National Society of Film Critics Awards 2009

by Deborah Arthur | January 3, 2009 | | 3 Comments     


2009 National Society of Film Critics Awards

2009 National Society of Film Critics award winners: January 3, 2009

Waltz with Bashir by Ari Folman

An animated film won the National Society of Film Critics 2009 Awards. No, not WALL-E, but Ari Folman’s anti-war documentary-ish Waltz with Bashir, about Israel’s disastrous 1982 invasion of Lebanon. It’s hard not to believe that current events — the Gaza conflict has been going on since late December — influenced the vote, though war or no war in the Middle East, Waltz with Bashir has been garnering nearly universal praise.

Waltz with Bashir, which had previously won the Los Angeles Film Critics‘ best animated film award (a sort of consolation prize for having lost to WALL-E in the best film category), is Israel’s entry for the 2009 best foreign-language film Oscar; the film is also one of the semi-finalists in the best animated feature category. (See Oscar 2009 Predictions.)

As a result of the Waltz with Bashir best picture win, the best foreign-language film category was dropped this year. Not so, however, the documentary category: the winner was — as usual — Man on Wire, followed by Trouble the Water and Encounters at the End of the World. (Perhaps NSFC critics considered Waltz with Bashir a fiction film?)

Another big surprise in the NSFC’s selections was the best supporting actress winner, veteran German actress Hanna Schygulla, who was chosen for her powerful portrayal of a woman trying to make amends with her dead daughter in Fatih Akin’s The Edge of Heaven.

A minor surprise was the choice of Mike Leigh as both best director and best screenwriter for the improvised (screenplay-less?) Happy-Go-Lucky, whose star, Sally Hawkins, and male (semi-)lead Eddie Marsan, won, respectively, best actress and best supporting actor honors. Hawkins has already won a handful of best actress awards in the US, including those from the Los Angeles and New York critics, and is in the running for a Golden Globe.

Critics’ fave Slumdog Millionaire managed only two shows: best cinematography for Anthony Dod Mantle and a third place spot for director Danny Boyle.

Of the 63 NSFC members, 49 sent in ballots this year. However, only 23 critics were present at Sardi’s in New York City, and only those were eligible to vote in second and third ballots. (Things can get really twisted around in subsequent ballots; e.g., initially, WALL-E was the best picture front-runner, followed by Milk and Waltz with Bashir.) Tom O’Neil explains the process in the more detail in Gold Derby.

Numbers in parentheses reflect the votes in the decisive balloting (whether first round, second round, etc.).

 

BEST PICTURE
1. Waltz with Bashir, directed by Ari Folman (26)
2. Happy-Go-Lucky (20)
3. WALL-E (20)

BEST NON-FICTION FILM
1. Man on Wire, directed by James Marsh (55)
2. Trouble the Water (34)
3. Encounters at the End of the World (26)

BEST DIRECTOR
1. Mike Leigh, Happy-Go-Lucky (36)
2. Gus Van Sant, Milk & Paranoid Park (20)
3. Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire (16)

BEST ACTOR
1. Sean Penn, Milk (87)
2. Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler (40)
3. Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino (38)

BEST ACTRESS
1. Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky (65)
2. Melissa Leo, Frozen River (33)
3. Michelle Williams, Wendy and Lucy (31)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
1. Eddie Marsan, Happy-Go-Lucky (41)
2. Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight (35)
3. Josh Brolin, Milk (29)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
1. Hanna Schygulla, The Edge of Heaven (29)
2. Viola Davis, Doubt (29, on fewer ballots)
3. Penélope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona (24)

BEST SCREENPLAY
1. Happy-Go-Lucky, by Mike Leigh (29)
2. A Christmas Tale (24)
3. Synecdoche, New York (17)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
1. Slumdog Millionaire, Anthony Dod Mantle (29)
2. The Flight of the Red Balloon (22)
3. The Dark Knight (18)
4. Still Life

BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM
1. Razzle Dazzle, directed by Ken Jacobs

FILM HERITAGE AWARDS

 

National Society of Film Critics Awards: 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Film Awards: 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Oscar 2009: 281 Features Eligible

Metro Manila Film Festival Awards 2008

Best Films of 2008: indieWIRE’s Critics’ Poll

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3 Responses to “National Society of Film Critics Awards 2009”

  1. soho on January 4th, 2009

    Waltz with Bashir instead of WALL-E? Weird.

  2. Steve Cooke on January 4th, 2009

    What do the numbers in brackets shown after each film title represent? Are they the number of votes each film received?

  3. Deborah Arthur on January 4th, 2009

    Yes, that is correct. I’ll add some more info to this post in a little while.

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