With
only 24 days until the Oscars, it's time to run down the categories
and make some official predictions. I'll start off with some of the
categories I consider fairly settled, and among them is Best
Cinematography.
I predicted Anna Karenina for a nomination back in May, but by the time nominations landed I had shifted it out. Should have just stuck with it, as Seamus McGarvey's lensing is truly immaculate, always shooting the ingenious sets in dynamic fashion. Still, this category favours Best Picture nominees, which puts his beautiful work at a disadvantage.
Last
year's winner Robert Richardson is undeniably one of the true masters
of the craft. He's been making Tarantino's films look awesome for
some time now with his wonderfully composed movement and sharp
lighting, exemplified in Django Unchained. It's been many a
year since a Western took this prize though, and I don't think it'll
overcome this year's frontrunner.
Said
frontrunner is Claudio Miranda for Life of Pi. With the Best
Cinematography prize having gone to the winner of Best Visual Effects
for three years running, it seems only natural that this year's
inevitable Visual Effects victor should be leading the Cinematography
slate for its stunning images. True, most of the images the Academy
will be voting for are more to the credit of the effects artists at
Rhythm & Hues, but Miranda's extensive contribution, from
lighting star Suraj Sharma to framing every shot, should not be
undervalued.
One
of the finer nominees in this category is longtime Spielberg
collaborator Janusz Kaminski for his richly composed work on Best
Picture heavyweight Lincoln. The film is respected for its
understated tone, but understatement rarely wins Oscars in the craft
categories. Kaminski already has a pair of statuettes, so no big deal
if he loses.
Besides,
the one who deserves to win it hands down is Roger Deakins. And not
just because he's a living legend who hasn't won after nine
previous nominations, but because his jaw-dropping digital photography
on Skyfall is straight-up the best of the year. Case closed.
But the sad fact of the matter is that Deakins is never going to win
an Oscar. I made that declaration two years ago and I'm sticking to
it. Skyfall has its share of critics prizes, but it also has
genre bias working against it, and it's not even a Best Picture
nominee.
Will
win: Life of Pi
Runner-up:
Skyfall
Should
win: Skyfall
Should
have been nominated: The Master
