If you’re a film buff like I am, you’ve probably heard the name Roger Deakins before. Even if you haven’t, chances are you’ve seen his cinematography in films like The Shawshank Redemption, Fargo, and Skyfall. As one of the best and most well-known DP’s (director of photography) in the filmmaking business, it’s easy to see why he’s been nominated for fourteen Academy Awards for Best Cinematography. But like many great artists, he has continued contributing to hit after hit after hit without ever winning an Oscar. This is not uncommon in Hollywood. Many great directors like Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese went through most of their careers and several nominations without winning anything, and the same can be said for actors like Leonardo DiCaprio. So when the time has come and Deakins finally has a shot at winning an Oscar for his stellar work on Blade Runner 2049, we must ask the same question we think but are too afraid to ask when every great artist gets to this point: does he deserve it?
Now since Roger Deakins has earned fourteen Oscar nominations to date, there have been fourteen chances so far for him to win. I’m going to examine five or six of those examples and figure out if he has deserved to win before, and if he deserves to win now. The most important thing to remember about the Oscars is that whether the politics come into play or not, it’s a competitive race. But it’s unique among competitive races in that you’re not actively playing against anyone. It’s kinda like figure skating in that sense. You can’t really one-up your opponent unless you pull a Tonya Harding, but given the nature of film production that’s almost impossible to do when you get this close to the awards season and the movies have already been released. You can give the performance of your career or craft the most amazing shots you’ve ever composed, but none of that matters if someone else does it even a little better. Voting statistics are never released, so it’s impossible to know for sure how close Deakins or anyone has come to winning in the past. But we can compare his work to the actual winners, and then we’ll see who actually deserved to win that year.
For this first example, we’ll go back to the beginning of Deakins’ streak with the Academy: The Shawshank Redemption. This is a movie that was robbed of nearly every Oscar it was nominated for, and even a few where it was left out of the race completely. But one of the things that helped it stand the test of time so well was Deakins’ cinematography. There are so many iconic shots throughout this movie that it’s hard to keep track of them all. But more than that, he understands what the audience would think to look at, and then highlights that while keeping important plot elements visible enough to be seen, but not as the main focus of the shot until they come back later. The winner that year was Legends of the Fall. Be honest, have you even heard of that movie? Has it lasted in the public eye? Has it played on TV for over two decades like The Shawshank Redemption? This is a movie that bombed at the box office and missed out completely in the Oscar race, but somehow managed to find an audience and stake its claim as one of the greatest movies of all time. Roger Deakins played a huge part in that, and absolutely should’ve won an Oscar here.
But while he peaked early, he still kept doing great work. His collaborations with Joel and Ethan Coen have found him a lot of success in the Oscar race, particularly with films like Fargo and True Grit. His wide shots took full advantage of the lighting and atmosphere surrounding the actors, creating grim environments that you want to dive deeper into and explore. Fargo lost to The English Patient, and while we all have many passionate things to say about that movie, it was also beautifully shot. Should it have beat Fargo for cinematography? That’s debatable, but it was clearly a closer race in my mind than his previous loss. True Grit lost to Wally Pfister’s work on Inception. Are we really gonna argue with this one? Pfister made the impossible look possible, even if only in dreams. Despite the extensive visual effects used in that movie, the VFX artists still had wonderfully inventive shots to work with.
But the biggest one to many people seems to be No Country for Old Men, which lost to There Will Be Blood. To be honest, I vote for Robert Elswit on this one, especially if you’ve seen the opening scenes of his film. The camerawork has to play a huge part in telling the story since it takes so long for anyone to say a word in this movie, and yet thanks to him and Daniel Day-Lewis, we understand everything that’s going on in Daniel Plainview’s mind. But I don’t think that’s why Deakins lost this one. I think he lost because he had another film in the race that year: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Because he had two films in the race, he likely split votes with himself, and that could’ve put even Atonement ahead of him. Remember, it’s a competition. And while you can’t one-up your opponent, you can very easily sabotage yourself by putting too many credits in the race.
But one of the things we can infer so far is that after Fargo, other DP’s were showing up more than he was. He had many nominations in between, but they lost to films like Titanic, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, and Slumdog Millionaire. These are some of the examples where his work was not as memorable compared to the competition. But that all changed when he joined the crew for Skyfall. As an action film, the expectations were for fast-paced editing and camerawork that was hard to make out, but Deakins brought artistry and fluidity to the shots. Yes, some of the edits were quick, but it was always going from one steady shot to another, and Deakins’ mastery of the camera was still present in all of them. At first glance, it seemed like this would finally be his year, and I would’ve loved to see that happen. But then Claudio Miranda took it home for his work on Life of Pi, which is kinda like Inception in terms of being very reliant on visual effects, but at the same time they also had beautiful shots to work with. While I might prefer Skyfall‘s cinematography, it’s understandable to see how Deakins lost this one.
So now we come to the present. After losing the Oscar to Emmanuel Lubezki three times in a row (Gravity, Birdman, The Revenant), Roger Deakins is now the frontrunner to win Best Cinematography for Blade Runner 2049. For the most part, his competition isn’t that noteworthy, but he is once again up against a Christopher Nolan film: Dunkirk. There are many technical aspects to this film that, if even a hair off, would’ve brought the overall product down immensely. But they all work together in a truly experiential harmony, starting with Hoyte van Hoytema’s cinematography. Whether you feel like you’re trapped on the beach or inside a Navy ship, the camerawork builds constant suspense throughout the entire runtime and never lets up. Roger Deakins brought us back to the world of Blade Runner, and even expanding on the world thanks to modern camera technology. But unlike Skyfall where he brought something new to the franchise, all he did was expand on the work of Jordan Cronenweth, the DP for the original Blade Runner. So while Deakins probably will take home an Oscar next month after fourteen nominations, but does he deserve it over Dunkirk?
If Roger Deakins did win the Oscar, would it be his win? Or would it be more akin to an Honorary Academy Award celebrating his entire body of work? Whatever the case may be, this is a guy who genuinely deserves an Oscar for something. And while I don’t think this should be his year, he will definitely have at least one on his shelf before he’s done.
10. Blade Runner 2049 (dir. Denis Villeneuve) – Making a sequel to one of the greatest sci-fi films of all time was never going to be an easy task, but Dis- I mean, Fox saw something golden when they hired Denis Villeneuve to revisit Replicants and their struggle for life and agency. The cinematography by Roger Deakins is the perfect lens to reintroduce audiences to Los Angeles of the distant future, and the objects of his shots remind us that this is the same world featured in the original Blade Runner (1982), but evolved 30 years into its future and now more noticeably split from our own timeline. The cast, led by Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford, further sells the idea that artificial intelligence populates this universe just as much as organic life, and the overall product gives us an evolution to look forward to in a potential third installment. Whether we get that third film or not, Blade Runner 2049 is a must-see for sci-fi fans of any era.
9. Coco (dir. Lee Unkrich)/Your Name (dir. Makoto Shinkai) – In a year where most animation was utter garbage, it was nice to know that audiences could still count on the industry’s biggest powerhouses to deliver quality entertainment: Pixar and anime. And both of their offerings this year are real tear-jerkers. In Coco, the emotional weight comes from a small family story made grand by setting it in the Land of the Dead, but it never loses sight of its cultural roots. The song “Remember Me” is used to great effect here, sung with the same lyrics but different meaning each time it’s played, creating a memorable musical experience that will be reinterpreted again and again for years to come.
But this wasn’t the only wonderful animated offering we got, for in Your Name we were given a grand epic made small and intimate thanks to its use of animation. Gorgeous shots never let us forget the size of the story, but the focus is more on the characters of Taki and Mitsuha. The science or magic or whatever is not the main draw of the plot, but rather a plot device to enable these characters to go on this journey of self-discovery that ultimately impacts the lives of everyone around them. It’s a truly timeless story that could never be recaptured in any remake, but many will find their own interpretation of this magical experience.
8. mother! (dir. Darren Aronofsky) – It’s safe to say we all knew we were gonna get something disturbing and controversial when we walked into a Darren Aronofsky film. What we didn’t know was just how surreal this film would be. Everyone has a different outlook on it, but the most common seems to be that it’s an allegory to major events in the Bible (the Fall of Man, the Great Flood, etc.) from the perspective of the earth as if it was a living thing. That living thing in this instance is played by Jennifer Lawrence, who the cinematography proves you can never get enough of. Aronofsky’s humanization of God, played by Javier Bardem, is both relatable and antagonistic, and while that would seem like an obvious turn-off to many Christian viewers, I actually think it’s one of the film’s greatest strengths. Aronofsky is no stranger to challenging our views on everything from drugs to sports, and while this one certainly won’t convert everyone to whatever his viewpoint is, the fact that people are still talking about what it means proves that while we may not completely understand mother!, it did something right.
7. The Disaster Artist (dir. James Franco) – Very rarely will you see a biopic told as a straight-up comedy. But when the subject is Tommy Wiseau, the mastermind behind The Room (2003), you don’t really have a choice. The star of this film is James Franco in both the director’s chair and the lead role, and he understands Wiseau about as well as anyone is capable of understanding him. He nails the weird eccentricities that Tommy is known for, but he also keeps him grounded in some level of humanity that reminds us that, despite many of our suspicions, he is not an alien from a spoon-obsessed planet. Whether you’ve seen the best worst movie ever made or not, The Disaster Artist is the funniest movie of the year, and well worth a double feature.
6. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (dir. Martin McDonagh) – Probably the most timely film of the year, this tale of sexual assault being forced in the forefront of the establishment’s agenda is carried entirely by its performances. Frances McDormand leads the film as a deceased rape victim’s mother who sets up three billboards to draw attention to her case and force the local police department to do something about a rapist still out there. While it does serve as a story about going after sexual assault, it’s also a story about anger begetting anger and how that unhealthy cycle needs to end in order to move forward. Because of this, the timeliness of the film rings even more because its focus was on its own story and themes rather than grabbing an Oscar. It most certainly will be going for Oscars, but in this case that’s icing on the cake that is Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
5. Baby Driver (dir. Edgar Wright) – Fresh off of not making Ant-Man (2015), Edgar Wright brings us his own American heist film with a killer soundtrack and phenomenal car chases. He absolutely deserves an Oscar nomination for pairing every action beat with a musical beat and still making it stand on its own. All the work that went into the cinematography, editing, and sound design paid off in even slower date scenes between Baby and Debora. Speaking of, the romance is believable enough to get us invested in the long-term personal stakes for Baby as well as the immediate stakes of each action scene. The thrills never stop, but there’s still time for the audience to breathe in between chases and gunfights, ultimately leading to a symphonic creation of sight and sound. If you’re looking for the most vibrant experience of sight and sound, then hop in and take a ride with Baby Driver.
4. Dunkirk (dir. Christopher Nolan) – If there’s one director whose body of work continuously takes high-concept stories and tells them in artistically unique ways, it’s Christopher Nolan, and his latest film is more proof that he can still reach new audiences. The film tells its story from three perspectives (land, sea, air) over three different time periods (week, day, hour), and somehow weaves them together in a heart-pounding tension-filled epic. Though the characterization may be thin in some areas, it gives us everything we need to know about the characters and their struggle to survive the onslaught from Nazi Germany. Watching this movie, you will feel like you’re on the beach with the soldiers, or in the air with the Spitfire planes. When everything collides together in the finale, you will leave the theater (because this movie deserves to be seen on the big screen) truly exhilarated and breathless. Dunkirk may not be rooted in anyone’s personal story, but its truth comes from the experience.
3. Lady Bird (dir. Greta Gerwig) – A coming-of-age drama written and directed by an actress who has never quite caught on with anyone? Who’d have guessed this would be as big a hit as it is? Whereas most actors who try their hand at directing are already super famous, Greta Gerwig was kinda just there, popping up on screen but never standing out enough to attract attention. But behind the camera, she has heads turning because she understands pacing and character development, and uses her storytelling gifts to move so much along at such a fast rate while still keeping it natural. Though her script is strong, she has enough faith in her actors (particularly Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf) to let them carry certain scenes with little-to-no dialogue. And this is the first movie she’s directed on her own, so it’ll be interesting to see what Gerwig does with her career following Lady Bird.
2. Get Out (dir. Jordan Peele) – A horror-comedy directed by half of Key and Peele? Get out! All jokes aside, this is a truly horrifying experience in the most unexpected ways. Without giving too much away, it would’ve beeen so easy to make the villains pure racists who just want to systemically kill non-whites, but the conspiracy lies so much deeper than that and makes us feel truly sick thinking about them. Part of that actually comes from the comedy, and this is where Jordan Peele’s background kicks in. Instead of going for a completely serious horror tone, Peele infuses the right jokes in all the right places, and not all of them are laugh-out-loud jokes that you would expect from sketch and stand-up comedy. The truth behind it is some people think their jokes are genuinely funny when they’re really offensive, and that’s what makes the scares work here. Everyone’s in on the joke, except you and Chris Washington. So if you’re looking for laughs and scares, Get Out is a movie that you definitely should’ve seen by now.
1. The Shape of Water (dir. Guillermo del Toro) – For the final entry on this list, we take a look at something that is both risky and conventional. I say conventional because it’s a standard “Beauty and the Beast” love story set in a different setting, and we’ve seen it done before in many different settings. But Guillermo del Toro knows exactly what changes to make in addition and where to go even further. Despite possessing a familiar humanoid build, the beastly aspects of the fish man are straight-up beastly, and anything that eats a cat can’t be human. And instead of the beast who is “cursed”, it’s the beauty. How? Why? We don’t really know, but there are hints dropped that I can’t write about here without spoiling too much. But those theories paired with the ultimate resolution sink it deeper into that “Beauty and the Beast” model, and that makes it an interesting role reversal. Of course the setting is utilized very well in 1950s suburban America, paying homage to traditional societal models of the era as well as creature features and Biblical epics of the time. And all of it is acted out by the year’s best cast, led by Sally Hawkins’ mesmerizing wordless performance. Honestly, there’s almost too much to be said about The Shape of Water, but I encourage you all to see it for yourselves and see what’s so beautiful about it.
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