by Nathaniel R
The Los Angeles Film Critics have spoken awarding two prizes each to Steve McQueen's series Small Axe (film and cinematography), the new adaptation of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (winning both male acting awards), and the controversial rape revenge comedy Promising Young Woman (actress and screenplay). Because I am something of a purist when it comes to movie awards I have to sigh a bit at their reaction to Small Axe. It's like pick a lane, LA critics. You're obviously trying to make a statement that it's a film rather than tv series (and from our understanding it was pitched and produced as the latter and will definitely be considered television for its awards campaign) but if it is one mammoth film why are you also admitting that it's a series by singling out one "episode" for a runner up Best Score prize? So which is it, LA? Or were you arguing amongst yourselves about this during voting...
It's depressing as movies have been hit so hard this year and it feels like a kicking the artform when it's down to deny the top prize to a movie and give it to a series instead. Even if you believe that Small Axe is not a television anthology series but five separate films by the same filmmaker, it is still in no sense of the definition a singular "film". Anyway, their prizes are as such.
BEST FILM Small Axe
Runner up: Nomadland
BEST DIRECTOR Chloé Zhao, Nomadland
Runner up: Steve McQueen, Small Axe
Since they couldn't make up their minds as to whether Small Axe was one giant film or five episodes, perhaps it would have been wiser to give Best Film to Nomadland and Best Director to Steve McQueen because making five indivisual movies that are all the singular best seems like you thought he accomplished something extraordinary five times over?
BEST ACTRESS Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman
Runner up: Viola Davis, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
BEST ACTOR Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Runner up: Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Glynn Turman, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Runner up: Paul Raci, Sound of Metal
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Youn Yuh-jung, Minari
Runner up: Amanda Seyfried, Mank
Interesting that both NYFCC and LAFCA gave both of their male acting prizes to one film, Da 5 Bloods (NYFCC) and Ma Rainey (LAFCA), respectively.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Small Axe, Shabiek Kirchner
Runner up: Nomadland, Joshua James Richards
BEST EDITING The Father, Yorgos Lamprimos
Runner up: Time, Gabriel Rhodes
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN Mank, Donald Graham Burt
Runner up: Beanpole, Sergey Ivanov
BEST SCORE: Soul
Runner up: Lovers Rock
BEST SCREENPLAY Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman
Runner up: Eliza Hittman, Never Rarely Sometimes Always
BEST ANIMATED FILM Wolfwalkers
Runner up: Soul
BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM Beanpole
Runner up: Martin Eden
BEST DOCUMENTARY / NON-FICTION FILM Time
Runner up: Collective
Time is really cleaning up so far in precursors.
NEW GENERATION: Radha Blank, The 40 Year Old Version
no runner up announced
Strange that in such a rich year for debuts -- they even gave two prizes to a debut film (Promising Young Woman) they didn't offer a runner up citation.
EXPERIMENTAL FILM John Gianvito, Her Socialist Smile
no runner up announced
CAREER ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Director Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Actor/Singer/Activist Harry Belafonte
LEGACY AWARD (their first such award): Norman Lloyd
What do you think of their prizes this year?