Oscar Nominations 2021: The Snubs And Surprises
2. Snub: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom Falling Short Of Expectations
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, which features the final performance of Chadwick Boseman, managed to get five nominations but that is unquestionably a poor performance for a film expected to do much better. An adaptation of August Wilson's play, Ma Rainey is primarily focused on one recording session of Ma Rainey's (Viola Davis) band as she struggles to deal with management and a difficult Horn Player (Boseman).
Both Boseman and Davis scored nominations, making Davis the most nominated black actress at the Oscars in history and Boseman is of course nominated posthumously and will undoubtedly win for his searing portrayal. Despite this, Ma Rainey missed out on expected nominations for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.
These two snubs will harm Davis' odds more than anyone else's, as Best Actress continues to look like Carey Mulligan's to lose, but it is still a disappointing showing from a film that the Academy simply didn't fall in love with.
In fairness, Ma Rainey is an actors' piece, and the script feels like they took the original play and just filmed it with little adaptation taking place. It's still a surprise none the less.