93rd Academy Awards: Final Predictions

2020 was rough. Many films that were supposed to headline this awards season such as West Side Story and Dune were promptly postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and blockbuster films that included Black Widow and No Time to Die were pushed back to unknown release dates. However, many films shocked me and evoked something in me through multiple watches in preparation for the writing of this article. So without any further interruption, here is what you came for. These are my FINAL predictions for this year’s Academy Awards.

Best Picture

    Judas and the Black Messiah, Warner Bros. Pictures: Winner

Judas and the Black Messiah is unlike any film I have seen in the past few years. It is a picture-perfect portrayal of one of the most ambitious political activists and the chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party. Daniel Kaluuya continues to top himself with impressive monologues all throughout this wonderful feature. This film isn’t just telling the story of Fred Hampton, because it documents the events leading up to his assassination at the hands of law enforcement, and the story of William O’Neal, an FBI informant that infiltrated the Black Panther Party and gave the police the information they needed to take Hampton down. This is such a well-told story, with a masterful script and acting from both Lakeith Stanfield and Daniel Kaluuya.

                             Promising Young Woman, Focus Features

                                                            Minari, A24

                                       Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Netflix

                                     One Night in Miami, Amazon Studios

                                                            Mank, Netflix

                                         Sound of Metal, Amazon Studios

                                       The Trial of the Chicago 7, Netflix

                                         Nomadland, Searchlight Pictures

                                                   Da 5 Bloods, Netflix

                                                     Best Director

             Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman: Winner

The look of this film just pops out at the viewer. The direction is magnificent. Fennell uses her debut feature to instill a lasting impression on the viewer with her masterful use of the elements of suspense and thrill. The way each scene is set up has the viewer on the edge of their seat waiting for an exciting reveal or an insane plot twist. Next to Chloe Zhao, Emerald Fennell is easily this year’s best director, and it shows with her style of play and the way she uses the camera to illustrate different emotions.

Chloe Zhao, Nomadland

Spike Lee, Da 5 Bloods

Aaron Sorkin, The Trial of the Chicago 7

Regina King, One Night in Miami

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah: Winner

There comes a time in film where once every few years, you forget that you’re watching somebody act out their lines, and you get lost in the beauty of it all, throwing away the key to escape. You want to stay, you want to relish in the glory of this performance. Well, Daniel Kaluuya is just plain unrecognizable as Fred Hampton in this film. I felt like I was watching real life events as they originally occurred happen right in front of me, and that made me both frightened and impressed. If you could do that to me, a certified critic who has been at this for five years now professionally, you have yourself a performance that wins.

Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal

Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Anthony Hopkins, The Father

Delroy Lindo, Da 5 Bloods

Best Actress in a Leading Role

                Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman: Winner

Three words: Amy. Dunne. Reincarnated. This is Carey Mulligan’s finest performance, where she plays a woman haunted by a traumatic event that affected her best friend in the past. The film follows her as she seeks revenge for those that wronged her and those around her. Mulligan vastly expands her range as an actress in this film, going from docile to freaky in any split second. So like I said, this is Gone Girl’s Amy Dunne, reincarnated. But better….

Viola Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman

Sidney Flanigan, Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Frances McDormand, Nomadland

Best Supporting Actor 

Leslie Odom Jr., One Night in Miami: Winner

Paul Raci, Sound of Metal

Sacha Baron Cohen, The Trial of the Chicago 7

Stanley Tucci, Supernova

Lakeith Stanfield, Judas and the Black Messiah

Best Supporting Actress

Olivia Colman, The Father: Winner

Ellen Burstyn, Pieces of a Woman

Amanda Seyfried, Mank

Yuh-jung Youn, Minari

Dominique Fishback, Judas and the Black Messiah

                                            Best Adapted Screenplay

Chloe Zhao, Nomadland: Winner

Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Charlie Kaufman, I’m Thinking of Ending Things

Luke Davies and Paul Greengrass, News of the World

Kelly Reichardt, First Cow

Best Original Screenplay

                   Aaron Sorkin, The Trial of the Chicago 7: Winner

Lee Isaac Chung, Minari

Will Berson and Shaka King, Judas and the Black Messiah

Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman

Eliza Hittman, Never Rarely Sometimes Always

                                        Best Animated Feature Film

                                            Soul, Disney+: Winner

                                                Wolfwalkers, Apple TV+

                                                      Onward, Pixar

                                               Over the Moon, Netflix

                                          Demon Slayer, Funimation

Best International Feature Film 

                        Another Round (Druk), Denmark: Winner

Two of Us, France

                                                         Apples, Greece

                                          My Little Sister, Switzerland

                                                       Notturno, Italy

Best Documentary Feature

                                   Time, Amazon Studios: Winner

                                                   Boys State, Apple TV+

The Last Dance, Netflix

                                                    I am Greta, Hulu

                            John Lewis: Good Trouble, Magnolia Pictures

Best Original Score

James Newton Howard, News of the World: Winner

Ludwig Göransson, Tenet

Alexandre Desplat, The Midnight Sky

Thomas Newman, The Little Things

Howard Shore, Pieces of a Woman

                                                         Best Sound

                                           Sound of Metal: Winner

                                                               Tenet

                                                    The Midnight Sky

                                                          The Prom

                                            The Trial of the Chicago 7

                                             Best Production Design

                                                     Mank: Winner

                                                              The Prom

                                             Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

                                                               Tenet

                                             The Trial of the Chicago 7

                                               Best Cinematography

Sean Bobbitt, Judas and the Black Messiah: Winner

Hoyte Van Hoytema, Tenet

Martin Ruhe, The Midnight Sky

Łukasz Żal, I’m Thinking of Ending Things

Dariusz Wolski, News of the World

Best Makeup and Hairstyling 

                      The United States Vs. Billie Holiday: Winner

                                                               The Prom

                                            Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

                                           Birds of Prey: Harley Quinn

                                                         Hillbilly Elegy

                                                Best Costume Design

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom: Winner

                                                               Emma

                                  The United States Vs. Billie Holiday

                                       Judas and the Black Messiah

                                                    News of the World

                                                   Best Film Editing

                            Judas and the Black Messiah: Winner

                                             Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

                                            The Trial of the Chicago 7

                                                               Minari

                                                         Nomadland

                                                   Best Visual Effects

Tenet: Winner

                                                The Invisible Man

                                                           Mulan

                                              Sonic the Hedgehog

                                         Wonder Woman 1984