“Dunkirk,” Christopher Nolan‘s dazzling and cinematically daring account of the WWII evacuation of Dunkirk beaches by Allied forces, was named best picture of the year, and Nolan best director, by the Florida Film Critics Circle. I voted.
The cast and crew of Sean Baker‘s “The Florida Project,” a low-budget, documentary-style study of life among the very poor, told largely from the point of view of children living in the shadow of the Mouse House, was honored with the FFCC’s annual Golden Orange award. The honor is generally awarded to a Florida-based movie, event, organization, or person making a significant impact on the film community, statewide or beyond. The film’s subject matter and unique vision and narrative style have drawn critical kudos and attention from around the world.
The critics group — 25 writers based in the Sunshine State — gave multiple honors to several different films and artists:
- Jordan Peele, one-half of the Key and Peele comedy duo, won best original screenplay and best first film for controversial, widely acclaimed comic/horror/social-commentary shocker “Get Out!”
- “Blade Runner 2049,” Ridley Scott‘s belated sequel to his 1982 sci-fi classic, won in four categories, for best cinematography, art direction/production, visual effects, and score.
- “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Martin McDonagh’s dark comedy about murder and revenge, won for best ensemble, and the film’s Sam Rockwell, as a racially wounded and wounding small-town cop, for best supporting actor
- “I, Tonya”: Margot Robbie, best actress, as troubled skating star Tonya Harding; and Allison Janey, best supporting actress, as Tonya’s mother from hell.
- “Call Me By Your Name”: Timothee Chalamet, best actor and breakout award; and James Ivory, best adapted screenplay
(Guillermo del Toro‘s exquisitely photographed, beautifully acted, emotionally resonant and often technically dazzling “The Shape of Water,” an odd but compelling sci-fi/horror/fantasy cross between “The Creature From the Black Lagoon” and “Beauty and the Beast,” was my favorite film of the year. It received 10 FFCC nominations but, strangely, got skunked in every category. But that’s a subject for another post, one with my own Top 10+ list).
The complete list, with runners-up, and, in red, my own pick in each category:
BEST PICTURE
Dunkirk (WINNER)
Lady Bird
Call Me By Your Name
Get Out
The Shape Of Water — PHILIP’s PICK
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
BEST DIRECTOR
Christopher Nolan – Dunkirk (WINNER)
Greta Gerwig – Lady Bird
Guillermo del Toro – The Shape of Water — PHILIP’s PICK
Jordan Peele – Get Out
Martin McDonagh – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
BEST ACTOR
Timothée Chalamet – Call Me By Your Name (WINNER)
Gary Oldman – Darkest Hour
Daniel Kaluuya – Get Out — PHILIP’s PICK
James Franco – The Disaster Artist
Robert Pattinson – Good Time
BEST ACTRESS
Margot Robbie – I, Tonya (WINNER)
Frances McDormand – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri — Philip’s Pick
Cynthia Nixon – A Quiet Passion
Sally Hawkins – The Shape of Water
Saoirse Ronan – Lady Bird
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Sam Rockwell – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (WINNER) — Philip’s Pick
Willem Dafoe – The Florida Project
Armie Hammer – Call Me By Your Name
Barry Keoghan – The Killing of A Sacred Deer
Michael Stuhlbarg – Call Me By Your Name
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Allison Janney – I, Tonya (WINNER)
Laurie Metcalf – Lady Bird
Holly Hunter – The Big Sick — Philip’s Pick
Hong Chau – Downsizing
Mary J. Blige – Mudbound
BEST ENSEMBLE
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (WINNER)
Dunkirk
Get Out
I, Tonya
Lady Bird
The Big Sick — Philip’s Pick
The Shape Of Water
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Get Out (WINNER)
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Lady Bird
The Big Sick — Philip’s Pick
The Shape Of Water
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Call Me By Your Name (WINNER)
The Disaster Artist — Philip’s Pick
Marjorie Prime
Molly’s Game
The Lost City of Z
Wonderstruck
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Blade Runner 2049 (WINNER)
Dunkirk
Personal Shopper
The Post
The Shape of Water — Philip’s Pick
Wonderstruck
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Blade Runner 2049 (WINNER)
War for the Planet of the Apes
Dunkirk
Guardians of the Galaxy 2
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
The Shape of Water — Philip’s Pick
BEST ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN
Blade Runner 2049 (WINNER)
Dunkirk
Phantom Thread
The Shape of Water — Philip’s Pick
Wonderstruck
BEST SCORE
Blade Runner 2049 (WINNER)
Dunkirk
Phantom Thread
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri — Philip’s Pick
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Jane (WINNER) — Philip’s Pick
Ex Libris: New York Public Library
Dawson City: Frozen Time
Faces Places
Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold
Kedi
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
BPM (WINNER)
The Square
First They Killed My Father — Philip’s Pick
Loveless
The Ornithologist
BEST ANIMATED FILM
Coco (WINNER)
Loving Vincent — Philip’s Pick
The Boss Baby
The Breadwinner
The LEGO Batman Movie
BEST FIRST FILM
Get Out (WINNER) — Philip’s Pick
God’s Own Country (Runners-Up)
Ingrid Goes West
Molly’s Game
PAULINE KAEL BREAKOUT AWARD
Timothée Chalamet (WINNER)
Jordan Peele
Barry Keoghan (Dunkirk & The Killing of a Sacred Deer) — Philip’s Pick
Greta Gerwig
Millicent Simmonds
GOLDEN ORANGE
The cast and crew of The Florida Project — Philip’s Pick