National Society of Film Critics Swings French for 2014
Saturday, January 3, 2015 at 6:00PM The NSFC has announced its "Best" and we have another treat for glum Marion Cotillard. She may have been fired from her job in Two Days One Night but the world's critics would love her to be gainfully employed for years to come.
The NSFC is composed of "many of the country’s most distinguished movie critics" and were once the third holy in the critical trinity (with NYFCC and LAFCA) before the days when every single city in the nation was naming their best a development which has significantly dulled the power of critics awards altogether... or at least confused what it is about critics awards that anyone pays attention to anymore.
The most interesting thing is that though this critics society has "National" in its name, the members were just not that into American films this year. They've crossed the Atlantic for their major prizes handing Jean-Luc Godard's 3D experiment Goodbye to Language the year's best film (in a narrow one point victory over Boyhood), Marion Cotillard wins Best Actress (by a huge margin for her Belgian feature with the Dardenne brothers as well as The Immigrant). The other mild statement this weekend is two prizes for the British Mike Leigh film Mr Turner with wins in Best Actor and Cinematography.
This last burst of recognition for Timothy Spall (interviewed right here) in a very tight Best Actor race and for Marion Cotillard who remains a longshot for Best Actress since the precursors roundly favored the exact same five women (Julianne, Reese, Felicity, Jennifer, Rosamund) keeps things exciting. At least a little bit. If AMPAS is still asking for recommendations at all, mind you. Still, we know of at least one über famous Academy member who is rooting for Marion.
Nobody's saying it--yet-- but Marion Cotillard deserves Oscar nod for TWO DAYS, ONE NITE https://t.co/S3Bo2OpBAB
— Jane Seymour Fonda (@Janefonda) December 31, 2014
Thanks, Jane!
Otherwise the NSFC prizes were the standard winners you've seen everywhere else: Linklater, Simmons, Arquette, Citizenfour, and Budapest for Screenplay. All this agreement has been bizarre for such a rich film year but what can you do? (If you're interest in voting data, I've included it after the jump... and you can also visit their official site here.)
BEST PICTURE
*1. Goodbye to Language 25 (Jean-Luc Godard)
2. Boyhood 24 (Richard Linklater)
3. Birdman 10 (Alejandro G. Iñárritu)
3. Mr. Turner 10 (Mike Leigh)
BEST DIRECTOR
*1. Richard Linklater 36 (Boyhood)
2. Jean-Luc Godard 17 (Goodbye to Language)
3. Mike Leigh 12 (Mr. Turner)
BEST NON-FICTION FILM
*1. Citizenfour 56 (Laura Poitras)
2. National Gallery 19 (Frederick Wiseman)
3. The Overnighters 17 (Jesse Moss)
BEST SCREENPLAY
*1. The Grand Budapest Hotel 24 (Wes Anderson)
2. Inherent Vice 15 (Paul Thomas Anderson)
2. Birdman 15 (four co-writers)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
*1. Mr. Turner 33 (Dick Pope)
2. The Immigrant 27 (Darius Khondji)
3. Goodbye to Language 9 (Fabrice Aragno)
BEST ACTOR
*1.Timothy Spall 31 (Mr. Turner)
2. Tom Hardy 10 (Locke)
3. Joaquin Phoenix 9 (Inherent Vice)
3. Ralph Fiennes 9 (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
BEST ACTRESS
*1. Marion Cotillard 80 (Two Days, One Night; The Immigrant)
2. Julianne Moore 35 (Still Alice)
3. Scarlett Johansson 21 (Lucy; Under the Skin)
UPDATED: The National Society of Film Critics have sent out an additional press release clearing up confusion. Marion Cotillard won for both of her films this year combined.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
*1. J.K. Simmons 24 (Whiplash)
2. Mark Ruffalo 21 (Foxcatcher)
3. Edward Norton 16 (Birdman)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
*1. Patricia Arquette 26 (Boyhood)
2. Agata Kulesza 18 (Ida)
3. Rene Russo 9 (Nightcrawler)
Reader Comments (18)
So well deserved for Spall. He should be walking away with the Oscar.
Sometimes the best film of the year is the best film of the year and everyone recognizes it (Boyhood, No Country for Old Men). It sucks when there's consensus around basic movies like Slumdog Millionaire.
3. Scarlett Johansson 21 (Lucy; Under the Skin)
Hate when Critics groups do this... just because she was in more than one movie does not mean you have to acknowledge all of them to feel comfortable voting for her. Under the Skin is strong enough work.
It's crazy to think that probably none of their four highest vote-grabbers in the "Best Actor" category will be Oscar nominated. Who said it was a weak year for cinema?
They're *still* the third holy in the critical trinity in my book. Anxious for Two Days to open in my town.
Awards by their very nature are consensus driven (whether of critics groups or industry bodies). Nat I know this topic irks you every year but I don't think we will ever have a year when there isn't much consensus surrounding around a dozen or so pictures. My take is that It's the result of the echo chamber social media we live in and the power and sway of publicists. At least the NSFC were daring in their picture choice and somewhat interesting with best actor (though Spall can't really be condiderd that much of an outsider )
"Nobody's saying it--yet-- but Marion Cotillard deserves Oscar nod for TWO DAYS, ONE NITE"
Nobody? I guess we know now that Jane Fonda hasn't visited The Film Experience or other film sites recently.
Is there any chance Kulesza gets a nod?
I was pretty sure they would vote Marion. I'm glad I was right although I don't understand why they left out The Immigrant. I love the fact that she plays the same woman in two different eras.
I hope Marion bumps out Felicity Jones. I can't think of anyone who is crazy about the performance. All the other possible nominees (Moore, Pike, Reese and Marion herself) have passionate voters on their side and in the case of Aniston, are made to believe they are passionate about her.
Interesting to note Cumberbatch hasn't won anything in the awards circuit and when I saw The Imitation Game last night, I could see why. I think it was an uneven performance. He makes some choices to make the character witty in his delivery that I don't think rang true. Keira has a good Oscar clip at the end, but I thought the timeline of their relationship skips a few beats, especially at the beginning. All of a sudden they were best friends and he is climbing up her window. Okay, then.
Yay! Well done!
@Mr Goodbar, I actually see Benedict Cumberbatch and Felicity Jones getting bumped the way Hanks and Thompson were last year. Hanks/Cumberbatch in an overstuffed category for a performance that was deemed a lock and therefore seems shocking in its Oscar snub. And Jones/Thompson in a snub that seems utterly sensible the moment it happens.
Chances of a lone acting nomination (ie. being the sole representative of a film across all categories) seem to be decreasing year after year since Best Picture was expanded. Last year not even Oprah Winfrey could ride out indifference to The Butler. Do voters now look at films as a whole rather than component parts? Will people vote for a great performance in a film they didn't care for? Will they even watch more than 12 screeners!?
2013
None
2012
Naomi Watts - The Impossible
Helen Hunt - The Sessions
2011
Demian Bichir - A Better Life
Nick Nolte - Warrior
2010
Nicole Kidman - Rabbit Hole
Michelle Williams - Blue Valentine
Jeremy Renner - The Town
Jacki Weaver - Animal Kingdom
2009
Colin Firth - A Single Man
Meryl Streep - Julie & Julia
Stanley Tucci - The Lovely Bones
So, who is in line to join them at present?
Julianne Moore
Jennifer Aniston
Robert Duvall
It seems like an impossible task for Cotillard, unless the film miraculously pops up in screenplay too...
Kermit - interesting post. Some people have claimed that AMPAS members watch fewer screeners now than when there was a 5-picture field; they only watch prospective BP nominees, and therefore only nominate performances from 10-12 films (i.e., not 2 Days 1 Night or, say, Mr. Turner or Inherent Vice). I believe Mark Harris did a column on this last year.
Given this theory, someone like Jones is definitely in.
@Suzanne - yes, I remember that article and how worrying it was - the excitement of Hanks and Thompson missing last year seemed to obscure the fact that they were simply replaced with American Hustle coat-tail nominations. Likewise the 'shock' nominations of Jacki Weaver for Silver Lining's Playbook or Maggie Gyllenhaal for Crazy Heart, when each were simply riding existing love for the movie.
The cynic in me says that the best we can hope for is for Nightcrawler to be super popular and not just Gyllenhaal but also Russo (and even Ahmed) to be dragged in... I'd hazard a guess that any 'shock' nomination will come from one of the following movies (not that all will be sweeping categories, but at least one will, I'm sure) -
Into The Woods (following the box office and publicity, Blunt is now my 'distant 6th' in the Leading race... I'd bet on her being the surprise in any nominations day shock)
Selma
The Grand Budapest Hotel (I'm increasingly feeling that Anderson and Fiennes will both pick up nominations - at whose expense? Gyllenhaal, if voters aren't responding to Nightcrawler, Cumberbatch if they are)
Nightcrawler (Russo could easily snatch Chastain's place if voters love Nightcrawler and don't bother watching A Most Violent Year)
Hope there some snubs,some of the locks have me mystified as to why namely Jones,Streep,Knightley and Cumberbatch.
It was such a rich year for supporting ladies,lead actresses,actor and supporting men if you bother to look outside the assumed frontrunners or best pic coatails.
Jase -- those two at the bumpees would be wonderful (since they won't make my lists haha) but i doubt it. at least with Jones since Redmayne is so very locked up.
Interesting post, and it is sad that critics will just ignore the talents of one actress just because she's appeared in many films. The roster for the Best Picture is really good, and Marion truly deserves to be on the list.