While several of the biggest prizes at the Oscars 2021 went as expected, the Academy did still find room for some snubs, surprises, and shocks. The 2021 Oscars were recognizing a year unlike any other in Hollywood history, with the coronavirus pandemic having shut down multiple productions and caused widespread delays and uncertainty across the industry. The Oscars had to undergo some changes - not least a much later-than-usual ceremony date of April 25, 2021 - but nonetheless, the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences were still able to hand out awards to some of the best and biggest movies that did release over the preceding year.
Heading into Oscars 2021, it was David Fincher's Mank that led the way in terms of nominations with an impressive 10 nods. Behind it were several movies with six nominations, including the expected frontrunner, Chloé Zhao's Nomadland. That film had led the race since it debuted at Venice Film Festival in September 2020, and it held strong all the way to the finish line, claiming Best Picture, Best Actress for Frances McDormand, and a record making Best Director win for Zhao, who became the first woman of color and the first Chinese woman to win the award.
Mank itself won two awards from its 10 nominations, picking up Best Cinematography and Best Production Design. Elsewhere, the Oscars were spread between a range of movies, with Judas and the Black Messiah, Soul, The Father, Sound of Metal, and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom all picking up two prizes as well. As ever, though, while some things went to form, there were still a few snubs and surprises at the Oscars 2021.
Surprise/Snub: Anthony Hopkins Wins Best Actor Over Chadwick Boseman
In a break from tradition, the Best Actor award was moved to the very end of the night, given the spot usually reserved for Best Picture. That was taken as a further sign that this prize was going to be given posthumously to the late Chadwick Boseman for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, with the actor having already won a string of awards for the performance, including the Golden Globe, Critics Choice, and SAG award. Given the shock and sadness over the sudden loss of Boseman, it seemed like this was an ideal opportunity to honor a career cut short tragically soon, and for one of his finest roles, no less, that showed he was reaching the full of his astonishing potential. It's difficult to fully separate watching Boseman in Ma Rainey's from his death, but this is a performance so full and, by the end, shattering that it was particularly deserving.
That made it all the more surprising when Anthony Hopkins won Best Actor instead. Hopkins was by no means a rank outsider - he did take home the BAFTA, after all, and has won a lot of praise for his performance - but the odds had appeared to favor Boseman. Hopkins' turn as a man struggling with dementia is extremely affecting and powerful, and it's undoubtedly a deserving performance in its own right, but for this particular Oscars it is more surprising to see it win over Boseman's stunning work in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.
Surprise: Mank Wins Best Cinematography
Coming into the night with an Oscars 2021-leading 10 nominations, Mank wasn't exactly an underdog, but it also wasn't the heavy favorite to take home Best Cinematography. While its meticulous recreation of Hollywood during the Golden Age and links to Citizen Kane were always likely to win it Best Production Design, it remained to be seen if voters would also go for Erik Messerschmidt's black-and-white photography. That was particularly the case since it was up against Nomadland here; the naturalistic shooting style of the movie gave it a sense of beauty and style that even those not bowled over by the rest had to admit was great. Add in the fact it was the frontrunner for the biggest awards of the night, and this prize did seem more likely to head to Joshua James Richards. Of course, Hollywood loves movies and stories about itself, and the lavish detail in Mank - right down to the cigarette burns - got it the somewhat surprising win.
Snub: Leslie Odom Jr. Doesn't Win Best Original Song
Even before the ceremony, it hadn't been a great Academy Awards for One Night in Miami. While the movie did pick up three Oscars 2021 nominations, it could also count itself unlucky (or slighted) in not having greater buzz or even more potential accolades, with director among the bigger snubs there. On the night itself, then its chances in Best Supporting Actor were never great, and Adapted Screenplay also seemed too hotly-contested for it to stand out. But where it perhaps was expected to win the little gold man was Best Original Song for "Speak Now" by Leslie Odom Jr. and Sam Ashworth. Performed by the incredible Odom Jr., this was a good chance to recognize a deserving movie, but perhaps also to award one of the buzziest stars of 2020, based on the popularity of the ineligible Hamilton on Disney+. Best Original Song instead went to H.E.R., D'Mile, and Tiara Thomas for "Fight For You." "Speak Now" had the stronger awards season, but "Fight For You" was part of a film the Academy voters clearly liked more, giving it the win.
Surprise/Snub: The Father Wins Best Adapted Screenplay, Beats Nomadland and Borat 2
Another somewhat surprising win for The Father at the Oscars 2021 was for Best Adapted Screenplay, although this was admittedly something of a more open race. The Father had taken home the BAFTA, but the Golden Globe went to The Trial of the Chicago 7, the Critics Choice to Nomadland, and the Writers Guild of America award to Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. The latter is often a decent bellwether for the Oscars, which seemingly put Borat Subsequent Moviefilm in the driving seat; however, neither Nomadland or The Father had been eligible for the WGA award, making things a little trickier to predict. The shape of the night and awards season as a whole suggested that, if not Borat 2, then perhaps Nomadland might take it as the obvious choice for voters, but they instead went for Florian Zeller and Christopher Hampton's adaptation of the former's play.
Snub: The Trial Of The Chicago 7 Is Shut Out
Every year at the Oscars there is a discussion about the rise of streaming movies, and just how much they're beginning to break through. The was more pertinent than ever in 2021, when so many movies from the previous year had seen release plans drastically change, and so if ever there was a year where streamers - and in particular, Netflix's 2020 movies - had a better chance of grabbing some big wins, it was ostensibly this one. Two of Netflix's big contenders, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and Mank, did win two prizes each (Best Makeup & Hairstyling and Best Costume Design for the former, Best Cinematography and Best Production Design for the latter) but it's other major awards-targeted release was shut out completely.
The Trial of the Chicago 7, written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, came into the Oscars 2021 with a joint-second six nominations, including for Best Picture, but went home empty-handed. While it always seemed unlikely that it would take the top prize, there was perhaps an expectation that it would win something, especially given how the awards were mostly shared around. Best Editing seemed like a good chance for it to receive some recognition (but ultimately went to Sound of Metal), while Aaron Sorkin always has a chance in the Screenplay category (but lost out to the more deserving Emerald Fennell for Promising Young Woman). Following on from The Irishman being shut out last year, it was another snub for Netflix, and yet also highlighted some of The Trial of the Chicago 7's flaws, since Judas and the Black Messiah touches on a similar timeframe, events, and themes with more power.