by Nathaniel R
Alan S Kim, everyone's favourite mischief maker in Minari
Each year at the Critics Choice Awards -- I just filed my ballot -- we're expected to vote in a category that gets almost no press or campaigning: Best Young Performer. The nominees tend to be whichever kid had a leading role in a movie everyone saw. I've always found this depressing since all awards categories should be taken seriously and, as with adult performances or directing or costuming or whatever, you should think about your ballot and not just pick the most visible option solely because they're right in front of you. So each year I try to help by posting my own ballot...
The Critics Choice Award category actually goes up to 21 years of age which I've always found not-smart for reasons of content and comparison. Remember the year where Adèle Exarchopoulous won the category for her very sexual star-making turn in Blue is the Warmest Colour and her competitors were kids in movies about kids?!? This is not sex-shaming. Blue is the Warmest Colour was a fine movie and there's nothing wrong with very naked sexual star performances from adult actors... but maybe keep them in the adult categories, you know?
"Saint Frances" bizarre release strategy, waiting a year after a big fsetival breakout to be released did it no favors. Ramona Edith Williams is a major scene stealer.
This year you're likely to see a dynamic where both young adult actresses from the abortion drama Never Rarely Sometimes Always up against actual children (Fine performances but I didn't vote for them since my own category avoids this adults competing with children problem). There are usually five nominees. I think it's quite obvious that Helena Zengel (Globe nominee for News of the World) and Alan S Kim (the scene stealer of Minari) will be nominated and that's wonderful as they're both worthy in really excellent films. As to who will be the fifth nominee, who knows?
But my other three choices are less high profile: Orlando Schwerdt (True History of the Kelly Gang), Ibrahime Gueye (The Life Ahead), and Ramona Edith Williams (Saint Frances).
Toby Wallace mad a splash in Babyteeth... opposite Eliza Scanlen who broke through in the past couple of years with Little Women and Sharp Objects