One of the lesser known movies to win the NYFCC’s prize for Best Film is First Cow, from director Kelly Reichardt
The critics are going right ahead with their end of year awards, even though most movies didn’t come out in theaters this year and Oscar season itself is delayed well into next year. I think what that will do is basically free the critics from their desire to be Oscar “influencers” and go with more obscure, quirky picks, as they did with First Cow, a movie most people have never heard of (I’ve heard the name in passing only). So critics picks may not matter as much this year, but normally the NYFCC is the one of the major critics awards, so here’s what they chose:
Best Film: First Cow
Best Director: Chloé Zhao, Nomadland
Best Actor: Delroy Lindo, Da 5 Bloods
Best Actress: Sidney Flanigan, Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Best Supporting Actor: Chadwick Boseman, Da 5 Bloods
Best Supporting Actress: Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Best First Film: The 40-Year-Old Version
Best Screenplay: Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Best Cinematography: Small Axe
Best Animated Film: Wolfwalkers
Best Foreign Language Film: Bacurau
Best Non-Fiction Film: Time
I’m going to use the rest of the year to try to catch up with as many 2020 films as possible (tracking them down through various streaming services, etc), but it’s nice to see Never Rarely Sometimes Always recognized here.
