National Society of Film Critics Winners

[Mister Tee]

Congratulations to Past Lives on being declared a film in the English language, despite -- what? 2/3 of it? -- being in Korean.

I actually let out a mid-point groan that Past Lives missed winning screenplay by such a tiny margin...but got a much nicer surprise not long after.

Because NSFC does us the honor of providing two runners-up -- and because, with the advent of ZOOM, it's including all members in every voting round (unlike the old days, when post-round one, only hardcores were left to select Goodbye to Language) -- they provide a much better overview of the serious critical landscape than NY does these days.

This outcome persuades me I was correct, early on, in thinking Scott/Wright were most likely among true best actor hopefuls to score with critics. Cooper and Giamatti will need to show up tomorrow night to get themselves solidly into the race. And Murphy remains the Mama Bear of the race: not tops with either critics or sentimental sorts, but perhaps the most agreeable to both factions.

Because we don't know who finished first in LA, we end real-critics' season with Emma Stone's "best performance of her life" having failed to outright win any of the trifecta. And Carey Mulligan's "best performance of HER life" not even getting a runner-up citation. Have I mentioned it's a competitive year?

BAFTA notwithstanding, Melton/Downey/Gosling appear to be splitting the supporting actor field fairly evenly. Will the TV quartet ruin the fun, or might we go into the Oscars uncertain for a change?

Randolph is long-established the runaway favorite at this point, and the fun in the category comes from sussing out her four co-balloters. Penelope Cruz might wish this group had chosen early on, rather than so late in the game. (Didn't Olivia Williams actually win here for The Ghost Writer, too late to crash the field?) And Rachel McAdams keeps showing up (again, except at BAFTA). I'm starting to think, her best chance at the Oscars is if Margaret can also squeeze onto the adapted screenplay slate...which of course just became harder with Barbie's relo. But I recall, long-long-ago in 2002, when the less-prominent but critically-boosted About a Boy slipped in, knocking off Golden Globe winner About Schmidt.

Directing wins from LA, National, Boston & Toronto -- plus, you know, the Holocaust as subject matter -- it's getting really hard not to ink Glazer in as an Academy nominee.

[Okri]

I wonder if five runners-up without any victories is the most for the National Society - re Oppenheimer.

[Okri]

Best Director: Jonathan Glazer, THE ZONE OF INTEREST (65 points)

Runners-up:
Todd Haynes, MAY DECEMBER (42 points)
Christopher Nolan, OPPENHEIMER (41 points)

[Sabin]

Best Picture: Past Lives (51 points) [Runners-up: The Zone of Interest (49 points), Oppenheimer (44 points)] -- close one!

Best Film Not in the English-Language: Fallen Leaves (65 points) [Runners-up: THE ZONE OF INTEREST (51 points) ANATOMY OF A FALL (44 points)]

Best Director: Jonathan Glazer, The Zone of Interest (65 points) [Runners-up: Todd Haynes, May December (42 points) Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer (41 points)]

Best Actor: Andrew Scott, All of Us Strangers (52 points) [Runners-up: Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction (39 points), Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer (29 points)]

Best Actress: Sandra Hüller, Anatomy of a Fall and The Zone of Interest (61 points) [Runners-up: Emma Stone, Poor Things (56 points) Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon (44 points)]

Best Supporting Actor: Charles Melton, May December (51 points) [Runners-up: Robert Downey, Jr., Oppenheimer & Ryan Gosling, Barbie (31 points, tie)]

Best Supporting Actress: Da'Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers (58 points) [Runners-up: Penélope Cruz, Ferrari (32 points) Rachel McAdams, Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret. (23 points)]

Best Screenplay: Samy Burch, May December (53 points) [Runners-up: Celine Song, Past Lives (50 points), David Hemingson, The Holdovers (36 points)]

Best Cinematography: Rodrigo Prieto, Killers of the Flower Moon (55 points) [Runners-up: Łukasz Żal, The Zone of Interest (45 points) Hoyte van Hoytema, Oppenheimer (44 points)]

Best Non-Fiction Film: Menus-Plaisirs — Les Troigros (64 points) [Runners-up: 20 Days in Mariupol (25 points), Kokomo City (19 points)]

Best Experimental Film: Jean Luc-Godard’s Trailer of a Film That Will Never Exist: Phony Wars
Film Heritage Award: Criterion Channel, for an adventurous, wide-ranging, finely curated selection of films, ranging from American independents to world cinema to short films to classic Hollywood, making readily available the kind of repertory cinema that every city should have.
Film Heritage Award: Facets, Kim’s Video, Scarecrow Video and Vidiots, for maintaining wide-reaching libraries of films on disc and tape and making those libraries available to the general public.
Beat Undistributed Film: Close Your Eyes