Nat'l Society of Film Crix Names Past Lives Best Pic

Tae Yoo and Greta Lee in Past Lives,
the NSFC's choice for Best Film.
Credit: A24

The National Society of Film Critics when their usual, off-the-beaten-path way and chose the small independent film Past Lives as Best Picture over blockbusters such as Oppenheimer, Killers of the Flower Moon and Barbie. The group, consisting of more than 60 film critics from across the country, met in NYC and LA on Jan. 6 for their 58th annual voting session to chose the outstanding achievements in cinema. They often pick unusual or unexpected choices for their top prize such as Ingmar Bergman's Persona, Shame, and Scenes from a Marriage,  Michelangelo Antonioni's Blow-Up, Costa-Gravas' Z and Mike Leigh's Life Is Sweet and Topsy Turvy. The organization was formed in 1966 by Hollis Alpert of the Saturday Review, Pauline Kael of the New Yorker, Joe Morgenstern of Newsweek, and Richard Schickel of Life magazine.

Andrew Scott of All of Us Strangers was named Best Actor and Sandra Huller was named Best Actress for her performances in The Zone of Interest and Anatomy of a Fall. Charles Melton (May December) won Best Supporting Actor and Da'Vine Joy Randolph of The Holdovers, who has won almost every Best Supporting Actress award going, continued her winning ways.

Voting is conducted using a weighted ballot system. Scrolls suitable for framing are sent to the winners. There is no awards party.

Best Picture: PAST LIVES (51 points)

Runners-up: THE ZONE OF INTEREST (49 points) OPPENHEIMER (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 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 Actor: Andrew Scott, ALL OF US STRANGERS (52 points)

Runners-up: Jeffrey Wright, AMERICAN FICTION (39 points) Cillian Murphy, OPPENHEIMER (29 points)

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 Supporting Actor: Charles Melton, MAY DECEMBER (51 points)

Runners-up: Robert Downey, Jr., OPPENHEIMER, and Ryan Gosling, BARBIE (31 points, tie)

Best Screenplay: Samy Burch, MAY DECEMBER (53 points)

Runners-up: Celine Song, PAST LIVES (50 points) David Hemingson, THE HOLDOVERS (36 points)

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 Nonfiction Film: MENUS-PLAISIRS — LES TROISGROS (64 points)

Runners-up: 20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL (25 points) KOKOMO CITY (19 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 Experimental Film: Jean Luc-Godard’s TRAILER OF A FILM THAT WILL NEVER EXIST: PHONY WARS

Special Citation for a Film Awaiting U.S. Distribution: Víctor Erice’s CLOSE YOUR EYES

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.