National Society of Film Critics Chooses Top Films

The National Society of Society of Film Critics, one of the nations oldest critics groups, has announced their best of 2014 film selections.  Most striking was the outré selection of Goodbye to Language, the latest film from iconic filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard, as the best picture of the year.  Godard’s latest– his 39th feature film and– is a highly experimental romantic drama told from the perspective of a stray dog; it’s also presented in 3-D.  Eschewing the typical patterns of the awards season, the National Society of Film Critics toasted the film over Oscar frontrunners like Boyhood and Birdman, even though both features received mentions as well.  The Society is comprised of film critics from various august publications around the country including the Los Angeles Times, the New Yorker, and the Hollywood Reporter.

Richard Linklater’s Boyhood placed first runner-up for Best Picture, followed by Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu’s Birdman and Mike Leigh’s Mr. Turner.  The oddball selection won’t have much impact on the awards race however.  Throughout the forty-nine year history of the National Society of Film Critics, the group has clearly gone their own way.  Last year, the group selected the critically beloved, but mostly Academy ignored Inside Llewyn Davis as their top film.  Other recent off-consensus choices include Lars Von Trier’s Melancholia, Ari Foreman’s Waltz with Bashir, and Edward Yang’s Yi Yi.  Historically only five titles that have won the National Society of Film Critics have also taken the Oscar for Best Picture (The Hurt Locker being the most recent example), and only sixteen others have even been nominated.  Critical darlings Timothy Spall (Mr. Turner) and Marion Cotillard (cited for both The Immigrant and Two Days, One Night) won top acting prizes; both are considered outside contenders for Oscar nominations.  Oscar frontrunners J.K. Simmons (for Whiplash) and Patricia Arquette (for Boyhood) won the supporting categories, respectively.

Goodbye to Language premiered at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival in competition and won the Jury Prize (tying with Xavier Dolan’s Mommy.)  The film had a successful, but limited theatrical run in New York this past October but hasn’t expanded throughout the country like many independent features.  Kino Lorber, in charge of U.S. distribution, has had problems expanding the title due to 3-D limitations at many art houses around the nation.  Goodbye to Language will premiere in Los Angeles in late January at the Aero Theater in Santa Monica.  Full list of winners below:

BEST PICTURE

1. Goodbye to Language (Jean-Luc Godard)- 25 votes
2. Boyhood (Richard Linklater)- 24 votes
3. Birdman (Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu)- 10 votes
4. Mr. Turner (Mike Leigh)- 10 votes

BEST DIRECTOR

1. Richard Linklater, Boyhood– 36 votes
2. Jean-Luc Godard, Goodbye to Language– 17 votes
3. Mike Leigh, Mr. Turner– 12 votes

BEST ACTOR

1. Timothy Spall, Mr. Turner– 31 votes
2. Tom Hardy, Locke– 10 votes
3. Joaquin Phoenix, Inherent Vice– 9 votes
4. Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel– 9 votes

BEST ACTRESS

1. Marion Cotillard, The Immigrant; Two Days, One Night– 80 votes
2. Julianne Moore, Still Alice– 35 votes
3. Scarlett Johansson, Lucy; Under the Skin– 21 votes

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1. J.K. Simmons, Whiplash– 24 votes
2. Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher– 21 votes
3. Edward Norton, Birdman– 16 votes

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

1. Patricia Arquette, Boyhood– 26 votes
2. Agata Kulesza, Ida– 18 votes
3. Rene Russo, Nightcrawler– 9 votes

BEST SCREENPLAY

1. The Grand Budapest Hotel– Wes Anderson, Hugo Guinness- 24 votes
2. Inherent Vice– Paul Thomas Anderson- 15 votes
3. Birdman– Alexander Dinelaris, Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Armando Bo- 15 votes

BEST NON-FICTION FILM

1. Citizenfour (Laura Poitras)- 56 votes
2. National Gallery (Frederick Wiseman)- 19 votes
3. The Overnighters (Jesse Moss)- 17 votes

FILM HERITAGE AWARD
1. To Ron Magliozzi, associate curator, and Peter Williamson, film conservation manager, of the Museum of Modern Art, for identifying and assembling the earliest surviving footage of what would have been the feature film to star a black cast, the 1913 Lime Kiln Field Day starring Bert Williams.

2. To Ron Hutchinson, co-founder and director of The Vitaphone Project, which since 1991 has collected and restored countless original soundtrack discs for early sound short films and features, including the recent Warner Bros. restoration of William A. Seiter’s 1929 Why Be Good?