OVP: Best Visual Effects (2020)
The Nominees Were...
Matt Sloan, Genevieve Camilleri, Matt Everitt, & Brian Cox, Love and Monsters
Matthew Kasmir, Christopher Lawrence, Max Solomon, & David Watkins, The Midnight Sky
Sean Faden, Anders Langlands, Seth Maury, & Steve Ingram, Mulan
Nick Davis, Greg Fisher, Ben Jones, & Santiago Coloma Martinez, The One and Only Ivan
Andrew Jackson, David Lee, Andrew Lockley, & Scott Fisher, Tenet
My Thoughts: I mentioned in my writeup about Makeup that the category didn't really look like the type of race that happened during the pandemic. Though it lacked some of the prosthetics work that is the category's bread-and-butter, taken out-of-context it didn't look like a limited lineup of movies. That is not the case, however, for Visual Effects. Particularly when forced to go five-wide with its nominations count, Visual Effects couldn't handle the pressure of such a limited field, and some of these nominees would've been hard-pressed to be included even in the 1990's. But, the fun of this is sorting through Oscar's choices given the contenders, and there are some interesting choices in this field.
I think one movie that might've gotten the cut otherwise but certainly feels worthy is The Midnight Sky. Definitely a movie where the visual effects feel more supporting than the lead, but still great for the story, and honestly the best part of what is occasionally a dull affair. The single best effect of the film, and one of the best effects period of 2020 was the dripping blood when Tiffany Boone is injured in space, the droplets floating in air as we see her recognize the magnitude of her situation. Combined with the fabulous shots of Jupiter's moon (so full of vibrant color & light), this works really well within the handsomely-made movie.
Mulan also has its moments, particularly the battle sequences late in the movie inside a slowly-collapsing building. But unlike Midnight Sky they don't really standout in a true sense, but more because the competition is so weak. Mulan is not particularly interesting outside of this one sequence. Even the scene in the mountains, while impressive, isn't all that interesting. Mulan is noteworthy for being one of the few films from 2020 with a gargantuan budget, but it feels kind of like a 1990's nomination in the sense that it's getting nominated for having the most effects, not the best effects.
Still, it's better than The One and Only Ivan, Disney's other entry in this field. Oscar has always had a thing for nominating gorillas in this category, so it's not a shock that Ivan made it in a weak field, but the effects are not good. The titular Ivan never looks like a realistic gorilla, certainly not when you compare it to stronger work in something like King Kong, and this feels a lot like my problem with Jungle Book and The Lion King-there's too much uncanny valley for the animals. This doesn't have to be the case (there are certainly movies that get animals into the movie without issue), but Ivan shows too many seams.
Love and Monsters will stand apart as the most "this happened during the pandemic" of any of the 2020 citations. A movie that would've been largely forgotten (its $30 million total budget is likely less than the effects budget alone on Mulan), Love and Monsters got in because it has a lot of CGI, and if you want to have fun with it, some cheeky creature designs. I had a blast at the movie (it was stupid action-adventure fun in a year where that was nonexistent, and as that is one of my favorite genres, it was welcome), but the design isn't creative enough, and the effects are not that much better than a Mucinex commercial. It'd be one thing if they were clever effects done on the cheap, but other than the frog, nothing else in the movie feels all-that-interesting.
I've disparaged this lineup a bit, but I'll be honest-even if we would've had all of the movies we were initially expecting in 2020, it's possible that Tenet could've won (it's the only movie that might've had a shot against Dune). The one surefire nominee in the fold (and the only nominated movie of 2020 that I saw on a big screen), Tenet looks sensational. Stylish, sophisticated, and its action set pieces are on point. Particularly the car chase, with the reverse engineering of the vehicles to truly underline the time aspects of the plot...it looks incredible. This isn't as showy as we normally expect from Nolan's movies, but we're not judging him against himself, and within 2020, there was simply nothing else quite like Tenet.
Other Precursor Contenders: The Visual Effects Society splits its nominations between effects-driven films (the ones that generally get nominated at the Oscars) and the ones with supporting effects (which only rarely get cited with AMPAS, but are usually a more interesting lineup). The effects-driven movies, in a surprise went with The Midnight Sky against Jingle Jangle, Project Power, Tenet, & The Witches, while supporting effects went to Mank atop Da 5 Bloods, Extraction, News of the World, & Welcome to Chechnya. The BAFTA went to Tenet against Greyhound, The Midnight Sky, Mulan, & The One and Only Ivan. The shortlist that year included Birds of Prey, Bloodshot, Mank, Soul, & Welcome to Chechnya, the latter of which was largely expected to be nominated & was honestly the only real threat to beating Tenet.
Films I Would Have Nominated: I talked about this when it came out, but I struggled less with the craft of Chechnya's potential nomination (it's impressive work), and more the ethics of it. I know that deep fake technology is not going away, and I risk being a luddite, and if it is worthy of praise it's when it's protecting the identities of gay men in danger, but...I can't quite get past it yet so I will be honest that Chechnya won't show up on my ballot even though I completely understand the urge & wouldn't fault others for going there. What I would've loved to have seen, though, is the lineup finally acknowledging Pixar with a nomination. Soul was the first animated film (that wasn't stop-motion) to be shortlisted for this award since 1994's The Lion King, and its unusual use of different types of light & shading are clear effects wizardry. The same can be said for Onward, whose use of "magic" genuinely pops on the screen in a glowing blue orb that feels like it has a different textural animation even if it's all CGI. Both would've made really classy nominations, and given a nod to how in a world where fully-animated sequences in Avatar & The Lion King can get nominations, why can't Pixar?
Oscar’s Choice: Don't let that VES loss fool you-with Chechnya out of the race, there was no plausible way that Tenet was losing its sole trophy.
My Choice: Yeah, I'm going that direction too. Tenet is just competing in a different ball game than the rest of these. It'd be one thing if it didn't look great, but it looks amazing, and you just can't compete otherwise. The Midnight Sky is a nomination Oscar should be proud of, though, and is a worthy silver followed by Mulan, Love and Monsters, and Ivan.
And those are my thoughts-what are yours? Is everyone kind of aligned with Tenet getting the trophy or here or does someone want to bat for a different movie? Why do you think that the Academy skipped Chechnya-was it because of the ethical problems or was it simply that a branch reliant on big budgets didn't want to go for a documentary nominee? And will Pixar ever get a nomination in this category for an animated feature? Share below!
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