In a list of "things you'd expect to see at an Oscars ceremony", I very much doubt that "Frances McDormand howling like a wolf" and "Glenn Close twerking" would make it on the list. But these are strange times and both of those things came to pass at a slightly (read, very) surreal night.
Starting off with a very Ocean's Eleven style tracking shot following first presenter Regina King as she walked through Los Angeles' Union Station to the hall where the Oscars were being presented, it was immediately clear that this wasn't going to be the usual awards ceremony.
For those who were unable to travel to Los Angeles to attend the ceremony in person, the Academy set up hubs around the world- including Paris, Oslo, Prague, Sydney, Berlin, Stockholm, Seoul, Rome, Kilkenny, and a major one at the BFI in London- where nominees could go and still be able to be featured in the broadcast. Broadcast and lag issues seemed to be at a minimum, which was a positive.
For the most part, I liked how the evening was divided up, with categories paired up where possible. I also liked that unnecessary frippery was avoided, and- even when the world does go back to whatever will pass for normalcy post COVID- the Academy would do well to consider keeping the ceremony stripped back.
Some personal highlights for me: Emerald Fennell's gloriously British acceptance speech, Thomas Vinterberg's emotional dedication to his late daughter when accepting the Best International Film award, the passionate acceptance speech given by the hair and make-up team from Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Youn Yuh-jung's acceptance speech, and Harrison Ford introducing the Best Film Editing award by reading out some of the edit notes given for Blade Runner. Whether they were real or not, who knows, but the joke landed really well.
On to the awards themselves.
Four out of six in my predictions. Interestingly, they shook things up a little by announcing Best Director relatively early in the telecast (it was the seventh award handed out) and Chloé Zhao's acceptance speech was particularly dignified. It is crazy to think that she's only the second female to win Best Director, and it took 93 years for the Academy to get round to nominating two women directors in the same year. They also announced Best Picture before Best Actress and Best Actor which felt a little strange (and also meant the ceremony finished on a bit of an anti-climax when Anthony Hopkins won Best Actor and the Oscar was accepted by the Academy on his behalf).
I'll be honest, of the four Best Actress performances I saw (I ran out of time to see The United States Vs Billie Holiday), Frances McDormand's was the one that I was least taken with. It's by no means a bad performance, or unworthy, but I didn't have the same emotional connection to it that I did with Viola Davis and Carey Mulligan. Purely a matter of taste, I think.
However, whilst Anthony Hopkins' Best Actor win was a bit of a surprise- like many, I fully expected Chadwick Boseman's powerhouse performance in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom to seal the deal- his performance in The Father is, for me, a career high point. He gives an absolutely devastating performance as a man in the worsening grip of dementia, which left me feeling like I'd been put through the wringer. I would put The Father on a list of films that's excellent but I would never watch again.
I was really pleased with The Father and Promising Young Woman's Screenplay nods, as well as Sound Of Metal's Sound award.
Nomadland was the big winner of the night with three Oscars. However, in a strange kind of mirroring of the nominations, six films have the second-most awards, with Judas And The Black Messiah, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Sound Of Metal, Soul, Mank, and The Father all taking home two apiece.
Despite multiple nominations, The Trial Of The Chicago 7, News Of The World, and One Night In Miami all went home empty-handed.
Below is the full list of winners at the 93rd Academy Awards:
Best Motion Picture of the Year: Nomadland
Best Actor: Anthony Hopkins (The Father)
Best Actress: Frances McDormand (Nomadland)
Best Supporting Actor: Daniel Kaluuya (Judas And The Black Messiah)
Best Supporting Actress: Yuh-jung Youn (Minari)
Best Director: Chloé Zhao (Nomadland)
Best Original Screenplay: Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman)
Best Adapted Screenplay: Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller (The Father)
Best Animated Feature Film of the Year: Soul
Best International Feature Film of the Year: Another Round
Best Cinematography: Mank
Best Film Editing: Sound Of Metal
Best Production Design: Mank
Best Costume Design: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Best Original Score: Soul
Best Original Song: 'Fight For You' (Judas And The Black Messiah)
Best Sound: Sound Of Metal
Best Visual Effects: Tenet
Best Documentary (Feature): My Octopus Teacher
Best Documentary (Short Subject): Colette
Best Animated Short Film: If Anything Happens I Love You
Best Live Action Short Film: Two Distant Strangers
Congratulations to all winners!
Right, it's nearly 5:30am here in the UK and I should really get some sleep. Time to put awards season away for another year. Thank you for your indulgence with this indulgence. Normal service will resume shortly.
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