As most of you wonderful regular readers know, I am a voting member of the Chicago Film Critics Association, an organization filled with distinct voices and incredible people. The existential sci-fi familial drama comedy Everything Everywhere All at Once led the pack with twelve nominations (a record for the group that should prove difficult to top in the coming years) and six wins, but it was writer/director Martin McDonagh’s darkly comedic but emotionally profound tale of fading friendship, The Banshees of Inisherin, that took home most of the top honors. The films split the Best Picture/Director prizes.
Then there is Charlotte Wells’ directorial debut Aftersun, a quietly powerful film exploring a father-daughter bond through home video footage memory capsules of a weeklong Turkish vacation and a personal favorite that was most definitely present in the nominations but only came away with the award for Breakthrough Filmmaker (100% deserved). Pleasant surprise Best Picture nominee Decision to Leave (the latest psychological thriller from Park Chan-wook) may not have won, but wouldn’t be denied a victory, pulling off a welcomed surprise win in Best Cinematography (sorry Daniels, you can’t win them all.)
For a full breakdown of the nominations, winners, and my picks, check out the list below:
BEST PICTURE
Aftersun [Rob’s pick]
The Banshees of Inisherin
Decision to Leave
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Tár
BEST DIRECTOR
Dan Kwan & Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once [Rob’s pick]
Todd Field, Tár
Park Chan-wook, Decision to Leave
Sarah Polley, Women Talking
S.S. Rajamouli, RRR
BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, Tár
Ana de Armas, Blonde
Mia Goth, Pearl [Rob’s pick]
Andrea Riseborough, To Leslie
Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once
BEST ACTOR
Austin Butler, Elvis
Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin
Brendan Fraser, The Whale [Rob’s pick]
Paul Mescal, Aftersun
Bill Nighy, Living
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Hong Chau, The Whale [Rob’s pick]
Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin
Stephanie Hsu, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Janelle Monae, Glass Onion
Michelle Williams, The Fabelmans
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Brendan Gleeson, The Banshees of Inisherin
Brian Tyree Henry, Causeway
Barry Keoghan, The Banshees of Inisherin
Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once [Rob’s pick]
Mark Rylance, Bones and All
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio [Rob’s pick]
Mad God
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
Turning Red
BEST DOCUMENTARY
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
Bad Axe
Descendant
Fire of Love
Moonage Daydream [Rob’s pick]
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Bardo, False Chronicles of a Handful of Truths
Close
Decision to Leave [Rob’s pick]
Happening
RRR
Saint Omer
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
After Yang by Kogonada
Bones and All by David Kajganich [Rob’s pick]
Glass Onion by Rian Johnson
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio by Guillermo del Toro & Patrick McHale
Women Talking by Sarah Polley
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Aftersun by Charlotte Wells [Rob’s pick]
The Banshees of Inisherin by Martin McDonagh
Everything Everywhere All at Once by The Daniels
The Fabelmans by Tony Kushner & Steven Spielberg
Tár by Todd Field
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Babylon, Linus Sandgren
Bardo, False Chronicles of a Handful of Truths, Darius Khondji
Decision to Leave, Kim Ji-Yong [Rob’s pick]
Everything Everywhere All at Once, Larkin Seiple
Top Gun: Maverick, Claudio Miranda
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Babylon, Justin Hurwitz [Rob’s pick]
The Banshees of Inisherin, Carter Burwell
The Batman, Michael Giacchino
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Alexandre Desplat
RRR, M.M. Keeravani
BEST ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN
After Yang
Avatar: The Way of Water
Babylon
Everything Everywhere All at Once [Rob’s pick]
Glass Onion
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Babylon, Mary Zophres
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Ruth E. Carter
Corsage, Monika Buttinger
Everything Everywhere All at Once, Shirley Kurata
The Northman, Linda Muir [Rob’s pick]
BEST EDITING
Aftersun, Blair McClendon [Rob’s pick]
Babylon, Tom Cross
Decision to Leave, Kim Sang-beom
Everything Everywhere All at Once, Paul Rogers
Tár, Monika Willi
BEST USE OF VISUAL EFFECTS
Avatar: The Way of Water [Rob’s pick]
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Nope
RRR
Top Gun: Maverick
MILOS STEHLIK AWARD FOR BREAKTHROUGH FILMMAKER
Alice Diop, Saint Omer
Audrey Diwan, Happening
John Patton Ford, Emily the Criminal
Jane Schoenbrun, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair
Charlotte Wells, Aftersun [Rob’s pick]
MOST PROMISING PERFORMER
Austin Butler, Elvis
Frankie Corio, Aftersun [Rob’s pick]
Danielle Deadwyler, Till
Stephanie Hsu, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Amber Midthunder, Prey
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
