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If the first few days of the critics-awards phase of awards season are anything to go by, we may end up with a battle between the moon and the stars. It looked like the New York Film Critics were building up to a big win for Moonlight, but in the end, the heartfelt burst of Hollywood joy that is La La Land ended up with the Best Film prize. The announcement came just hours after La La Land got its first big haul of awards season, nabbing a leading 12 nominations from the Critics Choice Awards.
The glamorous, dreamy La La Land had been tapped as an Oscar frontrunner since it debuted at the fall festivals, but the last week of critics’ awards seemed to be elevating two other titles to the top of the heap: Moonlight and Manchester by the Sea. Moonlight, the insightful and empathetic character drama from director Barry Jenkins about a young black boy who grows up feeling isolated for his perceived homosexuality, took three NYFCC prizes, for Best Director (Jenkins), Best Supporting Actor (Mahershala Ali), and Best Cinematography (James Laxton). Manchester also won three prizes, for actors Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams, as well as writer/director Kenneth Lonergan for his screenplay.
The NYFCC are the oldest awards-giving critics’ organization in America, having first bestowed their honors way back in 1935. They’re both considered a major stepping stone on the road to the Oscars as well as an honor in and of themselves.
Casey Affleck took home his second Best Actor citation in three days, after having won the same honor from the National Board of Review on Tuesday. Those are two major precursor prizes that have to place Affleck at the head of the pack when it comes to the Oscar race. That kind of momentum will be needed to counteract the cloud of bad publicity that surrounds Affleck for sexual harrassment allegations connected to his time directing the fake documentary I’m Still Here.
For the second time in three years, the NYFCC’s Best Actress pick was a French actress being honored for two films. In 2014 it was Marion Cotillard for The Immigrant and Two Days, One Night. This year, it’s Isabelle Huppert, who was recognized for her work in two as-yet-unreleased French dramas: Elle, a provocative sexual-assault-themed drama from director Paul Verhoeven, and the quieter, more introspective Things to Come, the latest from Eden director Mia Hansen-Love.
Mahershala Ali’s Supporting Actor win for Moonlight should be a big boost towards a hopeful Oscar nomination. Nine of the last eleven NYFCC supporting-actor winners went on to Oscar nods, and the last 3 winners (Mark Rylance, J.K. Simmons, and Jared Leto) all took home the statue itself. Meanwhile, Michelle Williams’ supporting-actress trophy was for her performances in both Manchester by the Sea (where her performance as Casey Affleck’s ex features one knockout scene) and in the indie Certain Women, which was quietly one of the best movies of the year.
The prizes for best animated film, foreign-language film, and documentary all went to the films that were already perceived as favorites: Zootopia was a critical and commercial hit that is expected to duke it out with Moana for the Oscar; Toni Erdmann has been a critical cause celebre since its debut at Cannes in May; and despite the fact that it straddles the line between TV and film, O.J.: Made in America continues to dominate the documentary prizes. While the film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and played theatrically (if briefly so) in New York and L.A., the vast majority of people who saw it saw it via its five-part airing on ESPN. It will be interesting to see if the Academy will embrace it as enthusiastically.
Best Film: La La Land
Best Director: Barry Jenkins– Moonlight
Best Actor: Casey Affleck – Manchester By the Sea
Best Actress: Isabelle Huppert– Elle and Things to Come
Best Supporting Actor: Marhershala Ali – Moonlight
Best Supporting Actress: Michelle Williams – Manchester by the Sea and Certain Women
Best Screenplay: Kenneth Lonergan– Manchester by the Sea
Best Animated Film: Zootopia [Where to stream Zootopia]
Best Cinematography: James Laxton– Moonlight
Best Non-Fiction Film: O.J.: Made in America [Where to stream O.J.: Made in America]
Best Foreign Language Film: Toni Erdmann (Germany)
Best First Film: The Edge of Seventeen and Krisha (TIE) [Where to stream Krisha]
Special Award: Thelma Schoonmaker
Special Award: Daughters of the Dust 25th anniversary restoration
