'The Artist' triumphs with Phoenix critics

The group also boasts tapping 'King's Speech' against the grain last year... Um...

Wednesday, Dec 28, 2011 12:22 AM

Kristopher Tapley

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The Phoenix Film Critics Society has named "The Artist" the best picture of the year, but I have to say, I was stopped dead in my tracks by this line of boast at the organization's official site:

"Last year the PFCS was the only critics group to name 'The King’s Speech' as Best Picture correctly predicting the Academy Awards."

Look, yay, you were good enough to go against the grain of last year's pro-"Social Network" critics' awards onslaught. But don't brag about it like it should matter. Your job isn't to predict the Academy Awards, so don't start thinking it is, please. PLEASE.

The group fell hard for "The Artist" this year, giving the film Best Picture along with eight other awards. Nine wins for the film that has become the 2011 critics' favorite. Not so against the grain after all, I guess. Of course, that writing was probably on the wall after the film led the way with nominations earlier this month.

Anyway, check out the full list of winners below, and remember to keep track of the ups and downs of the 2011-2012 filma wards season via The Circuit.

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Best Picture: "The Artist"

Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"

Best Actor: Jean Dujardin, "The Artist"

Best Actress: Elizabeth Olsen, "Martha Marcy May Marlene"

Best Supporting Actor: Albert Brooks, "Drive"

Best Supporting Actress: Bérénice Bejo, "The Artist"

Best Adapted Screenplay: "The Help"

Best Original Screenplay: "The Artist"

Best Cinematography: "The Tree of Life"

Best Costume Design: "The Artist"

Best Film Editing: "The Artist"

Best Original Score: "The Artist"

Best Production Design: "Hugo"

Best Visual Effects: "Hugo"

Best Animated Film: "Rango"

Best Documentary: "Page One: Inside The New York Times"

Best Foreign Language Film: "The Skin I Live In"

Best Ensemble Acting: "Super 8"

Breakthrough Performance on Camera: Thomas Horn, "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"

Breakthrough Performance Behind the Camera: Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"

Best Performance by a Youth in a Lead or Supporting Role: Saoirse Ronan, "Hanna"

Best Stunts: "Drive"

Best Live Action Family Film (Rated G or PG): "The Muppets"

The Overlooked Film of the Year: "A Better Life"

For year-round entertainment news and awards season commentary follow @kristapley on Twitter.

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Laura Stewart

This is why Drive should be nominated, then win, and stick a fork in The Artist's eye.
December 28, 2011 at 2:08AM EST Reply to Comment
- Hero I love the way you think.
  December 28, 2011 at 9:31AM EST
Rashad

I love the ensemble choice.

Kris, do you have a dog in the BP fight this year?
December 28, 2011 at 2:20AM EST Reply to Comment
- Kristopher Tapley Not really. Moneyball and Midnight in Paris are my favorites of those in legitimate contention. Then Hugo.
  December 28, 2011 at 3:28AM EST
- DylanS Wow, good taste Kris, those were my three and in that order as well.
  December 28, 2011 at 12:37PM EST
- Bryce I'd consider The Tree of Life to be in "legitimate contention" this year.
  December 28, 2011 at 1:15PM EST
- Kristopher Tapley I feel less and less confidant about it, but of course, it's at the top for me.
  December 28, 2011 at 3:30PM EST
Andrej

I can see that selfcongratulatory quote turning into a meme.
December 28, 2011 at 9:02AM EST Reply to Comment
Hero

Am I really supposed to take a group seriously that gives The Help a screenplay award? There are things to like about that movie, but the screenplay is decidedly not one of them.
December 28, 2011 at 9:33AM EST Reply to Comment
Greg

Phoenix sucks for a movie lover. A specialty theatre, The Roayle, closed here this past weekend after opening just a few short months ago. It recently played one of the most unique and audacious films I've seen in years, Sion Sono's "Love Exposure," but nobody went to see it. Sadly, there just isn't much of a market here for arthouse and foreign films (the local film festivals don't offer much salvation either). Despite having some interesting additional categories not usually found in other awards lists, I think the PFCS results still end up being pretty predictable each year.
December 28, 2011 at 10:20AM EST Reply to Comment
Greg

Also, the Phoenix critics didn't bother to review "Love Exposure" or some of the other significant arthouse/foreign films that opened here over the year, so that just makes these awards more useless.
December 28, 2011 at 10:29AM EST Reply to Comment
Conor

They even admit the awards were made to align with the Oscars? Ughh that really should strip away their credibility. I find the ensemble win for Super 8 to be interesting though, but I think the cheese in that movie makes it hard to truly appreciate the acting.
December 28, 2011 at 10:42AM EST Reply to Comment
- Guy Lodge So does some of the acting.
  December 28, 2011 at 3:29PM EST

About This Blog

Spearheaded by editor Kristopher Tapley, In Contention represents a collective of awards obsessives who comment and reflect upon, muse about and attempt to decipher the Oscar season on a daily basis throughout the year, and especially during the Oscar crunch of the fall. Regular contributors include Guy Lodge, Roth Cornet and Gerard Kennedy.

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