Best Director: Ranking Every Oscar Nominee
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
Only two categories left, and since tomorrow is the big one (Best Picture), we may as well go with the other remaining group. A lot of cinephiles insist that Best Picture and Best Director go hand in hand, and that isn’t always the case. Some great films are aided by their direction but are at their strongest in a whole series of other ways (it seems contradictory to say, but there’s a potential chance that these elements outshine their direction, which may be the sole hindrance of a film, for example). Weaker films can be saved by good direction, which elevates sour writing, decent performers (allowing them to give the strongest acting of their career), and other factors. This year, however, it seems like all of the directors bettered their respective films (each one through their signature auteur ways). Having said that, whoever wins Best Director may not have their film win Best Picture this year (it is a tight race for the latter, after all). Here are your nominees.
Biggest Snub: Parallel Mothers-Pedro Almodóvar
While The Tragedy of Macbeth was my favourite film of last year and it was impeccably directed by Joel Coen, I think that the film didn’t stand a chance in this category. However, Pedro Almodóvar and Parallel Mothers did. I feel like Almodóvar is highly underrepresented in this category in general (whereas the Academy has shown the Coens an abundance of love over the years), and it felt like it could have been time that he got acknowledged here. You may ask how someone can get nominated for direction if their film isn’t up for Best Picture, but just hang tight until tomorrow for my thoughts on that snub.
5. Belfast-Kenneth Branagh
I typically find Kenneth Branagh to be an exceptionally heavy handed filmmaker, but I won’t pretend that he was suffocating with Belfast. If anything, this is some of his finest direction work in general, especially the choreographed scenes of rebellious chaos. The sweets don’t feel too sweet (as is the case with his works typically). I wish the lows hit harder, since Belfast kind of flutters in this area of cinematic safeness, and I wanted to really feel the dilemma of having to leave one’s homeland instead of continuously being reminded that everything’s going to be alright. Nonetheless, Branagh does a pretty good job here (and I never thought I’d say that).
4. Licorice Pizza-Paul Thomas Anderson
While I love Licorice Pizza more than the next selection (it was one of my top films of last year), I do think that Paul Thomas Anderson’s direction is a bit of the film’s success (whereas I feel like the filmmakers made the top three nominated films truly special on their own terms). Anderson’s series of vignettes shine because of the actors housed within them and the sterling tech and production values that acted as the frames of these short tales. Anderson handles being a more comedic director really well, and I am happy that he is featured in this group. I’ve also seen films of his that really allowed him to shine as an auteur, and Licorice Pizza isn’t one of them (although his subdued voice still resonates greatly here).
3. West Side Story-Steven Spielberg
Never did I think I would ever rank Steven Spielberg above Paul Thomas Anderson, but here we are. I honestly feel like the 2021 West Side Story works as well as it does because of Spielberg’s direction, particularly his seamless balancing of technical prowess and sentimentality (the latter, of which, he can overdo in some instances but uses just the right amount of here). If anything West Side Story boasts Spielberg’s best directional work in over ten years, and that is reason enough to celebrate.
2. Drive My Car-Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Not just any filmmaker can take a short story, elongate it to over three hours, allow the film to embody a stillness without becoming a massive bore, and drill deeply into the hearts of nearly every viewer. Well, Ryusuke Hamaguchi did just that with Drive My Car: a stunning exposition of delicate authourial finessing. Not once does Drive My Car feel like it is forcing you how to feel, and yet Hamaguchi’s film will make you experience a spectrum of emotions. It’s this kind of minimalist, sensitive, naturalistic direction that makes a poetic film like this one go a long way.
1. The Power of the Dog-Jane Campion
Jane Campion has always been a skilled director, but what she accomplishes in The Power of the Dog feels so special even for her. Her film presents a stillness that allows you to dive deeply into this yesteryear that she has created. Everything feels like a moving photograph within a tortured album full of secrets awaiting confession. This is one of the very few films of 2021 to possess such a drive of auteurism, and Campion absolutely nails it with some of the best directing work of the year (and for sure the strongest example in this category).
My Review of The Power of the Dog
Who I want to win: I’ve been waiting for years for Jane Campion to win, and I do think she is the best candidate here, so this answer is easy for me.
Who I think will win: While Best Picture is still up for grabs, I think — as of when I wrote this article in early March — that Jane Campion currently has the best odds to win here, and her position is almost unreachable at this point.
Tune in tomorrow for our last Academy Award category: Best Picture. It will be a big list covering many snubs and ranking all ten nominees. Don’t miss it!
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.