Celebrating the best in film 2021: The Wallys hit 15

This is the 15th year I've assembled The Wallys.

It's funny the habits we commit to and the ones that fall by the wayside. My annual take on the year in film started as a lark. I talked about movies so much — often bemoaning the stuff hyped by the Oscars — that a friend challenged me to create my own awards show.

That first year, my Best Picture went to The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Andrew Dominik's meditation on grief and longing seen through the eyes of an ambitious young man. No one I shared the list with had seen the film and couldn't... because it got a blink-and-you-missed-it theatrical run and it wasn't on DVD.

Fifteen years later, my Best Picture goes to This Is Not a Burial, It's a Resurrection, Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese's meditation on grief and longing seen through the eyes of a fierce 80-year-old widow. Haven't seen it? Get thee to the Criterion Channel.

Here's the best of 2021, according to me.

THE TOP TWENTY

1. THIS IS NOT A BURIAL, IT’S A RESURRECTION (Lesotho, Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese) — currently on the Criterion Channel

2. THE POWER OF THE DOG (U.K., Jane Campion) — Netflix

3. LICORICE PIZZA (U.S., Paul Thomas Anderson) — in theaters

4. ZOLA (U.S., Janicza Bravo) — available to rent

5. QUO VADIS, AIDA? (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Jasmila Zbanic) — Hulu

6. THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH (U.S., Joel Coen) — AppleTV+

7. DANCE OF THE 41 (Mexico, David Pablos) — Netflix

8. SHIVA BABY (U.S., Emma Seligman) — HBO Max

9. NIGHTMARE ALLEY (U.S., Guillermo del Toro) — Hulu/HBO Max

10. ABOUT ENDLESSNESS (Sweden, Roy Andersson) — Hulu

11. THE FRENCH DISPATCH (U.S., Wes Anderson) — available to rent

12. LAST NIGHT IN SOHO (U.K., Edgar Wright) — available to rent

13. AZOR (Argentina, Andreas Fontana) — available to rent

14. SPENCER (U.K., Pablo Larraín) — Hulu/HBO Max

15. THE FATHER (U.K., Florian Zeller) — available to rent

16. DUNE (U.S., Denis Villeneuve) — HBO Max

17. THE NIGHT HOUSE (U.S., David Bruckner) — available to rent

18. MINARI (U.S., Lee Isaac Chung) — available to rent

19. THE LOST DAUGHTER (U.S., Maggie Gyllenhaal) — Netflix

20. THE CARD COUNTER (U.S., Paul Schrader) — available to rent

BEST PICTURE

Licorice Pizza

The Power of the Dog

Quo Vadis, Aida?

This is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection

Zola

 

BEST DIRECTOR

Paul Thomas Anderson (Licorice Pizza)

Janicza Bravo (Zola)

Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog)

Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese (This is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection)

Jasmila Zbanic (Quo Vadis, Aida?)

HM: Roy Andersson (About Endlessness), Joel Coen (The Tragedy of Macbeth), David Pablos (Dance of the 41)

 

BEST ACTOR

Benedict Cumberbatch (The Power of the Dog)

Anthony Hopkins (The Father)

Oscar Isaac (The Card Counter)

LaKeith Stanfield (Judas and the Black Messiah)

Denzel Washington (The Tragedy of Macbeth)

HM: Daniel Kaluuya (Judas and the Black Messiah), Udo Kier (Swan Song), Steven Yeun (Minari)

 

BEST ACTRESS

Olivia Colman (The Lost Daughter)

Jasna Đuričić (Quo Vadis, Aida?)

Rebecca Hall (The Night House)

Mary Twala Mhlongo (This is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection)

Kristen Stewart (Spencer)

HM: Jodie Comer (The Last Duel), Alana Haim (Licorice Pizza), Mercedes Hernández (Identifying Features), Taylor Paige (Zola), Tessa Thompson (Passing)

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Bradley Cooper (Licorice Pizza)

Colman Domingo (Zola)

Tony Kotsur (CODA)

Jesse Plemons (The Power of the Dog)

Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Power of the Dog)

HM: Ciarán Hinds (Belfast), Jeffrey Wright (The French Dispatch), Emiliano Zurita (Dance of the 41)

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Jessie Buckley (The Lost Daughter)

Aunjanue Ellis (King Richard)

Valerie Mahaffey (French Exit)

Ruth Negga (Passing)

Youn Yuh-jung (Minari)

HM: Cate Blanchett (Nightmare Alley), Kathryn Hunter (The Tragedy of Macbeth), Riley Keough (Zola)

BEST ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE

Dance of the 41

The French Dispatch

Licorice Pizza

Minari

Shiva Baby

BEST BODY OF WORK

Olivia Colman (actor, The Father and The Lost Daughter)

Adam Driver (actor, Annette, House of Gucci and The Last Duel)

Rebecca Hall (actor/director, The Night House and Passing)

Frances McDormand (actor, The French Dispatch, Nomadland and The Tragedy of Macbeth)

Ari Wegner (cinematographer, The Power of the Dog and Zola)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Paul Thomas Anderson (Licorice Pizza)

Wes Anderson (The French Dispatch)

Emma Seligman (Shiva Baby)

Jasmila Žbanić (Quo Vadis, Aida?)

Monika Revilla (Dance of the 41)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Janicza Bravo and Jeremy O. Harris (Zola)

Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog)

Joel Coen (The Tragedy of Macbeth)

Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller (The Father)

David Lowery (The Green Knight)

BEST DOCUMENTARY

A Cop Movie

The Dissident

The Rescue

Summer of Soul

Tina

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

About Endlessness

Azor

Dance of the 41

Quo Vadis, Aida?

This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Greig Fraser (Dune)

Pierre de Villiers (This is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection)

Bruno Delbonnel (The Tragedy of Macbeth)

Joshua James Richards (Nomadland)

Ari Wegner (The Power of the Dog)

HM: Chung Chung-hoon (Last Night in Soho), Carolina Costa (Dance of the 41), Robert Yeoman (The French Dispatch)

BEST EDITING

Joel Coen and Lucian Johnston (The Tragedy of Macbeth)

Andy Jurgensen (Licorice Pizza)

Paul Machliss (Last Night in Soho)

Joi McMillon (Zola)

Peter Sciberras (The Power of the Dog)

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

About Endlessness

The Father

Last Night in Soho

Nightmare Alley

The Tragedy of Macbeth

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Milena Canonero (The French Dispatch)

Odile Dicks-Mireaux (Last Night in Soho)

Kika Lopes (Dance of the 41)

Marci Rodgers (Passing)

Jacqueline West (Dune)

BEST HAIR & MAKEUP DESIGN

Dance of the 41

Dune

The French Dispatch

The Green Knight

Nightmare Alley

BEST MUSIC SCORE

Alexandre Desplat (The French Dispatch)

Ludovico Einaudi (The Father)

Devonté Hynes (Passing)

Steven Price [composer] and Kirsten Lane [music supervisor] (Last Night in Soho)

Hans Zimmer (Dune)

BEST SOUND DESIGN

Dune

Ema

The Father

The Green Knight

Zola

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Dune

Godzilla Vs. Kong

The Green Knight