The Academy has once again tried to tell us which films they think are the absolute and bloody best, whether or not anyone actually believes it. So, here’s my verdict on which ones are actually worth a watch on your local cinema screen.
It’s that time of year again. Except it’s not. A pandemic-ridden world has shaken up the film industry in more ways than one over the past year and a bit. From world-wide cinema closures, to exclusive online-only releases, to a belated and socially distanced Oscar’s ceremony, the Academy Awards are looking a lil’ bit different this time around the sun. But not to fear! Because we did get there in the end, even if the show did go a fair bit overtime with all the useful fluff and muff of too-long speeches and awkward Zoom call-ins. So out of all the winners of yesterday’s ceremony, here are the ones that are actually worth a watch.
THE FATHER (2020, Florian Zeller) – BEST ACTOR (ANTHONY HOKINS), BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
A bad trip. I came out of the cinema feeling physically sick with anxiety over the mind fuck I just witnessed in the incredible performances of Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Coleman in Florian Zeller’s The Father. Adapted from a well-known play for the cinema screen, this movie really takes you on a ride. Bending the boundaries of reality to give you a really honest, and really emotional, insight into one man’s battle with dementia. Never have I ever felt the feeling of confusion and disorientation as vividly as the character in the film whose journey we follow. That is to say, consider yourself warned, because Zeller deals with pretty heavy topics in his award-winning screenplay, but he does so with grace. 4/5
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH (2021, Shaka King) – BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR (DANIEL KALUUYA), BEST ORIGINAL SONG (FIGHT FOR YOU)
I went into this film knowing very little about the life and work of activist and Black Panther leader Fred Hampton, and I left with an aching heart and roaring rage now knowing the story of his death. Shaka King’s Judas and the Black Messiah tells the story of the assassination of this cultural hero. The film is careful to show how Fred was a visionary, a leader, an activist and saviour, but at the end of the day he was just a fucking kid. Fred Hampton was 21 years old when he was murdered by the FBI, leaving behind a fiancé, an unborn child, and a nationwide movement of hope and courage. Watching this film in 2021 feels both aptly terrifying and devastatingly pertinent, because whilst things have changed, things haven’t really changed all that much. There were absolutely standout performances from both Daniel Klauuya and LaKeith Stanfield, with not a moment of character onscreen feeling anything less than superbly authentic. For me though, the real star was Dominique Fishback, who played Deborah Johnson, Hampton’s fiancé. Grab the tissue box and a fistful of rebellion and, please, go and watch this film. 4.5/5
NOMADLAND (2020, Chloe Zhao) – BEST FILM, BEST ACTRESS (FRANCES MCDORMAND), BEST DIRECTOR (CHLOE ZHAO)
You’ve probably heard already something about Chloe Zhao’s Nomadland sweeeeeping the awards the other night. And for once, the Academy has gotten it right. (*in my opinion*) Nomadland follows Fern as she travels through the American West in her caravan, in search for work in a country only just devastated by the Great Recession. Open vistas, beautiful landscapes, tales of lost and unemployment and nowhere to go; this film hits a little differently in a world currently devastated by a global pandemic and recession. Zhao obviously hadn’t planned for a release of her touching film in a world that now knows what it’s like to not be able to leave the house and travel wide open country like we see Fern, Frances McDormand, do, but while the vastness of the environments we see on screen may oppose the confines of our homes we’ve experienced in lockdown, the woes of financial struggle in a selfishly capitalistic world couldn’t be any more relevant. 4.5/5
SOUND OF METAL (2019, Darius Marder) – BEST FILM EDITING, BEST SOUND
Yes. Yes. YES. This film was everything. Darius Marder’s Sound of Metal follows the story of musician Ruben Stone after he loses his hearing. Best Film Editing and Best Sound were both very fitting awards for the Academy to give to Marder’s work, but for me personally, Riz Ahmed, who played heavy-metal drummer Ruben, stole the show. The sensitivity and care that this film was handled with shows from the acting to the directing to the consideration given to the soundscape of the movie. Each department of the filmmaking team have come together to move the story through the emotional highs and lows of the characters, creating a journey without judgement, but with the utmost care and love. This has to be one of the best films of the year, so please, go see it. 4.5/5
ANOTHER ROUND (2020, Thomas Vinterberg) – BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
From Danish director Thomas Vinterberg, Another Round follows the story of four high school teachers as they push the limits of a social experiment with alcohol. First off, I really love the idea that sparked the plot. Alcohol is such a normalised mood-adjusting drug that its presence feels taken for granted in both real life and in the life of movies. In the wrong hands, Another Round could’ve come off as some clumsy novelty that insensitively promoted being constantly drunk. But Vinterberg explored the social and professional benefits, and all the drawbacks, that this drug provides with such finesse and nuance, creating a funny, devastating, exhilarating story, without telling his audience what to think or what judgement to cast of this casual dip into alcoholism. And the final scene…just woah. 4/5
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