The critical map continues to unfold with only three films scoring repeatedly: The Artist, The Descendants and The Tree of Life. All of them recently picking up another "best of year" prize. I had expected Hugo to feature more prominently after its high profile NBR win but that hasn't come to pass. But isn't it awfully nice to see a year with three major critical players even if you don't much like one of them (for me that's The Descendants). In short: Death to sweeps!
Michelle Williams is dominating the critics awards
While she's not quite a sweeper Michelle Williams is going to be on a lot of airplanes if she intends to attend all of these critics ceremonies that plan to honor her work in My Week With Marilyn! After the jump prizes from... Chicago and St. Louis who both just announced, Dallas Ft Worth, Florida, and Las Vegas (which I missed last week oopsie).
DALLAS-FORT WORTH FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION
Picture The Descendants (ru: The Artist)
Director Alexander Payne, The Descendants (ru: Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist)
Actress: Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn (ru: Tilda Swinton, We Need To Talk About Kevin)
Actor: George Clooney, The Descendants (ru: Jean Dujardin, The Artist)
Supporting Actress: Shailene Woodley, The Descendants (ru: Bérénice Bejo, The Artist)
Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, Beginners (ru: Albert Brooks, Drive)
Foreign Language Film: A Separation (ru: The Skin I Live In)
Documentary: Cave of Forgotten Dreams
Animated Film: Rango
Screenplay: The Descendants (ru: Midnight in Paris)
Cinematography: The Tree of Life (ru: War Horse)
Russell Smith Award: We Need To Talk About Kevin
They went Descendants crazy with 5 prizes. Dallas critics are packing up for Hawaii apparently.
CHICAGO FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION
Picture The Tree of Life
Director Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life
Actress: Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn
Actor: Michael Shannon, Take Shelter
Supporting Actress: Jessica Chastain, The Tree of Life
Supporting Actor: Albert Brooks, Drive
Promising Performer: Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene
Promising Filmmaker: Sean Durkin, Martha Marcy May Marlene
Foreign Language Film: A Separation
Documentary: The Interrupters
Animated Feature: Rango
Original Screenplay: The Artist, Michel Hazanavicius
Adapted Screenplay: Moneyball, Steven Zaillian & Aaron Sorkin
Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki, The Tree of Life
Score: Cliff Martinez, Drive
I guess I need to listen to the Drive soundtrack. I keep seeing Drive mentioned for score but while watching it I thought it was mostly a song score. Maybe I just enjoyed the synth pop too much to notice the underscoring?
Also, while I applaud any critics group brave enough to pick a Jessica Chastain performance rather than saying the cop-out "ALL!" The Tree of Life seems like a strange choice. The film is wonderful but she is being asked to embody a concept. Isn't it less of an acting challenge and more like a single note state of being?
LAS VEGAS FILM CRITICS SOCIETY
Picture The Artist
Director Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive
Actress: Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn
Actor: Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Supporting Actress: Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Supporting Actor: Albert Brooks, Drive
Foreign Language Film: 13 Assassins
Documentary: Project Nim
Animated Feature: Rango
Family Film: Hugo
Youth in Film: Asa Butterfeld, Hugo
Screenplay: Moneyball, Steven Zaillian & Aaron Sorkin
Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki, The Tree of Life
Costume Design: Mark Bridges, The Artist
Editing: Thelma Schoonmaker, Hugo
Art Direction: Gregory S Hooper, The Artist
Visual Effects: Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Score: Ludovic Bource, The Artist
Song: "Man or Muppet" from The Muppets
Best DVD Packaging: Jurassic Park Ultimate Trilogy
Lifetime Achievement: Albert Brooks
Las Vegas will get Albert Brooks to attend their ceremony. They will they will they will. Even if it means giving him two prizes!
FLORIDA FILM CRITICS SOCIETY
Picture The Descendants
Director Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Actress: Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn
Actor: Michael Fassbender, Shame
Supporting Actress: Shailene Woodley, The Descendants
Supporting Actor: Albert Brooks, Drive
Foreign Language Film: The Skin I Live In
Documentary: Project Nim
Animated Feature: The Adventures of Tintin
Golden Orange: no award given
Breakout: Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene
Adapted Screenplay: The Descendants
Original Screenplay: The Artist
Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki, The Tree of Life
Art Direction: Dante Ferretti, Hugo
Visual Effects: Rise of the Planet of the Apes
To wrap: That's four more BEST ACTRESS prizes for Michelle Williams with all of these organizations in for her Marilyn Monroe. While I thought she was good in the film and particularly strong in the slurry druggy scenes late in the picture I didn't imagine while watching it months ago that she would end up leading critics awards. I always forget that critics are as enamored of biographical performances as Oscar voters. It's a mental block I have. My theory is that each year I am blinded in the summer by Cannes and end up thinking that the more auteur vessel performance will be beloved by US critics. But this is a foolish assumption since the vast majority of critics working these days seem to have very Oscary taste... (at least if their annual awards are any indication) even whilst constantly complaining about Oscar.
What do you think it is exactly about the Michelle as Marilyn performance that has people declaring "BEST" in the way they are though... especially considering the people that that vaults her over (in this case Chicago's other nominees: Dunst, Olsen, Paquin and Streep). It mystifies.
Finally we have St. Louis which is the only group not to go for Michelle Williams. They give Rooney Mara her first prize. Their awards went like so...
ST. LOUIS FILM CRITICS
Picture The Artist (ru: The Descendants)
Director Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist (ru: Malick)
Actress: Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (ru tie: Streep & Williams)
Actor: George Clooney, The Descendants (ru: Ryan Gosling, Drive)
Supporting Actress: Bérénice Bejo, The Artist (ru tie: Octavia Spencer and Shailene Woodley)
Supporting Actor: Albert Brooks, Drive (ru: Alan Rickman in Deathly Hallows Part 2)
Foreign Language Film: 13 Assassins (ru: Winter in Wartime)
Documentary: Being Elmo (ru: Tabloid)
Animated Film: The Adventures of Tintin (ru: Rango)
Comedy: Bridesmaids (ru: Midnight in Paris)
Original Screenplay: The Artist (ru: 50/50)
Adapted Screenplay: The Descendants (ru: Moneyball)
Cinematography: The Tree of Life (ru tie: War Horse and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
Best Music: The Artist (ru: Drive)
Visual Effects: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (ru: Rise of the Planet of the Apes)
Artistic/Creative Film (Excellence in Art House Cinema): We Need To Talk About Kevin (ru: Win Win)
Special Merit (for best scene or memorable aspect): The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo's opening credits (ru: The Artist: dance scene finale)
Hmmm... St. Louis has some oddities. Looks like sentiment got the best of them when they realized Harry Potter wasn't going to win anything. Best visual effects over Apes? Uh... okay. Their prize for arthouse cinema only emphasizes how fucked up distribution for non-blockbustery cinema is these days. I like Win Win a lot but it's not really an "art house" movie by any stretch of the imagination outside of the fact that it happened to only receive a limited release.
The Best Picture Critical Map As Of Now...
The map: 8 wins for The Artist, 4 for The Descendants, 4 for The Tree of Life (the AAFCA not pictured until I figure out what to do with them and the NSFC and the other non-region specific critics groups who have yet to announce.) Interesting that the South and Southwest are so into The Descendants. Any theories as to why?
Upcoming announcements
Dec 26th -Online Film Critics Society (nominations... winners on January 2nd)
Dec 27th - Phoenix
Jan 7th - National Society of Film Critics
Unknown Dates
Oklahoma Film Critics Circle, Iowa Film Critics Association, Utah Film Critics Association, and The Kansas City Film Critics Circle though their website has not been updated in two years so perhaps the circle is closed?