ITALIANO wrote:Right after I had criticized these American awards for ignoring the best performance given by an actress this year, the good, old (who are these people? where do they live?) National Society of Film Critics, as it so often does, comes at the last moment and saves the day by honoring Giovanna Mezzogiorno for her great work in a movie which I mistakenly thought could be only appreciated in my own country. Congratulations to their open mind, first of all - and to their good taste, confirmed by their other "actress" choice, Olivia Williams, also sadly overlooked by other associations and circles. The Academy should take note but it won't - in the case of Vincere because it can't, and while this movie isn't admittedly an Oscar-friendly one, I still think that it's a pity that for some mysterious reason it's not eligible.
The last time I checked the membership of the National Society of Film Critics was mostly comprised of the combined membership of the New York, Chicago and L.A. Film Critics, although originally it was made up of just New York based critics who were denied membership in the NYFC organization, mostly magazine critics.
They always vote last and often award those films and performances that were overlooked in earlier voting. It's not unusual for the same critic to vote for one thing in the first group in which he or she is a member and another when voting for the NSFC.
I don't know why Vincere is ineligible. It could be as simple as the producers not filing the requisite paperwork for consideration.
Mister Tee wrote:It's a little funny that, in a year widely thought of as a banner one for mainstream actresses, two of the big three have chosen foreign-language performances in films few have seen. They may well be deserving (I haven't seen either yet), but you'd think from these results this must have been a washout year for American women, rather than one of the best in some time.
But Mister Tee... is this really considered such a great year for American actresses? You say this often, and after having seen Annette Bening and Jennifer Lawrence I'm now looking forward to seeing Natalie Portman - hoping that I will find her performance exceptional, because otherwise no, I wouldn't say that the level is better than in any other recent year. The lack of a clear front-runner doesn't necessarily mean excellence.
Right after I had criticized these American awards for ignoring the best performance given by an actress this year, the good, old (who are these people? where do they live?) National Society of Film Critics, as it so often does, comes at the last moment and saves the day by honoring Giovanna Mezzogiorno for her great work in a movie which I mistakenly thought could be only appreciated in my own country. Congratulations to their open mind, first of all - and to their good taste, confirmed by their other "actress" choice, Olivia Williams, also sadly overlooked by other associations and circles. The Academy should take note but it won't - in the case of Vincere because it can't, and while this movie isn't admittedly an Oscar-friendly one, I still think that it's a pity that for some mysterious reason it's not eligible.
I also find Geoffrey Rush's win intriguing. He's an actor that I've personally always liked more than others (even on this board) do - he brings me back to the vanished era of those glorious, talented hams of the past - so it's nice to see that he has his fans in such an interesting group of critics.
I might also forgive them for their predictable Social Network choice - soon you won't be able to get the Green Card if you don't like this movie.
"The only thing I regret about my past is the length of it. If I had to live my life again, I'd make the same mistakes... only sooner."--Tallulah Bankhead
Very glad to see Giovanna Mezzogiorno take Best Actress. I just saw Vincere yesterday, and thought she was excellent. (The movie itself was fascinating as well, and definitely one I want to check out again.)
Hers is definitely my favorite critics award citation this year. (Although Armie Hammer's Supporting Actor win from the Toronto Critics is a pretty close second.)
The Original BJ wrote:Just out of curiosity, did the NYFCC runners-up ever get posted anywhere?
Nowhere I saw, and I looked hard. There might have been more of a probe into it, but other results were coming so fast and furious that week that the people who'd normally push (one of the few things O'Neil is usually good for) were distracted.
Yes -- Social Network joins LA Confidential and Schindler's List as the only films to sweep the veteran four groups.
Apropos of which -- lots of people moan about how critics all pick the same winners, but, as you point out, the acting winners of these groups have been fairly widespread. It's those other groups -- the Northwest Idaho Film Journalists et al. -- who give you Firth/Portman/Bale/Leo till you want to shoot yourself. It's almost like they're all trying to predict the Broadcast wins.
It's a little funny that, in a year widely thought of as a banner one for mainstream actresses, two of the big three have chosen foreign-language performances in films few have seen. They may well be deserving (I haven't seen either yet), but you'd think from these results this must have been a washout year for American women, rather than one of the best in some time.
Just out of curiosity, did the NYFCC runners-up ever get posted anywhere?
If I'm not mistaken, The Social Network becomes the first film since L.A. Confidential to sweep the big four critics' prizes.
But for all the unanimity in Picture/Director, the acting prizes had a pleasing amount of diversity. 4 different winners in Actress and Supporting Actor, and 3 in Supporting Actress. And I think that's fairly appropriate for the year -- in most of the acting categories, there are a number of performances I would be happy to see win an Oscar, but no one who I think MUST win.
The Ghost Writer has received scattered mentions here and there -- I do think it's genuinely possible the film could receive a number of Oscar nods, but it's equally as likely it could get shut out entirely. I'd hope for the former. I think it's on par with (if not better than) most of the movies competing for the down-ballot Best Picture slots.
Another good reason to hate the compressed season: this win might have put the great Williams performance into the mix, but with the templates already established weeks ago, it's extremely unlikely.
BEST PICTURE
*1. The Social Network 61
2. Carlos 28
3. Winter’s Bone 18
BEST DIRECTOR
*1. David Fincher 66 – The Social Network
2. Olivier Assayas 36 – Carlos
3. Roman Polanski 29 – The Ghost Writer
BEST ACTOR
*1. Jesse Eisenberg 30 – The Social Network
2. Colin Firth 29 – The King’s Speech
2. Edgar Ramirez 29 – Carlos
BEST ACTRESS
*1. Giovanna Mezzogiorno 33 – Vincere
2. Annette Bening 28 – The Kids Are All Right
3. Lesley Manville 27 – Another Year
BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
*1. Geoffrey Rush 33 – The King’s Speech
2. Christian Bale 32 – The Fighter
3. Jeremy Renner 30 – The Town
BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
*1. Olivia Williams 37 – The Ghost Writer
2. Amy Adams 28 – The Fighter
3. Melissa Leo 23 – The Fighter
3. Jacki Weaver 23 – Animal Kingdom
BEST NONFICTION
*1. Inside Job 25 (Charles Ferguson)
2. Exit Through the Gift Shop 21 (Banksy)
3. Last Train Home 15 (Lixin Fan)
BEST SCREENPLAY
*1. Aaron Sorkin 73 – The Social Network
2. David Seidler 25 – The King’s Speech
3. Roman Polanski and Robert Harris 19 – The Ghost Writer
BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
*1. Carlos 31
2. A Prophet 22
3. White Material 16
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
*1. True Grit 31 (Roger Deakins)
2. Black Swan 27 (Matthew Libatique)
3. Somewhere 18 (Harris Savides)
FILM HERITAGE AWARDS:
1. “The Film Foundation (20-year anniversary)
2. “Chaplin at Keystone” Flicker Alley
3. “Elia Kazan Collection” (Fox)
4. “Upstream,” rediscovered 1927 film dir. by John Ford. (National Film Preservation Foundation. )
5. “On the Bowery” (Milestone)
6. “Word Is Out” (Restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive and distributed by Milestone)
Best Film: The Social Network
Best Director: David Fincher – The Social Network
Best Actor: Jesse Eisenberg – The Social Network
Best Actress: Giovanna Mezzogiorno – Vincere
Best Supporting Actor: Geoffrey Rush – The King's Speech
Best Supporting Actress: Olivia Williams – The Ghost Writer
Best Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin – The Social Network
Best Cinematography: Roger Deakins – True Grit
Best Foreign Language Film: Carlos
Best Film - Non-Fiction: Inside Job
Best Film Awaiting American Distribution: Film Socialisme
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
"The Social Network" express continues to pick up steam during the movie-awards season, winning best picture Saturday from the National Society of Film Critics. The acclaimed drama about the creators of Facebook also won best actor for Jesse Eisenberg, best director for David Fincher and screenplay for Aaron Sorkin.
The 45th annual awards, which is known for its more esoteric choices, selected Giovanni Mezzogiorno as best actress for her role as Mussolini's mistress in the Italian film "Vincere." Best supporting actress went to Olivia Williams in "The Ghost Writer," and Geoffrey Rush was named best supporting actor for "The King's Speech."
The voting is still going on at Sardi's Restaurant in New York City.
-- Susan King
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
