Oscars Nominations 2022: 8 Ups & 9 Downs

5. Surprise: Nightmare Alley Sneaks Into Best Picture & Best Cinematography

The smart money was most certainly on Guillermo del Toro's Nightmare Alley scooping a few lower-tier technical nominations and little else, so it was a pleasant surprise to see the film nominated for both Best Picture and Best Cinematography.

Being the Ricardos' loss was evidently del Toro's gain, as that film sliding out of Best Picture freed up a slot for Nightmare Alley to steal.

It hasn't got a hope in hell of winning the Big One, but it's still neat to see such a visionary, pulpy piece of work make the list of ten.

The film was very much on the bubble for Best Cinematography - most had it pegged as the sixth or seventh choice that would just miss out, but after Belfast shockingly failed to receive a nod, DP Dan Lausten was able to sneak in and take it.

Nightmare Alley isn't even close to del Toro's best film, but it's a fascinating, flawed piece of work all the same, and it's refreshing that something so uncompromising and not remotely awards-baiting has picked up major nominations.

It was also nominated for Best Production Design and Costume Design, bringing its total nods to four.