Little Women was a hot commodity in the latest round of critics awards. The esteemed Boston Society of Film Critics and the relatively famous Chicago Film Critics Association and the actually very old Kansas City Film Critics have recently announced as have St Louis, Phoenix, and the AAFCA (African American Film Critics Association). Most of those groups found something to love in Greta Gerwig's period piece. Naturally the other usual suspects are accounted for again though The Irishman (which led with Parasite in early critics announcements) isn't particular beloved by today's roundup of associations and circles and societies winning no new Picture or Director prizes.
The winners and a few comments are after the jump...
BSFC
(Boston Society of Film Critics)
Picture Little Women (runner up: Portrait of a Lady on Fire)
Director Bong Joon ho, Parasite (runner up: Greta Gerwig, Little Women)
Actress Saoirse Ronan, Little Women (runner up: TIE Elisabeth Moss, Her Smell and Mary Kay Place, Diane)
Actor Adam Sandler, Uncut Gems (runner up: Joaquin Phoenix, Joker)
Supporting Actress Laura Dern, Marriage Story (runner up: Florence Pugh, Little Women)
Supporting Actor Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (runner up: Joe Pesci, The Irishman)
Ensemble: Little Women (runner up: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Parasite)
New Filmmaker Joe Talbot, Last Black Man in San Francisco (runner up: Mati Diop, Atlantics)
Screenplay Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (runner up TIE Marriage Story and Little Women)
Cinematography Portrait of a Lady on Fire (runner up: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood)
Editing The Irishman (runner up: Uncut Gems)
Score Little Women (runner up: Last Black Man in San Francisco)
Foreign Language Film Parasite (runner up: Portrait of a Lady on Fire)
Animated Film I Lost My Body (runner up: Toy Story 4)
Documentary Honeyland (runner up: TIE Apollo 11 and Hail, Satan?)
Boston really embraced the New England hometeam with four prizes for Little Women including a Best Actress prize that we did not see coming. In fact, seeing Elisabeth Moss's name as a runner up reminds us how absurdly critics have ignored her work in Her Smell this awards season despite their frankly ecstatic reviews for her performance earlier in the year. Same goes for Florence Pugh in MidSommar actually. Is it because neither of these actors have a shot at an Oscar nod?
Boston critics also clearly loved Portrait of a Lady on Fire which was runner up for both Best Film and Best Foreign Film.
CFCA
(Chicago Film Critics Association)
There hasn't been a sweeper in "breakthrough actor" style prizes making a window for The Nightingale to get noticed here
Picture Parasite
Director Bong Joon Ho, Parasite
Actress Lupita Nyong'o, Us
Actor Adam Driver, Marriage Story
Supporting Actress Florence Pugh, Little Women
Supporting Actor Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Screenplay Parasite
Adapted Screenplay Little Women
Cinematography 1917
Editing The Irishman
Art Direction Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Score Little Women
Costume Design Little Women
Visual Effects Ad Astra
Most Promising Performer Aisling Franciosi, The Nightingale
Foreign Language Film Parasite
Animated Film Toy Story 4
Documentary Apollo 11
Milos Stehlik Award (for a Breakthrough Filmmaker) Lulu Wang, The Farewell
SLFCA
(St Louis Film Critics Association)
Picture Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (runner up: 1917)
Director Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (runner up: Bong Joon Ho, Parasite)
Actress Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story (runner up: Renée Zellweger, Judy)
Actor Adam Sandler, Uncut Gems (runner up: Joaquin Phoenix, Joker)
Supporting Actress Margot Robbie, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood AND Bombshell (runner up: Laura Dern, Marriage Story)
Supporting Actor Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (runner up: Joe Pesci, The Irishman)
Screenplay TIE Marriage Story and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Adapted Screenplay The Irishman (runner up: TIE Little Women and Jojo Rabbit)
Cinematography 1917 (runner up: The Lighthouse)
Editing Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (runner up: TIE The Irishman and 1917)
Production Design Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (runners up: 1917 and Little Women)
Score : 1917 (runner up: Marriage Story)
Soundtrack Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (runners up: TIE Frozen 2 and Waves)
Visual Effects Avengers Endgame (runner up: TIE Ad Astra and 1917)
Foreign Language Film Parasite (runner up: A Long Day's Journey Into Night)
Animated Film Toy Story 4 (runner up: TIE Klaus and Frozen 2)
Comedy: Booksmart (runner up: Jojo Rabbit)
Action Film: 1917 (runner up: Avengers Endgame)
Worst Film: Dumbo (runner up: Joker)
Horror Film: Us (runner up: Parasite)
Best Scene: Spahn Ranch in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (runner up: Jack visits the cottage in Yesterday)
Documentary Apollo 11 (runner up: Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice)
Nice to see ScarJo recognized. Such an undervalued actor. How has she given performance as rich and varied as the ones she gave in Under the Skin, Don Jon, Her, Lost in Translation, Ghost World, Girl with the Pearl Earring and Marriage Story and STILL gets 'can't act' dismissals. She's brilliant and we're happy she's finally getting some kudos this year.
KCFCC
(Kansas City Film Critics Circle)
Film 1917
Director Sam Mendes, 1917
Actress Lupita Nyong'o, Us
Actor Adam Driver, Marriage Story
Supporting Actress Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Dolemite is My Name
Supporting Actor Joe Pesci, The Irishman
Original Screenplay Knives Out
Adapted Screenplay Little Women
Cinematography 1917
Animated Feature Toy Story 4
Foreign Language Film Parasite
Documentary TIE Amazing Grace and Apollo 11
SciFi/Fantasy/Horror Film Us
LGBT Film Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Kansas says "hey, what about 1917?!?!" and it takes its first Best Film prize in the precursor season. Did you know that Kansas is actually the second oldest of all US film critics organizations? Isn't that wild?
PCC
(Phoenix Critics Circle)
Picture Parasite
Director Bong Joon ho, Parasite
Actress Lupita Nyong'o, Us
Actor Adam Driver, Marriage Story
Supporting Actress Thomasin McKenzie, Jojo Rabbit
Supporting Actor Song Kang Ho, Parasite
Cinematography 1917
Screenplay Knives Out
Score Joker
Foreign Language Film Parasite
Animated Film Toy Story 4
Documentary Apollo 11
Comedy Jojo Rabbit
Sci-Fi Ad Astra
Horror Us
Ensemble Knives Out
Lifetime Acheivement: Thelma Schoonmaker, Editor
We find it strange that Parasite can't catch a break in any of the acting or craft categories (Bong Joon Ho isn't the only artist working at the top of his game on this movie) so it's nice to se Song Kang Ho pop up here... though why aren't critics falling all over themselves to recognize this movie's editing or its production design. It's a mystery to us.
AAFCA
(African American Film Critics Association)
Film Us
Director Jordan Peele, Us
Actress Lupita Nyong'o, Us
Actor Eddie Murphy, Dolemite is My Name
Supporting Actress Davine Joy Randolph, Dolemite is My Name
Supporting Actor Jamie Foxx, Just Mercy
Breakout Performance Kelvin Harrison Jr, Waves
Animated Film: Abominable
Documentary: The Black Godfather
Foreign Film: Parasite
Screenplay: Parasite
Impact Award: Queen & Slim
We See You Award: Taylor Russell, Waves
Top Ten Films
- Us
- Dolemite Is My Name
- Just Mercy
- Clemency
- The Irishman
- Queen & Slim
- Waves
- [TIE] Parasite / Atlantics
- The Farewell
- Harriet
WHOA. Even when Clemency gets really high marks Alfre Woodard misses out on Best Actress. She's looking more and more like the extremest of long shots this year for Best Actress. It's not how we would've called it in January when Clemency premiered at Sundance.