This year’s Oscar nominations are out! Despite the pandemic, 2021 witnessed the film industry recover slowly with quite a few outstanding movies.
As expected The Power of the Dog claimed the most nominations with a count of 12, followed by Dune with 10 and Belfast with seven.
As usual, there are complaints about some titles/actors being snubbed this year (The Tragedy of Macbeth, for one!) and the criticism is with good reason. You must be wondering, in the end which films made the cut for Best Picture, and Directing?
For the Oscars 2022, five films were nominated for Directing: Belfast, Drive My Car, The Power of the Dog, Licorice Pizza, and West Side Story.
For Best Picture, the above five films plus CODA, Don’t Look Up, Dune, King Richard, and Nightmare Alley received nominations.
I’m super excited to talk to you about these films, which make for a great list to peruse for your next watch!
1Belfast | Best Picture | Directing
Cast – Caitríona Balfe, Judi Dench, Jamie Dornan, Ciarán Hinds, Colin Morgan, and Jude Hill.
Director – Kenneth Branaugh
Director Kenneth Branaugh describes Belfast as a film closest to his heart and as such follows nine-year-old Buddy’s childhood growing up in Belfast in 1969.
The political backdrop of the film is the Northern Ireland Conflict (also known as The Troubles) that began in this decade.
Duration-wise, one of the shortest feature films released this year, but with the biggest heart. You cannot miss this one!
2Drive My Car | Best Picture | Directing
Cast – Hidetoshi Nishijima, Tōko Miura, and Masaki Okada.
Director – Ryusuke Hamaguchi
The first Japanese film to be nominated for the Academy’s Best Picture, it is based on Haruki Murakami’s short story of the same name.
The story is about an actor and theatre director who struggles with the death of his wife, who he loved to no end despite their no-so-perfect marriage.
He finds solace in his chauffeur who has gone through losses on her own and slowly finds his way back to acceptance, and his other love, acting.
3The Power of the Dog | Best Picture | Directing
Cast – Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, and Kodi Smit-McPhee.
Director – Jane Campion
The words “Western” and “Psychological drama” should be enough to get you compelled to watch this film.
Cumberbatch plays the charismatic ranch co-owner Phil Burbank who begins tormenting his new sister-in-law and nephew because they don’t fit into his way of life. Slowly, their “unconventional” attitudes open him up to family and love.
I have nothing more to say other than if you haven’t watched this film yet — Do it right now. The Power of the Dog is expected to win big at the Oscars.
4West Side Story | Best Picture | Directing
Cast – Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Mike Faist, and Rita Moreno
Director – Steven Spielberg
There is no one unfamiliar with the set-up of West Side Story — In 1957, the Jets (made up of white youth) rage a fight against the Puerto Rican Sharks, all for control of San Juan Hill on Manhattan’s West Side. In the midst of all this, Tony and Maria fall in love despite their opposing affinities.
If you’re a fan of the original, this rendition is definitely worth a watch. It was also named one of the Top 10 films of 2021, even though it missed its mark at the box office.
5Licorice Pizza | Best Picture | Directing
Cast – Alana Haim, Cooper Hoffman, Sean Penn, Tom Waits, Bradley Cooper, and Benny Safdie.
Director – Paul Thomas Anderson
Haim and Hoffman both make their acting debut in Licorice Pizza set in 1973, San Fernando Valley. 15-year-old Gary falls in love with 25-year-old Alana at first sight, when he’s preparing for a school play.
Wanting to explore a high schooler having adult-esque relationships, Anderson wrote the film supplemented with stories by his friend Gary Goetzman, who starred in the Lucille Ball’s Yours, Mine and Ours as a child actor.
6CODA | Best Picture
Cast – Emilia Jones, Eugenio Derbez, Troy Kotsur, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, and others.
Director – Sian Heder
Jones plays Ruby, the film title’s “CODA” — Child Of Deaf Adults, with an incredible talent for singing.
When her music teacher discovers this, he offers to help train her to win a scholarship at Berklee. Ruby’s biggest qualm is that choosing a music career may come across as “abandoning” her family.
This film poignantly captures how teenagers have to navigate growing up, responsibility, sacrifice and being true to oneself.
7Don’t Look Up | Best Picture
Cast – Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Rob Morgan, Jonah Hill, Mark Rylance, Tyler Perry, Timothée Chalamet, Ron Perlman, Ariana Grande, Scott Mescudi, Cate Blanchett, and Meryl Streep.
Director – Adam McKay
A satire on the government and public indifference to any impending catastrophe, the film tells the story of two astronomers who are trying to warn everyone about a comet about to hit Earth that could end all life on the planet.
Despite the huge ensemble of A-list actors, Don’t Look Up sure got viewers’ opinions divided. But I cannot thank the movie enough for both the ethical discourse and the memes I found online.
8Dune | Best Picture
Cast – Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Zendaya and others.
Director – Denis Villeneuve
Dune is a Sci-Fi epic based on Frank Herbert’s novel of the same name. Paul Atreides and his family are thrust into a war on the inhospitable desert planet Arrakis.
Here he finds that his adversaries are looking to monopolize a precious substance known as “Melange” that is only found on Arrakis.
Dune’s pace and intricacies really challenge audiences prone to getting distracted easily, but it is a beauty like none other for those who persevere.
9King Richard | Best Picture
Cast – Will Smith Aunjanue Ellis, Saniyya Sidney, and Demi Singleton.
Director – Reinaldo Marcus Green
Smith plays Richard Smith who trains his two daughters Venus and Serena into becoming professional tennis players against all odds.
An insight into the star players’ formative years, we wade through the family’s financial struggles and demands of being taken seriously in a predominately-white dominated spot.
10Nightmare Alley | Best Picture
Cast – Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette, Rooney Mara, and others.
Director – Guillermo del Toro
The film is a neo-noir thriller film based on William Lindsay Gresham’s novel of the same name. Cooper plays a confident, ambitious Carny who can trick people and make them take his word as gospel. He finds his match and more in Blanchett’s character, a dangerous psychiatrist.
Although the film didn’t do well at the box office, it still received critical acclaim over all. It’s mystery and drama is bound to keep you engaged.
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