The 2021 Sketchy's: Day Two
Welcome back to the Sketchy’s. Today, we’ll be exploring the best achievements in film Visuals, Sound, and Music from 2021. Each category has 10 nominees and two winners. Why? Because I can.
Best Makeup & Hairstyling
Camille Andre and Bill Schwab, Encanto
Mary Czech, Jessie Seitz, and Marcus Koch, Jakob’s Wife
Jessi Dean and Aimee Lippert, Candyman
Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram, and Justin Raleigh, The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Eldo Ray Estes, Mike Hill, and Megan Many, Nightmare Alley
Michael W. Hamilton, Chris Nash, Psycho Goreman
Becci Mapes, The Power
Flore Masson, Olivier Afonso, Antoine Mancini, Titane
Saffron Powell, Martyrs Lane
Nadia Stacey and Naomi Dunne, Cruella
Winners: Nadia Stacey and Naomie Dunne, Cruella; Saffron Powell, Martyrs Lane
Look at the material. Cruella is a live action Disney film about fashion and the hair and makeup team do not miss a trick.
Saffron Powell does incredibly expressive work on the angel that becomes key to understanding the narrative of Martyrs Lane. Truly haunting.
Best Costumes
Jenny Beavan, Cruella
Neysa Bové, Encanto
Camille Champenois, Titane
Pascaline Chavanne and Ursula Paredes Choto, Annette
Bob Morgan and Jacqueline West, Dune
Eric Poirier, Slaxx
Yvonne Reddy, Jakob’s Wife
Jennifer Schreck, Willy’s Wonderland
Louisa Thomas, Martyrs Lane
Paola Torres, Parallel Mothers
Winners: Jenny Beaven, Cruella; Eric Poirier, Slaxx
Look at the material. Cruella is a live action Disney film about fashion and Jenny Beavan doesn’t miss a trick.
Slaxx is a horror film with literal killer pants. Eric Poirier’s contemporary design clearly distinguishes the hierarchy of store employees and contrasts them from the exploited workers processing the cotton for the fast fashion corporation.
Best Cinematography
Laura Bellingham, The Power
Elishas Christian, The Night House
Bruno Delbonnel, The Tragedy of Macbeth
Eduard Grau, Passing
John Guleserian, Candyman
Eric Koretz, Mosquito State
Todd Martin, The Novice
Hidetoshi Shinomiya, Drive My Car
Oren Soffer, A Nightmare Wakes
Ari Wegner, Power of the Dog
Winners: Elishas Christian, The Night House; Eduard Grau, Passing
Elishas Christian makes the memories of the past feel ever present and threatening through the eerie calm of the silent home in The Night House. And when you get to the scares later on, nothing is hidden in the shadows. You see it and you’re scared. More horror films should be this brave with their cinematography.
Eduard Grau’s black and white cinematography is the correct choice to tell the story of Passing, setting a narrative about racial segregation into a high contrast world of black and white. There’s no escaping the substance and theme of the story.
Best Editing
Jean-Christophe Bouzy, Titane
Joel Coen and Lucian Johnston, The Tragedy of Macbeth
Lauren Hadaway and Nathan Nugent, The Novice
David Marks, The Night House
Jeremy Milton, Encanto
Mirenda Ouellet, Slaxx
Scott Schuler, A Nightmare Wakes
Peter Sciberras, Power of the Dog
Chris Willet, Lucky
Azusa Yamazaki, Drive My Car
Winners: Chris Willet, Lucky; Lauren Hadaway and Nathan Nugent, The Novice
Lucky is constantly moving and evolving its focus and message. Chris Willet’s edit leaves not an extra scrap of footage. This film starts with its foot on the gas pedal and doesn’t let up until the closing credits.
Lauren Hadaway and Nathan Nugent get you into the mindset of the college rower willing to do anything to succeed in The Novice. It’s brilliant character study paced to perfection.
Best Production Design
Cara Brower, Candyman
Laurie Colson and Lise Péault, Titane
Stefan Dechant, The Tragedy of Macbeth
Alex DiGerlando, tick, tick…BOOM!
Katherin Eder, The Night House
Ian Gooding, Encanto
Geneviève Huot, Slaxx
Chris Richmond, No One Gets Out Alive
Paulina Rzeszowska, Saint Maud
Marek Warszewski, Mosquito State
Winners: Geneviève Huot, Slaxx; Cara Brower, Candyman
Geneviève Huot makes Canadian Cotton Clothiers feel like a real trendy chain store you could walk into during business hours across the world. The satire lands because the world is real and relatable. You’ve shopped in this store before, and they probably did have prices too good to be ethical.
Cara Brower creates the visual narrative of gentrification and cultural divide in Candyman over decades of footage. Even the two art galleries clearly tell a different story from each other by look alone. It’s brilliant contemporary production design work.
Best Visual Effects
Antlers
Candyman
Encanto
Eternals
Free Guy
Mosquito State
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Slaxx
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Willy’s Wonderland
Winners: Antlers, Slaxx
The creature design in Antlers is some of the most innovative practical and digital effects usage I’ve ever encountered. The reveal of the creature in the third act is awe inspiring.
Slaxx works because you believe that the jeans can move on their own. It looks real, no matter how ridiculous the slasher elements become.
Best Sound
Mateusz Adamczyk, Mosquito State
Thomas Brodeur, Slaxx
Chris Diebold, Ian Herzon, Jeff Sawyer, and Michael Schapiro, Candyman
Christopher Duke and Lance Hoffman, The Dark and the Wicked
Linzy Elliot, Lewis Goldstein, Andrew Mastronardi, Alex Soto, and Wen-Hsuan Tseng, In the Heights
Séverin Favriau, Fabrice Osinski, and Stéphane Thiébuat, Titane
Paul Hsu, Tod A. Maitland, Nancy Allen, John M. Davis, and Bri Holland, tick, tick…BOOM!
Leah Katz, Richard Flynn, Robert Mackenzie, Tara Webb, and David Whitehead, Power of the Dog
Deanna Marano and Lion Thompson, A Nightmare Wakes
Shannon Mills and Nia Hansen, Encanto
Winners: Christopher Duke and Lance Hoffman, The Dark and the Wicked; Deanna Marano and Lion Thompson, A Nightmare Wakes
The sound is an essential part of the storytelling in The Dark and the Wicked. Many horror films try to achieve this level of scare with a clever sound effect. Christopher Duke and Lance Hoffman drive the story with their sound mixing and editing.
A Nightmare Wakes pulls you further and further into Mary Shelley’s imagination, writing, and nightmares through shifts in sound mixing. Deanna Marano and Lion Thompson guide you through the ever-changing perspective of the film.
Best Score
Joseph Bishara, Malignant
Carter Burwell, The Tragedy of Macbeth
Jon Cziner, A Nightmare Wakes
Émoi, Willy’s Wonderland
Germaine Franco, Encanto
Alberto Iglesias, Parallel Mothers
Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe, Candyman
Ron Mael and Russell Mael, Annette
Hans Zimmer, Dune
Jeremy Zuckerman, Lucky
Winners: Émoi, Willy’s Wonderland; Jeremy Zuckerman, Lucky
Émoi’s score is what holds Willy’s Wonderland together. It’s honestly one of my favorite film scores of all time. It’s that perfect blend of way too chipper children’s entertainment music and unnerving psychological horror.
Jeremy Zuckerman’s score to Lucky is what instantly pulled me into the story. It’s chaos in the best way possible. There is nothing safe about Lucky and you know that from the beat the music starts crashing its way through the speakers.
Best Original Song
Nicholai Baxter, Matt Dahan, Sian Heder, and Marius de Vries, “Beyond the Shore,” CODA
Bo Burnham, “Content,“ Bo Burnham Inside
Bo Burnham, “Look Who’s Inside Again,” Bo Burnham Inside
Billie Eilish and FINNEAS, “No Time to Die,” No Time to Die
Émoi, “The Birthday Song,” Willy’s Wonderland
Émoi, “Willy’s Wonderland,” Willy’s Wonderland
Ron Mael and Russell Mael, “So May We Start,” Annette
Ron Mael and Russell Mael, “We Loved Each Other So Much,” Annette
Lin-Manuel Miranda, “Surface Pressure,” Encanto
Lin-Manuel Miranda, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” Encanto
Winners: Lin-Manuel Miranda, “Surface Pressure,” Encanto; Émoi, “The Birthday Song,” Willy’s Wonderland
The only reason “Surface Pressure” is not my number one most played song of 2021 is that it released at the end of the year. I’m obsessed with this brilliant character song and I will not apologize for it.
“The Birthday Song” is the calling card of Willy’s Wonderland. That sounds like a happy place to have a party for a kid, right? Even after the murders? And the shut down? And the [redacted for spoilers]?
Wrap Up
The 2021 Sketchy’s honored 51 films in 17 categories. The most nominated film was Encanto with 13 nominations. The most winning films are Encanto and Lucky with four wins each. Congratulations to all the honorees. Just know that it wouldn’t have been a struggle to extend most of the categories to 20 nominees and still feel great about the quality of cinematic achievement being recognized.
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