The Best and Worst Moments of the 2021 Oscars

In between a cinematic entrance and a letdown of an ending, there were breakthroughs, heartbreaks and a wolf howl. It was a strange night.

The 93rd Academy Awards were already shaping up to be unusual — delayed because of the pandemic and featuring movies that, for the most part, bypassed theaters for streaming. Then the producers, including Steven Soderbergh and Stacey Sher, were asked to shake up the show. That they did, setting it at Union Station in downtown Los Angeles and upending the order of awards so that best picture was announced earlier than usual and best actor was the last to be revealed. While “Nomadland” won best picture as pundits predicted, hopes were high for a sweep by actors of color, only to be dashed late in the evening. All told, it was one of the odder Oscar nights in memory. Here are the highs and lows as we saw them. The opening set expectations high: The camera followed the first presenter, Regina King, making her way through the depot in a long, tracking shot that continued to trail her as she wound through the banquet-style tables, surrounded by guests who had all been Covid-tested, tested and tested again, for good measure. King, whose directorial debut, “One Night in Miami,” was nominated for three Oscars, served as a tour guide to a scene that almost made us forget we were in the middle of a pandemic. — Sarah Bahr