Hello, Bloggers, I have decided to continue my Oscar coverage today by discussing my thoughts on the winners of the Gotham Independent Film Awards and the National Board Of Review Awards, which were just announced this morning. I'll start off with the Gotham Awards:
Now, there aren't as many categories in the Gotham Awards as there are in other awards shows, but there are a few major ones, including Best Film, Best Actor, and Best Actress. The other ones are Best Documentary and a few Breakthrough Awards designed to help more undiscovered talent. But, I'll get into the major categories. Here we go:
So, Birdman ended up taking the top prize for Best Film and Best Actor (Michael Keaton), which I was very happy about. Even though Boyhood, which I also loved, was nominated in the same categories, as well as Best Actress for Patricia Arquette, I was still glad that Birdman was the big winner because Boyhood had already won big at the NYFCC Awards and it isn't the only great film taking all of the acclaim this year. Plus, Boyhood did win a special Audience Award for Best Film, so it didn't go home empty-handed. That is a very neat award, in my opinion, because it might be telling as to what film the audience might root for. Since Grand Budapest Hotel was in that category, I figured that would win because Wes Anderson has a huge following and that made over $100 million worldwide against a $30 million budget. Hopefully, that film will also have a successful run to the Oscars as well. Also, Julianne Moore ended up winning Best Actress, which I was pleased with since I loved her performance a lot. Since she won Best Actress at the Gotham Awards, Hollywood Awards, and the National Board of Review, she thankfully has a good amount of momentum in her Oscar campaign.
Next, I'll get into the National Board of Review. There were a good amount of surprises, I'll admit. For starters, A Most Violent Year emerged as the big winner for Best Picture, Best Actor (Oscar Isaac), and Best Supporting Actress (Jessica Chastain). I have yet to see it, so until then, I can't really formulate my opinion. I'm sure it is good, given the talent involved, but I'll have to wait and see. Not only did Oscar Isaac win Best Actor, but he also tied with Michael Keaton, which was nice. Along with Kearon, Edward Norton managed to score some love for Birdman with his win for Best Supporting Actor. A few other wins I was happy with are, even though they weren't really major categories per se, were Obvious Child winning Best Breakthrough Director for Gillian Robespierre and being selected as one of the Top 10 Independent Films of the year. Obvious Child is one of the films that I am the most passionate about this awards season and with its recognition from the NBR and Spirit nominations, I am thrilled that it isn't forgotten. Life Itself won Best Documentary, which certainly surprised me because Citizenfour is cleaning up pretty good as it won Best Documentary at the Gotham Awards and NYFCC. But one win that honestly didn't surprise me was Clint Eastwood winning Best Director for American Sniper. Even though a lot of us haven't seen that film, thus making it one of the biggest question marks this awards season, Eastwood has a good track record with the NBR, so it seems, regardless of the quality of the film, they might just be playing favorites. A few other wins were Paul Thomas Anderson winning Best Adapted Screenplay for Inherent Vice, which might be another question mark this awards season, and The Lego Movie winning Best Original Screenplay. That film is now on HBO and I'll have to check it out very soon.
So, those were my thoughts on the winners of the Gotham Awards and the National Board of Review Awards. I will continue my Oscar coverage once the LAFCA Awards take place and when the Golden Globe nominees, then the SAGs are announced. Until then, thanks for reading!
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