Animated Feature
Luca
--- Encanto --- The Mitchell's vs. The Machines ---
--- Flee --- Raya & the Last Dragon ---
This one was very hard to choose a winner. 'Luca,' 'Encanto' and 'Mitchell's vs. The Machines' were all amazing. But in the end, I had to give it to 'Luca.' Pixar took a big swing changing up their traditional style here, and it delivered something that was really unique and perfect for the story it was telling. A vivid, dreamy storybook aesthetic that perfectly captures this coming-of-age fable of sea monsters and Vespas.
VFX
Dune
--- Free Guy --- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the 10 Rings ---
--- Eternals --- The Green Knight ---
While Dune ultimately failed to resonate with me on a narrative level in the way it did for so many, it was firing on all cylinders in the Crafts, none more so than VFX. Whether it's the sprawling foreign worlds, the innovative spacecraft or the iconic, massive sandworms, Dune's VFX team took on a formidable source material and delivered one of the most immersive scifi experiences we've had in years.
Hair & Makeup
The Eyes of Tammy Faye
--- Dune --- Spencer ---
--- Cyrano --- The Last Duel ---
I hate to say it, because I generally cannot stand the recent trend of "Let's take an actor who looks nothing like this real-life person and stick them in prosthetics until they're unrecognizable," but there's really no arguing with how amazing the work done turning Jessica Chastain into Tammy Faye Baker was. It's a marvelous transformation, and absolutely deserved its gold.
Costumes
Jenny Beavan (Cruella)
--- Bob Morgan (Dune) --- Massimo Cantini Parrini (Cyrano) ---
--- Jacqueline Durran (Spencer) --- Malgosia Turzanska (The Green Knight) ---
Cruella was... a lot of things, only a few of them being good, but one of those good things was a story set in the fashion industry, which gave Jenny Beavan a chance to absolutely swing for the fences with incredibly stylish, outlandish costume designs. And in a field frequently dominated by period pieces (and we got some incredible period costumes, don't get me wrong, in Cyrano and Green Knight) it's refreshing to see a brilliant artist pushing to the limits of their craft in new and exciting ways.
Runner-Ups: The Tragedy of Macbeth, Last Night in Soho,
West Side Story, Nine Days
Production Design
Nine Days
--- The Tragedy of Macbeth --- Dune ---
--- Nightmare Alley --- Parallel Mothers ---
A great year for production design, with some truly stunning realities being created on film. Macbeth's brilliant sets evoking an eerie merging of stage and film was especially memorable, as was Parallel Mothers managing to stand out in a way few contemporary-set films do. But the gold goes to Nine Days - a breathtakingly elegant depiction of its cosmic waiting room. The heavenly beach houses, Will's house with his wall of television monitors, and of course the basement with its stunning "one moment on Earth" sequences: All make up a wholly original world I'll never forget.
Runner-Ups: The French Dispatch, Cyrano,
West Side Story, Last Night in Soho
Sound
Passing
--- Nine Days --- The Green Knight ---
--- Dune --- Pig ---
The unsung achievement of Passing is how perfectly it recreates the feeling of retro Hollywood. Many contemporary black & white films make the switch to monochrome as a singular choice, but for Passing, it's a full concept statement. It feels ripped from the reels of a 1950's cinema, and a huge part of pulling that off is the recreation of sound effects. The dialogue, the winter wind, the ambient noise... all are perfectly mixed to the tune of director Rebecca Hall's period vision.
Runner-Ups: CODA, Nightmare Alley
The Tragedy of Macbeth, West Side Story
Editing
Sarah Broshar & Michael Kahn (West Side Story)
--- Pamela Martin (King Richard) ---
--- Andrew Weisblum & Myron Kerstein (tick... tick... BOOM!) ---
--- Paul Machliss (Last Night in Soho) --- Úna Ní Dhonghaíle (Belfast) ---
Spielberg's epic retelling of the classic Hollywood musical relies in equal parts on massive, choreographed set-pieces and quiet, intimate moments. Broshar and Kahn's editing fuses each scene together seamlessly. It matches perfectly with the the work of the director and DP to weave the most complex and simple scenes together in a way that never gets lost or confused and always feels natural.
Runner-Ups: Dune, Nightmare Alley
The Lost Daughter
Original Score
Antonio Pinto (Nine Days)
--- Jonny Greenwood (Spencer) --- Hans Zimmer (Dune) ---
--- Nathan Johnson (Nightmare Alley) --- Alberto Iglesias (Parallel Mothers) ---
One of my favorite categories to judge, because it means commuting to the tune of amazing film scores all day long. Really amazing work to choose from all around, but I'm giving the gold to Antonio Pinto's haunting, string-heavy music for Nine Days. A beautiful, memorable score that draws on the in-universe narrative and themes to create an orchestral lifeblood that is bound to each character and plot development in turn. I'll be listening to it for years to come.
Runner-Ups: Alexandre Desplat (The French Dispatch), Dan Ramer (Luca),
Alexis Grapsas & Philip Klein (Pig), Jonny Greenwood (The Power of the Dog)
Best Adapted Screenplay
Steven Levenson (tick...tick...BOOM!)
--- David Lowery (The Green Knight) --- Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Lost Daughter) ---
--- Rebecca Hall (Passing) --- Guillermo del Toro & Kim Morgan (Nightmare Alley) ---
Jonathan Larson's autobiographical musical 'tick... tick... BOOM!' is a show that, despite its obvious appeal to the movies, does its darnedest to evade compatibility with adaptation to the screen. Yet Steven Levenson managed to wrangle the idiosyncratic narrative structure into a screenplay that perfectly balances traditional cinematic storytelling with the unique style of the live show.
Runner-Ups: CODA, The Power of the Dog,
Cyrano, Dune
Best Original Screenplay
Edson Oda (Nine Days)
--- Fran Kranz (Mass) --- Eskil Vogt & Joachim Trier (The Worst Person in the World) ---
--- Emma Seligman (Shiva Baby) --- Kenneth Branagh (Belfast) ---
Oda's script for Nine Days stands a head above all the others for the sheer originality of its concept. He has crafted a whole new cosmic reality on the page, one that still remains instantly accessible because of just how deeply it cuts to the heart of the human experience. These characters living on the precipice of eternity and oblivion navigate their stories with poignant pathos but, even more importantly, relatable emotions. It takes a heady, potentially ungraspable concept and makes it truly immersive. A thoughtful narrative that's stuck with me for a year and I expect will stick with me for a long time to come.
Runner-Ups: Pedro Almodóvar (Parallel Mothers), Steven Knight (Spencer),
Paul Thomas Anderson (Licorice Pizza)
Best Cinematography
Bruno Delbonnel (The Tragedy of Macbeth)
--- Janusz Kaminski (West Side Story) --- Claire Mathon (Spencer) ---
--- Andrew Droz Palermo (The Green Knight) --- Wyatt Garfield (Nine Days) ---
2021 was a stacked year behind the cameras, delivering plenty of jaw-dropping visuals across the board, but Bruno Delbonnel's haunting black & white depiction of Shakespeare's iconic tragedy takes the cake. The movie blurs the lines between stageplay and cinema, and Delbonnel leans into that, creating an eerie ambience through which we are treated to the timeless murders, rendering them as unsettling as if told for the first time.
Runner-Ups: Ari Wegner (The Power of the Dog), Greig Fraser (Dune),
Chung-hoon Chung (Last Night in Soho), Maria Rusche (Shiva Baby)
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Troy Kotsur (CODA)
--- Jeffrey Wright (The French Dispatch) --- Kodi Smit-McPhee (Power of the Dog) ---
--- David Alvarez (West Side Story) ---
--- Anders Danielsen Lie (The Worst Person in the World) ---
Shocking as it may seem these days, here's one the Academy got right. While CODA didn't stick with me on the same level as it did for so many others, Troy Kotsur gives a performance that far eclipses the rest of the film and enshrines himself as one of our greatest movie dads. He is hilarious, inspiring and heart-breaking, all while delivering all but one single word through sign language.
Runner-Ups: Benedict Wong (Nine Days), David Strathairn (Nightmare Alley),
Timothy Spall (Spencer), Ciarán Hinds (Belfast)
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Ariana DeBose (West Side Story)
--- Ruth Negga (Passing) --- Caitrionna Balfe (Belfast) ---
--- Aunjanue Ellis (King Richard) --- Anne Dowd (Mass) ---
Like Supporting Actor, I can't argue with the Academy for this year's winner here. DeBose brings an explosive energy to her performance as Anita, becoming the driving force of any scene she steps into. Already an experienced star of musicals on the stage, she doesn't miss a beat transferring her skills to the screen. Her joy is infectious, until Anita's dream finally shatters, and she ups the ante into a devastating emotional performance that stops the show and never lets go.
Runner-Ups: Kathryn Hunter (Macbeth), Kirsten Dunst (The Power of the Dog),
Toko Miura (Drive My Car), Jessie Buckley (The Lost Daughter)
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Winston Duke (Nine Days)
--- Nicholas Cage (Pig) --- Andrew Garfield (tick...tick...boom!)
--- Benedict Cumberbatch (Power of the Dog) --- Denzel Washington (Macbeth) ---
I first saw Winston Duke in a recurring role on CBS' Person of Interest and knew he was going to be a star. Next thing you know, he's jumped to the big screen in blockbuster works from Marvel and Jordan Peele. Here, he takes center stage as the enigmatic protagonist of Nine Days, and it is the role of a lifetime. His Will is a deeply layered character, with a fragile vulnerability made all the more compelling by Duke's imposing stature. As all of his grief, anger and buried hope are peeled back, he invites the audience to examine them with sincerity. He gives each facet depth without letting any one piece define the whole - a powerhouse portrayal of a fascinating character.
Runner-Ups: Will Smith (King Richard), Bradley Cooper (Nightmare Alley),
Peter Dinklage (Cyrano), Hidetoshi Nishijima (Drive My Car)
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Kristin Stewart (Spencer)
--- Penélope Cruz (Parallel Mothers) --- Olivia Colman (The Lost Daughter) ---
--- Renate Reinsve (Worst Person in the World) --- Zazie Beetz (Nine Days) ---
This was without a doubt the hardest acting category to narrow down, possibly the hardest category overall. There were so many incredible lead actresses this year; after locking in the top three of Stewart, Cruz and Colman I went through so many variations. But Stewart on top was never in question for me: Her performance as Diana is a masterclass in subtle emotion work. She embodies the role, and draws the audience into her mental state so that we are seeing the film through her eyes; a performance than can make even the most mundane scenes thrilling and captivating.
Runner-Ups: Martha Plimpton (Mass), Rachel Sennott (Shiva Baby),
Rachel Zegler (West Side Story), Francis McDormand (Macbeth)
Best Director
Steven Spielberg (West Side Story)
--- Edson Oda (Nine Days) --- Pablo Larraín (Spencer)
--- Pedro Almodóvar (Parallel Mothers) --- Emma Seligman (Shiva Baby) ---
This was an amazing year for directorial debuts, with two (Oda and Seligman) making my final roster and many more in contention. But ultimately the gold goes to an old-timer. Spielberg delivers his best work in a decade or more with West Side Story, wading into unfamiliar genre waters and putting his masterful hand on full display. It's such a smoothly directed film, soaring along like a well-oiled machine, which is no small feat given all the moving parts in play. It's a melodic wakeup call to those thinking Spielberg's glory days are in the past - he's still learning and finding new ways to deliver outstanding art that moves and inspires.
Runner-Ups: Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog), Kenneth Branagh (Belfast),
Denis Villeneuve (Dune), Rebecca Hall (Passing)
Best Picture
Nine Days
--- Spencer --- West Side Story --- Belfast --- Parallel Mothers ---
--- Shiva Baby --- The Worst Person in the World --- tick...tick...boom! ---
--- Passing --- The Green Knight ---
Elephant in the Room: Dune missed the cut, ultimately because the script (while necessarily set aside as a Part One) never quite feels complete. On a technical level, it's incredible, but the story just wasn't there for me. With that aside, let's look at the winner. I'll be posting a full review of Nine Days soon, but in brief: It's a movie like no other. A wholly unique endeavor that captivates you with its story from beginning to end, creating an awe-inspiring world for its deeply talented ensemble to live in. It deals in lofty concepts, but the script and performances root them in a shared human experience that makes them accessible and asks us to dwell on what we've seen long after the credits are done rolling. I can't wait to talk about it in more depth, but for now, I can say I was never in doubt. Nine Days is the best movie of 2021.
Runner-Ups: Dune, Nightmare Alley, Cyrano, The Power of the Dog,
King Richard, The Tragedy of Macbeth
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