I’ll be honest- of the four years I have been voting for the Georgia Film Critics Association, this might be some of my favorite collection of nominees. Let’s just get into what we nominated, and what won.
2021 Georgia Film Critics Association Awards
Best Picture
“Belfast”
“CODA”
“Dune”
“Flee”
“The Green Knight”
“Licorice Pizza”– Winner
“The Power of the Dog”
“Tick, Tick…Boom!”
“West Side Story”
“The Worst Person in the World”
Thoughts: Even though I think Branagh’s “Belfast” is an average- at best- memory piece from the director, that it’s still pretty good, and the “weakest” of our Best Picture nominees, speaks well of the rest of the nominees. To varying degrees, I love the rest of these ten. Georgia critics loved us some of PTA’s “Pizza,” though, as you’ll see below.
Best Director
“Dune”, Denis Villeneuve
“The Green Knight”, David Lowery
“Licorice Pizza”, Paul Thomas Anderson
“The Power of the Dog”, Jane Campion- Winner
“West Side Story”, Steven Spielberg
Thoughts: We could be looking at four of the five Oscar nominees here, with Lowery’s towering Arthurian adaptation being an obvious favorite of the Association. Campion is the clear, deserving winner, though.
Best Actor
Nicolas Cage (“Pig”)- Winner
Benedict Cumberbatch (“The Power of the Dog”)
Peter Dinklage (“Cyrano”)
Andrew Garfield (“Tick, Tick…Boom!”)
Will Smith (“King Richard”)
Thoughts: That my two favorite performances in this category- Cage and Dinklage- made the Top Five makes me very happy. Cage winning is a highlight.
Best Actress
Lady Gaga (“House of Gucci”)
Alana Haim (“Licorice Pizza”)- Winner
Agathe Rousselle (“Titane”)
Kristen Stewart (“Spencer”)
Rachel Zegler (“West Side Story”)
Thoughts: Even though Jodie Comer (“The Last Duel”) should be getting the love Gaga is receiving when it comes to Ridley Scott leading ladies this year, the other four are in my personal Top Five, as well, and Gaga really turns in a star performance. Haim, and PTA’s movie, is just winning people over, though.
Best Supporting Actor
Bradley Cooper (“Licorice Pizza”)- Winner
Colman Domingo (“Zola”)
Ciaran Hinds (“Belfast”)
Jason Issacs (“Mass”)
Troy Kotsur (“CODA”)
Kodi Smit-McPhee (“The Power of the Dog”)
Thoughts: Even if “Zola” wasn’t for me, only a fool could not be bowled over by Domingo’s performance in that. Cooper in “Licorice Pizza” may have topped him in scene-stealing, however. My heart breaks for Issacs not winning, but I kind of love that Cooper won this one.
Best Supporting Actress
Ariana DeBose (“West Side Story”)- Winner
Ann Dowd (“Mass”)
Kirsten Dunst (“The Power of the Dog”)
Kathryn Hunter (“The Tragedy of MacBeth”)
Ruth Negga (“Passing”)
Thoughts: All five of these are tremendous performances. DeBose is basically first among equals.
Best Original Screenplay
“Being the Ricardos” (Aaron Sorkin)
“Belfast” (Kenneth Branagh)
“Licorice Pizza” (Paul Thomas Anderson)- Winner
“Mass” (Fran Kranz)
“Titane” (Julia Ducournau)
Thoughts: I have yet to watch “Being the Ricardos.” “Mass” and “Titane” are, far and away, my top two in this category. Georgia critics really did love us some “Licorice Pizza”
Best Adapted Screenplay
“CODA” (Sian Heder)
“Drive My Car” (Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Takemasa Oe)
“The Green Knight” (David Lowery)
“The Power of the Dog” (Jane Campion)- Winner
“West Side Story” (Tony Kushner)
Thoughts: I have not seen “Drive My Car” yet, but the other four are strong. Campion winning makes a lot of sense, though- it’s a tremendous screenplay.
Best Cinematography
“Dune” (Greig Fraser)- Winner
“The Green Knight” (Andrew Droz Palermo)
“The Power of the Dog” (Ari Wegner)
“The Tragedy of MacBeth” (Bruno Delbonnel)
“West Side Story” (Janusz Kaminski)
Thoughts: I love all five of these, but “Dune” is, honestly, my least favorite of the five.
Best Production Design
“Dune” (Patrice Vermette Richard Roberts, Zuzsanna Sipos)- Winner
“The French Dispatch” (Adam Stockhausen, Rena DeAngelo)
“The Green Knight” (Jade Healy, Jenny Oman)
“Nightmare Alley” (Tamara Deverell, Shane Vieau)
“The Tragedy of MacBeth” (Stefan Dechant, Nancy Haigh)
Thoughts: These are, probably, the five best examples of this craft of 2021. Is “Dune” the best? I’m not sure if I can get there, not with “The Green Knight” and “The Tragedy of MacBeth” just creating worlds of haunting power.
Best Original Score
“Dune” (Hans Zimmer)- Winner
“Encanto” (Germaine Franco)
“The Harder They Fall” (Jaymes Samuel)
“The Power of the Dog” (Jonny Greenwood)
“Spencer” (Jonny Greenwood)
Thoughts: It feels like a personal triumph that “The Harder They Fall,” one of my favorite scores of the year, got nominated here. I have such mixed feelings about Zimmer winning- on the one hand, I’ve wanted to see him get a second Oscar for decades, but “Dune” isn’t among my favorite scores of his.
Best Original Song
“Dos Orugilas” – Lin-Manuel Miranda (“Encanto”)
“Guns Go Bang” – Jeymes Samuel, Scott Mescudi, Shawn Carter (“The Harder They Fall”)
“Just Look Up” – Nicholas Brittell, Ariana Grande, Scott Mescudi, Taura Stinson (“Don’t Look Up”)
“No Time to Die” – Billie Ellish, Finneas O’Connell (“No Time to Die”)- Winner
“So May We Start” – Ron Mael, Russell Mael (“Annette”)
Thoughts: I’m guessing a lot of people have been waiting to vote for Ellish’s song since March 2020. That said, it’s a pretty deserving one. All of these are good nominees.
Best Ensemble
“CODA”
“Dune”
“Licorice Pizza”– Winner
“Mass”
“The Power of the Dog”
Thoughts: Georgia critics clearly loved “Licorice Pizza” more than anything else in 2021, because how this isn’t “Mass” blows my mind. That said, all five of these are good choices.
Best Foreign Language Film
“Drive My Car”– Winner
“Flee”
“The Hand of God”
“Petite Maman”
“Titane”
“The Worst Person in the World”
Thoughts: The winner is the only one I haven’t seen. I cannot wait to watch it, because the rest of these were strong.
Best Animated Film
“Encanto”
“Flee”
“Luca”
“The Mitchells vs. the Machines”– Winner
“Raya and the Last Dragon”
Thoughts: Not a surprise. “Flee” is fantastic, but “The Mitchells vs. the Machines” is just fun and imaginative.
Best Documentary Film
“The First Wave”
“Flee”
“The Rescue”
“Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)” – Winner
“Val”
Thoughts: Just another win on the way to Oscar for Questlove’s documentary.
Breakthrough Award
Alana Haim (“Licorice Pizza”)- Winner
Jude Hill (“Belfast”)
Cooper Hoffman (“Licorice Pizza”)
Emilia Jones (“CODA”)
Agathe Rousselle (“Titane”)
Rachel Zegler (“West Side Story”)
Thoughts: Any of these six winning would have made sense. Haim is a well-deserved winner, though.
Oglethorpe Award for Excellence in Georgia Cinema
“Angie” (short; Ines Michelena)
“Black Widow” (Cate Shortland, Eric Pearson)
“Clean Slate” (Jared Callahan)
“Congratulations” (short; Asad Farooqui)
“Copshop” (Joe Carnahan, Kurt McLeod)
“A Fire Within” (Christopher Chambers)
“Red Notice” (Rawson Marshall Thurber)
“Respect” (Liesi Tommy, Tracey Scott Wilson)
“Spider-Man: No Way Home” (Jon Watts, Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers)- Winner
“The Suicide Squad” (James Gunn)
Thoughts: A blockbuster winning is understandable, but “Clean Slate,” “A Fire Within” and “Angie”- three of my very favorites from this year’s Atlanta Film Festival– being nominated should give people cause to seek those out in the new year.
Viva La Resistance!
Brian Skutle
www.sonic-cinema.com
