Best Pictures #84: The 2021 (94th) Academy Awards: My Pick

 by A.J. 

Best Pictures #84: The 2021 (94th) Academy Awards: My Pick

The 94th Academy Awards for films released between March 1st and December 31st, 2021 was held on March 27th, 2022 and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic loomed over the ceremony. The effect of the theater closures in 2020 could still be felt due to that year’s extended eligibility calendar (January 1st 2020-February 28th, 2021), giving the 2021 Academy Awards the shortest eligibility period in its history. As with the 2020 Oscars, eligibility was granted to streaming releases and theatrical runs outside of Los Angeles. In an attempt to boost broadcast ratings, several changes were made to the ceremony that stirred controversy and backlash. To shorten the broadcast, several “technical” categories were handed out before the official ceremony then edited into the primetime broadcast with speeches intact (except for one winner who mentioned the importance of the technical workers). The "In Memoriam" tribute included dancers which some found inappropriate. The results of internet polls for Fan Favorite and Stand Up And Cheer Moment were announced to awkwardly silent reactions from the ceremony audience and confusion from people watching at home. All the efforts to shorten the ceremony were unsuccessful and though the ratings increased from the previous year they were still among the lowest the Oscars broadcast has received. Perhaps the only change that worked was the expansion of the Best Picture nominations to a full set of 10, instead of the between 5-10 sliding scale that always resulted in either 8 or 9 nominees.

Any highlights of the 94th Oscars, including Troy Kostur’s win for Best Supporting Actor, and even the lowlights, were overshadowed by Will Smith slapping Chris Rock on stage after a joke Rock made about Jada Pinkett, Smith’s wife. The speech Smith gave about 40 minutes later when he won the Best Actor Oscar for King Richard could best be described as painfully awkward. For weeks after, whenever anyone talked about the Academy Awards they only talked about “the slap.”

The Power of the Dog, the most nominated film of the night and early frontrunner to win Best Picture, ended up winning only one award: Best Director for Jane Campion. The most awarded film ended up being Dune with 6 awards, however, nearly all of these were for technical categories given out before the live broadcast. Ultimately the big award went to CODA, which won every category it was nominated for (Picture, Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor). In a potentially historic achievement CODA also became the first film distributed by a streaming service, AppleTV+, to win Best Picture, a prize long sought by established rival Netflix. CODA is an entertaining and heartwarming film in spite of its familiar and formulaic structure. As the Oscars approached, CODA picked up more and more awards from other awards bodies so its Oscar win was not entirely a surprise, but it still caught me off guard. The objections that have arisen to CODA’s Best Picture win run along the lines of: it’s a good movie but hardly the most creative, affecting, or the best. Depending on the person, this is true of every Best Picture Oscar winner. I agree that CODA is a satisfying film, but I would cast my vote another way:

My Pick for Best Picture of 2021: Licorice Pizza

There were two films from 2021 that had a profound and lasting effect on me. I saw both in theaters but I doubt this had any extra bearing on feelings as I’ve seen one of them at home twice since then. They are In the Heights and Licorice Pizza, each tied for my choice as the best film of 2021 and since only Licorice Pizza was noticed by the Academy, it gets my vote for Best Picture of 2021. I find it's much more difficult to write about a film I love (not like but love) because they make a connection on an emotional, ineffable level and it is hard to write about pure emotions. I believe that after Martin Scorsese, Paul Thomas Anderson is the greatest living filmmaker. Like Scorsese, even when his films miss or don’t work, they do so in an interesting way. Licorice Pizza works in every way. It’s the kind of film that could only be made by a master filmmaker. From cinematography to costumes to even sound (the sound of heavy car doors slamming shut, a sound I remember from my childhood, is expertly captured) to the performances and writing and editing. It is the kind of movie that makes me forget I’m watching a movie and creates an all-encompassing experience. It transports me to a time and place that I have no experience or familiarity with but makes me feel that they are similar to my own experiences. Licorice Pizza makes me want to say that it “reminds me of what I love about movies” and all the other clichés people use when they can’t pin down the words to describe the profound, moving, and elevating experience they just had at the movies.    

Best Pictures #83: 2021 (94th) Academy Award Best Picture Winner: CODA

 by A.J.

Best Pictures #83: 2021 (94th) Academy Award Best Picture Winner

CODA

It would be unfair, but accurate, to call CODA formulaic. Accurate because it indeed follows a very recognizable template, scene to scene, beat by beat. Unfair because “formulaic” strongly implies that it is unsatisfying and mediocre, which CODA certainly is not. This is an unabashedly feel-good, crowd-pleasing movie that works in spite of, and even because of, its familiarity. It is a coming-of-age story, a family drama, family comedy, and a relatable story, regardless of the specific circumstances of this family. 

Emilia Jones stars as Ruby, a high school senior and the only hearing member of a deaf family (a Child Of Deaf Adults, or CODA), which, as you might imagine, adds an extra layer of anxiety and stress to what would already be a stressful and anxious time for any teenager. At times she feels like an outsider in her own family. When her mother, Jackie (Marlee Matlin), learns that Ruby joined the school choir, her response is along the lines of: if I were blind you would want to be a painter. But Ruby really does love to sing and is good at it, once she gets over her initial shyness at choir rehearsal. Her father, Frank (Troy Kotsur), and brother, Leo (Daniel Durant), are fishermen who make the risky decision to start their own fishing co-op. Ruby works with them on the boat, acts as their translator, and makes sure they don’t get cheated by the vendors. 

The performances are what makes CODA so effective. Ruby is a kind of teenager we’ve seen before: bullied but not without friends, has a crush on the boy she’s assigned a duet with, wants to strike out on her own but feels responsible for her family. However, Emilia Jones really brings Ruby to life, turning her from a character into someone you recognize or find relatable. The Oscar winning screenplay by Sian Heder, who also directs, based on the French film La Famille Belier, gives each character a moment to shine. Leo wants his chance to prove that he can be the responsible one that looks out for the family. Jackie’s at times rocky relationship with her daughter feels like a genuine mother-daughter dynamic. The scene towards the end where she and Ruby finally connect is heartfelt thanks to Matlin and Jones. By a wide margin, the standout of the cast is Troy Kotsur. He plays Frank as a sometimes embarrassing parent, but always well meaning, loving, and optimistic. He even supports Ruby’s decision to join choir and apply to the prestigious Berklee College of Music in far away Boston. The most moving scene in the movie is a moment between him and Ruby after her college audition. Kotsur received much praise and acclaim and his win for Best Supporting Actor is very well deserved. Maybe the movie would work without him, but it is undeniably better with him.

The songs Ruby sings to express herself are a bit on the nose. There’s the obligatory scene where her responsibility for her family interferes with her choir commitments and the scene where choosing for herself leads to repercussions for her family. There’s the scene where she gets to know the boy she has a crush on and they jump into a lake together. There is not one but two big climaxes of Ruby performing on stage. Nevertheless, the groundwork is so expertly laid that when these scenes do come, they are dramatically satisfying.  

That the deaf characters do not feel like a gimmick or novelty is a credit to the approach taken by writer-director Sian Heder. This feels like so many other family stories because it is a movie about a family, not deafness. CODA tells a unique story in a familiar way, stirring emotions with great performances that make plot contrivances easy to overlook. 

Nominees: Philippe Rousselet, Fabrice Gianfermi, Patrick Wachsberger, producers

Director: Sian Heder

Screenplay: Sian Heder; based on La Famille Belier by Victoria Bedos & Stanislas Carré de Malberg & Éric Lartigau & Thomas Bidegain 

Cast: Emilia Jones, Eugenio Derbez, Troy Kotsur, Daniel Durant, Marlee Matlin

Release Date: August 13, 2021 

Production Companies: Apple Original Films, Pathé Films, Vendôme Pictures

Distributor: Apple TV+

Total Nominations: 3, including Best Picture

Wins: Best Picture, Supporting Actor-Troy Kotsur; Adapted Screenplay-Sian Heder

Other Nominations: N/A