Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson in The Messenger
There were quite a few surprises among the nominees for the St. Louis Film Critics Association 2009 Awards.
I mean, Kim So Yong's Treeless Mountain for best foreign language film? Jeff Stilson's Good Hair for best documentary? Wes Anderson (Fantastic Mr. Fox) and Oren Moverman (The Messenger) for best director? Patton Oswald (Big Fan) and Ben Foster (The Messenger) for best actor? Maya Rudolph (Away We Go) for best actress?
There were several less jarring surprises as well, including Marc Webb's (500) Days of Summer in the running for best picture; Robert Duvall as best supporting actor for The Road; Jeremy Renner as best actor for The Hurt Locker; Melanie Laurent as best supporting actress for Inglourious Basterds; Red Cliff for best cinematography (Yue Lü and Li Zhang); and Anvil: The Story of Anvil as best documentary.
Some of us at Alt Film Guide are always complaining that US film critics pick the same five or six movies and performances over and over again in their year-end choices. At least when it comes to their nominations, St. Louis critics have definitely proven us wrong. And that's a good thing.
Among the more predictable nominees were Up in the Air in multiple categories, Pete Docter's Up for best picture and best animated film, Jeff Bridges (no longer a dark horse) for Crazy Heart, Meryl Streep for Julie & Julia, Carey Mulligan for An Education, Mo'Nique for Precious, Marion Cotillard for Nine (in the supporting category), and Robert Kenner's Food, Inc. for best documentary. (But where's The Cove?)
James Cameron's Avatar only managed two nods: best visual effects and "Most Original, Innovative or Creative Film."
The St. Louis Film Critics will announce their winners on Dec. 21.