friedman
Saint Maud—Mark Towns
Straight Up—Keith Funkhouser
The Trial of the Chicago 7—Alan Baumgarten
Palm Springs repeats scenes with just the right degree of variation, lending verisimilitude to its time-loop conceit. Straight Up exhibits deceptively complex rhythms that are unusual for the genre. Saint Maud doesn’t feature a wasted breath.
MovieManifesto’s winner: The Father—Yorgos Lamprinos.
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
NOMINEES
Da 5 Bloods—Terence Blanchard
Mank—Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Minari—Emile Mosseri
News of the World—James Newton Howard
Soul—Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
WILL WIN
Soul. Reznor and Ross already have one Oscar (for The Social Network), but that doesn’t seem to be factoring into voters’ choices this year, nor does the possibility that they’ll split their own vote with Mank. This one feels weirdly preordained, but there’s no other realistic contender.
SHOULD WIN
I only really like two of these: the quivering urgency of Soul and the more stately compositions of News of the World. Being basic at my core, I’ll take the latter.
MOVIEMANIFESTO’S BALLOT
Ammonite—Volker Bertelmann and Dustin O’Halloran
The Midnight Sky—Alexandre Desplat
News of the World—James Newton Howard
Soul—Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Tenet—Ludwig Göransson
Ammonite’s melancholy score only accentuates its rippling sense of desire and loss. The Midnight Sky is some of Desplat’s more obvious work; naturally, I loved it. Göransson doesn’t quite supply majestic bombast the way Hans Zimmer did, but he still helps infuse Tenet with propulsive energy.
MovieManifesto’s winner: The Midnight Sky—Alexandre Desplat.
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
NOMINEES
The Father
Mank
News of the World
Tenet
WILL WIN
Nomadland isn’t around to interfere with Mank’s chances this time.
SHOULD WIN
It’s nice to see The Father pop up here, given that the perpetually shifting layout of its central flat is crucial to its story. Still, as an avowed maximalist, I’m partial to either Mank or Tenet, and only the latter created a massive, mirrored chamber for its time-travel exploits.
MOVIEMANIFESTO’S BALLOT
Emma
Mank
Rebecca
Tenet
Vivarium
It breaks my heart to exclude Swallow and its magnificent glass house, but five is a small number. Rebecca may not be very good, but its Gothic mansion is appropriately forbidding. Vivarium turns a banal suburban neighborhood into a land of nightmares. By my unofficial count, Emma should have received 50 nominations.
MovieManifesto’s winner: Tenet.
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
NOMINEES
Love and Monsters
The Midnight Sky
Mulan
The One and Only Ivan
Tenet
WILL WIN
Tenet should have had this wrapped up ages ago, but its nonexistent marketing campaign has left an opening for a challenger. But which one? The Midnight Sky has grand space-opera sequences, while The One and Only Ivan has big, computer-generated talking animals. I can’t envision either claiming victory. Tenet grabs its lone win.
SHOULD WIN
Look, I like The Midnight Sky far more than most, but if it wins this award over Tenet, I’m resigning from the Academy.
MOVIEMANIFESTO’S BALLOT
Birds of Prey
The Invisible Man
The Painted Bird
Relic
Tenet
Birds of Prey incorporates fireworks without assaulting your sense of spatial coherence. The Invisible Man’s omission here is unforgivable, given how brilliantly it wields its minimalist effects to amplify its sense of dread. It’s possible that The Painted Bird didn’t have any effects at all and that its director just mutilated his actors and their pets for three straight hours. I don’t know if what happens in the final act of Relic is technically visual effects work, but it sure is memorable. As for Tenet, it’s an imperfect movie, but in its enthralling use of motion (forward and backward), it creates a new frontier of what cinema can do.
MovieManifesto’s winner: Tenet.
Coming tomorrow: the supporting actors.
Jeremy Beck is the editor-in-chief of MovieManifesto. He watches more movies and television than he probably should.