The New York Film Critics Circle has announced its awards for 2017. While they’re hardly the only critics group on the circuit, they’re arguably the most influential/notable one. They have a history of singling out somewhat underrated/shadowed performances and films that get a visibility boost in the race, sometimes leading to an Oscar nomination (see: Isabelle Huppert for Elle last year).
This year, Lady Bird took top honors as Best Picture, also picking up a much-deserved Best Actress award for star Saoirse Ronan. But the rest of the picks were delightfully diverse. Sean Baker won Best Director for his stunning work on The Florida Project, which also won Best Supporting Actor for maybe Willem Dafoe’s best performance ever. Paul Thomas Anderson won Best Screenplay for Phantom Thread, while critical darling Call Me by Your Name picked up Best Actor for Timothée Chalamet over heavy hitter Gary Oldman. The group even went very far into left field and named Tiffany Haddish Best Supporting Actress for her scene-stealing work in the comedy hit Girls Trip, which was a swell recognition. If only the Academy took comedy as seriously.
The win I’m most happy about, however, is Rachel Morrison for Best Cinematography with her jaw-dropping work on Mudbound. Filmmaker Dee Rees’ Southern epic is a Netflix Original Film so it’s been sidelined a bit, but it should absolutely be at the forefront of the awards race, and Morrison’s work as DP is simply phenomenal. Here’s hoping this raise in profile leads to a much-deserved Oscar nomination, which would make history as the first female ever nominated for Best Cinematography. For more on Morrison’s work on that film, check out my interview.
Take a look at the full list of New York Film Critics Circle awards below, and stay tuned as the other critics group weigh in over the next few weeks.
Best Picture: Lady Bird
Best Director: Sean Baker, The Florida Project
Best Actor: Timothee Chalamet, Call Me by Your Name
Best Actress: Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird
Best Supporting Actor: Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project
Best Supporting Actress: Tiffany Haddish, Girls Trip
Best Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson, Phantom Thread
Best Cinematography: Rachel Morrison, Mudbound
Best Foreign Language Film: BPM (Beats Per Minute)
Best Non-Fiction Film: Faces Places
Best Animated Film: Coco
Best First Film: Get Out, Jordan Peele
Special Award for Career Achievement: Molly Haskell
For my full Oscar predictions at this current point in time, click here.