A nice boost for "Nickel Boys" at the Gotham Awards and NYFCC

by Nathaniel R

This year’s small Gotham juries and the recurring members of the 40+ member New York Film Critics Circles have named their “bests” of 2024 in the past couple of days. The only film that managed to get kudos from both is RaMell Ross’s cinematic adaptation of the Pulitzer winning novel “The Nickel Boys”.

Winners and a few comments after the jump…

GOTHAM AWARDS
Best Feature Film A Different Man
Breakthrough Director Vera Drew, The People’s Joker
Outstanding Lead Performance Colman Domingo, Sing Sing
Outstanding Supporting Performance Clarence Maclin, Sing Sing
Breakthrough Actor  Brandon Wilson, The Nickel Boys
Best Documentary No Other Land

GOTHAM TRIBUTES  (Non Competitive)
Ensemble The Piano Lesson
Performer Angelina Jolie, Maria
Spotlight Zendaya
Social Justice Sing Sing
Director Denis Villeneuve, Dune Part Two
Visionary Timothee Chalamet and James Mangold, A Complete Unknown

Quick Comments: The Gotham Awards are the first real “event” of awards season. Apparently everyone was there and people were still talking about it the next night at the Emilia Perez party I attended here in NYC. I kept hearing that the wins were “strange” but partygoers didn’t elaborate. I think they  must have been referring to two things: Anora's complete shutout (it had led the nominations) and A Different Man’s triumph in the top category. Even the film’s director was blindsided. The film had only one other nomination (Supporting Performance for Adam Pearson who you’ll remember from his memorable role in Under the Skin) and was a fairly low profile member of the nominated quintet.

Obviously the Gotham Awards are not influential precursors in the Oscar race - as exciting as they might be for other reasons - but this early shout out to Sing Sing will definitely help the film. Movies released before the fall really need precursor support to revive them in the conversation since so much of the all important pre-Oscar balloting influencing is jammed into just three short months (Nov-Jan). What’s more it’s not just awards voters but critics and the media who often preference whatever they’ve just seen. Months ago it felt like Sing Sing --which didn't make a huge splash in release - would fade by this point in the season but people are still responding to it. 

Despite no obvious Oscar correlations the juries at the Gothams, at least in the supporting realm, have (so far) had very Oscary tastes. The first two winners repeated at the Oscars and the third Charles Melton (May December) was in the conversation as a strong possibility despite not making it in the end.  In short, this win is very good news for Clarence Maclin. 

Trivia Alert: All three competitive acting awards at the Gothams went to black men which is obviously a first. That said, it’s only even been technically possible for four years now. Before 2021 one of the three acting categories was “Outstanding Lead Female Performance” immediately assuring some gender balance in the winners. The “Outstanding Supporting Performance” category was surely created so the Gotham Awards could still keep honoring three actors since the powers that be at the Gothams obviously used to care little about supporting players. It’s interesting to note that a woman has yet win the Supporting prize.

NYFCC
Best Film The Brutalist
Best Director RaMell Ross, Nickel Boys
Best Actress Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Hard Truths
Best Actor Adrien Brody, The Brutalist
Best Supporting Actress Carol Kane Between the Temples
Best Supporting Actor Kieran Culkin A Real Pain
Best Cinematography Jomo Fray, Nickel Boys
Best Screenplay Anora

Best First Film Janet Planet
Best Non-Fiction Feature No Other Land
Best Animation Feature Flow
Best International Film All We Imagine As Light

Broken Record: Okay okay, I'll play my expected role and complain yet again about category fraud = FOUR leads took home all the acting prizes (You can, I concede, make a case that Carol Kane is supporting, but I think it's a pretty weak case regardless.  I lost the Category Fraud battle long ago and I'm aware of it. There is no battle anymore. Everyone resigned to it very very quickly once the shenanigans were annual. Fellow media types and critics never joined the battle, regularly just saying "ok" and voting as the studios deigned, no matter how preposterous the designation. I've even had fellow critics tell me I was "silly" for caring and that the titles of categories mean little. Maybe I've always cared too much but I think it's a sweet thing about myself that I think supporting players are super important to the success of movies and should be honored accordingly. 

MOVING ON... 

Quick Comments: The wins for the Brutalist are not at all surprising. Anora only nabbing screenplay is a little more of an eyebrow raiser. Not much in the way of prizes between the Gothams and NYFCC -- is this concerning or a nothing coincidence since awards season is very very young.  

Of the four acting winners, all but Kieran Culkin have had a single and much deserved Oscar run in the past -- Kane for Hester Street, Jean-Baptiste for Secrets & Lies, and Brody for The Pianist. They're all first time winners with NYFCC so that gala should be fun for them. Especially Carol Kane, a longtime New Yorker. (I'm not 100% sure she still lives here but I have spotted her a couple of times at movie events here in the city.)

I'm so happy that Flow took Animated Feature. It is just sublime. Expect to see it on my top ten list.

Comments

[Drew]

Nathaniel, please don't stop with crusading category fraud.
It really seems like a lost battle; you will think that critics would know better.
In what world is Culkin supporting? If I remember correctly, he is probably not in 2 scenes? It's basically a two hander. If they really like it that much, then vote in lead. If he can't win in lead then tough luck; not everybody can be a winner.
Not that I am suggesting this; I'd rather have them manipulate the result and have a tie in correct category. I know it's not right but then having category fraud winner is not the right way either.
And Carol Kane is good winner but it's also not supporting role. Sigh.
Very happy for Marianne. Rooting for her and Kidman in this award season.