'The Lost Daughter' and 'Zola' are multiple Spirit Award winners

by Nathaniel R

The Film Independent Spirit Awards were held today and The Lost Daughter emerged as the big winner with Maggie Gyllenhaal taking home three statues: Feature, Director, and Screenplay. Zola, our Bronze Medalist for Best Picture, also performed well winning Female Lead and Editing. On television Reservation Dogs was the big winner with two prizes. A complete list of winners and teary funny acceptance speeches after the jump...

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Almost There: Class of 2021

by Cláudio Alves

Another year, another class of actors who got close to Oscar glory but failed to make the cut. Like last year, here are capsules of 15 unnominated but buzzy performances. At the end of the article, you'll get to vote for who you think should get the full "Almost There" treatment. Since I already wrote extensively about Ruth Negga in Passing and Simon Rex in Red Rocket, those two won't be here, though my heart mourns for their dashed Oscar dreams. 

First up, let's start with the season's wildest race...

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Interview: Martha Plimpton on Her Role in ‘Mass’

By Abe Friedtanzer

We’re back with another spotlight on one of the strongest films of 2021, Mass, which managed to earn exactly one nomination from BAFTA today, for Ann Dowd in the supporting actress category. Nathaniel spoke with Dowd recently and I had the chance to talk to writer-director Fran Kranz, and today we have Martha Plimpton, the fantastic stage and screen actress who plays Gail… 

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Oscar Volley: Who knew that Best Original Screenplay would so divide us?

Our Oscar Volleys continue with  Eric Blume, Baby Clyde, and Gabriel Mayora with surprising confessions, hot takes, and unexpected sentiment.

Eric Blume:  I suspect we have three locks for nominations in this category: Paul Thomas Anderson for Licorice Pizza, Kenneth Branagh for Belfast, and Adam McKay for Don't Look Up!  I am a colossal fan of PTA, but it makes me sad to think he could finally win his Oscar for one of his weaker pictures.  I am mystified by the rave reaction to Licorice Pizza, which is wonderful in patches, but the screenplay is so meandering and fails to culminate in anything dramatically. Plus, it's a genre we've seen hundreds of times. PTA is able to bring his directorial dazzle to it, but as a script, it's severely undercooked.  I do think Don't Look Up! has a magnificent setup for a comedy, but the jokes are flabby and tepid, and it's not exactly razor sharp in terms of structure or dialogue.  The script just kind of lays there.  Of the three, I think Branagh's script is the strongest: it indeed does culminate in something dramatically, plus it's tight and contained, and captures the Irish humor dead-on. 

Belfast is no masterpiece, but it feels true, has some vivid characterizations, and Branagh finds a good balance between how the personal and political flow over each other.  What are your feelings on these three contenders?

Baby Clyde: I disliked Licorice Pizza immensely...

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Interview: Ann Dowd on 'Mass' and 'The Handmaid's Tale' and staying humble when the offers come.

by Nathaniel R

As Ann Dowd and I sat down to talk about Mass, we talked briefly about some work she'd been doing with acting students (not as much as she'd like) and reminisced briefly about the time she guest blogged for The Film Experience seven years ago. In one piece she wrote for the site she doled out advice for young actors about "attending to your life" as she puts it and seeking help if it's needed rather than purposefully 'Suffering for Art'. I reminded her of her own words:

You need an understanding of suffering and pain but you do not need to spend your life doing that to make the work good! 

This advice seems especially relevant today given the heavy themes of her current drama Mass which is about two married couples meeting for the first time years after a tragic school shooting has permanently altered their lives. [This interview has been edited for length and clarity]...

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