National Society of Film Critics choose "Nomadland"
Saturday, January 9, 2021 at 8:12PM by Nathaniel R
After LAFCA and the NYFCC, the NSFC completes what is essentially the holy trinity of American critics prizes for films. For the latter half of the 20th century these were the three that would get all the press. In the past two decades their influence has not waivered, exactly, but has become less visible. With 30 critics groups now voicing their opinions each year (the bulk of which formed after the year 2000) it's more important for films and performances to have a plurality of voices... unending FYC campaign noise. While LAFCA, NYFCC, and NSFC don't differ a lot this year they all chose separate films for their top prize, LAFCA went with Steve McQueen's collection of five telefilms Small Axe, NYFCC went with First Cow, and the NSFC chose Nomadland (which has been the most dominant with regional prizes...
55th Annual NSFC Awards
Best Film: Nomadland
Runners up: First Cow and Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Best Director: Chloe Zhao, Nomadland (also won NYFCC and LAFCA)
Runners up: Small Axe, Steve McQueen and Kelly Reichardt, First Cow
Zhao hasn't lost a single prize yet for her third feature. She previously directed Songs My Brother Taught Me and The Rider and hopefully the Nomadland will direct people backwards to those earlier films as well.
Best Actress: Frances McDormand, Nomadland
Runners up: Viola Davis in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and Sidney Flanagan in Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Best Actor Delroy Lindo, Da 5 Bloods (also won NYFCC)
Runners up: Chadwick Boseman in Ma Rainey's and Riz Ahmed in The Sound of Metal
Best Supporting Actress: Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (also won NYFCC)
Runners up: Amanda Seyfried, Mank and Youn Yuh-Jung in Minari
Best Supporting Actor: Paul Raci, Sound of Metal
Runners up: Glynn Turman, Ma Rainey's and Chadwick Boseman, Da 5 Bloods
Though NSFC is the only one of the big three to give Paul Raci this prize, he's thoroughly dominated this prize among regional critics groups. Their runners up are the LAFCA and NYFCC winners.
Best Cinematography: Joshua James Richards, Nomadland
Runner up: Shabier Kirchner, Lovers Rock and Leonardo Simões, Vitalina Varela
Best Screenplay: Eliza Hittman, Never Rarely Sometimes Always (also won NYFCC)
Runners up: First Cow, I'm thinking of Ending Things
Best Foreign Language Film: Collective from Romania
Runner up: Bacarau (Brazil) and Beanpole (Russia), and Vitalina Varela
Best Non-Fiction Film: Time (also won LAFCA and NYFCC)
Runners up: City Hall and Collective
Documentary is the only category other than Best Director this year to totally unite the top three critics prizes. LAFCA, NYFCC, and NSFC all chose this doc about a long prison sentence. You can read our interview with the filmmakers here.
Film Heritage Award
Women Make Movies (Distributor)
Film Comment (Magazine)
And that's it!
The plethora of small regional critics groups choices each year are obviously influenced by the first wave claims of LA and NY (NSFC less so since they come later) since consensus ≠ coincidence. Unfortunately this rubber-stamping of previous choices also makes critics awards far more boring than they used to be! Now we rarely see much disagreement from group to group, with each group selecting from a tiny pool of like two or (maximum) three options for each prize. (For instance isn't it a bit strange given the orgiastic reviews for Anthony Hopkins in The Father that he is never mentioned for Best Actor but it's only Lindo, Boseman, and Ahmed? Some categories have had some variety like Documentary but the acting prizes especially have been in lockstep with just a couple of names per category.)
All that said, this year will prove interesting as a test of critical influence. Most of the mainstream awards bodies will be reacting much later to the film year (usually they're kind of happening alongside the critics prizes) so will any of this stick? We shall see come March and April.
Reader Comments (37)
Nomadland is really positioning itself as the film to beat. So happy for Raci - I remember thinking after watching Sound of Metal, if only a performance like this could get traction! Well, whether Oscar love happens or not, he's had a fantastic season and will surely find more opportunities for his career after this role.
Maria Bakalova is steamrolling these awards!
Paul and Riz!!!
Am I the only one who thinks Boseman was just ok in Da 5 Bloods? He wasn’t even the best supporting actor in the film.
They used to be more original. I'll blame the pandemic. Sad they couldn't find room for Mads Mikkelsen. His last chance was here.
Citing Boseman for DA 5 BLOODS is absurd, especially when he has another, legitimately great and worthy performance right there to honor. Very silly.
Is McDormand really winning her 3rd?? I was hoping for Davis, who strangely is the runner-up in quite a few critics prizes; or Mulligan, who is raking up the next most wins after McDormand.
I tink the critics r in an over-compensating mode in citing or nom Boseman for Da 5 Blood! No offense, but had he been still w us, I tink he will only be cited (rightfully) for MRBB.
Let's not forget that there's roughly two months worth of films (whatever that may mean in pandemic times) that were ineligible for these critics prizes but will be eligible for the Oscars and the rest of the awards bodies going forward (the critics didn't extend their eligibility period like everyone else did, or at least that's what I read), so there will be a number films and performances that couldn't factor in here that may make a splash there.
Hot take: Kirby or Mulligan may still take the Oscar since they haven’t won before — and Viola doesn’t seem due for a second, nor McDormand for a third.
To those of you who think that the NSFC picking Frances McDormand is a repetitive act, take a look at their website.
https://nationalsocietyoffilmcritics.com/
This is the first time they've awarded her. They picked Emily Watson for the film year 1996. Frances McDormand finished third for 2017, behind Sally Hawkins and Saoirse Ronan.
It may help to think of these groups as having their own history, independent of their status as Oscar precursor.
I just can’t see Frances winning a third. Especially since she just won three years ago. Bergman and Streep have three, but one each is in supporting.
@Paranoid Android You wanna bet?
Mulligan is at best Rosamund Pike 2.0 for "Gone Girl". The hipsterian pick which people tend to love but the guilds and AMPAS underappreciate and she fights with blood for being nominated or worst Jake Gyllenhaal 2.0 ending with a snub ala "Nightcrawler" (We like the script but ick to that performance). Still it's funny the DELUSIONS for Carey Mulligan winning for that film.
Kirby depends if the voters passed the first minutes and don't drop the screener.
If so, Viola is Renee Zellweger 2.0 (Unless Zendaya surprises). Mark my words.
Daniel Day-Lewis won his third five years after his second. Yes, Fern isn't Abe Lincoln, but it's not unheard of for beloveds.
I'm also not really sure about the Boseman wins/noms for DA 5 BLOODS. Like others have said, there's better supporting actors in the film.
This is the awards body that, in my opinion, gets it right the most often: Blowup, Persona, Nashville, Night of the Shooting Stars, Ran, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Dead, Drugstore Cowboy, Out of Sight, Mulholland Dr., Melancholia, Goodbye to Language, and, of course, some that happened to be more widely beloved: Annie Hall, Moonlight, Parasite, Unforgiven. If I was a filmmaker, I'd feel like I was doing things right if I got THIS one more than anything else.
If Bakalova is snubbed at SAG and Oscars, it is going to be considered the biggest snub of the year, given how many citations she's getting. And everyone will point out the same cause: snobbism. It is the only reason to snub her, objectively speaking.
Jesus, she really is terrific and deserves the nom. AMPAS is so snobbish about comedy.
Glenn, only Dan and Kate have won 3 lead Oscars. So it’s pretty close to unheard of.
Still better than the BFCA will be (or has been).
I don't mind the repetitiveness for now, given that neither McDormand, Raci or Bakalova seem like likely winners in the major awards. Its nice they're getting these boosts in phase 1.
Very excited about Delroy Lindo. I could still see the globes overlooking him because he’s just not enough of a star, and they tend to back white actors. However, his critical support should carry him to a non at the Globes and then an Oscar.
Frances would be totally fine as a three time winner, she gives a strong performance, but I think Viola is much better and has a strong narrative. The biggest thing stopping Frances, I think, is that there are some similarities between the type of character she won Oscar number 2 for and this performance. More that they’re working class woman working through grief vs one being outward and another being inward. It just doesn’t feel different enough in the way a third does, especially given the time gap.
Exciting to see Ravi here. I think, given that multiple groups will be screening Sound of Metal to catch both performances (and writing, likely) it could be a contender for a top 10 slot.
i am torn this year on McDormand. i think a third Oscar for her is a bit much, but i also think Nomadland is the best single performance she's ever given in her career. she also surprises in many ways in it...it's not her usual scowl-fest, it's so textured and complex. viola is good, but she has very little to do in the movie. she finds beats and flavors other actors wouldn't find, but the performance seems ultimately inconsequential. because they've both won so recently, i see a window where kirby or mulligan could sneak in there for the win.
I could see Viola winning her second before McDormand winning her third, although I could see that too.
I could also see Mulligan sneaking through the cracks, although I don't think the movie will get anything except a Best Actress nod--and even that is shaky, so it's less likely, as much as I would love Mulligan winning an Oscar. Kirby has a shot too, but she probably would've needed more of a critics boost.
In the end I could honestly see Zendaya winning, assuming the movie is well received and receives attention, which it probably will.
Philip -- i dont know what to think of Malcolm & Marie. Zendaya is on a roll but i've heard the film takes several shots at film critics and bloggers and such and movies like that (that feel bitter about the media) aren't often treated that well by the media. I remember the critic scene in BIRDMAN was the film's most hated scene and of course M Night Shyamalan's cheap attacks on critics in LADY IN THE WATER didn't help that film's reviews.
It is hard to argue about Frances' best performance in my opinion. Very textured and complex performance. She's hard to beat. As for Viola, her transformative role is not mere transformation of a role, but an immersion of August Wilson's verbiage and sociological context. This is a good performance for Davis (and for a POC actress) to win Best Actress, a role that is imperious, powerful, and not subservient to anybody.
As for Carey, the film is too polarizing but she's electrifying in a risky movie. Her trajectory is similar to Rosamund Pike and Isabelle Huppert. If her film is hugely loved, then she has serious chances. For Vanessa, her film is not good. She carries the entire film and sometimes it's not enough. She might be pushed by Andra or Zendaya or even Sophia Loren.
@NathanielR
I know that this subject is not in conversation, but, would you mind to do a post about the next Honorary Oscar?
I am curious to think how the Academy will solve the equation "elder winners + covid pandemic".
VITALINA VARELA!!! <3
Look how close it was (or wasn't):
BEST ACTRESS:
Frances McDormand (Nomadland) – 46 points
Viola Davis (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) – 33
Sidney Flanigan (Never Rarely Sometimes Always) – 29
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm) – 47
Amanda Seyfried (Mank) – 40
Youn Yuh-jung (Minari) – 33
BEST ACTOR:
Delroy Lindo (Da 5 Bloods) – 52
Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) – 47
Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal) – 32
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Paul Raci (Sound of Metal) – 53
Glynn Turman (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) – 36
Chadwick Boseman (Da 5 Bloods) – 35
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Nomadland (Joshua James Richards) – 47
Lovers Rock (Shabier Kirchner) – 41
Vitalina Varela (Leonardo Simões) – 34
BEST SCREENPLAY:
Never Rarely Sometimes Always (Eliza Hittman) – 38
First Cow (Jon Raymond and Kelly Reichardt) – 35
I’m Thinking of Ending Things (Charlie Kaufman) – 29
BEST PICTURE:
Nomadland – 52
First Cow – 50
Never Rarely Sometimes Always — 41
BEST DIRECTOR:
Chloé Zhao (Nomadland) – 58
Steve McQueen (Small Axe) – 41
Kelly Reichardt (First Cow) – 30
BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM:
Collective – 38
Beanpole and Bacurau – tied at 36
BEST NONFICTION FILM:
Time – 46
City Hall — 28
Collective – 22
Film Heritage Award to Film Comment Magazine. Anybody know what’s up with this no-monthly magazine? They haven’t printed since March 2020. Actually, that issue was digital only and I declined it. I would’ve anticipated a January 2021 edition with their 2020 best picks, but it looks like they’re still on a leave. Wrote Customer Service after I had no November 2020 issue and was told that they’ll let their subscribers know in the future where they stand.
Maybe Anthony Hopkins isn't winning for The Father because that film isn't being released until 2021. All of the other films that were cited were released in 2020 (even if it was only for a one week limited release).
Soshua, would've been a perfect year to recognise Goddard and Doris Day without the hassel was wondering if they'd show up or not. I hope they pick some outside-the-box names for that reason.
There is no way I can see Mulligan winning. I'm still skeptical on a nomination. That film is not an Oscar movie (although screenplay, sure, if they're frisky). People are talking about it at least which is always good.
Am i the only one who really got distracted by Lindo's overacting in Da 5 Blood ? I adore him in The Good Fight because he can get very intense without crossing the line, but in Da 5 Blood he was all bulging eyes and trembling lips and felt very one-note.... to me.
Tom — they’re currently on hiatus is the official word though whether they’ll come back from that... I doubt it 😔
I can't see Viola winning. It's a supporting role and the only Black woman who ever won for playing an unsympathetic character is Mo'Nique ... for a performance that swept everything.
I'm not sure I can see Frances winning either, but Viola seems less likely.
But is Ma Rainey an unsympathetic character? #justsaying
I'd say Ma Rainey is ultimately sympathetic. But these kinds of "tea leaves" are becoming less and less reliable. MOONLIGHT and PARASITE both suggest that a fundamental shift has taken place and that the "old rules" no longer apply. The one old rule that seemed like it might hold for a while is the one suggesting no movie made for a streaming company would win Best Picture, but now, with COVID, I think that one may be about ready to topple, too.
As a creative person myself, I find both Ma and Levee sympathetic. Flawed, selfish, mean, yes, but ultimately sympathetic.
Of this year's contenders, it looks like the studio flick (Nomadland) has excellent chances of taking Best Picture, despite the sea change in the industry.
@working stiff. I was about to say that one of the things strongly in NOMANLAND's favor is that it's being realized by a non-streamer. I think that's, basically what saved GREEN BOOK the other year.
Perhaps "unsympathetic" was the wrong term, but I did not feel as though August Wilson and the filmmaker were all that interested in getting the audience to understand Ma (surprising, given an actress of Davis's stature was cast in the role). We understand Levee's cruelty and anger because Levee is given a horrificly vivid back story (we know little of Ma's history); the action really moves through Levee, in both the prologue and the denouement; heck, even Ma's lover seems more interested in Levee. Levee also evolves (dramatically) throughout the film, while Ma's character feels rather static.
I would see Viola winning over Frances at the Oscars too, esp. since her (category fraud) win was in Supporting. Both performances are in really stagy movies, too, but she's undeniably phenomenal.