Lately, it seems every time a film shot in black-and-white is even tangentially associated with Oscar buzz, it becomes an immediate contender for the Best Cinematography trophy. Even if many were skeptical (not Nathaniel, who predicted it), The Lighthouse proved this once again when it conquered a nomination for the work of DP Jarin Blaschke. In this case, at least, the nomination is amply justifiable with The Lighthouse looking like a series of haunted daguerreotypes, full of shiny fluids and battered bodies, ominous tempests and the enticing flame of the titular lighthouse.
Still, that's not always the case. Here are all the black-and-white Best Cinematography nominees of the 21st century…
THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE (2001)
Roger Deakins
GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK (2005)
Robert Elswit
THE WHITE RIBBON (2009)
Christian Berger
THE ARTIST (2011)
Guillaume Schiffman
NEBRASKA (2013)
Phedon Papamichael
IDA (2013)
Łukasz Żal and Ryszard Lenczewski
ROMA (2018) - winner
Alfonso Cuarón
COLD WAR (2018)
Łukasz Żal
THE LIGHTHOUSE (2019)
Jarin Blaschke
Most of these nominations are inspired choices, but some leave a little to be desired. Phedon Papamichael's nod for Nebraska is particularly galling. There's a sort of Peter Bogdanovich homage going on in Alexandre Pain's mean-spirited opus, but the silvery tonalities of Paper Moon and The Last Picture Show are miles away from this digital miasma of muddled greys and blandly lit interiors. There are some good shots throughout but it’s difficult not to think that nomination is mostly due to a perceived artistic superiority of black-and-white cinema.
Of the past few years, only Frances Ha and The Good German seem like potential black-and-white contenders that were ignored. However, that's excluding beautiful black-and-white indie or international films that weren't near Oscar's radar like Miguel Gomes' Tabu or Nicolas Pesce's The Eyes of My Mother. Those never stood a chance. The Lighthouse might have suffered a similar fate, being a bizarre horror hybrid, but it prevailed surely thanks to being under the A24 banner and featuring two stars. Whether this happened thanks to honest artistic recognition or a mere spark of cinematic nostalgia for black and white films, it doesn't really matter. What matters is that one of the year's best-looking films was rightfully nominated for the Oscar!