The Boston Society of Film Critics have always gone their own way.
They’ve done it again in 2019, becoming the first critics group of the Awards Season to name Little Women the Best Film of the Year. Sure, regional bias may have played a part in the decision (i.e. Massachusetts critics award a Massachusetts story), but having seen the film myself it’s hard to blame them.
The Beantown crix also named Saoirse Ronan Best Actress for her portrayal of Jo March, cited the cast as Best Ensemble, and honored composer Alexandre Desplat with Best Score. In addition to those 4 wins, Little Women received 3 Runner-Up citations including Best Director Greta Gerwig.
Adam Sandler picked up his second Best Actor win of the day for his against-type turn in the frenetic drama Uncut Gems (the Oklahoma Film Critics Circle awarded him earlier in the afternoon), adding to his growing Awards Season total. What once seemed like a long shot possibility for an Oscar nomination is increasingly becoming a strong possibility for the funnyman.
Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood) and Laura Dern (Marriage Story) won in the supporting categories, further cementing both as Oscar front runners in their respective races. Foreign-Language Film winner Parasite also saw its helmer Bong Joon-ho named Best Director. Both are strong contenders in the Oscar race as well.
The French period romance Portrait of a Lady on Fire — which won Best Cinematography for Claire Mathon — was close in two of the biggest categories, Best Film and Best Foreign-Language Film, where it received Runner-Up citations. Being second to Little Women for the top prize made this year’s BSFC decidedly strong for female stories.
However, despite being critically hailed here and elsewhere, Portrait of a Lady on Fire is ineligible for an Academy Award nomination in the International Film category due to reasons I’m not quite so clear on.
Here’s the BSFC’s full list of winners and runners-up.
BOSTON SOCIETY OF FILM CRITICS
2019 Awards
Best Film: Little Women
Runner Up: Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Best Director: Bong Joon-ho, Parasite
Runner Up: Greta Gerwig, Little Women
Best Actor: Adam Sandler, Uncut Gems
Runner Up: Joaquin Phoenix, Joker
Best Actress: Saoirse Ronan, Little Women
Runner Up (TIE): Elizabeth Moss – Her Smell, and Mary Kay Place – Diane
Best Supporting Actor: Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
Runner Up: Joe Pesci, The Irishman
Best Supporting Actress: Laura Dern, Marriage Story
Runner Up: Florence Pugh, Little Women
Best Screenplay: Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood, Quentin Tarantino
Runner Up (TIE): Marriage Story (Noah Baumbach) and Little Women (Greta Gerwig)
Best Ensemble Cast: Little Women
Runner Up (TIE): Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood and Parasite
Best Animated Film: I Lost My Body
Runner Up: Toy Story 4
Best Foreign-Language Film: Parasite, South Korea
Runner Up: Portrait of a Lady on Fire, France
Best Documentary: Honeyland
Runner Up (TIE): Apollo 11 and Hail, Satan?
Best Cinematography: Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Claire Mathon
Runner Up: Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood, Robert Richardson
(the membership also acknowledged winner Claire Mathon’s work in Atlantics)
Best Editing: The Irishman, Thelma Schoonmaker
Runner Up: Uncut Gems, Ronald Bronstein and Benny Safdie
(This award is given each year in honor and remembrance of Boston film editor extraordinaire, Karen Schmeer)
Best Original Score: Little Women, Alexandre Desplat
Runner Up: The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Jonny
Best New Filmmaker: Joe Talbot, The Last Black Man in San Francisco
Runner Up: Mati Diop, Atlantics
(this award was given in memory of late member, film critic David Brudnoy)
Click on links below for other Critics Group Awards and Guild Nominees that have been announced so far for the 2019 / 20 season:
Screen Actors Guild Award Winners
Producers Guild of America Winners
Critics’ Choice Awards Winners
Directors Guild of America Nominations
Writers Guild of America Nominations
Golden Globe Winners
National Society of Film Critics
Dallas-Forth Worth Film Critics Association
Oklahoma Film Critics Circle
Los Angeles Film Critics Association
AFI American Film Institute Awards
New York Film Critics Circle
National Board of Review
Atlanta Film Critics Circle