Julie Christie in Away from Her. The top Best Actress pick of 2007 by U.S.-based film critics groups, veteran Julie Christie (Doctor Zhivago, Far from the Madding Crowd) brings to life a woman slowly losing her memory – and her personality – to Alzheimer’s disease in Sarah Polley’s Canadian drama Away from Her, also featuring Gordon Pinsent, Olympia Dukakis, and Michael Murphy. In a career spanning nearly half a century, Julie Christie took home the 1965 Best Actress Academy Award for John Schlesinger’s morality tale Darling.
U.S. critics’ favorites: Julie Christie & Daniel Day-Lewis
More U.S.-based film critics groups (see further below) have selected British veteran Julie Christie (Doctor Zhivago, Heaven Can Wait) as the Best Actress of 2007 for her performance as a woman suffering from Alzheimer’s disease in Sarah Polley’s independently made Canadian drama Away from Her, also featuring Gordon Pinsent as her husband, Michael Murphy as her “lover,” and Olympia Dukakis as his wife.
Christie, whose movie career spans nearly half a century, was the 1965 Best Actress Academy Award winner for John Schlesinger’s Darling. In the ensuing decades, she would be shortlisted twice more in the Best Actress category:
- Robert Altman’s McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), as the second half of the title – the owner of a prosperous brothel in Old Washington State. Warren Beatty was cast as the first half of the title – a gambler who becomes professionally and personally involved with the entrepreneurial madam.
- Alan Rudolph’s indie Afterglow (1997), with Julie Christie as a former minor actress and current unhappy wife who, along with her handyman husband (Nick Nolte), becomes entangled with a younger married couple (Lara Flynn Boyle, Jonny Lee Miller).
Odds-on 2008 Best Actor Oscar winner
In the Best Actor category, Daniel Day-Lewis is this awards season’s obvious favorite for his characterization of a ruthless, early 20th century all-American oil baron in-the-making in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Southern California-set, sociopolitical drama There Will Be Blood.
In early 1990, Day-Lewis took home the Best Actor Academy Award for his portrayal of cerebral palsy-afflicted writer and artist Christy Brown in Jim Sheridan’s real-life-inspired Irish-made biopic My Left Foot. Two other Best Actor nods would follow:
- Jim Sheridan’s political/father-son drama In the Name of the Father (1993), with Day-Lewis as Gerry Conlon, jailed as an IRA terrorist in the mid-1970s, but who turned out to be a victim of the British judicial system. Pete Postlethwaite played Conlon’s equally unjustly imprisoned father.
- Martin Scorsese’s sociopolitical/father-son drama Gangs of New York (2002), in recognition of his widely praised, larger-than-life representation of a ruthless, all-American xenophobe who becomes a father figure to the wrong son (avenger Leonardo DiCaprio).
This year, the Anglo-Irish Day-Lewis’ sociopolitically tinged all-American ruthlessness will quite likely bring him his second Best Actor Oscar.
No Country for Old Men with Tommy Lee Jones. Joel and Ethan Coen’s violent thriller continues to thrill U.S. critics groups, which have overwhelmingly selected it as the year’s Best Picture. In addition, the Coen brothers have won their share of Best Director awards and, to a lesser extent, Best (Adapted) Screenplay awards. The other major No Country for Old Men winner has been Spanish actor Javier Bardem, this year’s odds-on favorite for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Even so, the Austin Film Critics have gone for another No Country for Old Men performer: Tommy Lee Jones.‘No Country for Old Men’ remains top Best Film pick
In the Best Picture category, Joel and Ethan Coen’s No Country for Old Men remains the no. 1 pick this awards season.
Toplining Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Woody Harrelson, and Kelly Macdonald, the early favorite has topped several more critics groups’ awards listed further below: the Dallas-Ft. Worth Film Critics Association, the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the San Diego Film Critics Society, the Phoenix Film Critics Society.
The one exception found in this post is the Austin Film Critics Association, which opted instead for There Will Be Blood – which also happened to be the choice of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.
Joel and Ethan Coen were named Best Director by three of the five critics groups listed. The two exceptions were the San Diego and the Austin film critics, both of which opted for Paul Thomas Anderson.
And finally, the Coen brothers’ screenplay was the Southeastern, Phoenix, and Austin film critics’ choice in the “adapted” category. Jason Reitman’s Juno, written by Diablo Cody, was the “original” favorite – and the selection of the Dallas-Ft. Worth Film Critics in their “generic” Best Screenplay category.
By the way, Julie Christie topped four of the five groups listed above. The one exception was, once again, the Austin Film Critics, who crowned instead Ellen Page’s pregnant teenager in Juno. Daniel Day-Lewis, for his part, topped all five groups.
Check out: ‘No Country for Old Man’ Awards: Critics’ Favorite.
More critics’ favorites: Amy Ryan & Javier Bardem + ‘The Diving Bell and the Butterfly’
Among the other U.S. critics’ favorites this 2007/2008 awards season are:
- Best Supporting Actress Amy Ryan for playing a Boston woman who claims her daughter has been kidnapped in Ben Affleck’s Gone Baby Gone. The Austin Film Critics made an unusual choice in this category: Allison Janney, as Ellen Page’s stepmother in Jason Reitman’s Juno.
- Best Supporting Actor Javier Bardem for his emotionless assassin in No Country for Old Men. Curiously, the San Diego Film Critics went for another supporting actor in the same film: Tommy Lee Jones, as a laconic Texas sheriff.
- Best Foreign Language Film The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Julian Schnabel’s French drama starring Mathieu Amalric (in a role originally intended for Johnny Depp) as a man who writes a book after suffering a paralyzing stroke. The Austin Film Critics were the exception here, coming up with another unusual choice: Paul Verhoeven’s World War II drama Black Book.
AFI Awards’ curious pick
See below the full list of winners – and sometimes runners-up – of the critics groups mentioned above, in addition to the list(s) of the American Film Institute’s Top Ten U.S. film and television productions of 2007.
The AFI Awards’ most curious choice this year is The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, which, albeit directed by a U.S. national and with some American financing, is mostly a French production.
Amy Ryan in Gone Baby Gone. Two-time Tony Award winner Amy Ryan (Uncle Vanya, 2000; A Streetcar Named Desire, 2005) has been the U.S. film critics’ top Best Supporting Actress of 2007 for her portrayal of a working-class Boston woman who pleads for the life of her inexplicably vanished daughter in Ben Affleck’s Gone Baby Gone. But are things what they seem to be? The mystery drama also features Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Ed Harris, Amy Madigan, Morgan Freeman, and Titus Welliver.AFI Award winners
The 2007 American Film Institute Awards – or rather, Top Ten films – were announced on Dec. 16. The awards ceremony will be held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles on Jan. 11.
Film
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly / Le Scaphandre et le papillon.
Into the Wild.
Juno.
Knocked Up.
Michael Clayton.
No Country for Old Men.
Ratatouille.
The Savages.
There Will Be Blood.Television
Dexter.
Everybody Hates Chris.
Friday Night Lights.
Longford.
Mad Men.
Pushing Daisies.
The Sopranos.
Tell Me You Love Me.
30 Rock.
Ugly Betty.
Dallas-Ft. Worth film critics awards
The 2007 Dallas-Ft. Worth Film Critics Association winners were announced on Dec. 17.
Best Picture: No Country for Old Men.
Runners-up:
Juno.
There Will Be Blood.
Atonement.
Michael Clayton.
Into the Wild.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
The Kite Runner.
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.
Charlie Wilson’s War.Best Foreign Language Film: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
Runners-up:
La Vie en Rose.
4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days.
Lust, Caution.
Black Book.Best Actress: Julie Christie, Away from Her.
Runners-up:
Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose.
Ellen Page, Juno.
Laura Linney, The Savages.
Angelina Jolie, A Mighty Heart.Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood.
Runners-up:
George Clooney, Michael Clayton.
Frank Langella, Starting Out in the Evening.
Tommy Lee Jones, In the Valley of Elah.
Emile Hirsch, Into the Wild.Best Supporting Actress: Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton.
Runners-up:
Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone.
Cate Blanchett, I’m Not There.
Saoirse Ronan, Atonement.
Jennifer Jason Leigh, Margot at the Wedding.Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men.
Runners-up:
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson’s War.
Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.
Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton.
Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild.Best Director: Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men.
Runners-up:
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood.
Tim Burton, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
Sean Penn, Into the Wild.Best Documentary: The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, dir.: Seth Gordon.
Runners-up:
Sicko.
No End in Sight.
My Kid Could Paint That.
Crazy Love.Best Screenplay: Diablo Cody, Juno.
Best Animated Film: Ratatouille, dir.: Brad Bird.
Best Cinematography: Roger Deakins, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.
Runners-up:
Janusz Kaminski, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
Roger Deakins, No Country for Old Men.Russell Smith Award: Once, dir.: John Carney.
Southeastern Film Critics winners
The 2007 Southeastern Film Critics Association winners were announced on Dec. 17.
Best Film: No Country for Old Men.
Runners-up:
There Will Be Blood.
Atonement.
Juno.
Michael Clayton.
Zodiac.
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.
Gone Baby Gone.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
Into the Wild.Best Foreign Language Film: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
Runner-up: La Vie en Rose, dir.: Olivier Dahan.
Best Actress: Julie Christie, Away from Her.
Runner-up: Ellen Page, Juno.
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood.
Runner-up: George Clooney, Michael Clayton.
Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men.
Runner-up: Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.
Best Supporting Actress: Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone.
Runner-up: Cate Blanchett, I’m Not There.
Best Director: Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men.
Runner-up: Joe Wright, Atonement.
Best Original Screenplay: Diablo Cody, Juno.
Runner-up: Tamara Jenkins, The Savages.
Best Adapted Screenplay: Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men.
Runner-up: Christopher Hampton, Atonement.
Best Documentary: No End in Sight, dir.: Charles Ferguson.
Runner-up: Sicko, dir.: Michael Moore.
Best Animated Feature: Ratatouille.
Runner-up: The Simpsons Movie, dir.: David Silverman.
Wyatt Award (for the film that best captures the “spirit of the South”): Waitress, dir.: Adrienne Shelly.
Runner-up: Black Snake Moan, dir.: Craig Brewer.
San Diego Film Critics winners
The 2007 San Diego Film Critics Society winners were announced on Dec. 18.
Best Film: No Country for Old Men.
Best Foreign Language Film: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
Best Actress: Julie Christie, Away from Her.
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood.
Best Supporting Actress: Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone.
Best Supporting Actor: Tommy Lee Jones, No Country for Old Men.
Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood.
Best Original Screenplay: Diablo Cody, Juno.
Best Adapted Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood.
Best Documentary (tie): Crazy Love, dir.: Dan Klores & Fisher Stevens; Deep Water, dir.: Louise Osmond & Jerry Rothwell.
Best Ensemble: No Country for Old Men.
Best Animated Film: Ratatouille.
Best Cinematography: Roger Deakins, No Country for Old Men.
Best Film Editing: Paul Tothill, Atonement.
Best Score: Jonny Greenwood, There Will Be Blood.
Best Production Design: Dante Ferretti, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Body of Work: Christian Bale, 3:10 to Yuma, Rescue Dawn, and I’m Not There.
Kyle Counts Award (“honors those who have made a contribution to film in the city”): Larry Zeiger.
Phoenix Film Critics
The 2007 Phoenix Film Critics Society winners were announced on Dec. 18.
Best Picture: No Country for Old Men.
Runners-up (in alphabetical order):
3:10 to Yuma (James Mangold).
Atonement (Joe Wright).
Away from Her (Sarah Polley).
Hairspray (Adam Shankman).
Juno (Jason Reitman).
Michael Clayton (Tony Gilroy).
No Country for Old Men (Joel and Ethan Coen).
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Tim Burton).
There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson).
Zodiac (David Fincher).Best Foreign Language Film: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
Best Documentary Feature: Sicko, dir.: Michael Moore.
Best Actress: Julie Christie, Away from Her.
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood.
Best Supporting Actress: Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone.
Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men.
Best Director: Ethan and Joel Coen, No Country for Old Men.
Best Acting Ensemble: No Country for Old Men.
Best Adapted Screenplay: Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men.
Best Original Screenplay: Diablo Cody, Juno.
Best Cinematography: Seamus McGarvey, Atonement.
Best Film Editing: Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men.
Best Animated Feature: Ratatouille.
Best Original Score: Dario Marianelli, Atonement.
Best Original Song: “Falling Slowly,” by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, Once.
Best Production Design: Dante Ferretti, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Best Costume Design: Colleen Atwood, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Best Visual Effects: 300.
Best Stunts: The Bourne Ultimatum.
Breakthrough on Camera: Ellen Page, Juno.
Breakthrough Behind the Camera: Sarah Polley, Away from Her.
Best Performance by a Youth in a Lead or Supporting Role – Female: Saoirse Ronan, Atonement.
Best Performance by a Youth in a Lead or Supporting Role – Male: Edward Sanders, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Overlooked Film of the Year: Stardust, dir.: Matthew Vaughn.
Best Live Action Family Film: Enchanted, dir.: Kevin Lima.
Austin Film Critics winners
The 2007 Austin Film Critics Association winners were announced on Dec. 20.
Best Film: There Will Be Blood.
Runners-up:
No Country for Old Men (Joel and Ethan Coen).
Juno (Jason Reitman).
Into the Wild (Sean Penn).
3:10 to Yuma (James Mangold).
Knocked Up (Judd Apatow).
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (Sidney Lumet).
Atonement (Joe Wright).
American Gangster (Ridley Scott).
Eastern Promises (David Cronenberg).Best Foreign Language Film: Black Book / Zwartboek.
Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood.
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood.
Best Actress: Ellen Page, Juno.
Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem, No Country For Old Men.
Best Supporting Actress: Allison Janney, Juno.
Best Adapted Screenplay: Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men.
Best Original Screenplay: Diablo Cody, Juno.
Best Documentary: The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters.
Best Cinematography: Robert Elswit, There Will Be Blood.
Best Original Score: Jonny Greenwood, There Will Be Blood.
Best Animated Film: Ratatouille.
Best First Film: Ben Affleck, Gone Baby Gone.
Breakthrough Artist: Michael Cera, Superbad & Juno.
Austin Film Award: Quentin Tarantino & Robert Rodriguez, Grindhouse.
Julie Christie Away from Her image: Lionsgate Films.
Tommy Lee Jones No Country for Old Men image: Paramount Vantage / Miramax Films.
Amy Ryan Gone Baby Gone image: Miramax Films.
“Julie Christie & Daniel Day-Lewis + Amy Ryan & the Coen Brothers: More Critics Award Winners” last updated in April 2018.