Oscar Nominations 2021: Cultural Representation and Unity In Cinema Is Across the Board and America, Even At A Distance

Even the iconic Oscar statue is keeping his distance

In spite of social-distancing guidelines still in tact, even as vaccinations across the nation and globe are continually on the rise, the Oscar ceremony--in honoring films from the year 2020--are still a go. This morning, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominations for their 93rd annual event (with help from couple Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra-Jonas), which will take place a little later than usual. Plus, the ceremony will be telecast in Los Angeles, at both the Dolby Theater and the railway hub Union Station. 

While 2020 forced most of us to quarantine and/or work from home, and movie theaters closed their doors, several filmmakers (and streaming platforms) took advantage of various and diverse stories that celebrated or showcased everything from cinema history to music, cultural immigration, journeys across the American landscape, mental and/or physical health, and even the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements. 

Here are a few highlights from this year's nominees. 

ROSEBUD!

The film with the most nominations this year is David Fincher's black-and-white biopic, Mank, which tells the story of the making of Orson Welles' Citizen Kane (often hailed by numerous critics and historians as the greatest film of all time), particularly the troubled life of its co-screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz (played by Gary Oldman) in the early 20th century. The film scored ten nominations, including best picture, actor (Oldman), director (Fincher), supporting actress (Amanda Seyfried), sound, production design, score (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who were also nominated for co-composing Pixar's spiritual adventure Soul), makeup and hairstyling, costume design, and cinematography. 

Amanda Seyfried and Gary Oldman in Mank

STREAMING SOARS AND SINGS (AS DO SOME SMALL, SURPRISING COMEBACKS) 

Perhaps this is a fitting time to bring up an elephant in the room. Due to limited movie theater openings (and for everyone's health and safety), most of our viewing options were at home. While major or independent studios like A24 (Minari), Searchlight (Nomadland), and Sony Pictures Classics (The Father) were still prominent, this year was mostly dominated by the streaming services Netflix (Mank), Amazon Prime (Sound of Metal), and even Disney+ (Mulan) and HBO Max. The latter recently made the controversial decision to release their 2021 feature film lineups simultaneously on the platform and in theaters, leaded to a reported falling out between Warner Bros and director Christopher Nolan (whose latest, Tenet, picked up nominations for its impeccable production design and visual effects). I'm still a firm believer in the moviegoing experience, so I doubt streaming services will ever truly replace that. 

Many screen veterans were recognized for their leading or supporting roles, from Viola Davis (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom), and Glenn Close (Hillbilly Elegy). But Close holds the rare distinction of being nominated by both the Academy (as "best supporting actress") and the Golden Raspberries (a.k.a. Razzies; for "worst supporting actress"), and for the same role. Talk about divisive criticism. And speaking of Razzies, two other "worst actor" veterans each starred in films that were recognized by the Academy this year. In 2003, Italian native Roberto Benigni (a previous Oscar-winner for his brilliant Holocaust dramedy, Life Is Beautiful) won "worst actor" for starring in a universally-panned live-action version of Pinocchio, which he also directed. This year, he starred as Geppetto in a more-acclaimed update of the famous Collodi fantasy adventure, which was commended for its costume design, as well as its makeup and hairstyling. Will Ferrell, on the other hand, has arguably not had a good track record of films in recent years (save for The Lego Movie); this includes his "worst screen couple" win (shared with Nicole Kidman) for the 2005 remake of Bewitched. This year, his Netflix-distributed musical comedy, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, was nominated for best original song. Call that a comeback, LL Cool J! 

Speaking of music, everything from the aforementioned Ma Rainey (five nominations total) to Soul (nominated as best animated film, along with fellow Pixar feature Onward, as well as for its sound and score) made some noise during the morning announcement. 

(L-r) Viola Davis, Carey Mulligan, Frances McDormand, Riz Ahmed, Maria Bakalova, Daniel Kaluuya, Steven Yeun, David Fincher, and Chadwick Boseman

HISTORY AND HUMANITY 

The Academy continues its long history of saluting human stories. The topic of mental health and/or illness was showcased in the leading and supporting role categories, and was human psychology and trauma, from The Father (which earned six nominations, including best actor for Anthony Hopkins) to Promising Young Woman (a satirical revenge thriller, nominated for five awards, including best actress for Carey Mulligan) and Sound of Metal (an intense character study about a drummer with progressive hearing loss, nominated for six awards). 

And, of course, there's politics, as seen in films like Aaron Sorkin's The Trial of the Chicago 7 (nominated for six awards, including Sorkin's original screenplay), Lee Daniels' United States vs. Billie Holliday (nominated for Andra Day's breakout leading role as the legendary singer and activist), Shaka King's Judas and the Black Messiah (a Black Panther movement biopic, nominated for five awards), and Regina King's One Night in Miami . . . (a fictional account of a 1960s-centered meeting between icons Sam Cooke, Cassius Clay, Malcolm X, and Jim Brown, nominated for three awards). 

More importantly, quite of few of this year's nominated films took us on a historical or current journey across the American landscape, casting a lens on communities that aren't generally documented (let alone dramatized) on film. These included Lee Isaac Chung's family drama Minari (about a Korean family that immigrates to Arkansas in the 1980s, nominated for six awards), Paul Greengrass' western News of the World (one of the big surprises this year, nominated for four Oscars), and Chloe Zhao's Nomadland (about a van dweller living after the Great Recession, nominated for six awards). 

Frances McDormand and Chloe Zhao behind the scenes of Nomadland

FIRST TIME, BIG TIME

There are several first-time nominees, including Riz Ahmed (for his leading role in Sound of Metal), Maria Bakalova (for her supporting role in--try saying this in one breath!--Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodiginous Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan), Vanessa Kirby (for her leading role in Pieces of a Woman), Lakeith Stanfield (for his supporting role in Judas and the Black Messiah, a nomination he shares with co-star Daniel Kaluuya), and Steven Yeun (for his leading role in Minari). Even the late Chadwick Boseman was posthumously recognized, for his leading role in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. 

But the first-time nominees that stand out this year are recognized in more than one category. For instance, four specific nominees each pulled double duties, including actor-provocateur Sasha Baron Cohen (for co-adapting the sequel Borat Subsequent Movie, and for his supporting role in The Trial of the Chicago 7), actress Frances McDormand (for her leading role, and co-producing credit, in Nomadland), actor-singer Leslie Odom, Jr. (for his supporting role and original song noms in One Night in Miami . . .), and filmmakers Shaka King (for co-writing and co-producing Judas and the Black Messiah) and Lee Isaac Chung (for writing and directing Minari). 

But the first-time nominees with the most hats this year are filmmakers Emerald Fennell (who hails from the UK) and Chloe Zhao (who hails from Beijing, China). Not only are they the sixth and seventh female directors ever recognized in the Academy's history (the last being Greta Gerwig, for her 2017 coming-of-age dramedy Lady Bird). Fennell was honored with additional nominations for writing and co-producing Promising Young Woman (a feat not seen since Jordan Peele's triple threat with his breakout 2017 debut Get Out). Zhao, meanwhile, received additional nominations for editing, adapting, and co-producing Nomadland. 

This may be, perhaps, the most ethnically diverse list of nominations in the history of the Academy. If there's one term that fits the year 2020 besides "social distancing," it's "cultural representation". 

WRITER'S NOTE: I didn't really see a whole lot of new movies, including those mentioned above, in 2020, save for films like News of the World, Nomadland, and Soul (all terrific, for the record). So I can't really speak for reported snubs like Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods (which did get nominated for Terrence Blanchard's score otherwise). As of this writing, The Father and Minari are the major awards contenders on my "must-see" watchlist.