Spirit Awards 2022: My Personal Ballot
Saturday, March 5, 2022 at 9:23PM
Cláudio Alves in C'Mon C'Mon, Colman Domingo, Flee, Holler, Pleasure, Ruth Negga, Shiva Baby, Simon Rex, Spirit Awards, Taylour Paige, The Lost Daughter, Zola

by Cláudio Alves

The Film Independent Spirit Awards are upon us! After a few years of hewing concerningly close to the Oscars, this year's slot of nominees feels more connected to the organization's purpose of celebrating independent cinema, even the obscure stuff. Indeed, exploring the many nominated pictures was one of the highlights of this awards season. I discovered some beautiful gems and have new artists to look for in the incoming years. Isn't that the most beautiful part of movie awards – the uncovering of heretofore unknown talents and voices? It seems right, seeing as the Spirit Awards are voted on by cinephiles, all those who become Film Independent members out of their love for the seventh art.

With that in mind, I thought it could be fun to share my (not so anonymous) ballot for the Spirit Awards, perchance some predictions too…

I shall only talk about the cinema categories since we are in the depths of film awards season. If you're interested in my TV votes, they were primarily focused on Squid Game and The Underground Railroad. Without further ado, the first category is:

 

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

While AMPAs nominated her for The Power of the Dog, Ari Wegner's best achievement of 2021 was Zola, as far as I'm concerned. Shooting in 16mm, the Australian director of photography found a beguiling juxtaposition of Insta-ready poppiness and the grainy textures of film. The use of color is fantastic, and so are the flairs of theatricality, be it a hall of mirrors fashion show or the rainbow brightness of a first meeting. To be fair, all of these contenders would make good victors. But, in terms of predictions, I think Grau will win by virtue of black-and-white cinema's inherent eye-catching appeal in a contemporary paradigm where such works are a rarity.

 

BEST EDITING

Honing on the fast pace consumption of social media, McMillon turned the storytelling structure of a Twitter thread into energized cinematic rhythms. While her works with Nat Sanders and Barry Jenkins exude the quality of sensual memory, all fluid remembrance, and languid repetition, this Janicza Bravo movie feels more like a drug-fueled hallucination. It's a sublime achievement that stands out in this competition and gets my vote. Kudos to The Novice team, too, especially how the bulldozing editing works in tandem with the performers to create something akin to characterization through cutting. Because of its violent charge, I expect The Novice to take this one.

 

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM

This category is a dream, with half of the nominated titles making my personal top 10 for 2021. Still, Drive My Car gets my vote, and I expect the rest of the Film Independent membership will agree. Having recently re-watched it, I think I'm falling deeper and deeper in love with Hamaguchi's three-hour Best Picture nominee. From this Indie sextet, Parallel Mothers feels likeliest to upset the Japanese frontrunner, though I firmly believe Drive My Car has it in the bag.

 

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Another incredible lineup without a lousy picture in sight. While my vote goes to Flee, any of these would make a good winner, especially Procession. I expect Summer of Soul to win on account of its relative conventionality and broad appeal. If the other pictures leave one feeling ensconced in universal dread, traumatic pains, and more, the concert flick often feels like an open celebration of pure joy.

 

BEST SUPPORTING MALE

From his vigorous screen presence to the gradations of the put-upon accent, Domingo delivers a masterclass in how to portray menace. Furthermore, his mania illuminates a bully's varying degrees of control over himself and a crazy world. It's a perfect supporting performance, well worthy of gold. That being said, I believe Troy Kotsur will get the prize, which is no tragedy. Only Will Patton would incur my displeasure in the event of a win. Then again, beyond the cinematography and good intentions, I couldn't stand Sweet Thing.

 

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

I've written plenty about the wonders of Ruth Negga's performance. For me, it's the best of the year, regardless of category, and I can only hope that the rest of the Film Independent membership agrees. Because I'm feeling foolishly optimistic, I think Negga will make it, even though Buckley has the Academy's seal of approval on her side.

 

BEST MALE LEAD

Rex is another one about whom I've already written, in the form of an unsuccessful Oscar FYC. While I'm rooting for him, and think he'll win, any of these thespians would make a good winner. Collins Jr. is powerfully internal, even while exploring the physicality of the titular role – the last shot is maybe the best acting of his career. Kier is beyond fun, Greyeyes makes for a compelling psychopath, and Faison is the glue holding his film together.

 

BEST FEMALE LEAD 

No other 2021 performance made me laugh as hard as Paige's take on Zola. Her reaction shots are a rhapsody of no-nonsense humor by themselves, but her growing exasperation at Keough's ditzy trainwreck delights too. What's more, despite the comedy, Paige still negotiates an acute awareness of danger with fed-up impatience. No other nominee reaches her level of technical virtuosity and tonal challenges. That's not to say they are unworthy nominees. But, from the lineup, Fuhrman's ferocious portrayal of self-destructive perfectionism seems better poised to win. It's not often that acting awards go to comedic triumphs when there's showy dramatic work contending against it. That's true of both Oscars and Spirits, unfortunately.

 


BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY 

After all those sterling lineups, I confess myself disappointed at this selection. I'm not especially passionate about any of these screenplays, though Mass and Pig stand tall above the rest. Since I was more fascinated by Pig's po-faced approach to tender sentimentality, I voted for it, though Kranz's writing impresses by how it challenges the actors. I believe the latter will win. If nothing else, the other contenders all feel too low profile to garner many votes.

 

BEST SCREENPLAY

If the First Screenplay category was a matter of choosing the least objectionable script, this one is a heartbreaking choice between a slew of primarily marvelous pieces of writing. In the end, I went with the literary adaptation of the bunch, a cinematic text that grows in complexity with each re-watch. I also suspect Gyllenhaal will take it, making it the rare case where I'm voting for my prediction.

 

BEST DIRECTOR

Again, I think Gyllenhaal will take it. This time around, though, I'm not voting for The Lost Daughter director. I'd go as far as saying she's the weakest link of a fairly extraordinary collection of nominees. As for my vote, Pleasure is a remarkable repudiation of moralistic takes on sex work while also illuminating the misogynistic structures of abuse within the porn industry. A BDSM shoot with a woman director shows there's a right way to do these things and might be one of the best scenes in 2021 cinema. I've seldom seen a better articulation about how systemic pressures can twist one's conception of sexual consent. Also, a shoot that goes wrong is one hell of a horror movie scene – a testament to Thyberg's unblinking gaze, how it can both celebrate and question the world it depicts.

 

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD

While strongly considering Jockey, I ended up voting for Shiva Baby and its distillation of social anxiety and cinematic claustrophobia. Apart from those two, I wasn't a fan of the other contenders, even though the illustrations style of Cryptozoo is eye-catching and worthy of some applause. Maybe being the only animated film will help it stand out in the final vote. Even so, I suspect Shiva Baby wins this one.

 

BEST FIRST FEATURE

I had watched none of these pictures before the nominations came out, which means I must thank Film Independent for leading me their way. Even those who didn't manage to win my vote dazzled with some individual element. Test Pattern and Wild Indian have their virtuoso performances. Queen of Glory's costume design is a dream, while 7 Days has charm to spare. In the end, though, this was the easiest choice outside Supporting Actress. Holler was one of the biggest surprises of this voting process, a beautifully-shot bit of American social realism that's overflowing with empathy and a willingness to show the painful side of a complicated situation. This is the kind of movie I wish CODA had been (thank you, Nick Taylor, for that eye-opening comparison, by the way).

 

BEST FEATURE

 

 

After voting for Zola in four other categories, I end up going against it in the most important race of them all. Still, as much as I love that Twitter-to-big-screen production, C'mon C'mon reigns supreme amid this lot. Mills's latest is a film about listening, one of the best I've ever seen. Some of the biggest connections we can forge are made around listening, but we rarely see that reflected in cinema. There's a miraculous quality to honestly listening to someone or finding someone who listens to us. Not in a "following your advice "way, but in a "ponders and acknowledges what you're saying" manner. Someone who really listens is precious and rare, as is Mike Mills's cinema. Nevertheless, I think The Lost Daughter will win.

 

What do you think of my ballot? Who would vote for from the Spirit nominees?

Article originally appeared on The Film Experience (http://thefilmexperience.net/).
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