Best Production Design: Ranking Every Oscar Nominee
We take for granted the architecture that many films present. To be fair, it can be increasingly hard to tell what is a real house that is being filmed in, and what is made from the ground up strictly for a production. The skill that goes into making lifelike structures that convincingly feel authentic is unimaginable, and perhaps under-appreciated by the masses. Well, this is the opportunity to prove to you that production design is one of cinema’s neatest elements. You can pick apart acting, costumes, make up, music, and other obvious pieces of the bigger puzzle. The best production design may be elusive, because you won’t notice it right away. We’re noticing these five films’ set design work, for sure.
Here are your nominees for Best Production Design, ranked from worst to best.
Biggest Snub: Midsommar
Just look at this picture. All of the structures in the tucked away summer festival were made from scratch. Just the outside of these buildings are gorgeous to look at (not to mention the perfectly symmetrical triangular sacrificial hut used for the big fiery climax). Now, go into these various places (barns, houses, town halls), and there is an amount of detail that is staggering, particularly all of the painted illustrations of the twisted ceremonial practices. Yeah. Without question Midsommar should be here. We don’t care how disturbing the film is. The set design is unparalleled.
5. The Irishman: Production: Bob Shaw, Set: Regina Graves
All of the different structures used in the many eras of The Irishman are commendable. However, the film doesn’t get quite as flashy as its competing nominees. The various headquarters (restaurants, bars, houses) are well done, but standard. It’s impressive how much Martin Scorsese favours built sets over renting out real places, and The Irishman is no different. Still, the other four films got a little more inventive. Not that The Irishman needed to break away from the end result, but we still have to rank these films as is.
Our review of The Irishman
4. Jojo Rabbit: Production: Ra Vincent, Set: Nora Sopková
Seeing the Betzler household is so cheerful, with the warm wallpaper and the adorable little layout for this family. Things are twisted a little bit once we see the crawl space, where Elsa is hiding; even this dim den is crafted with care. All of the other locations are as cutely made as the Betzler home, including Nazi youth camp facilities. Then, the outer shell of these German houses, stores, and buildings is done so sweetly, despite the goings on. From here on out, the nominees are extremely strong. Jojo Rabbit’s production and set designs turned the film into a living diorama, selling the passionate satire angle that the film was going for.
Our review of Jojo Rabbit
3. 1917: Production: Dennis Gassner, Set: Lee Sandales
While the least-impressive nominee on paper, we’re going to play devil’s advocate with 1917. Consider all of the intricate trenches created from the ground up (literally). Remind yourself of the underground bases. Recollect all of the small details placed in all of these scenes. 1917 is all about what you see in front of you, and, as much credit as a photographer like Roger Deakins deserves, so much of this spell is made by the teams led by Dennis Gassner and Lee Sandales. As your eyes dart around what is framed, remember all the small nuances painstakingly made to successfully take you back to World War I. Think about how all of this had to be done life size, and accurately, since editing and framing couldn’t cut away what wasn’t made; the single shot left zero margin for error or laziness.
Our review of 1917
2. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: Production: Barbara Ling, Set: Nancy Haigh
The recreation of so many ‘60s structures helps make Hollywood a stronger nominee here. Then, there’s all of the internal corridors. Spahn Movie Ranch had to be recreated. The Tate household was pieced together to replicate the day of “the incident”. The fictitious Dalton home still had to feel like a real ‘60s movie star’s place of solace. The extra mile is taken when you visit movie sets, and see the very architectural props used for the film-within-the-film (these were era appropriate as well). The sets in Hollywood are magnificent in their own right.
Our review of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
1. Parasite: Production: Lee Ha-jun, Set: Cho Won Woo
So, our ranking accidentally matches the alphabetical ordering of the nominees. It happens. There is no nominee better than Parasite in this category, either. The film is heavily about living spaces, after all. We were blown away enough by the grimy sub-ground apartments made for the lower classes of rural South Korea, particularly the complexed Kim family complex. Conceptually, it’s creatively depressing: the toilet so close to the ceiling near where the family eat, for starters. This already made Parasite a frontrunner. Once we learned that the jaw dropping-ly beautiful Park family residence was actually a set made for this film, there was no turning back. The elaborate house layout makes for a gorgeous sight, and a clever map for both families to run around in. Finally, there was the hiding space, which merged both worlds (the glorious elite, and the dismal destitute) in a frightening, claustrophobic fashion. Parasite wins with flying colours. It’s some of the finest production design we’ve seen in years.
Our review of Parasite
Who we want to win: Duh.
Who we think will win: Parasite has a huge chance here, and it would be wonderful if the film could win more than just Best International Feature. However, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood or 1917 may be in the running to earning this award to further their chances of Best Picture (you know how the Academy members like to push for specific wins to up their favourite film’s chances).
Tune in tomorrow for our next Academy Award category! We’re reviewing every single nominee.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.