2020 Oscar Contenders You Should Check Out ASAP

Parasite

This subversive South Korean comic thriller from director Bong Joon Ho tells the story of the symbiotic relationship between the wealthy Parks and the poverty-ridden Kims and how a parasitic interloper threatens to destroy the fragile world the two families have built. Taking the world by storm, Parasite might even make history as the first international feature film to win the Academy’s Best Picture Award (fingers crossed!).

The Irishman

Netflix tries its hand again at the Oscars when it acquired the film rights to The Irishman after the production met a series of budgeting issues. After more than a decade of development limbo, director Martin Scorsese reunited with Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci while bringing Al Pacino onboard to tell the story of Frank Sheeran, truck-driver-turned-hitman after he gets involved with mafioso Russell Bufalino and Teamster Jimmy Hoffa.

Marriage Story

Another attempt by streaming giant Netflix for an Oscar, Academy Award nominee Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story focuses on character studies (which is often a hit with Oscar voters) as a stage director (Adam Driver) and a theatre actress (Scarlett Johansson) struggle through an exhausting coast-to-coast divorce, depicting a story of a marriage breaking up and a family staying together.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

The Oscars voting pool has always loved a good movie about a nostalgic trip back to Hollywood’s golden age, and with a star-studded cast featuring  Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Emile Hirsch, and Al Pacino and director Quentin Tarantino at its helm, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is a strong contender in the running. Set in Los Angeles in the late 1960s, the film tells the story of an actor and his stunt double struggling through the changing landscape of the film industry.

Little Women

After her highly successful directorial debut with Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig is back with an ensemble cast consisting of Meryl Streep, Emma Watson, Saoirse Ronan, Timothée Chalamet, and Florence Pugh for an adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s novel of the same name. Despite being the seventh onscreen adaptation of the source material, this iteration received critical acclaim with the American Film Institute and Time magazine choosing it as one of the top ten films of 2019. Little Women tells the story of the March sisters as they all fight to live life on their own terms.

Jojo Rabbit

Despite mixed critical reception, Taika Waititi’s dramedy gained acknowledgment from several awarding bodies including the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild. Set against the backdrop of World War II and the Holocaust, Hitler youth member Johannes “Jojo” Betzler (Roman Griffin Davis) questions the beliefs he grew up with upon discovering his mother Rosie (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a Jewish girl Elsa Korr (Thomasin McKenzie), all while dealing with his Adolf Hitler-like imaginary friend (Waititi).

1917

Opposite Jojo Rabbit’s humorous take on World War 2, director Sam Mendes’ 1917 tackles World War 1 from a more serious perspective, recounting the experiences of his paternal grandfather Alfred Mendes. Set in the spring of the year 1917, two young British soldiers must deliver a message to warn of an ambush during a skirmish after the Germans retreat during Operation Alberich.

Ford v Ferrari

An old school Hollywood drama that would surely appeal to both regular moviegoers and the Oscar voting audience alike, James Mangold’s Ford v Ferrari follows automotive designer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) and race car driver Ken Miles (Christian Bale) as they struggle to build a revolutionary vehicle for Ford to go up against the dominant Ferrari.

Which other films do you think will be up for an Oscar? Which ones have you seen? Let us know below!