Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart (top); Yolande Moreau in Séraphine (bottom)
Jeff Bridges as the Los Angeles Film Critics' best actor for his ageing country singer in Crazy Heart wasn't totally unexpected, despite strong competition from the likes of Colin Firth for A Single Man (the LA critics' runner-up), George Clooney for Up in the Air, and Morgan Freeman for Invictus.
Now, Yolande Moreau's win for her performance as the emotionally troubled painter and cleaning lady Séraphine de Senlis in Séraphine was a major surprise — a good one. As a result of the Los Angeles critics' decision to go out on a limb in the best actress category, César winner Moreau now has a better chance of getting an Oscar nomination.
Well, maybe. The field is still very crowded, e.g., runner-up Carey Mulligan for An Education, Meryl Streep, Penélope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, Helen Mirren, Gabourey Sidibe, etc. etc.
Mo'Nique (above top, with Gabourey Sidibe) was named best supporting actress for Precious, while Christoph Waltz (above, lower photo) was the best supporting actor for Inglourious Basterds. Both are sure to get Oscar nominations and could be considered the favorites in their respective categories.
Also, Michael Haneke's The White Ribbon, winner of the European Film Awards for best picture, best director, and best screenplay at a ceremony in Germany last night, was the Los Angeles critics' winner for best cinematography (Christian Berger). Additionally, Haneke's political-psychological drama was the runner-up for best director and best foreign language film.
In the last dozen years, nine LA critics best picture winners went on to receive best picture Oscar nominations. The other three — WALL-E, American Splendor, and About Schmidt — earned Oscar recognition in other categories.
Last year, three of the LA critics' acting picks went on to win an Oscar: Penelope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight, and Sean Penn for Milk. Happy-Go-Lucky's Sally Hawkins, however, didn't even land an Oscar nomination.
Theoretically, the same could happen to the little-known (in the US) Yolande Moreau this year, whose Seraphine failed to make much of a splash at the box office — but stranger things have happened in the Academy's annals than to nominate a foreign actress in a foreign-language film that wasn't a major commercial hit.
Tomorrow: Chicago, St. Louis, and Broadcast film critics' nominations; San Francisco and New York film critics' winners.