The battle for Best Cinematography is certainly shaping up to be a tough one. In one corner, we have Greig Fraser’s spectacularly epic work in Dune. In the other, there’s Ari Wegner’s sweeping and majestic photography in The Power of the Dog. The critics are equally divided with both films picking up the same tally of wins thus far. Which way the Academy will go is still anyone’s guess.
They’re both deserving winners and it’s going to be disappointing to see either Fraser or Wegner lose. But that’s the very nature of awards season, folks. Given a Dune sequel is now officially greenlit and one would presume Denis Villeneuve will bring Fraser back, Academy members may just wait to give him an Oscar in a few years. I hate saying it, as it reduces her potential win down to tokenism, but, naturally, it helps Wegner would be the first female winner of Best Cinematography in Oscars history. That might just give her the edge.
I don’t want to fathom a situation where Bruno Delbonnel isn’t nominated for his truly stunning work on The Tragedy of Macbeth. Likewise with Janusz Kaminski’s beautifully painterly cinematography in West Side Story. And it seems likely the Best Picture frontrunner status of Belfast will be enough to score a nod here too, even if Robbie Ryan’s black-and-white work on C’mon C’mon is of a much higher calibre.
But there’s likely a surprise waiting in the wings to catch us off guard. The nominations from the American Society of Cinematographers in late January will give us an indication of which way the wind is blowing. tick, tick… BOOM! is certainly picking up steam, so Alice Brooks’ inventive use of multiple aspect ratios is one to keep an eye on.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY PREDICTIONS:
1. The Power of the Dog (Netflix)
Ari Wegner
2. Dune (Warner Bros.)
Greig Fraser
3. West Side Story (20th Century Studios)
Janusz Kaminski
4. The Tragedy of Macbeth (A24/Apple TV+)
Bruno Delbonnel
5. Belfast (Focus Features)
Haris Zambarloukos
IN CONTENTION
C’mon C’mon (A24)
Robbie Ryan
Cyrano (MGM)
Seamus McGarvey
Don’t Look Up (Netflix)
Linus Sandgren
The French Dispatch (Searchlight Pictures)
Robert Yeoman
House of Gucci (MGM)
Dariusz Wolski
Licorice Pizza (MGM)
Michael Bauman and Paul Thomas Anderson
Nightmare Alley (Searchlight Pictures)
Dan Laustsen
No Time to Die (MGM)
Linus Sandgren
Spencer (Neon)
Claire Mathon
tick, tick… BOOM! (Netflix)
Alice Brooks