OVP: Best Production Design (2021)
The Nominees Were...
Patrice Vermette & Zsuzsanna Sipos, Dune
Tamara Deverell & Shane Vieau, Nightmare Alley
Grant Major & Amber Richards, The Power of the Dog
Stefan Dechant & Nancy Haigh, The Tragedy of Macbeth
Adam Stockhausen & Rena DeAngelo, West Side Story
My Thoughts: Moving into our final of the six "visual" categories, we're going to borrow a lot from our last two categories, as Costume & Cinematography have total overlap (in some cases the movie got in for all three). This normally would be an indication from Oscar that he was phoning this race in, but that's very much not the case. Best Production Design in 2021 is the best field that Oscar pulled together that year, and one of the very rare circumstances where I am giving 4+ stars to every single one of the contenders. This means we're going to have to get picky, but I want to preface that all of these are thumbs up citations from me.
We'll start with Nightmare Alley, which is maybe the most traditional of these nominees. Guillermo del Toro has been to this dance before (he was cited for both Pan's Labyrinth and The Shape of Water), and it makes sense that a movie that takes place at a demented circus is going to score a nomination for production design, even without the Best Picture citation. I will say that while the circus scenes are gorgeous, lived-in creations that still inspire some wonder (I love the way the cinematographers framed them so that you could see beyond the circus & the field, as it made it feel less impressive, which is kind of what the audience needs to feel), beyond that it's not quite as distinct, save for the bizarre golden office that Cate Blanchett & Bradley Cooper partner within.
Like Nightmare Alley, Dune also uses a lot of space to capitalize on its world. We see the abstract here-look at how much this world feels vacant, as if it's only something that you're meant to be a part of for a short time (the perfectly clean, cavernous rooms, the courtyards with little green), rather than something homey. Generally when you think of quality production design (or when I do) I want something beautiful, yes, but I also want something that looks believable-you subscribe more to the realities of the narrative if what you're seeing feels authentic. But this movie does the opposite, and it's just as effective-it shows how little connection the characters have so far to this world, and how we're meant to realize that connection as the film progresses.
The Tragedy of Macbeth does this as well, and it's certainly the most abstract of these five films. Unlike the other four, this movie isn't really meant to be realistic, in many ways it recalls a stage show set rather than something the actual King of Scotland would live within. But that's the point-I think the most ingenious thing about The Tragedy of Macbeth is the way that it feels like a performance piece, with us wandering from scene to scene being acted out continuously. This underlines the fate aspect of the movie so beautifully-these characters are not just damned by the Witches, but they are damned for all-time. That works better with a set that suspends reality, as if you're in a Macbeth Museum.
The Power of the Dog is almost entirely outdoors, which I think sometimes gets people questioning about whether this is an appropriate nomination or not. This isn't fair-Jack Fisk has made a career out of proving location scouting and minimalist set design can really add to a film's mystique, but I do think this also means Power's nomination is predicated a bit too much on the house, which doesn't feel claustrophobic enough for me. The restaurant and all of the barns/stables feel super authentic, and give us a vastness (and emptiness) of this landscape for our trapped characters (all at Phil Burbank's mercy), but if we're going to get picky, I don't think that the house really gives us that same impression.
West Side Story has some of the most challenging set work. It has to define indoor and outdoor spaces, oftentimes with large, expansive dance numbers, while living with the memory of an impressive slate of sets from the original film. There are not a lot of ways that I think we are definitely in better territory than the original (which earns its Oscar, don't get me wrong), but production design is one of them. Look at the ways that the camera pans & gives us more detail and bigger, almost real-life style sets, like in the "America" number or during the dance at the gym. If Macbeth and Dune are giving us emptiness to give us a sense of where our protagonists must head through the vastness, West Side is giving us a world brimming with life...to underscore what is at stake.
Other Precursor Contenders: The Art Directors Guild separates their awards into three categories-Contemporary, Fantasy, & Period. Period went with Nightmare Alley above The French Dispatch, Licorice Pizza, The Tragedy of Macbeth, & West Side Story, while Fantasy cited Dune atop Cruella, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, The Green Knight (yay!), and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Contemporary had no Oscar correlation, giving the honor to No Time to Die against the very strange crew of Candyman, Don't Look Up, In the Heights, and The Lost Daughter. For the BAFTA Awards, they picked Dune as well, besting Cyrano, The French Dispatch, Nightmare Alley, & West Side Story. For sixth place, I am going with Cruella-it is pretty rare, even in the years of these two branches being split, for the Costume winner to be totally snubbed for Best Production Design, so I think it was close.
Films I Would Have Nominated: Like I said, a really good list-no one should be embarrassed here. But I would have found room for Cruella. This is a movie that I would've assumed would get into "too much" territory on its aesthetics, but the art direction is delicious, including Hell Hall and Cruella's attic studio. Lot of fun, mod-60's choices.
Oscar’s Choice: Dune continued its stampede through the tech categories, likely besting Nightmare Alley and West Side Story.
My Choice: I'm also going to go with Dune, which is terrific and in a class by itself. The remaining four, though, would be West Side Story, Macbeth, Nightmare Alley, and Power of the Dog.
Those are my thoughts-how about yours? Does everyone, even those not super subscribed to the film, kind of get that this is Dune's to lose? I'm actually curious-whom do we think was second in a field that reads as a blowout? And why did they go all-in for Cruella in Costume but give it a pass for its equally impressive set design? Share your thoughts below!
Also in 2021: Cinematography, Costume, Film Editing, Visual Effects, Makeup & Hairstyling, Previously in 2021
Past Best Art Direction Contests: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
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