The Academy Award nominations will be announced today, with the ceremony set to commence at the end of April. I don’t have to tell you, dear reader, what a beating 2020 was, nor how much the pandemic disrupted every aspect of our lives. The inability to go to the theater consistently is quite a trivial loss in the face of all the tragedy this last year brought our way but still, it was a significant change for many of us and only added to our feelings of frustration, anxiety, isolation, and every other bad vibe you’ve experienced through the course of this mess. Still, despite how much of a hit the movie industry took this year, I think there’s a lot to celebrate here and, maybe even a bit in spite of myself, I look forward to the nominations, the ceremony, and the discussion that comes with the Oscars. If nothing else, debating something as unimportant as which movie had the fifth best script of the year feels like a relief after a long period that has included so many serious discussions, debates, and arguments.
I don’t have an Oscar ballot (though, as always, I invite the Academy to look into this oversight and include me in their process moving forward) but that doesn’t stop me from putting together a fake ballot every year. You’ll find said ballot for 2020 to below, with my five (or ten) nominees for each of the eight “big” awards (my winner in bold), as well as the movies and performances that just missed the top five and a few more good choices just for good measure. I *think* I have seen most of the 2020 contenders, with the notable exceptions of Supernova and The Father, both of which I intend to get to before the actual ceremony arrives.
BEST ACTOR BALLOT
Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal
Kingsley Ben-Adir, One Night in Miami
Delroy Lindo, Da 5 Bloods
Gary Oldman, Mank
Steven Yeun, Minari
Ahmed gave a remarkably vulnerable performance in a beautiful, challenging film. Ben-Adir was, for me, the best on screen presence in an outstanding ensemble. Oldman not only gave the kind of performance we expect from him every time out but also seemed to be having fun which was kind of strange but also delightful. And Yeun turned in one of the least showy but most powerful portrayals in recent memory. Any of them could take home the hardware. I’m sticking with Lindo, the first “sit up and take notice” performer of the year and the one that has stuck with me the most memorably. He’s the heart and soul of a very good, important film that’s gotten a bit lost in the shuffle.
SHORTLIST
Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Lakeith Stanfield, Judas and the Black Messiah
This is where I’m most likely to look foolish when the actual Academy Awards ceremony takes place. Boseman is, I think, the odds-on favorite to win the award, let alone be nominated. And I get it, he’s great in the movie and deserving of adoration. I just happen to think there are five better performances, personally. I also find it a little weird that he’s being run as the lead in what I felt like was a pretty balanced ensemble. Stanfield, too, is caught in the numbers crunch here, although I feel quite confident he’ll hear his name called on Oscar Sunday in the not too distance future.
LONGLIST
Paul Bettany, Uncle Frank
Adarsh Gourav, The White Tiger
Tom Hanks, News of the World
Tahar Rahim, The Mauritanian
Andy Samberg, Palm Springs
BEST ACTRESS BALLOT
Andra Day, The United States vs Billie Holliday
Yeri Han, Minari
Frances McDormand, Nomadland
Elisabeth Moss, The Invisible Man
Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman
Day drags a bad movie, kicking and screaming, uphill toward relative decency. The movie doesn’t deserve her greatness, honestly. I’m no horror movie expert but The Invisible Man is one of the best genre works of the last ten years and much of it relies on Moss’ consistent excellence. Han is the perfect complement to Steven Yeun with the two combining to give Minari its beautiful balance. When I saw Nomadland, I was completely confident that I had seen the best acting performance of the year and that McDormand would take home another well-deserved Oscar trophy. But I am still thinking about Mulligan’s work in Promising Young Woman. She’s electric and her portrayal sticks with you for days on end.
SHORTLIST
Viola Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman
Of the two, Kirby is a step closer to inching into the top five despite how much I love Davis. Pieces of a Woman isn’t a great movie, but Kirby is by far the high note. As with Boseman, I think Davis’ candidacy suffers a bit from Ma Rainey’s ensemble feel but she, too, is fantastic as always.
LONGLIST
Rashida Jones, On the Rocks
Cristin Milioti, Palm Springs
Rosamund Pike, I Care A Lot
Kate Winslet, Ammonite
Zendaya, Malcolm & Marie
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR BALLOT
Chadwick Boseman, Da 5 Bloods
Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah
Bill Murray, On the Rocks
Leslie Odom Jr., One Night in Miami
Paul Raci, Sound of Metal
Supporting Actor is always the toughest category to wade through for me and this year is no different, though I think there is a very clear line of demarcation between the top spot and the rest of the field. Not only do I think Da 5 Bloods is a (significantly) better movie than Ma Rainey’s, I think Boseman’s performance in it is better as well. Odom’s embodies the grace of Sam Cooke beautifully and pairs well with Ben-Adir’s Malcolm X. Raci’s understated, quiet work provides so much depth to Sound of Metal and his breakdown scene is one of the best of the year. And I have Murray clumped together with about 20 other “good not great performances” and my personal code dictates that ties go Bill Murray. Them’s the rules. None of this matters, though, because Kaluuya delivered what is for me the best performance, male or female, lead or supporting, of 2020 and I will be furious if he doesn’t take home the award.
SHORTLIST
David Strathairn, Nomadland
The Cast of Trial of the Chicago 7 (Yahya Abdul-Mateen, Sascha Baron Coen, Frank Langella, Michael Keaton, Eddie Redmayne, Mark Rylance, et al)
Strathairn is probably going to get a nomination and he deserves it, he’s very good in Nomadland. All of the actors in Chicago 7 are excellent and none of them do quite enough to separate themselves from the rest for me. SBC is probably going to get a nomination and that’s fine. If I had to pick one to put on my ballot in place of Murray (which you cannot make me do so don’t try), I’d probably go with Rylance.
LONGLIST
Bo Burnham, Promising Young Woman
Charles Dance, Mank
Aldis Hodge, One Night in Miami
Alan S. Kim, Minari
Peter MacDissi, Uncle Frank
Jonathan Majors, Da 5 Bloods
JK Simmons, Palm Springs
Glynn Turman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS BALLOT
Dominique Fishback, Judas and the Black Messiah
Jodie Foster, The Mauritanian
Yuh Jung Youn, Minari
Amanda Seyfried, Mank
Swankie, Nomadland
Fishback got overshadowed by Kaluuya, Stanfield, and Jesse Plemons but it’s her quiet strength through the course of Judas that allows for its most impactful scene which she crushes. I didn’t love The Mauritanian, but Foster elevates the material quite well. I confess, I just think Swankie is cool and the realism she and her cohorts add to Nomadland deserves attention. Much like McDormand in Nomadland, I thought I was watching the Oscar winner when I saw Seyfried in Mank and if she ultimately ends up the winner, it’s well-deserved. But I adored Yuh Jung Youn and I thought she brought so much to the screen in an organic way that fit Minari so perfectly. I would like her to be my grandma, please.
SHORTLIST
Margot Martindale, Uncle Frank
Not the best year for Supporting Actress contenders but if Character Actress Margot Martindale is in a movie, there’s a good chance I’m going to love her. So. Here we are.
LONGLIST
Candice Bergen, Let Them All Talk
Ellen Burstyn, Pieces of a Woman
Priyanka Chopra Jones, The White Tiger
Glenn Close, Hillbilly Elegy
Olivia Cooke, Sound of Metal
Saoirse Ronan, Ammonite
Helena Zengel, News of the World
BEST DIRECTOR BALLOT
Lee Isaac Chung, Minari
David Fincher, Mank
Regina King, One Night in Miami
Spike Lee, Da 5 Bloods
Chloe Zhao, Nomadland
This is, by far, the toughest category to sort through for me. I think all five of the nominees above (and at least a few more below) have great cases to be made for winning and I don’t think I’ll be bothered by any of them taking home the trophy. I’m taking Chung because (spoiler alert) I think Minari is the best movie of the year, so I guess that’s the tie breaker? This is terrible analysis, I know, and I apologize. They’re all great.
SHORTLIST
Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman
Pete Docter, Soul
I think Fennell has a shot at cracking into the actual nominees as both Fincher and Lee have been hit or miss on the award circuit. Docter deserves way more attention than he’s getting for Soul and I place the blame for that squarely on the awards bias against animated films.
LONGLIST
Sofia Coppola, On the Rocks
Paul Greengrass, News of the World
Darius Marder, Sound of Metal
Aaron Sorkin, Trial of the Chicago 7
Leigh Whannell, The Invisible Man
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY BALLOT
Minari
Promising Young Woman
Palm Springs
Soul
Trial of the Chicago 7
The buzz on Chicago 7 is all over the place. Some have it as a front runner in several categories, some think it’s overrated junk. For me, it’s two biggest strengths are the depth of the ensemble and the script. I think the script, like all Sorkin films, sings so it takes the top spot for me. Soul is perhaps an uncommon pick here but I think the structure of that movie is exquisite so I’m rolling with it. Promising Young Woman relies maybe a tad too much on its final twist but even still, it’s a pretty phenomenal product. I might be doing the “token nomination” thing with Palm Springs but I truly love the new take on an old trope bit that the movie pulls off and I want to reward its quality. Minari probably comes closest to taking the win from Chicago 7 but at the end of the day I’m falling for the exquisite showiness of Sorking being Sorkin. Sue me.
SHORTLIST
Da 5 Bloods
Mank
I can’t say that either of these scripts are the best that Lee and Fincher, respectively, have ever worked with but they’re both good to very good and both do a lot of work for their films structurally.
LONGLIST
I Care A Lot
Judas and the Black Messiah
Love & Monsters
Malcolm & Marie
On the Rocks
Onward
Sound of Metal
Tenet
Uncle Frank
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY BALLOT
The Invisible Man
News of the World
Nomadland
One Night in Miami
The White Tiger
I’d draw a line between News of the World and the rest of this field in terms of quality. It’s a good script but not great and I think quite a bit lesser than the others. White Tiger was a late arrival for me, and I was very impressed with the film’s highs even if there were some noticeable lows. I remain steadfastly impressed with Invisible and while Moss is the BIGGEST reason that movie succeeds, the script and direction (both by Leigh Whannell) deserve a lot of credit. It is incredibly hard to take a stage production and adapt it to the screen and even more difficult, I think, to adapt your own stage production. That’s just what Kemp Powers did, and I think he gave Regina King a fantastic canvas to work from. I lean slightly toward Chloe Zhao and Nomadland here, however, because of how well the film subverts expectation and avoids the tropes you might think it would be rife with.
SHORTLIST
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
I have a hard time with movies that feel like plays. This may be a personal preference thing but it’s difficult for me to stay “in” the movie in these cases. That’s where Ma Rainey suffers for me, despite its obvious strengths.
LONGLIST
American Pickle
First Cow
Midnight Sky
Pieces of a Woman
BEST PICTURE BALLOT
Da 5 Bloods
The Invisible Man
Judas and the Black Messiah
Mank
Minari
Nomadland
One Night in Miami
Promising Young Woman
Sound of Metal
Soul
I think there are good cases to be made for each of these films and that speaks mostly to their overall respective quality and a little to the lack of a truly GREAT film in the lot. That’s okay, that happens in a lot of non-pandemic years, too! For me, this comes down to Da 5 Bloods, Minari, and Nomadland. I spoke at length about all of them on our episodes (not to mention within this piece) and all three films accomplish their goals beautifully. I think perhaps Minari has the highest degree of difficulty among the three and handles each of its components the best so it gets the win for me but, truly, I think it’s splitting hairs to choose between these three.
SHORTLIST
Palm Springs
Trial of the Chicago 7
In terms of re-watchability, Palm Springs is the top film in this group for me and, again, I just love the way that film dove head first into very well charted waters and carved out its own space based solely on charm. Chicago tells its story exceedingly well and has maybe the best ensemble of the year but feels a tiny bit flat compared to some of its contemporaries.
LONGLIST
News of the World
Onward
Uncle Frank