The 93rd Academy Awards: Inspired Winners Can’t Save an Uninspired Show
Tonight, the 93rd Academy Awards were held live from Los Angeles.There were a couple of shocking upsets and a couple of touching speeches, but overall the ceremony was a dry and long-winded affair that fell short for reasons having virtually nothing to do with COVID. Thankfully, the awards that were handed out went to richly deserving recipients.
Notes on the Winners
To the surprise of few, Nomadland picked up the Best Picture and Best Director Oscars. The film was the heavy favorite due to its dominance in those categories at prior ceremonies throughout this seemingly interminable awards season. Few, however, expected that it would lose Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Cinematography or that it would win a third Best Actress Oscar for Frances McDormand. I am delighted by its wins as I found the film to be a deeply compassionate, haunting, lyrical, and visually stunning ode to those Americans cast adrift during the Great Recession. It certainly isn’t the flashiest of the Best Picture winners, but it is a truly deserving one. (Click here to read my review and analysis of the film.)
In contrast to the awards for Best Picture and Best Director, the awards for Best Actress and Best Actor were genuine shockers. The Best Actress award was the most competitive it had been in…
