Critics roundup, part 6: The Stragglers

Erik Anderson December 20, 2014

The year draws to an end, and so does our series on the lower rung critics organizations, with Florida, Las Vegas, and Nevada weighing in with their winners. Fatigue is kicking in, and we certainly hope not more of these groups come forward (though we will duly report on them, don’t fret).

So it’s time for a recap of at least the major categories, to see who the critics have anointed their darlings this year. In Best Picture and Best Director, the image is pretty clear: Boyhood has taken most of the prizes, with Birdman also taking a fair bite out of the critics pie. The Academy will likely align with the critics here, as 12 Years A Picture is the favourite to win both categories.

In the lead acting categories, both have seen awards reasonably split down the middle. In Best Actor, Michael Keaton (Birdman) and the surprising Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler) have dominated. Keaton is one of the hot favourites to win the Oscar, though his film may ultimately prove too ‘difficult’ (will they go the easy route with Redmayne or Oyelowo?). Gyllenhaal is only on the cusp of being nominated, but that position is surely a hell of a lot better than where he was before the season started.

In Best Actress, the split has been between Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night mostly, The Immigrant at times) and Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl), with a dash of Witherspoon (Wild) here or there. The latter two look certain to be nominated, while Cotillard is fighting for her nomination (is she really though? She doesn’t seem to be campaigning). Relatively quiet so far has been Julianne Moore (Still Alice), but she remains the favourite to win the televised awards, including the big one. Critics were never going to award her for what is by a lot of them perceived as a TV movie. Guilds and AMPAS will have less trouble doing so, especially given her narrative.

The supporting categories have been dominated by J.K. Simmons (Whiplash) and Patricia Arquette (Boyhood). Sure, somebody else picked up a win here or there, but they have won the lion’s share, and look relatively unbeatable on Oscar night.

Other notable facts from the critics portion of the season: The Grand Budapest Hotel is strong across the board, and many feel this will translate to 7 to 9 nominations. Under The Skin‘s score was really loved by the critics. Will the notoriously insular music branch follow suit? We sure hope so, if only because it would be great to have a female composer (Mica Levi) among the nominees. Best Documentary is a battle between CITIZENFOUR and Life Itself. And The Lego Movie wowed critics most when it comes to animation.

FLORIDA FILM CRITICS CIRCLE
BEST PICTURE
Birdman

BEST DIRECTOR
Richard Linklater, Boyhood

BEST ACTRESS
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl

BEST ACTOR
Michael Keaton, Birdman

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash

BEST ENSEMBLE
The Grand Budapest Hotel

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Grand Budapest Hotel

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Gone Girl

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Interstellar

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Interstellar

BEST ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Grand Budapest Hotel

BEST SCORE
Under the Skin

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Life Itself

BEST FOREIGN FILM
The Raid 2

BEST ANIMATED FILM
The Lego Movie 2

BREAKOUT AWARD
Damian Chazelle

LAS VEGAS FILM CRITICS

BEST PICTURE

Birdman

BEST DIRECTOR
Innaritu, Birdman

BEST ACTOR
Michael Keaton, Birdman

BEST ACTRESS
Reese Witherspoon, Wild

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Tilda Swinton, Snowpiercer

BEST ENSEMBLE
Birdman

BEST SCREENPLAY
Birdman

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Ida

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Citizenfour

BEST ANIMATED FILM
The LEGO Movie

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Emmanuel Lubezki, Birdman

BEST EDITING
Edge of Tomorrow

BEST ART DIRECTION
The Grand Budapest Hotel

BEST SCORE
Birdman

BEST SONG
“I Love You All” from Frank

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Guardians of the Galaxy

BEST FILMMAKER OF THE YEAR
Damien Chazelle

BEST YOUTH PERFORMANCE
Jaeden Lieberher, St Vincent

BEST HORROR/SCI-FI FILM
The Babadook

BEST COMEDY
Top Five

BEST FAMILY FILM
The LEGO Movie

BEST ACTION FILM
Guardians of the Galaxy

NEVADA FILM CRITICS SOCIETY
BEST FILM
Gone Girl

BEST DIRECTOR
Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler

BEST ACTOR
Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler

BEST ACTRESS
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS (TIE)
Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood

BEST YOUTH PERFORMANCE
Ellar Coltrane, Boyhood

BEST SCREENPLAY
Nightcrawler

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST
Guardians of the Galaxy

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Citizenfour

BEST ANIMATED MOVIE
Big Hero 6

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Grand Budapest Hotel

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Interstellar

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Interstellar

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Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.