Despite a prolonged award season to account for the unprecedented 2020, the big finale is upon us as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science prepare to hand out their awards on Sunday. Saving the most prestigious trophy of the night until the end, the Best Picture category is made up this year of eight films vying for the title, all hoping to hear their name called when the envelope is opened and the room falls silent.
Our nominees - The Father, Judas and the Black Messiah, Mank, Minari, Nomadland, Promising Young Woman, Sound of Metal and The Trial of the Chicago 7 - have a combined 51 nominations between them, but Best Picture is the one they want. With the category once again using the preferential ballot to decide the winner, ranking the nominees continues to be hugely important for a film to reign victorious and, given that my invite to the Academy is still lost in the post, I've thrown my opinion into the ring and ranked the eight.
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8. The Trial of the Chicago 7 (dir. Aaron Sorkin)
Timely subject matter, a starry ensemble and a writer-director who has already proven himself as a powerhouse talent seemed like a recipe for success. But Aaron Sorkin's The Trial of the Chicago 7 is as distinctively average a film as they come. Filmmaking at its broadest - and most Hollywood-friendly - the rousing story is given a blunt, edgeless telling that lacks the bite it needed to resonate as profoundly as it really should have done. Lacking spirit and creativity, The Trial of the Chicago 7 is found guilty of being the year's weakest Best Picture nominee.
7. Mank (dir. David Fincher)
David Fincher's first film in over six years should have been a home-run: with a screenplay penned by his late father focusing on the making of what is often considered one of the greatest films ever made, a glitzy ensemble and excellent production values, the stars seemingly aligned for the trusted director. Except Mank is difficult to engage with and, fatally, not very interesting - a passion project whose enthusiasm fails to translate into audience interest or excitement. Visual splendour and a wonderful Amanda Seyfried cannot salvage the difficult Mank, weighed down further by a testing lead performance and a needlessly extensive runtime.
6. Sound of Metal (dir. Darius Marder)
A solid exploration of hearing loss, consequences and recovery, Sound of Metal's long journey to the Oscar stage has been one of endurance - something required by audiences sitting down for this challenging but ultimately rewarding picture from Darius Marder. With a terrific central performance from Riz Ahmed - his best since 2014's Nightcrawler - and strong support from Olivia Cooke and Paul Raci, Sound of Metal is a decent nominee in the line-up, but lands lower due to its bloated runtime.
5. Judas and the Black Messiah (dir. Shaka King)
An urgent and timely assessment of power, fear and control, Shaka King's powerfully-directed Judas and the Black Messiah is a film of mighty importance. Although character relationships are deserving of greater complexity on a screenwriting level, Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield's work crackles with suspense, each delivering tremendous performances that will go down as career highs.
It is, perhaps, the film most negatively impacted by a smaller screen viewing experience of the nominees,, with the potential of it ascending my ranking likely if given the chance to see it projected on the big screen.
4. Minari (dir. Lee Isaac Chung)
Lee Isaac Chung's intimate Minari captures the American Dream in a touching feature as heartwarming as it is heart wrenching. With the year's best score, beautiful cinematography and uniformly wonderful performances from the entire cast, Minari overflows with love for the family at its heart, realising the universality of their situation while making it specific to them and their own journey. If some feel the emotion is undersold by an understated approach, it doesn't make it any less admirable and likeable a piece.
3. Promising Young Woman (dir. Emerald Fennell)
A provocative, enraged, cathartic and devastating film taking a sledgehammer to the zeitgeist, Promising Young Woman is a cotton candy-coloured character study that explores revenge and society in a no-holds-barred way. In her directorial debut, Emerald Fennell gleefully shifts tone between dark and comedic, her well-observed screenplay ensuring its finger is firmly on the cultural pulse. With a mesmerising, career-high performance from Carey Mulligan that will go down as one of the year's best at its pitch black, colourfully-decorated heart, and a spectacular soundtrack to boot, Promising Young Woman is an unforgettable, important film.
2. Nomadland (dir. Chloe Zhao)
No bells or whistles, no tricks or gimmicks, Nomadland is a fine example of powerful, organic filmmaking that captivates in all its poetic majesty. A deeply American piece but with strong theme work of belonging and spirit that will resonate more globally, Chloe Zhao's achingly beautiful character study strikes an emotional note that makes it a difficult experience to resist. Stunningly shot, and with a wonderfully tender performance from Frances McDormand as its heart and soul, Nomadland is very likely to be our next Best Picture winner - and it would be a very deserving champion.
1. The Father (dir. Florian Zeller)
An incredibly creative, genuinely thoughtful and deeply upsetting depiction of dementia, approached with sympathy for everyone impacted by the condition, Florian Zeller's The Father is a heartfelt, intimate feature and character study that devastates and challenges.
Superb editing and strong production design, tied together by Zeller's immaculate control as a director that plays with perception terrifically, The Father is a transportive experience that purposefully disorientates. The screenplay, adapted from Zeller's own stageplay, places you in a rarely-captured point of view to provide a unique insight that feels both raw and tender.
But mostly, it's the brilliance of Anthony Hopkins that makes this moving picture so effective. Comfortably his best work since The Silence of the Lambs in all its captivating glory, and with great support from Olivia Colman and a fantastically utilised cast, Hopkins makes this such a gut wrenching watch without it ever feeling stilted or forced, showcasing an incredible amount of range that most actors would only dream of being able to possess. It is astonishing.
The Father deserves to reign supreme this year.