‘Lady Bird’ Named Best Film of 2017 By New York Film Critics Circle Awards
The march to the Oscars has begun, with three major awards of the season down and a zillion to go. And so far, the top winners are all over the place. While Call Me By Your Name took home Best Picture at Monday’s Gotham Awards and The Post won the honor from the National Board of Review, today the New York Film Critics Ciricl went an entirely different route. The group crowned Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird – a.k.a. Rotten Tomatoes best reviewed film of all time – with the top prize.
The New York Film Critics Circle, the oldest critics group in the country, is made up of 42 members, including ScreenCrush’s own Matt Singer. The group gathered on Thursday morning to vote for the best in film this year, and the results were a delightful mix of surprises. The Florida Project earned two wins, both Best Director for Sean Baker and Supporting Actor for Willem Dafoe. Lady Bird‘s Saoirse Ronan earned her second NYFCC Best Actress award (she became the youngest winner in 2015 for Brooklyn), Tiffany Haddish was named Best Supporting Actress for her hilarious turn in Girls Trip, and Timothée Chalamet got Best Actor, his third major award for Call Me By Your Name this season far.
Other surprises included French AIDS activism drama Beats per Minute for Best Foreign Film and Best Cinematography awarded to Rachel Morrison for Dee Rees’ Mudbound, making her the first woman to win the NYFCC award. While Morrison’s been busy in the indie world for the past several years, working on Fruitvale Station and Dope, she’s breaking into the mainstream next year with Black Panther, just another reason to be excited for the next MCU entry.
As exciting as many of these wins are though, it’s worth noting that critics awards aren’t always indicators of Oscar winners. The Academy has a long history of disagreeing with critics groups – last year the NYFCC went opposite the Oscars, naming La La Land Best Film and Barry Jenkins Best Director. Still, it’s great to see so much variety here. Check out the full winners list below. The NYFCC will hold its annual awards gala on January 3, 2018.
Best Film: Lady Bird
Best Director: Sean Baker, The Florida Project
Best Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson, Phantom Thread
Best Actress: Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird
Best Actor: Timothée Chalamet, Call Me By Your Name
Best Supporting Actress: Tiffany Haddish, Girls Trip
Best Supporting Actor: Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project
Best Cinematography: Rachel Morrison, Mudbound
Best Non-fiction Film: Faces Places
Best Foreign Language Film: Beats Per Minute
Best Animated Feature: Coco
Best First Film: Get Out
Special Awards: Molly Haskell – Career Achievement
Gallery – The Most Overlooked Performances and Movies of 2017: