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
Soul, Disney+
The Father, Lionsgate
The Sound of Metal, Amazon Studios
Supernova, StudioCanal
Nomadland, Searchlight Pictures
Pieces of a Woman, 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
Eliza Hittman, Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Aaron Sorkin, The Trial of the Chicago 7
David Fincher, Mank
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
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
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
Dear