It’s the time of the year when I usually make predictions about the films to look for during the award season of early next year – but this has not been an ordinary year, that’s for sure. We have had only a handful of major releases so far, and the biggest has been Tenet, which is not the type of film that usually wins major awards. Now, of course, most of the big shots release at the very end of the year and the beginning of the new year, but with so many delays and postponements, who knows anymore?
Cannes didn’t happen in its usual fashion, so I have no clue which non-Hollywood flicks will be in the running this year. And to be fair, I’m also not sure of the usual US-British mix of films which will make up the majority of the nominee pool. For this reason, I have solely used the betting odds, updated today, in order to list the following names:
1. Nomadland
The film revolves around a woman in her sixties, who loses everything in the Great Recession and subsequently journeys aimlessly through the American West. Starring Frances McDormand in the main role, and directed by Chloe Zhao, the film could feel very relevant for some in the middle of yet another recession.
2. Mank
This one might be easier to watch, since it also has a Netflix release. It features a number of big names, such as Gary Oldman, Charles Dance and Amanda Seyfried, and is directed by none other than David Fincher. It follows a screenwriter’s development process of the iconic film Citizen Kane.
3. The Trial of the Chicago 7
Yet another US-centred story, this one set around the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. It also has a star-studded cast including Eddie Redmayne, Sacha Baron Cohen, Mark Rylance and Frank Langella, and is written and directed by the master of writing quality dialogue, Aaron Sorkin.
4. The Midnight Sky
This is the first time George Clooney directed a post-apocalyptic film and also starred in it. It also stars Felicity Jones, and revolves around a mysterious global catastrophe, which a lonely scientist stationed in the Arctic tries to prevent from claiming more lives. Also on Netflix, coming soon!
5. Macbeth
I don’t think I need to explain the premise or the plot in this case, so I will stick to the unique aspects of this adaptation. It stars Denzel Washington as Lord Macbeth, and is directed by Joel Coen without any involvement from his brother Ethan. With Frances McDormand as Lady Macbeth and Brendan Gleeson as King Duncan, it at the very least has great actors.
6. Minari
If Minari were to win the Best Picture award, it would be the second time in a row that a Korean film will have accomplished this – and it’s quite unlikely that it would happen. However, this film is certainly a breath of fresh air compared to the other items on this list, and I will be keeping my fingers crossed for it.
7. The French Dispatch
I have detailed The French Dispatch in at least one previous post, but given its delay, here we are again talking about it as a future launch. Written and directed by Wes Anderson and set in a 20th century fictional French city, it probably has one of the best casts ever assembled: Bill Murray, Timothee Chalamet, Saoirse Ronan, Lea Seydoux, Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, Willem Dafoe, Christoph Waltz, Adrien Brody, Benicio del Toro, Frances McDormand and a handful of others.
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