Best Picture Nominees: The Father

 


The Academy Awards are coming! Nominees were announced on Monday, March 15 and the awards will be held on Sunday, April 25. From now until then I'll be looking at all eight nominees for Best Picture and handicapping their chances.

The Father
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Olivia Coleman, and Mark Gatiss
Director: Florian Zeller
Total Nominations: 6
Nominated For: Best Picture, Best Actor (Hopkins), Best Supporting Actress (Coleman), Best Adapted Screenplay (Zeller and Christopher Hampton), Best Editing, Best Production Design
About: The Father is a powerful film with some great performances that didn't get the kind of roll out that it deserved. It didn't even open wide and drop on VOD until the end of March, and I think that's hurt the campaign some. It might end up being the least widely seen film of the Best Picture group, which is a shame. Based on his play, Zeller does a nice job telling this story, and is blessed with great performances from Hopkins and Coleman. Hopkins could easily win Best Actor, though I think that goes to Chadwick Boseman. Hopkins would, at the very least, be my second choice. Coleman, meanwhile, could easily win a wide open Best Supporting Actress field. I think she's close to the top of the heap and I wouldn't be surprised to hear her name called, but The Father isn't a front-runner in either acting race or the Best Picture race. But its other three nominations are where things get interesting. The Adapted Screenplay field seems to be wide open, and I actually think Zeller and Hampton could get the win there, which would be a nice acknowledgement of Zeller and his work on this project. Editing and Production Design are crucial to the story, and I could see the film doing well in those categories, too. Either way, I think The Father ends up with at least one win in its six nominated categories.
Rating: PG-13 for some strong language, and thematic material.
Where to Find It: The Father is now playing on VOD and in select cinemas.

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