Gotham Award 2019 Nominations: big boosts for Waves, Uncut Gems, Clemency and more...

by Nathaniel R

There’s no true frontrunner at the Gotham Awards this year with Marriage Story, Uncut Gems, and The Farewell each receiving 3 nominations overall within the 6 (narrative film) categories of the Gotham Awards. Let’s take a look at the nominations shall we? It’s a big year for A24 who always has a few wonderful films up their sleeves each year. They’ve dominated the feature and screenplay and breakthrough actor categories with 60% of the nominees in each. No other company was as dominant though there are lots of honors for Netflix, too.

Best Feature

• The Farewell (A24)

• Hustlers (STXfilms)

• Marriage Story (Netflix)

• Uncut Gems (A24)

• Waves (A24)

The surprise here is surely Hustlers though we’re not complaining. Still one has to feel a bit sorry for The Last Black Man in San Francisco or Diane which were earlier acclaimed indie releases that had to step down for newer ones...

Best Documentary

• American Factory (Netflix)

• Apollo 11 (NEON and CNN Films)

• The Edge of Democracy (Netflix)

• Midnight Traveler (Oscilloscope Laboratories)

• One Child Nation (Amazon Studios)

Neon has been pushing Apollo 11 hard. Can it also show up at the Oscars? Any of these could actually... though American Factory has a lot of heat right now.

Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award

• Laure De Clermont-Tonnerre for The Mustang (Focus Features)

• Kent Jones for Diane (IFC Films)

• Joe Talbot for The Last Black Man in San Francisco (A24)

• Olivia Wilde for Booksmart (United Artists Releasing)

• Phillip Youmans for Burning Cane (ARRAY Releasing)

A nice variety here. Two actresses turned directors (one of them French), one African-American teenager (Phillip Youmans is only 19 years old!!!), and two white men, one older than you’ll usually find in “breakthrough” categories. Kent Jones was mostly known as the director of the New York Film Festival and a film critic. He’d made a few documentaries but he debuted as a feature director with the contemplative soulful Diane.

Still, isn't it strange that Lulu Wang wasn't cited?

Best Screenplay

• The Farewell, Lulu Wang (A24)

• High Flying Bird, Tarell Alvin McCraney (Netflix)

• The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Jimmie Fails, Joe Talbot, Rob Richert (A24)

• Marriage Story, Noah Baumbach (Netflix)

• Midsommar, Ari Aster (A24)

MidSommar and The Last Black Man in San Francisco were noticeable misses in “Best Feature” but you can’t give all the slots to A24. They showed up here instead.

Best Actor

• Willem Dafoe in The Lighthouse (A24)

• Adam Driver in Marriage Story (Netflix)

• Aldis Hodge in Clemency (NEON)

• André Holland in High Flying Bird (Netflix)

• Adam Sandler in Uncut Gems (A24)

They make no distinction between supporting and leading roles which is nice since Oscar doesn’t really anymore either (sigh) so why pretend otherwise? This is a great get for Aldis Hodge who has been flying well under the radar in the Best Supporting Actor Oscar race but those that have seen Clemency all seem to bow down to his performance.

Best Actress

• Awkwafina in The Farewell (A24)

• Elisabeth Moss in Her Smell (Gunpowder & Sky)

• Mary Kay Place in Diane (IFC Films)

• Florence Pugh in Midsommar (A24)

• Alfre Woodard in Clemency (NEON)

More wonderful choices but where is Jennifer Lopez for Hustlers? One has to ask, right? Still these nominations are helpful for all of these women (especially if they can repeat at the Spirit Awards) who are all longshots for more mainstream prizes but could get there with enough niche award support and critical drumbeating. 

Breakthrough Actor

• Julia Fox in Uncut Gems (A24)

• Aisling Franciosi in The Nightingale (IFC Films)

• Chris Galust in Give Me Liberty (Music Box Films)

• Noah Jupe in Honey Boy (Amazon Studios)

• Jonathan Majors in The Last Black Man in San Francisco (A24)

• Taylor Russell in Waves (A24) 

For some reason this category got six nominees this year instead of the usual five. We’ve been saying for a couple of years now that Noah Jupe is the best child actor working (he’s amazing again playing a fictionalized version of young Shia Labeouf in Honey Boy) and we fell hard for both Taylor Russell in Waves and Jonathan Majors in The Black Man… so major cheers for this category. Exciting young actors. Good choices.

Breakthrough Series – Long Format (over 40 minutes)

• Chernobyl (HBO)

• David Makes Man (OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network)

• My Brilliant Friend (HBO)

• Unbelievable (Netflix)

• When They See Us (Netflix)

Breakthrough Series – Short Format (under 40 minutes)

• PEN15 (Hulu)

• Ramy (Hulu)

• Russian Doll (Netflix)

• Tuca & Bertie (Netflix)

• Undone (Amazon Prime Video)

Comments

[Suzanne]

It seems like the big miss in the Best Actress category wasn't Lopez, but Scarlett Johansson. The Gothams occasionally nominate supporting roles, but they also have left out people like JK Simmons and Laurie Metcalf.

I am really happy to see Elisabeth Moss nominated. I doubt there will be a better performance all year. The people who claim that Best Actress is weak this year are only looking at the obvious choices.

Also, it is great to see Tuca & Bertie and Unbelievable in the series categories. Both deserve more attention.

[Sawyer]

Agreed on ScarJo's miss. Her great work is being overshadowed by Driver and Dern - she's unlikely to receive any individual notices from critics so these nominations mean a lot.

[Volvagia]

Suzanne: If ScarJo had been nominated before, I'd say this was a minor question mark. I still don't know if this KILLS her chances (let's wait for the Spirits before we write her off for anything other than Globe Only), but this knocks her down to 5th at highest.

[Max]

Pleasantly surprised to see High Flying Bird did well. Such an undersung gem of a movie.

[Suzanne]

Volvagia - I think sometimes the nominating committees use these awards to give a boost to performances that would otherwise go ignored and they can be biased against big stars with active campaigns (it was criminal that Melissa McCarthy missed here last year, and she did fine). It does seem as though the momentum is with Driver and Dern, though, and Marriage Story won't win three acting Oscars (two acting Oscars from one movie is a lot!).

[Peggy Sue]

Adam Driver is totally winning here. Best Actress seems way more open which is very exciting because that's an estimulating lineup.

(I'm Team Mary Kay)

[Nick T]

So, so excited for Alfre, Aldis, Diane, LBM, and Hustlers. Actress here always feels so crowded, and even if I would’ve swapped in Lopez for a few of those women, it’s an eclectic and interesting lineup. My one question: Where is Zhao Shuzhen’s Breakthrough Actor nomination???

[Edward L.]

These are just early nominations in the season. Nothing here says make-or-break in terms of the Oscars.

[Nic]

Even though Lopez missed the individual citation, I think Hustlers showing up here at all is huge for her

[Ben]

Lulu Wang wouldn't have been eligible for Breakthrough Director as this isn't her feature debut

[Daniella Isaacs]

Did the voters have a chance to see all the indie films being released in 2019? I realize there are no more festivals to launch films from, but this seems awfully early.

[Arkaan]

I think Lopez and Johanssen just needed it less and figure the jury operated the same way.

[Shmeebs]

Means nothing for Johansson and Lopez's chances. Didn't Melissa McCarthy miss last year?

This group generally tries to promote players who need the help. Johansson is pretty much a lock, I think.

[zig]

Aldis Hodge would be a great coat-tail nomination with Alfre Woodard--and deserved, too.

[Glenn Dunks]

It's so weird when people don't consider documentaries films. What if Frederick Wiseman decided to make a narrative feature, would he be eligible for a "breakthrough" director prize?

Can't say I agree with the HIGH FLYING BIRD love, but this all looks like a solid list even if I haven't had the chance to see most of them because Australian distribution is terrible. Agreed that HUSTLERS showing up at all is a good sign for JLo, even if she didn't. If the film hadn't been nominated in Best Feature, would we have even thought it had missed? I'd have assumed it was not eligible.

ELISABETH MOSS!

[JF]

It will be interesting to see if Lopez makes it into the typical THR Roundtable, the "Actors on Actors" series, etc. I can see the whole thing evaporating if she doesn't work the "prestige" circuit, either by choice, scheduling or invitation.

[Brad]

Zhao Shuzhen is the real highlight from The Farewell.

[Adrian S-G]

Maybe off-topic, but it's such a thrill to see the tragically cancelled Tuca & Bertie recognized for its single extraordinary season.

[Michael R]

I think Mary Kay Place is winning Best Actress at The New York Film Critics Circle.

[Claran]

@Michael R...Fingers X!!

If Mary Kay Place took NYFCC, she might took NSFC & Indie Spirit too!! and tt might help to give her a major push into award conversation.

I dun tink Gotham nom will hurt Scarjo, Dern or JLo chances...its a v niche category where they combined both Lead & Supp, and they are known to beat to their own drum

[Rebecca]

Andre Holland deserves all the accolades.