Unlike many of the major critics’ groups, the National Society of Film Critics really do think outside the box.¬† Their winner last year, for instance, was Waltz with Bashir for Best Film. There are a great many films this year that could take their Best Film prize. My prediction is that they’ll choose The Hurt Locker as the best film of the year, and that would be a great choice, even if it is the film that keeps winning everything. However, Up in the Air could also get it, as could Inglourious Basterds, Precious, An Education — they are probably the most wide open of all of the major critics’ groups.
Let it be said that they gave Happy-Go-Lucky most of their awards and it probably missed Best Film by a small margin. And yet, it was underrepresented at the Oscars.
They will announce their awards some time tomorrow. Here is a look at their history. * indicates that they were nominated for an Oscar. + indicates that they won.
2008
Film: Waltz with Bashir (nommed in foreign)
Actor: Sean Penn, Milk+
Actress: Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky
Supporting Actor: Eddie Marsan, Happy-Go-Lucky
Supporting Actress: Hanna Schygulla, The Edge of Heaven
Director: Mike Leigh, Happy-Go-Lucky
Screenplay: Happy-Go-Lucky*
Doc: Man on Wire+
Cinematography: Slumdog Millionaire+
2007
Film: There Will Be Blood*
Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood+
Actress: Julie Christie, Away From Her*
Supporting Actor: Casey Affleck, Jesse James*
Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchett, I’m Not There*
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood*
Screenplay: The Savages, Tamara Jenkins*
Doc: No End in Sight*
Cinematography: There Will Be Blood+
Foreign: 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days
2006
Best Film: Pan’s Labyrinth
Actor: Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland+
Actress: Helen Mirren, The Queen+
Supporting Actor: Mark Wahlberg, The Departed*
Supporting Actress: Meryl Streep (Prada and Prairie Home Companion – nommed in lead, not supporting, for Prada)
Screenplay: The Queen*
Doc: An Inconvenient Truth+
Cinematography: Children of Men*
2005
Best Film: Capote*
Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote+
Actress: Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line+
Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, Junebug*
Supporting Actor: Ed Harris, A History of Violence
Screenplay: The Squid and the Whale*
Cinematography: 2046
2004
Best Film: Million Dollar Baby+
Best Actor: Jamie Foxx, Ray+
Best Actress: (Tie) Imelda Staunton for Vera Drake* and Hilary Swank for M$B+
Supporting Actor: Thomas Haden Church, Sideways*
Supporting Actress: Virginia Madsen, Sideways*
Screenplay: Sideways+
Cinematography: House of Flying Daggers*
2003
Best Film: American Splendor
Best Actor: Bill Murray, Lost in Translation*
Best Actress: Charlize Theron, Monster+
Supporting Actor: Peter Sarsgaard, Shattered Glass
Supporting Actress: Patricia Clarkson, Pieces of April* and The Station Agent
Screenplay: American Splendor*
2002
Best Film: The Pianist*
Director: Roman Polanski, The Pianist+
Best Actor: Adrien Brody, The Pianist+
Best Actress: Diane Lane, Unfaithful*
Supporting Actor: Christopher Walken, Catch Me if You Can*
Supporting Actress: Patricia Clarkson, Far From Heaven
Screenplay: The Pianist+
Foreign: Y Tu Mama Tambien
2001
Best Film: Mulholland Drive
Best Actor: Gene Hackman, The Royal Tenenbaums
Best Actress: Naomi Watts, Mulholland Drive (ROBBED)
Best Supporting Actor: Steve Buscemi, Ghost World
Best Supporting Actress: Helen Mirren, Gosford Park*
Director: Robert Altman, Gosford Park*
2000
Best Film: Yi Yi
Best Actor: Javier Bardem, Before Night Falls*
Best Actress: Laura Linney, You Can Count on Me*
Supporting Actor: Benicio Del Toro, Traffic+
Supporting Actress: Elaine May, Small Time Crooks
Director: Steven Soderbergh, Traffic+ and Erin Brockovich*
Screenplay: You Can Count on Me*
Predictions anyone? Predictions? I can’t even go there. By now, there is so much extra baggage that comes along with predicting, it stops being fun. However, as you can see by their picks, they like weird stuff, they like foreign stuff, they like artsy stuff – they very rarely go with the status quo – and they don’t seem to care whether or not they influence the Oscars.
Inglourious Basterds seems to be right up their alley, as does The Hurt Locker. The latter is the one I really think they’ll go for but I have no way of knowing. They also might like An Education.