Battle Dominates Early Film Awards

Leonardo DiCaprio in One Battle After Another,
Best Picture winner for the NYFCC, NBR
and Gotham Awards.

Film award season is upon us and One Battle After Another, Paul Thomas Anderson's action epic of a former radical (Leonardo DiCaprio) rescuing his daughter from a right-wing nut job (Sean Penn), is dominating the field, winning Best Picture and several other awards from the New York Film Critics Circle, the National Board of Review and the Gotham Awards. Benicio Del Toro who plays a martial arts instructor and underground activist who aides DiCaprio's character, was named Best Supporting Actor by both the NYFCC and NBR. Rose Byrne won Best Actress from both of those groups for If I Had Legs I'd Kick You (which is also my choice for Best Title of the Decade.) 

The Gotham Awards were announced Mon., the NYFCC on Tues. and the the NBR on Wed. I have not been as excited about the movie awards this year as in past seasons. I used to obsessively keep track of all the eligible films I'd seen and where I'd seen them. Maybe I'll do that this year, but it's looking like Battle is the top film and I wasn't crazy about it. The direction was excellent, Anderson keeps the suspense tight and the action sequences were skillfully edited and shot, but the theme left me cold. Anderson appears to be condemning political extremism of all kinds. DiCaprio plays a former resistance fighter whose daughter is kidnapped by racist Army officer Sean Penn. DiCaprio's character appears to be an innocent caught between two extremes. The left-wing radical underground army he was allied with resorts to extreme violence to achieve its ends. His lover, played by Teyana Taylor, is a horrible person, abandoning their daughter and the cause when she is caught. Penn's forces are equally heinous, representing not only the current cruel immigration policies of the Trump administration, but also a cultish, deep-state powerful network of bigots called the Christmas Adventurers. 

I didn't sympathize with any of the characters except Del Toro's activist who is the only one who doesn't resort to violence to help his community. Having said that, I didn't find his performance exciting enough to warrant all these Supporting Actor prizes. I didn't really get the point of the film, except to film people getting shot and chasing each other across the desert.

Hamnet is the only other film getting major award buzz and it's not even been mentioned by these early accolade dispensers. (Still haven't seen it, but I plan to.) I did catch Wicked: For Good yesterday in 3-D and 4-DX at the Union Square theater. The seats moved while Cynthia Erivo was flying her broom, so that was fun and we were sprinkled with water during the cyclone scenes. It will probably garner a few Golden Globe nods. 

A breakdown of the winners follows:

New York Film Critics Circle winners:

Best Film: “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.)

Director: Jafar Panahi, “It Was Just an Accident” (Neon)

Actor: Wagner Moura, “The Secret Agent” (Neon)

Actress: Rose Byrne, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” (A24)

Supporting Actor: Benicio del Toro, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.)

Supporting Actress: Amy Madigan, “Weapons” (Warner Bros.)

Screenplay: “Marty Supreme” (A24) — Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie

Animated Film: “KPop Demon Hunters” (Netflix)

Cinematography: “Sinners” (Warner Bros.) — Autumn Arkapaw Durald

Non-Fiction Film: “My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow” (Self-Distributed)

International Film: “The Secret Agent” (Neon)

First Film: “Eephus” (Music Box Films) — Carson Lund

National Board of Review winners:

Best Film: One Battle After Another

Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another

Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another

Best Actress: Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You

Best Supporting Actor: Benicio Del Toro, One Battle After Another

Best Supporting Actress: Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Sentimental Value

Best Directorial Debut: Eva Victor, Sorry, Baby

Breakthrough Performance: Chase Infiniti, One Battle After Another

Best Original Screenplay: Ryan Coogler, Sinners

Best Adapted Screenplay: Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar, Train Dreams

Best Animated Feature: Arco

Best International Film: It Was Just an Accident

Best Documentary: Cover-Up

Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography: Autumn Durald Arkapaw, Sinners

Outstanding Achievement in Stunt Artistry: Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning

NBR Freedom of Expression Award: Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk

Top 10 Films (in alphabetical order)

Avatar: Fire and Ash
F1
Frankenstein
Jay Kelly
Marty Supreme
Rental Family
Sinners
Train Dreams
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Wicked: For Good

Gotham Award Winners and Nominees (Winners in bold):

Best Feature
Bugonia
East of Wall
Familiar Touch
Hamnet
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Lurker
One Battle After Another ⭐
Sorry, Baby
The Testament of Ann Lee
Train Dreams

Best International Feature
It Was Just an Accident ⭐
No Other Choice
Nouvelle Vague
Resurrection
Sound of Falling

Best Documentary Feature
2000 Meters to Andriivka
BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions
My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow ⭐
The Perfect Neighbor
Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk

Best Director
Mary Bronstein, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Jafar Panahi, It Was Just an Accident ⭐
Kelly Reichardt, The Mastermind
Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
Oliver Laxe, Sirât

Breakthrough Director
Constance Tsang, Blue Sun Palace
Carson Lund, Eephus
Sarah Friedland, Familiar Touch
Akinola Davies Jr., My Father’s Shadow ⭐
Harris Dickinson, Urchin

Best Original Screenplay
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, Mary Bronstein
It Was Just an Accident, Jafar Panahi ⭐
The Secret Agent, Kleber Mendonça Filho
Sorry, Baby, Eva Victor
Sound of Falling, Louise Peter, Mascha Schilinski

Best Adapted Screenplay
No Other Choice, Park Chan-wook, Lee Kyoung-Mi, Jahye Lee, Don McKellar
One Battle After Another, Paul Thomas Anderson
Pillion, Harry Lighton ⭐
Preparation for the Next Life, Martyna Majok
Train Dreams, Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar

Outstanding Lead Performance
Jessie Buckley, Hamnet
Lee Byung-hun, No Other Choice
Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Sopé Dìrísù, My Father’s Shadow ⭐
Ethan Hawke, Blue Moon
Jennifer Lawrence, Die My Love
Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent
Josh O’Connor, The Mastermind
Amanda Seyfried, The Testament of Ann Lee
Tessa Thompson, Hedda

Outstanding Supporting Performance
Benicio del Toro, One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Sentimental Value
Indya Moore, Father Mother Sister Brother
Wunmi Mosaku, Sinners ⭐
Adam Sandler, Jay Kelly
Andrew Scott, Blue Moon
Alexander Skarsgård, Pillion
Stellan Skarsgård, Sentimental Value
Teyana Taylor, One Battle After Another

Breakthrough Performer
A$AP Rocky, Highest 2 Lowest
Sebiye Behtiyar, Preparation for the Next Life
Chase Infiniti, One Battle After Another
Abou Sangaré, Souleymane’s Story ⭐
Tonatiuh, Kiss of the Spider Woman