Category: Oscar Contenders

Few casual moviegoers will find Chloé Zhao’s latest directorial effort to be their absolute favorite film of the year, but even fewer can reasonably argue that it may be among the very best.

A haunting yet powerful portrait of a hidden life across the heartland, Nomadland finds some of the best of America wandering across the country in search of boundless freedom and of themselves.

Frances McDormand stars as Fern, a seasonal worker traveling the country in an inauspicious white van following the death of her husband and collapse of the town they lived in after the US Gypsum plant closed down. Along the course of her travels, she meets a variety of interesting characters living as van-dwellers.

Rather than forcing plot down the throats of its audience, Nomadland meanders slowly through its 105-minute running time with a subtle grace that allows for deep reflection. Zhao’s film is an unassuming portrait of Americana through the lens of a woman unable to cope with massive changes in her life.

Nomadland is a quiet road movie filled with introspection, genuine performances from raw untrained talent and endlessly striking cinematography that maximizes natural light.

At its core is McDormand, who anchors the audience in the world of nomadic living with a somber, intentionally soft performance as Fern. Much of the film follows Fern experiencing life on the open roads for the first time and McDormand draws viewers in with a genuine warmth that masks deep inner pain. 

What McDormand makes seem so effortless is incredibly difficult to pull off, having Fern be present in the moments presented to her by life’s unpredictability that gives Nomadland a sense of wonderous freedom.

Nomadland is less a narrative fiction and more an organic work of art thanks in large part to Zhao’s decision to cast nonprofessional actors – real life nomads playing themselves who deliver a large majority of the film’s emotional stakes and authenticity.

Characters like the reclusive Swankie or energetic Linda May provide Nomadland with a sense of color, bursting any superficial sheen that studio features might have. At times, Zhao’s film becomes almost a documentary with McDormand playing tour guide to an unknown world of America’s heartland. Her film honors the nomadic culture with quiet reverence and respect, allowing these wandering seniors to express themselves in pure honesty that radiates off the screen.

Aside from McDormand, the one recognizable face is veteran character actor David Strathairn, who plays Dave with a light touch, matching McDormand’s warmth and becoming a small part of the larger picture of the film with a simple presence.

Zhao takes audiences through Fern’s journey in an endless array of loosely connected vignettes meant to showcase her state of being. Scenes feel immensely organic as if they are occurring in real-time without prompting and Nomadland often has an improvisational quality to its storytelling that likely helped draw the first-time actors out of their shells.

Cinematographer Joshua James Richards masterfully utilizes an extended wide angle lens to frame the long, empty vastness of the film’s outdoor landscapes and mirrors that by pulling his camera in close to characters, tightening the frame to the point where there’s nowhere else to look but people telling stories.

Winner of the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Drama, Nomadland is poised to be a frontrunner at this year’s Academy Awards with a Best Picture nomination a foregone conclusion. Zhao, who won Best Director at Sunday’s Golden Globes, is a certainty for an Oscar nomination as is previous winner McDormand, who gives the most subdued, yet enchanting performance of her career.

A cinematography nod is likely, but larger nominations in categories like adapted screenplay, score and supporting actor for Strathairn could become a precursor for a major awards sweep.

A fictional film that blends verité documentary storytelling with a loose narrative structure, Nomadland is the epitome of independent cinema at its finest and an absolute must see film streaming on Hulu for easy access by casual audiences.

Once a year, a film comes along that cuts so deeply against the grain that its ingenuity and craftsmanship push movies forward for years to come.

Amidst the backdrop of pandemic-led movie shortages, the stark contrast between the relatively mundane films of 2020 and writer/director Emerald Fennell’s debut feature, an instant hit when it debuted at last year’s Sundance Film Festival on its way to being the “it movie” for cinephiles’ most anticipated list.

With her debut feature that more than lives up to the hype, Fennell creates a sugarcoated, pop fairyland that masks personal trauma behind the walls of an avenging angel-type loner. 

Through neon lights and hyper-realistic social-media worthy imagery, Promising Young Woman exceeds and shatters the expectations of a revenge thriller to become something much more inventive and daring. 

The film follows Cassandra Thomas, a medical school dropout living at home with her parents unable to fully recover from the trauma of a tragic event in her past. In her search for answers, Cassie spends nights out trying to lure men into her trap to teach them a lesson they won’t forget.

Fennell’s silver-tongued screenplay requires actors who can keep the sharp wit of her comedy balanced with the inner emotional nuance and Oscar-nominated actress Carey Mulligan creates a presence on screen that pulls the best from DeNiro in Taxi Driver and the films of Martin Scorsese.

Promising Young Woman will likely be compared to Joker, which is a derisive analogy for the simple fact that Fennell’s film operates on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, both in tone and character. What makes Cassie such a compelling lead character is how her drive for a sense of justice leaves her short-sighted to the world around her and yet acutely aware of how to twist the knife in on her perceived enemies.

Mulligan delivers a career-best performance as Cassie, the titular “promising young woman” whose life turns to disarray after the loss of her best friend Nina. There’s moments where it feels as though Mulligan is floating outside of Cassie’s body as events melt around her, but at times, a twisted sense of calculation and presence washes over Mulligan’s eyes to create the prologue to epic revenge fantasy.

The ensemble cast who give such depth to Cassie’s jaded world is a masterclass in finding the right performer for singular moments when the film needs it most.

Comedian and Eighth Grade writer/director Bo Burnham steps in front of the camera to challenge Cassie into a conventional normalcy, filling the role of sweetheart boyfriend Ryan with far more complexity than he’ll be given at first glance.

Connie Britton blends a reserved confidence that draws audiences in only to flip on a dime as needed for one pivotal scene, only to find herself overshadowed moments later by an incredible supporting turn from an uncredited Alfred Molina as a lawyer Cassie confronts.

The supporting women of the film provide a terrific counterbalance to Mulligan’s calculated mania, especially Alison Brie’s searingly hypocritical work as a former classmate of Cassie’s.

But it’s the litany of smaller roles given to men like Adam Brody, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Max Greenberg – “that guy” actors known for playing adorable, safe good guys – that work so well in Promising Young Woman as audiences take the stereotypes they’ve built up in their heads for these performers and watch as Fennell and Mulligan help twist them into something much darker.

Promising Young Woman wonderfully sidesteps direct confrontation of sexual assault, something a lesser, more conventional prestige drama would linger on. The physicality and violence inherent in these moments are replaced with more raw, lingering emotions that trigger character development and further the plot, solidifying Fennell’s ability to pen a screenplay that will keep audiences on their toes and wanting to restart the film as soon as it’s over. 

Fennell expertly infuses her film with a vast array of needle-drop moments from Britney Spears’ “Toxic” to Juice Newton’s “Angel of the Morning” to a haunting remix of “It’s Raining Men” that set the tone for a distinctly original story. Combined with Anthony Willis’ haunting score changing the mood as needed to keep the audience guessing, Promising Young Woman boast musical moments that will lodge themselves deep in the minds of ardent fans of the thriller.

Hands down a front-runner at the next Film Independent Spirit Awards, Promising Young Woman enters the end-of-year conversation at just the right time to pick up momentum towards Oscar nominations this April. Fennell’s debut feature is quite likely to earn nominations for Best Actress and Best Original Screenplay, with Best Picture and Best Director honors not out of the question.

Promising Young Woman has some of the best cinematic moments in recent memory and ones that shouldn’t be spoiled, making Mulligan’s awards-worthy performance an absolute must see on demand for ardent cinephiles who enjoy a film that will engage and challenge its audience at every turn.

This review is based on an advance screening of “One Night in Miami” through this critic’s membership as a voter for the annual Film Independent Spirit Awards.

Four men gather in a hotel room to celebrate the accomplishments of one of their own.

Their party turns into a deep, philosophical conversation that crystallizes a moment in time in American history and challenges each to become a better version of themselves.

It’s already tantalizing subject matter for prestige drama, but make those men civil rights activist Malcolm X, football star Jim Brown and music sensation Sam Cooke getting together with their friend, newly crowned boxing champ Cassius Clay mere hours before he becomes Muhammad Ali; now that’s truly something special.

Based on a fictionalized account of one evening in the early 1960s, Oscar winning actress Regina King steps behind the director’s chair for the first time adapting Kemp Powers’ critically acclaimed 2013 stage play One Night in Miami.

King delivers a feature that’s terrifically solid in its cinema, but truly special in its theater. An opening salvo introduces the four protagonists individually with some matter of gusto, yet when King gets them all into one moderately sized hotel room together, the true magic of One Night in Miami occurs.

The film takes on its stage roots and becomes a dialogue heavy masterclass in character development, active listening and dramatic monologuing. King draws exceptional performances out of her leading men by knowing how to put them in the right spots to succeed and framing each in such a way that the men they portray feel as larger than life than their celebrity status suggests.

The success or failure of One Night rests squarely on casting and King absolutely crushes it with four massive home runs to fill out her small ensemble cast.

Kingsley Ben-Adir could very easily earn an Academy Award nomination for his soft-spoken, yet stirring turn as X, a man conflicted by his dissolving relationship with the Nation of Islam trying to keep it together to bring three influential celebrities into the fold.

Ben-Adir approaches each scene with a vigor as if his life is on the line rather than that of the character he portrays and it gives Ben-Adir an earnestness and resolve to calmly, yet forcefully attack each line of dialogue with a demonstrable passion that’s half convincing his friends and half convincing himself.

Both physically and in temperament, Eli Goree perfectly captures Ali’s charismatic cadence and unrelentingly affable personality and yet he infuses Ali with a quiet thoughtfulness that slowly bubbles to the surface over the course of two hours as Ali takes in debates between Cooke and X.

In a performance that’s more “float like a butterfly” than “sting like a bee,” Goree instantly rallies the audience to Ali’s side with a pitch perfect delivery of lines Ali probably never said but feel so genuine and authentic in Goree’s delivery.

As Brown, Aldis Hodge acts as the group’s stabilizing force, a literal mountain of a man that rarely speaks, but chooses his words with intention.

Hamilton star Leslie Odom Jr. blends his magnetic singing voice with some truly inspired acting work as Cooke, infusing the singer with a confidence that borders on self-righteousness but doesn’t become overly egotistical.

Each of the four approaches their character with a different take on the same basic concept, famous African American men twisting in the wind while trying to find the right path to help themselves and their community at large. 

At times, One Night captures the same trapped energy that 12 Angry Men does by locking talented actors into a single room and engaging in sharp, thought provoking dialogue.

King develops the tension by constantly circling the room with the camera, keeping the viewers’ eyes ping-ponging back and forth between X and Ali on one side and a wary Cooke on the other.

One Night will likely be a major player in this year’s awards conversation with solid chances at Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay leading the way. The film could also be Amazon’s best shot at golden trophies and may lead to financially-backed campaigns for acting noms for Ben-Adir and Goree as well as directing honors for King, a shoo-in for any first feature prizes from awards groups.

One Night works as a perfect double feature with Netflix’s new adaptation of the August Wilson play Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and is well worth seeking out when it arrives on Amazon Prime in mid-January.

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, the latest awards contending prestige drama from Netflix, will likely forever be known for the final performance of the late actor Chadwick Boseman, whose career was cut short by cancer in August.

But what hopefully won’t be left out is that the film based on an acclaimed August Wilson play is also the finest work of Boseman’s career and a crystallization of not only the times in which the film is set but the wide array of emotions that bubble to the surface in jazz music and in the musicians who perform.

Set over the course of one afternoon in 1920s Chicago, Black Bottom watches tensions rise during a recording session for blues pioneer Ma Rainey as an ambitious trumpeter, white management and hot, claustrophobic conditions lead to an eruption of hidden truths and inner conflict.

Boseman is a firestorm of energy that bubbles over the surface slowly, captivating audiences from the opening moments and never letting go as Levee, a young musician and composer wanting to form his own jazz band and play more up-tempo music to attract Northern audiences.

The natural charm from his smile serves as a balm to audiences trying to find their way through the somewhat confusing introduction, and its only when Levee tells his bandmates the story of his parents that Black Bottom truly takes shape.

Boseman emotes so dynamically in this one moment, about 30 minutes into the feature, that the whole tone of the film changes on a dime, no longer being about making a record. With the longing and ache in Boseman’s voice and the tremble in his physicality, Levee takes Black Bottom and reveals Wilson’s true vision – a heart-wrenching, thought provoking treatise on race relations during the 1920s that still sears in modern times.

And none of it works without Boseman at the very top of his craft, balancing fragile emotion with a masquerade of bravado to fool not only everyone else but Levee himself. 

Viola Davis – who won an Academy Award for her work in Denzel Washington’s 2016 adaptation of Wilson’s Fences – plays the title character with a larger-than-life persona that initially comes across as fake, but in smaller individual moments is revealed to be something much more nuanced and considered.

Where her work truly dazzles in the physicality she brings to Ma, using her body to get what she wants from everyone around her. There’s an imposing force to how Davis twists her hips or thrusts herself forward, implying Ma isn’t to be trifled with. Every movement is considered and electric, with the reverberations of her presence rumbling through the screen.

Black Bottom also boasts terrific work from the rest of its ensemble cast with Colman Domingo as the peacemaking band leader Cutler and Glynn Turman as piano player Toledo serving as standouts.

The film is such a fervent playground for these talented character actors largely because of the remarkable screenplay from Ruben Santiago-Hudson adapting Wilson’s words for the silver screen.

Dialogue gets peppered back and forth across short distances like bullets and the searing monologues delivered by Ma and Levee have an intensity and bite that can only come from an expert playwright like Wilson.

Stage adaptations often suffer from long, drawn-out running times that feel natural in a theater setting but drag on the big screen. Black Bottom, however, flies through a crisp 90-minute running time and Wolfe maintains an energy to the film from a visual perspective that keeps up with the sharp, relentless dialogue.

Cinematographer Tobias A. Schiessler keeps the camera in tight on performers while mixing up the color palette, enhancing the “anything can happen,” jazz improvisational style. At times, Black Bottom shows its stage roots, lingering in tight spaces and emphasizing the dialogue, and yet there’s a grandiose scale to the transitional pieces, moments in between the film’s “acts” that contextualize events and give Black Bottom a larger sense of place.

Black Bottom may well be a major contender for a Best Picture Oscar nomination, but it’s fairly written in stone that Boseman and Davis will both earn nods for their leading performance. The film’s adapted screenplay should earn accolades as well as technical honors for the film’s costuming, production design and Branford Marsalis’s score.

It’s quite possible, in fact, that Boseman could be the first posthumous double nominee with lead actor for Black Bottom and best supporting actor for Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods.

Certain to be near the top of any best of 2020 list, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom serves as the perfect coda on Boseman’s magnetic career and is an absolute must-see for ardent cinephiles on Netflix this awards season.