Categories One-by-One: Film Editing

[MaxWilder]

I’d like to see it go to The Father. I was a rabid denier of its existence until it was available to rent, which I did right away. I can confirm it’s a real movie—and a good one—not something made up by Oscar bloggers who needed to pad their nomination predictions.

[Sabin]

As we learned last year, "Best" = "Most."

Ford v Ferrari is a finely edited film that would make for an acceptable winner in any other year (like 2018) but pitting its racing scenes against the classic, suspense-building (some have said Hitchcockian) editing of Parasite, there's no question what the winner should be. It recalls The Bourne Ultimatum besting No Country for Old Men. But this race doesn't have a Ford v Ferrari or a Parasite. I'm not sure any of these films would be nominated in an ordinary year (take a drink, Mister Tee). Four of them have six nominations and one of them has five. That's the lowest ceiling since 2005 (Crash--6, Cinderella Man--3, The Constant Gardener--4, Munich--5, Walk the Line--5).

The Trial of the Chicago 7 would certainly be the Crash, right? It seems to be the odds-on favorite. It might take the mantle of "Most Editing" but for all of its flashbacks and cross-cutting it certainly doesn't feel urgent. Also, I can't shake the feeling that it's going to go home empty-handed.

The Father probably deserves to win. Save for Nomadland, it has a lock on the most artfully edited film. Its edits also carry the biggest wallops. Hopkins' splash of water to the face is the most effective use of such technique I've seen in years. But it's such a small, quiet film, a scale that seems anathema to a win.

Nomadland is practically a montage in parts. There's precedent for a director taking home an editing Oscar. Alfonso Cuaron did it, even if the Coens couldn't. If Nomadland sweeps, I don't see why Chloe Zhao couldn't win. The nominations this reminds me the most of though is Into the Wild. I suspect, Nomadland tempo is seen more a product of cinematography than editing.

It's hard to assess where Promising Young Woman lands in this category because it's hard to assess what it is. It's a comedy, it's a drama, it's a revenge thriller. But on closer inspection, it's the only film in this category with a classic structure. It follows Save the Cat/Robert McKee to a T, always arching, always moving along, occasionally to the film's detriment. And while it doesn't do a perfect tones, it has the most to juggle. Truthfully, this might have been the hardest film to edit.

And then there's Sound of Metal. This might be our winner. Like Irvin says, it has a Best Sound nomination (and likely win) to go alongside it. But it does something else: it does everything that the other films "do." It puts the viewer within the perspective of someone losing a faculty (like The Father). The middle half is essentially a montage carried by mood and encounters (Nomadland). It's a bit unruly in its structuring, especially in a third act that feels like a leap (Promising Young Woman). And.... well, I can't really think of a comparison to The Trial of the Chicago 7 but those music scenes bolster its appearance of being "Most Edited."

The Trial of the Chicago 7 is probably the safe bet but I think it'll go to Sound of Metal.

[anonymous1980]

The nominees:

The Father
Nomadland
Promising Young Woman
Sound of Metal
The Trial of the Chicago 7

This category, I must say, is quite strong this year. There's an argument could be made why each of these nominees should win or could win. The Father utilizes editing to discombobulate audiences to put them into the mindset of what it's like to have dementia just like the main character. Editing is also used similarly in Sound of Metal and just as vital to its success as its sound mixing. Promising Young Woman's editing is vital to balancing its tricky shifts in tone from black comedy to serious drama to its thriller elements. Nomadland's beautifully paced editing is the reason why a film that's "plotless" isn't particularly slow, boring or dragging. The Trial of the Chicago 7 has the most "traditional" editing but it's also similarly very well-edited with its cross-cutting in between flashbacks and montages.

I would say this is a genuine 5-way race. But something to note that for 7 years in a row the Film Editing winner also took home at least one Sound award and the only nominee this year to also have a Sound nomination is Sound of Metal.