There are some pleasant surprises with the nominees for this year’s Georgia Film Critics Association awards, but also some not-so-pleasant snubs. There are still several I haven’t seen, though. Here are the nominees, what won, and my thoughts as a voting member. I hope you enjoy! This was a fairly impressive selection this year.
2023 Georgia Film Critics Association Awards
Best Picture
“American Fiction”
“Barbie”
“Godzilla Minus One”
“The Holdovers”
“Killers of the Flower Moon”
“May December”
“Oppenheimer” – WINNER
“Past Lives” – RUNNER-UP
“Poor Things”
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”
Thoughts: The winner and runner-up both make sense in a fairly terrific BP lineup out of the nine I’ve seen.
Best Director
“American Fiction”, Cord Jefferson
“Barbie”, Greta Gerwig- RUNNER-UP
“Killers of the Flower Moon”, Martin Scorsese- RUNNER-UP
“Oppenheimer”, Christopher Nolan- WINNER
“Past Lives”, Celine Song
Thoughts: It’s Nolan’s to lose, and both runners up make sense.
Best Actor
Bradley Cooper (“Maestro”)
Colman Domingo (“Rustin”)
Paul Giamatti (“The Holdover”)
Cillian Murphy (“Oppenheimer”)- WINNER
Jeffrey Wright (“American Fiction”)- RUNNER-UP
Thoughts: Murphy gave the best performance of the year. Wright is not far behind. Given some later choices, though, I’m a bit surprised Giamatti didn’t tie with Wright.
Best Actress
Lily Gladstone (“Killers of the Flower Moon”)- WINNER
Sandra Hüller (“Anatomy of a Fall”)
Greta Lee (“Past Lives”)
Carey Mulligan (“Maestro”)
Emma Stone (“Poor Things”)- RUNNER-UP
Thoughts: At this point, this is your 1-2 for the Oscar, and in a tough category, it makes sense.
Best Supporting Actor
Sterling K. Brown (“American Fiction”)
Robert Downey Jr. (“Oppenheimer”)- WINNER
Ryan Gosling (“Barbie”)
Glenn Howerton (“BlackBerry”)
Charles Melton (“May December”)- RUNNER-UP
Thoughts: Quite a lineup here. I’m surprised Gosling wasn’t the choice, but a worthy winner and runner up here.
Best Supporting Actress
Emily Blunt (“Oppenheimer”)- RUNNER-UP
Danielle Brooks (“The Color Purple”)
Penélope Cruz (“Ferrari”)
Rachel McAdams (“Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret.”)
Da’Vine Joy Randolph (“The Holdovers”)- WINNER
Thoughts: Randolph is great in “The Holdovers,” but neither her nor Blunt were my top choices; that was McAdams.
Best Original Screenplay
“Barbie” (Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach)
“Dream Scenario” (Kristoffer Borgli)
“The Holdovers” (David Hemingson)- WINNER
“May December” (Samy Burch)
“Past Lives” (Celine Song)- RUNNER-UP
Thoughts: Especially with “Barbie” movie to adapted for the Oscars, these are your top two choices for the Oscars. My pick is “Past Lives,” but I get why “The Holdovers” is getting love.
Best Adapted Screenplay
“American Fiction” (Cord Jefferson)- RUNNER-UP
“Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret.” (Kelly Fremon Craig)
“Killers of the Flower Moon” (Eric Roth, Martin Scorsese)
“Oppenheimer” (Christopher Nolan)- WINNER
“Poor Things” (Tony McNamera)
Thoughts: Another stacked category. Not surprised “Oppenheimer” won, but I am a bit surprised (pleasantly) that “American Fiction” had more love from us than “Poor Things.”
Best Cinematography
“All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt” (Jomo Fray)
“Killers of the Flower Moon” (Rodrigo Prieto)- RUNNER-UP
“Maestro” (Matthew Libatique)
“Oppenheimer” (Hoyte Van Hoytema)- WINNER
“Poor Things” (Robbie Ryan)
Thoughts: The two best-looking films of the year as our 1 and 2, but all four of these I’ve are stunning displays of visual craft.
Best Production Design
“Asteroid City” (Adam Stockhausen, Kris Moran)
“Barbie” (Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer)- WINNER
“The Creator” (James Clyne, Chris DiPaola, Matt Sims, Lek Chaiyan Chunsuttiwat)
“Killers of the Flower Moon” (Jack Fisk, Adam Willis)
“Oppenheimer” (Ruth De Jong, Claire Kaufman)
“Poor Things” (James Price, Shona Heath, Szusza Mihalek)- RUNNER-UP
Thoughts: Another phenomenal category. The top two are probably the best, though.
Best Original Score
“Killers of the Flower Moon” (Robbie Robertson)
“Oppenheimer” (Ludwig Göransson)- WINNER
“Poor Things” (Jerskin Fendrix)
“Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse” (Daniel Pemberton)- RUNNER-UP
“The Zone of Interest” (Mica Levi)
Thoughts: Really shocked Pemberton was the runner-up, but “Oppenheimer” as the winner was not surprising, even if I prefer “Flower Moon.”
Best Original Song
“Am I Dreaming?” – Mike Dean, Peter Lee Johnson, Rakim Mayers, Roisee, Landon Wayne, Leland Wayne (“Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse)”)
“I’m Just Ken” – Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt (“Barbie”)- RUNNER-UP
“Peaches” – Jack Black, John Spider, Eric Osmond, Michael Jelenic, Aaron Horvath (“The Super Mario Bros. Movie”)
“Quiet Eyes” – Sharon Van Etten, Zach Dawes (“Past Lives”)
“What Was I Made For?” – Billie Eillish, Finneas O’Connell (“Barbie”)- WINNER
Thoughts: The wrong song for “Barbie” won, in my opinion, but I can’t be upset too much.
Best Ensemble
“American Fiction”
“Asteroid City”
“Barbie”
“The Color Purple”
“The Holdovers”– RUNNER-UP
“Killers of the Flower Moon”
“Oppenheimer”– WINNER
Thoughts: I’m kind of surprised “The Holdovers” was the runner-up, but I’m not surprised by the win for “Oppenheimer.”
Best International Film
“Anatomy of a Fall”– RUNNER-UP
“The Boy and the Heron”
“Godzilla Minus One”– WINNER
“Perfect Days”
“The Taste of Things”
“The Zone of Interest”
Thoughts: That “Godzilla” won this makes me happy, even if I haven’t seen it yet.
Best Animated Film
“The Boy and the Heron”– RUNNER-UP
“Elemental”
“Robot Dreams”
“Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse”– WINNER
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem”
Thoughts: Your top two for the Oscars, as well, and probably in that order.
Best Documentary Film
“Beyond Utopia”– RUNNER-UP
“Four Daughters”
“The Mission”
“The Pigeon Tunnel”
“Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie”– WINNER
Thoughts: I need to get caught up with these outside of “Still.”
Breakthrough Award
Ayo Edebiri- RUNNER-UP
Abby Ryder Fortson
Charles Melton- RUNNER-UP
Dominic Sessa- WINNER
Celine Song
Thoughts: We loved “The Holdovers.” Like a lot. Sad this wasn’t Fortson.
Oglethorpe Award for Excellence in Georgia Cinema
“Blue Beetle” (Angel Manuel Soto, Gareth, Dunnet-Alcocer)
“Chipper” (short; Shaun MacLean, Lane Skye, Ruckus Skye)
“The Color Purple” (Blitz Bazawule, Marcus Gardley)
“Creed III” (Michael B. Jordan, Keenan Coogler, Zach Baylin)
“Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3” (James Gunn)
“May December” (Todd Haynes, Samy Burch)- WINNER
“Origin” (Ava DuVernay)- RUNNER-UP
“She Watches Blindly” (Bryan Tan)-
“They Cloned Tyrone” (Jual Taylor, Tony Rettenmaier)
“This World is Not My Own” (Petter Ringborn, Marquise Stillwell, Ruchi Mital)
Thoughts: I still haven’t seen “Origin,” but understand why “May December”- shot in Savannah- was the favorite of the group.
Viva La Resistance!
Brian Skutle
www.sonic-cinema.com
