Over the past few years, you’ve probably noticed that I’ve gotten away from my traditional Oscar coverage, starting with a reaction to the nominations, then with a predictions blog and a wrap-up post awards. Since I have started the podcast, and honestly, become less invested in the Oscars over the years, I’ve basically limited my coverage to an Oscar predictions podcast (where I also unveil my official Top 10 of the year), with individual category discussions going to my Patreon. This year, I’m going to start a new awards coverage blog, to go with the podcast and Patreon coverage, and it has to do with why I’ve become a bit more interested in the Oscars again.
In 2018- on my wedding anniversary, no less- I learned that I had been accepted to join the Georgia Film Critics Association, and to vote in their annual awards. This was a big step for me, and is part of the reason why I had the confidence to begin applying to cover film festivals starting in 2019. It also meant that I was thinking about not just the Oscars, but what my best in various categories were again. I needed to if I was going to be able to vote in these awards. This was something I started to get away from, to a large extent, as my investment in the Oscars waned, but now, I had to start thinking about it again, and best of all, I would be able to make my voice heard beyond just saying, “these are my choices”- I had a vested interest in championing what I loved in a given year, even if they wouldn’t make the cut, in the end.
Don’t get me wrong- the Oscars are still not worth being completely invested in as a critic and film lover; as I discuss in a future episode of the Sonic Cinema Podcast (dropping on April 13), what wins is not necessarily what endures, and what isn’t acknowledged isn’t always forgotten. There’s a kick in watching something like “The Shape of Water” or “Parasite” win Best Picture, or Spike Lee finally winning an Oscar, but the Academy Awards are not the last word on great cinema or great filmmakers. That’s what I realized, and once I stopped expelling my energies on ultimately caring what won, it became more relaxing to pay attention to them out of the corner of my eye.
With Oscar nominations coming out today, I would- in the past- break down my thoughts on those, but I will save those for my podcast right before the ceremony on Sunday, April 25. (You can check out the nominees here.) Instead, I will start to actually write about the awards I do have a voice in, the Georgia Film Critics Association, as I share my thoughts on the winners below. I hope you enjoy!
2020 Georgia Film Critics Association Awards
Best Picture
“The Father”
“I’m Thinking of Ending Things”
“Mank”
“Minari”
“Nomadland”– Winner
“One Night in Miami”
“Promising Young Woman”
“Soul”
“Sound of Metal”
“Time”
“The Trial of the Chicago 7”
Thoughts: I love the variety of this list, which includes one animated film (“Soul”) and one documentary (“Time”). The winner is not a surprise, although I thought “Minari” might take it given the across-the-board support.
Best Director
“Mank” – David Fincher
“Nomadland” – Chloé Zhao – Winner
“One Night in Miami” – Regina King
“Promising Young Woman” – Emerald Fennell
“Sound of Metal” – Darius Marder
Thoughts: Again, I love these nominees. All of them are completely worthy of the honors, but Zhao is, at this point, the odds-on favorite for the Oscar. And she deserves it.
Best Actor
Riz Ahmed (“Sound of Metal”) – Winner
Chadwick Boseman (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”)
Anthony Hopkins (“The Father”)
Dev Patel (“The Personal History of David Copperfield”)
Steven Yeun (“Minari”)
Thoughts: I was genuinely surprised by Patel being in here, but I couldn’t be happier for Ahmed to get the win; his was the male performance of the year for me.
Best Actress
Viola Davis (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”)
Sidney Flanigan (“Never Rarely Sometimes Always”)
Vanessa Kirby (“Pieces of a Woman”)
Frances McDormand (“Nomadland”)
Carey Mulligan (“Promising Young Woman”) – Winner
Thoughts: It’s basically been Mulligan vs. McDormand all awards season, but I’m glad Mulligan won in our group, although any of these women were deserving.
Best Supporting Actor
Sacha Baron Cohen (“The Trial of the Chicago 7”)
Daniel Kaluuya (“Judas and the Black Messiah”)
Orion Lee (“First Cow”)
Leslie Odom, Jr. (“One Night in Miami”)
Paul Raci (“Sound of Metal”) – Winner
Thoughts: “Sound of Metal” is my horse in the Oscar race this year, so seeing both Ahmed and Raci win in the awards I vote for was special, even if neither of them win the Oscars.
Best Supporting Actress
Maria Bakalova (“Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan”)
Toni Collette (“I’m Thinking of Ending Things”)
Olivia Colman (“The Father”)
Amanda Seyfried (“Mank”)
Youn Yuh-jung (“Minari”) – Winner
Thoughts: Collette in here for “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” was, honestly, a remarkable surprise. But truthfully, all four of my top choices in the acting categories won. Can’t really complain about that.
Best Original Screenplay
“Mank” – Jack Fincher
“Minari” – Lee Isaac Chung
“Promising Young Woman” – Emerald Fennell – Winner
“Sound of Metal” – Darius Marder, Abraham Marder
“The Trial of the Chicago 7” – Aaron Sorkin
Thoughts: I feel like “Promising Young Woman” is a controversial choice here, but I like that it won.
Best Adapted Screenplay
“The Father” – Christopher Hampton, Florian Zeller
“I’m Thinking of Ending Things” – Charlie Kaufman
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” – Ruben Santiago-Hudson
“Nomadland” – Chloé Zhao – Winner
“One Night in Miami” – Kemp Powers
Thoughts: Probably the Oscar winner right here.
Best Cinematography
“Da 5 Bloods” – Newton Thomas Sigel
“First Cow” – Christopher Blauvelt
“Mank” – Erik Messerschmidt
“Nomadland” – Joshua James Richards – Winner
“Tenet” – Hoyte Van Hoytema
Thoughts: I do wish we had more representation of “Da 5 Bloods” here. Still, “Nomadland” is probably winning the Oscar.
Best Production Design
“Emma” – Kave Quinn, Mark Lavis, Andrea Matheson, Alice Sutton
“I’m Thinking of Ending Things” – Molly Hughes, Gonzalo Cordoba, Merissa Lombardo
“Mank” – Donald Graham Burt, Chris Craine, Dan Webster – Winner
“Promising Young Woman” – Michael Perry, Liz Kloczkowski
“Tenet” – Nathan Crowley, Rory Bruen, Steve Christensen, Eggert Ketilsson, Jenne Lee,Justin O’Neal Miller, Benjamin Nowicki, Erik Osusky, Anthony D. Parrillo
Thoughts: I love the variety of choices, and that this was another interesting place for “I’m Thinking of Ending Things.”
Best Original Score
“Mank” – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
“Minari” – Emile Mosseri
“News of the World” – James Newton Howard
“Soul” – Jon Batiste, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross – Winner
“Tenet” – Ludwig Göransson
Thoughts: Can I tell you how wonderful this year is for Original Score? Look for “Soul” to win, though, and it deserves it for every possible reason.
Best Original Song
“Green” – Abraham Marder (“Sound of Metal”)
“Husavik” – Savan Kotecha, Rickard Göransson & fat max Gsus (“Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga”)
“Io Sì (Seen)” – Diane Warren, Laura Pausini & Niccolò Agliardi (“The Life Ahead (La Vita Davanti a Se)”)
“Rain Song” – Emile Mosseri (“Minari”)
“Speak Now” – Leslie Odom, Jr. & Sam Ashworth (“One Night in Miami”) – Winner
“Wuhan Flu” – Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines & Erran Baron Cohen (“Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan”)
Thoughts: Talk about a wild bunch of songs, eh? My top one is “Husavik”- it’s a shame that movie seemed to disappear from Musical/Comedy discussion.
Best Ensemble
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
“Minari”
“One Night in Miami” – Winner
“Promising Young Woman”
“The Trial of the Chicago 7”
Thoughts: It’s hard to argue with “One Night in Miami.” Each of the lead actors are great in it.
Best Foreign Language Film
“Another Round” – Winner
“Bacurau”
“La Llorona”
“Martin Eden”
“Minari”
“Night of the Kings”
Thoughts: For the record, “Minari” is largely in Korean, but it’s as American as cinema gets. That said, I respect all of these nominees, and outright love “Bacurau.” In retrospect (since I watched it after nominees were announced), “Quo vadis, Aida?” should have been in here- it’s one of the year’s finest.
Breakthrough Award
Maria Bakalova (“Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan”)
Kingsley Ben-Adir (“One Night in Miami”)
Emerald Fennell (“Promising Young Woman”) – Winner
Sidney Flanigan (“Never Rarely Sometimes Always”)
Helena Zengel (“News of the World”)
Thoughts: Any one of them would have been a worthy winner.
Best Animated Film
“The Croods: A New Age”
“Onward”
“Over the Moon”
“Soul” – Winner
“Wolfwalkers”
Thoughts: Love “Soul,” but “Wolfwalkers” is a delight, as well.
Best Documentary Film
“Collective”
“Dick Johnson is Dead”
“The Dissident”
“The Painter and the Thief”
“Time” – Winner
Thoughts: “Time” winning is deserved, and not surprising, although my heart is with “The Painter and the Thief.”
Oglethorpe Award for Excellence in Georgia Cinema
“The Banker” (George Nolfi, Niceole Levy, Davis Lewis Smith, Stan Younger)
“Freaky” (Christopher Landon, Michael Kennedy)
“The Glorias” (Julie Taymor, Sarah Ruhl)
“Greenland” (Ric Roman Waugh, Chris Sparling)
“In the Cold Dark Night” (Nick Hampson, Stephen Robert Morse, Miikka Leskinen, Max Peltz)
“Irresistible” (Jon Stewart)
“John Lewis: Good Trouble” (Dawn Porter) – Winner
“Love Bite” (short; Charles de Lauzirika, Carlee Baker)
“Petting Zoo” (short; Daniel Robin)
“Three Men Named Mantas” (short; James Mackenzie)
Thoughts: I love that shorts are included in this category, and all three of the ones of the 10 films selected are excellent. The documentary about the late Civil Rights leader winning makes sense, but honestly- of the ones I saw, most of them deserved it. All of them deserve to be sought out, though.
Viva La Resistance!
Brian Skutle
www.sonic-cinema.com
