Two months later than usual due to Covid-19 disruptions, the 93rd Academy Awards finally took place last night in an unusual ceremony. Outtake rounds up the night’s biggest winners and surprise snubs:
Nomadland (dir. Chloé Zhao)
Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland swept the 2021 Oscars, winning Best Picture, Best Actress for Frances McDormand (her third time receiving the award, having previously won for Fargo and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) and, in a historic victory, Best Director.
Chloé Zhao became the second woman ever, after Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker, to be named best director. The win also made Zhao the first woman of colour to receive Best Director in the history of the Awards.
Read Outtake’s review of 93rd Academy Awards Best Picture winner Nomadland.
The Father (dir. Florian Zeller)
The Father follows an elderly man (Anthony Hopkins) and his journey battling dementia. Florian Zeller’s directorial debut earned six Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Olivia Colman, Film Editing, Production Design, and Adapted Screenplay.
In a surprise twist for many who expected Chadwick Boseman to posthumously receive the award for his electric performance in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Hopkins won Best Actor. He became the oldest-ever recipient of an Acting Oscar, beating out Christopher Plummer who was 82 when he won in 2012 for Beginners.
Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller also won Best Adapted Screenplay for the film. The Father will not release until June 11th in the UK, but stay tuned for Outtake’s glowing review to be published closer to the date.
Read Outtake’s review of 93rd Academy Awards Best Actor winner The Father.
Judas and the Black Messiah (dir. Shaka King)
Judas and the Black Messiah was up for six awards last night, including Best Picture, Adapted Screenplay, Original Song, Cinematography, and (inexplicably) two nominations for Best Supporting Actor, which begged the question as to who, exactly, was the lead actor?
Daniel Kaluuya beat out his co-star LaKeith Stanfield for Best Supporting Actor, winning the Oscar for his portrayal of Black Panther leader Fred Hampton. Judas and the Black Messiah also collected the Academy Award for Best Original Song, which went to ‘Fight for You’ by H.E.R, Dernst Emile II, and Tiara Thomas.
Read Outtake’s review of 93rd Academy Award winner, Judas and the Black Messiah.
Minari (dir. Lee Isaac Chung)
Also up for six awards was Minari, a tender portrayal of the immigrant experience of the American Dream. Nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor for Steven Yeun, Best Supporting Actress for Yuh-Jung Youn, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Original Score.
Best Actress in a Supporting Role went to Yuh-Jung Youn, who became the first Korean actor to pick up an Oscar and marked Minari’s only win of the night.
Read Outtake’s review of 93rd Academy Awards winner Minari.
Soul (dir. Pete Docter)
Pixar’s touching feature Soul predictably won for Best Animated Film at the 2021 Oscars, beating other favourite Wolfwalkers. It also scooped the golden statuette for Best Original Score.
Read Outtake’s review of 93rd Academy Award winner Soul.
Mank (dir. David Fincher)
Mank, a biographical drama about screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz and his development of the screenplay for Citizen Kane, was up for ten Oscars last night, the most nominations of any film and that included most of the main categories. However, the David Fincher-directed Netflix Original won in only two categories: Best Production Design and Cinematography.
Read Outtake’s review of 93rd Academy Awards winner Mank.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (dir. George C. Wolfe)
Though Anthony Hopkins’ Best Actor win over Chadwick Boseman was an upset, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom nonetheless took home two Oscars. The first for Best Makeup and Hairstyling, awarded to Sergio Lopez-Rivera, Mia Neal and Jamika Wilson, and the second for Costume Design, which went to Ann Roth.
Read Outtake’s review of 93rd Academy Awards winner Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
Sound of Metal (dir. Darius Marder)
Appropriately, Sound of Metal ended the night with two Oscars for Sound and Film Editing, missing out on Best Actor for Riz Ahmed, Best Supporting Actor for Paul Raci, Original Screenplay, and Best Picture.
Read Outtake’s review of 93rd Academy Awards winner Sound of Metal.
Another Round (dir. Thomas Vinterberg)
Starring Mads Mikkelsen, the comedy-drama Another Round (Druk, in the original Danish) is an international co-production between Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden. The film – which was also up for Best Directing – won the Oscar for Best International Feature Film, for which it was always the clear favourite.
Read Outtake’s review of 93rd Academy Awards winner Another Round.
Promising Young Woman (dir. Emerald Fennell)
Having received five nominations in key categories such as Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress for Carey Mulligan, darkly comic revenge thriller Promising Young Woman took home the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, which was awarded to writer-director Emerald Fennell.
Read Outtake’s review of 93rd Academy Awards winner Promising Young Woman.
Tenet (dir. Christopher Nolan)
Lastly from us, the movie juggernaut prophesised to save cinema, a.k.a. Christopher Nolan‘s Tenet, won for Best Visual Effects, beating out Love and Monsters and Mulan for the Oscar.
Read Outtake’s review of 93rd Academy Awards winner Tenet.
Want more? Read our interviews with this year’s Oscar nominees:
Emma director Autumn de Wilde, which was nominated for Best Makeup and Hairstyling, and Best Costume Design.
White Eye director Tomer Shushan, which was nominated for Best Live Action Short Film.