Regional Critics Round 4: "The Green Knight" joins the 'Best Film' fray

by Nathaniel R

Previously in the overcrowded circus that is precursor awards, we've had three wins for Power of the Dog (Philadelphia, NY Online, and Boston Online), three for Japan's Drive My Car (NYFCC, LAFCA, and Boston). two wins for Licorice Pizza (Atlanta and NBR), and one each for Cyrano (Detroit), Dune (Sunset Circle), The Lost Daughter (Gothams) and Belfast (DC). 

We got only one "new" Best Picture winner (The Green Knight!) from the latest batch of six critips groups: Chicago, Portland, St Louis, Las Vegas, Southeastern Film Critics, Las Vegas, and the Women Film Critics Circle. You can see the selections from all of those groups after the jump...

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Regional Critics Round 2: Power of the Dog x 3

by Nathaniel R

If you're keeping track you'll know that NBR chose Licorice Pizza and NYFCC selected Drive My Car as best of the year while Washington DC, Sunset Circle, and Detroit Film Critics threw in Belfast, Dune, and Cyrano as their top picks. We knew we'd have a repeat winner soon and so it has come to pass: Drive My Car and Licorice Pizza are both cited again. But we also finally get The Power of the Dog in the top spot, thrice over (that took long enough given all the Best Director kudos already!) After the jump 5 more critics groups: Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and New York (Online), and Boston (Online).

The winners and a few comments after the jump... 

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SPOILERS: The Endings of "Passing" and "Power of the Dog"

by Deborah Lipp

So, the title says “spoilers.” And it says “endings” which makes “spoilers” somewhat redundant. Stop reading now unless you’ve seen both of these movies.

Okay. Coast is clear...

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"The Lost Daughter" reigns at the Gotham Awards

by Nathaniel R

Peter Sarsgaard, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Dakota Johnson at the Gotham Awards

Last night, while many film journalists were at one of the several West Side Story premieres, the Gotham Awards were held celebrating much less expensive but also captivating cinema.  Maggie Gyllenhaal's feature directorial debut, The Lost Daughter  reigned winning four of its five categories. This was bad news for Passing, another Netflix film (which we like even more though they're both fine films) which received 5 nominations but lost in all of its categories. Other multiple nominees who took home no prizes included A24 films like Red Rocket, The Green Knight, and C'mon C'mon, 

Outside of  The Lost Daughter the biggest awards season boost was definitely for CODA. The family drama about a child of deaf adults who wants to be a professional singer won prizes for both its leading lady Emilia Jones and her onscreen father Troy Kotsur. Kotsur really should be more competitive in Best Supporting Actor discussions so perhaps this will help!

THE WINNERS and more commentary are after the jump...

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Passing: Finding the Grey between Black and White

by Patrick Ball

In Rebecca Hall’s devastatingly delicate Passing, light plays a powerful role. One I haven't seen in many films before. The use and placement of natural and artificial light introduces and reintroduces us to the characters over and over. Depending on how the situation suits them, they bask in it, hide from it, are able to play up their ruses, daring us to look a little closer, or cling to shadows, to the safety of the shade. 

As many of us in America came to a new and widened understanding of the foundational race issues in our country following the deaths of George Floyd and Brianna Taylor last year, and the resulting national reckoning that came after, I spent a lot of time considering how my experience as an “ethnically ambiguous” mixed-race black person has shaped my perception of race, and of media. In Passing, Tessa Thompson’s Irene wryly remarks to a white acquaintance that “we all are passing for something or another, aren’t we?” And isn’t that at the heart of the imposter syndrome we all feel at a new job or opportunity, the shades of ourselves we put on in social gatherings, the walls we build to hide our flaws and insecurities? There is something universal in the facade...

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