FYC: Best Ensemble
Monday, January 25, 2021 at 5:30PM by Nathaniel R
SAG and GLOBE and BFCA members are all voting right now or very soon for their nominations for the 2020 film year. This is as good a time as any then, to do FYCs that also serve as my own ballot in the first wave of the annual Film Bitch Awards. SAG and I don't often see eye to eye in terms of "Outstanding Cast". For my own "Ensemble" Award I tend to think of it as interplay and chemistry between actors. A perfect ensemble has all performers operating on a high level and doing so together, so group scenes are far more important than a series of one-on-one encounters.
For instance, I wouldn't nominate Promising Young Woman for an Ensemble award even though it has a large talented cast because there's almost no group acting. Each scene is essentially Carey Mulligan versus _____...
And very few of the cast members are at her astonishing level. In my own awards for this category, I dont much care if any single performance is "awards-win worthy" on its own (that's what the solo categories are for!) so long as the efforts, cohesively, are spectacular. For SAG from the outside looking in, it appears what they value most is more of a "who is in it and are one or two of them great?" kind of thing. Famous actors take precedent. If The Prom is going to score anywhere this season, outside of Globes Comedy/Musical categories, it's right here; it wouldn't even make my top twenty of best ensembles this year, though, because the quality of the acting is all over the place from scene to scene and from performer to performer.
Without further ado my ballot* goes like so...
BABYTEETH
It's the smallest cast I nominate this year, but the most emotionally intricate. In this intimate, funny, wrenching vignette-filled drama, parents (Essie Davis, Ben Mendelsohn: two of Australia's very best actors ... which is saying a lot) attempt to reconcile their own needs and feelings with their sick daughter's (Eliza Scanlen) devotion to a homeless junkie (Toby Wallace). Even the minor players who occassionally grace the action make well-observed, quirky, and emotionally precise contributions.
MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM
Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman have the "star" roles but the play/movie wouldn't have hit as well if all of the players weren't working with finely tuned instruments. Colman Domingo, easily one of the most undersung and most reliable character actors working is perfect as the mediating Cutler, Glynn Turman is thoughtful and moving as Toledo, Taylour Paige is a saucy delight as Dussie Mae, and so on...
MINARI
Steven Yeun as the father and Youn Yuh-jung as the grandmother are the famous names and get the best roles so they've naturally been receiving the bulk of the attention. Yet the whole family dynamic is a sublimely well observed unit with Han Yeri incisively withholding as the disappointed mother, Alan Kim as the mischievous young son trying to work out what's happening with his family, and Noel Cho as the more reserved daughter. The townspeople don't have much to do beyond Will Patton (side note: always a little "much" for me, but I'll allow it here given the role) but they contribute a nicely alien backdrop for the newly arrived family to navigate.
ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
Those "chemistry tests" Kingsley Ben-Adir told Murtada about in TFE's interview, really paid off! One Night in Miami is the kind of movie ensemble categories were built for. Eli Gore as Muhammad Ali, Leslie Odom Jr as Sam Cooke, and Aldis Hodge (a fast-rising favourite of ours) as Jim Brown are basically interacting for the whole movie. (Some of the minor characters pop, too, like Lance Reddick as Kareem X) Everybody is involved the drama, individual relationships are beautifully illuminated even within the context of group scenes, and everyone is triangulating. The sparks (and the ideas with them) fly.
TRUE HISTORY OF THE KELLY GANG
George Mackay may be the wild eyed fiery center of this True History as the unpredictable outlaw Ned Kelly, but the gifted actors surrounding him (Russell Crowe, Charlie Hunam, Sean Keenan, Nicholas Davis, Essie Davis again, and more) aren't mere bystanders but active participants in the film's remarkably sustained tension. And that's not to mention the sexual peculiarities, emotional violence, and physical jolts of the collective performance in virtually every scene. What are any of these people/actors going to do next?
Again, these are not SAG predictions but only personal preferences, whether or not they have *any* shot at making out. Obviously Babyteeth and True History do not! (Note: movies released in 2021 only like Judas and the Black Knight, The Mauritanian, United States vs Billie Holiday, and The White Tiger are not eligible at the Film Bitch Awards as we're sticking to the calendar year as we've always done.. but SAG, The Globes and the Oscars are all allowing films from 2021 to compete for the 2020 awards as long as they're released by the end of February, 2021).
You can see finalists and semi-finalists on the chart page as well as nominees for Best Casting and a sneak peak at the other "extra" acting categories. Check it out.
Reader Comments (24)
That's gotta be son of Frances McDormand in the last picture or they should play mother/son ASAP!
OMG!
Does this mean your highly anticipated Top 10 List (and runners up) article is coming soon??!!??
You're not following The Academy's Calendar? How very Bafta's nineteen eighties of you!
Julian -- it does, yes ;)
Peggy Sue -- no, i'm too married to the calendar year. I like my shit organized (perhaps because i am so disorganized in real life.
The DrMistery -- whoa i've never though of that but you're right.
Julian -- it does, yes ;)
Peggy Sue -- no, i'm too married to the calendar year. I like my shit organized (perhaps because i am so disorganized in real life.
The DrMistery -- whoa i've never though of that but you're right.
I appreciate you dispensing with the 2021 Jan/Feb nonsense. Going to drive me crazy for the rest of season re: Oscars, Globes, etc.
My choice for Best Ensemble is Let Them All Talk. The impressive improvisation conducted by Meryl Streep, Dianne West, Candice Bergen, Gemma Chan and Lucas Hedges deserves recognition.
Of the awards-eligible films I've seen, my five top casts/ensembles thus far would be
The Boys in the Band
Judas and the Black Messiah
True History of the Kelly Gang
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
One Night in Miami
Special mention:
Small Axe
Hamilton
(Not yet seen:
Land
Minari
The Father
Da 5 Bloods
Sound of Metal
The Mauritanian
Let Them All Talk
The United States vs. Billie Holiday
News of the World
Another Round
Nomadland
Black Bear
Babyteeth
Tenet)
Weird year.
I get what you mean in terms of Promising Young Woman not allowing for large group interplay, but it's still one of my favourite ensembles of the year (along with Babyteeth), since I love the variety of interplay and chemistry that comes from Mulligan and Burnham, Brie, Greenfield, Brown, Molina, Cox, Lowell, Britton, Brody, etc. Such a great who's who of character actors and off-beat casting choices, all playing a particular 'tone' very well (something I loved in Get Out's cast as well).
BABYTEETH! What a great and inspired choice.
I think theyll go with Ma Rainey altough, in terms of cast, I prefer Da Blood.
Yay. Film Bitch has started! Does that means Nomadland is out of contention?
So far my fave ensembles are Ma Rainey and Miami.
Babyteeth, yes!!!
I still think "Mank" has the one of the best ensembles of the year, IMO (in a cinematic film, by the way, once many of these choices feel like plays poorly adapted to a different medium).
The Prom is the best.
JW -- no, i'm allowing for films that screened heavily at festivals and which had "qualifying" virtual cinema releases so Minari and Nomadland and The Father can all play along --- just not the stuff that started sccreening in January oir February.
I'm so happy you finally saw Babyteeth! Love your choice, and I can't wait to see what else is on your ballot
Really intriguing choices and great rationale.
Re: the awards year for the Oscars running to the end of February, do we think that the next awards year will only last ten months, to realign with the calendar year?
My votes would be Babyteeth, Sibyl, The Surrogate, The Nest, and Saint Frances
Nathaniel, I think you meant to name Nicholas Hoult, not Nicholas Davis, in the TRUE HISTORY OF THE KELLY GANG ensemble? Although I'd be surprised and delighted if our Nick Davis turned out to have a cameo in the movie, ;) but not at the expense of my beautiful Hoult.
Just saw BABYTEETH this weekend and agree with you on both that and PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN, though I think we may be in the minority on the latter. ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI was my #1 pick for ensemble.
Just saw ONIM and the four actors worked beautifully together. On a more selfish note Eli Goree and Aldis Hodge are two of the best looking men I have seen in a film in some time. Youza.
I usually think of "Best Ensemble" as the film that has so many great supporting performances that it's tough to choose the best. On that note, I'd vote for Da 5 Bloods here (even though it's understandably short on actressing).
Paul Outlaw imposter - PLEASE STOP. We've had a glorious couple of months without imposters. Picking your own screen name is so easy. Just call yourself by your real name or make up your own handle and we can proceed. Please and thanks.
Curious about true story of kelley gang. First I've heard of it. Will check out