Our curiosity about the 93rd Academy Awards ended on March 15, with the long awaited Oscar nominations being announced by Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas. The film’s like “Nomadland,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” “Mank,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “Minari” and “Sound of Metal” have got multiple nominations in different categories, including the best film. But do you think it is fair to exclude “Never Rarely Sometimes Always,” “First Cow” and other masterpieces? Like any other year of Oscar nominations, many deserving titles were overlooked by the Academy in 2021. “Palm Springs,” “On the Rocks” and “The Vast House” are among other classics that have got zero Oscar nominations. It is a bitter truth that many of us are not able to swallow.
Let us have a look at 10 such masterworks, which will continue to rule our hearts even without any such Oscar nominations:
1)The 40-Year-Old Version
It was in the Sundance Film Festival 2020 that Radha Blank won the U.S. Dramatic Competition Directing Award for her “The 40-Year-Old Version.” The plot revolves around a struggling playwright, played by Radha Blank, who finds a new creative spark after shifting her focus on rapping. Though the Academy Awards may have been partial towards Blank’s directorial breakthrough, she has got several nominations lined one after another for her outstanding performance. Radha is BAFTA nominated in the “Best Actress in a Leading Role” category and is a Directors Guild of America Awards nominee for “Outstanding Directing of a First-Time Feature Film”. She is also nominated for Indie Spirit Award for “Best First Feature.”
2)Never Rarely Sometimes Always
“Never Really Sometimes Always” emerged as a critics group favorite of the year in 2020. Prior to that, the abortion drama has won several awards at the Sundance Film Festival and the Berlin Film Festival. The film is also nominated for Indie Awards in seven categories. The New York Film Critics Circle felicitated Sidney Flanigan with Best Actress Honors, while she received the Breakthrough Prize from the National Board of Review.
3)I’m Thinking of Ending Things
Charlie Kaufman has been an Oscar nominee several times for his screenplays and a one-time Oscar winner for his film, “Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind.” This year, it has been very unfair to Kaufman. His film, “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” is being omitted from the awards race, which is the biggest snub in the history of nominations.
4)First Cow
Kelly Reichard’s “First Cow” has been flooded with several nominations, four Gotham Award nominations, and three Indie Spirit Award nominations. It also won the New York Film Critics Circle Prize for Best feature. Nevertheless, it is sad to see that the film could not make its way to the Oscar nominations.
5)On the Rocks
It seems as if the Academy Awards are completely overlooking Sofia Coppola after she won the Oscar Award under the “Best Original Screenplay” category for “Lost in Translation”. “On the Rocks” has been featured as one of the big titles on Apple’s inaugural Oscar slate, but has failed to secure a place in the Oscar nominations.
6)Palm Springs
The heart-touching musical comedy, “Palm Springs” was a strong contender for two big Golden Globes nominations this year. The Writers Guild of America nominated Andy Siara for Best Original Screenplay. The Academy Awards has overlooked its brilliant screenplay in presence of its other contenders like Minari, Sound of Metal, and so on
7)The Vast Of Night
The low-budget superb film,” The Vast of Night” marks the directorial debut of Andrew Patterson. It proceeds with how two teenage friends, working as switchboard operators at a radio station experience a mystical sound, while broadcasting. The Slamdance Film Festival awarded the “Vast of Night” with “Best Narrative Feature Audience Award” in 2019. Though the movie did not make it to the Oscars, we are surely going to see a lot more masterworks directed by Patterson in the coming years.
8)Shirley
Elisabeth Moss has won critical acclamation from the audience for her role in “Shirley”. But these do not seem enough to convert her efforts into an Oscar nomination. She was overlooked last year too, for “Her Smell” despite critical acclaim.
9)Possessor
The movie is undeniably capable of taking control of our minds as we watch the movie. It is a horror techno-thriller that feels like a perfect blend of “Mandy”, “Inception,” and “Ghost in the Shell.” It clearly deserves a place in the Oscar race for Best Makeup and Best Original Score, if not Best Movie.
10)The Assistant
The directorial debut of Kitty Green is yet another jewel, which was the most deserving Oscar contender of the 2020-21 Academy Awards. It is nearly impossible for any film to hold the buzz intact for over a year. Nevertheless, Julia Garner deserves recognition under the Best Actress category. Her performance in “The Assistant” has won her Best Actress nominations at the Indie Spirits Awards and Gotham Awards.